Karen & the Sorrows begin a new era with the release of the troupe’s third album, Guaranteed Broken Heart, whose title track is premiering exclusively below.
After 2017’s The Narrow Place, the self-proclaimed “queer country” band lost founding members Elana Redfield (frontwoman Karen Pittelman’s ex) and Tami Johnson. The split was relatively amicable.
In September, singer-songwriter Judy Blank will make history by becoming the first Dutch artist ever to play AmericanaFest. In 2014 she released her piano-driven debut album, When The Storm Hits, which earned rave reviews and quickly positioned her as an international artist to watch. Since then, she’s been making a name for herself playing all over the world, from surf festivals somewhere in the south of France to open mic nights in Louisiana, to performances at major music festivals including Pinkpop, the Lowlands, Songbird Festival and North Sea Jazz in Rotterdam.
Shawn Colvin may be best known for “Sunny Came Home”, but you can’t call her a one-hit wonder. In her career she has won three Grammy Awards (one of which was for her debut album Steady On) and released 12 albums. By phone she discussed the 30th anniversary acoustic version of Steady On, her inspiration to write, and the artists that influenced her in her early days of performing.
The story goes that the Good Graces started on an impulse, when Kim Ware bought her acoustic guitar, Buzzy, from Lakewood Antiques Market in 2006. The artist was well regarded as a drummer in the Atlanta scene, but she and Buzzy proved to be a perfect duo as songs began to flow out from them. Now, the Good Graces are a revered indie-folk collective known for delivering evocative songwriting, and in those regards, “Snow Angels” is no different. The song strikes a chord of spiritual beauty about keeping ties with your loved ones even after they’ve gone. It hits a poignant blend of emotions in the subtle buildup towards its crescendo, where Ware’s reflective vocals are met by a broad stroke of folk instrumentation that, together, evoke their full sentiment.
Since debuting in the early aughts, Sofia Talvik has garnered recognition for her vocal clarity. A keen songwriter, the indie folk artist crafts beautiful soundscapes of subtle, rootsy timbres that place the pristine storyteller’s voice at their center. In this case of developing savvy arrangements that highlight her haunting vocals, the roots music that Talvik develops is of a similar tapestry to Joni Mitchell, tapping into that same knack for soul-stirring clarity and resonance. Between, however, is something of a different nature. Open-air production sets the scene for an evocative and atmospheric release from the Swedish folk artist, coming in the form of an upcoming album, Paws of a Bear.
Sometimes we find ourselves lost in what could be instead of what simply is. Always striving for what’s next and not appreciating what’s right in front of you. It’s almost as if we’re racing to get to the next thing, as if time is running out. We have one foot is in the present and one is in the future, instead of being all in on the now. Australian native Josh Rennie-Hynes reminds us to be present with his latest roaring indie-rock gem single, “Caught in a Dream.”