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“For an artist to get in the studio and record an entire set in just a few days on a single acoustic guitar, one might assume the music is calling with some urgency. But for Jason Isbell’s latest solo outing, Foxes in the Snow, there’s a slow and steady focus across its spare 11 tracks.

It’s the Soul Queen of New Orleans herself! And one of the city’s coolest bands ever, with this new collaboration on Galactic’s own Tchuop-Zilla Records. The band’s core instrumentalists – Ben Ellman (saxophones, harmonica), Robert Mercurio (bass), Stanton Moore (drums), Jeff Raines (guitar) and Rich Vogel (keyboards) – usually feature a variety of guest vocalists, but this time it’s all Irma, 83 years young and leading them on all 8 new tunes written specifically for her, plus a new take on Nancy Wilson’s “How Glad I Am.”

Two of the three Carolina Chocolate Drops reunite on this exciting release with their fiddle and banjo in the spotlight. Many of these tunes were learned from their late mentor, the legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson who was a key inspiration for the Chocolate Drops, and one of the last musicians of his era and his community to carry on the southern Black string band tradition. Robinson sings lead on the non-instrumentals here. This is but one of the highlights of Giddens’ particularly busy month: her Biscuits & Banjos Festival in Durham (the inaugural one kicked off this past weekend) highlights the deep roots and enduring legacy of Black music, art, and culture while fostering community and storytelling. Then there’s her Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue tour – featuring Robinson and four other string musicians, including multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell; on June 18 they will headline the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, joined by Our Native Daughters (of which she is one of the four members), Steve Martin, and others. And, there’s My Music with Rhiannon Giddens returning to PBS in May with six new episodes. Produced by the Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation, this third season was filmed at various iconic venues around Ireland and features outstanding guest artists who, like Giddens herself, have made Ireland their home.

On this her 4th album, singer/songwriter Valerie June addresses the spirit animal that teaches her a lot about death, openness, and of course wisdom…. And the current omens she sees in politics, the climate, and other overwhelming crises: “I need to see a rainbow. Send me a four-leaf clover, some kind of omen,” she pleads. “That’s what songs do for me.” …And finally, the oracles serve as homage to lineage, legacy, connection, and change: particularly her own ancestry, and the oracles she can leave for future generations. Musically, this features Valerie’s vocal, guitar, and banjo work, along with Kaveh Rastegar on bass and Stephen Hodges on percussion, and horn and string sections.

Acclaimed jazz singer Deborah Silver breathes new life into classic rock hits, with her sultry, soulful voice, and with one of the most dynamic and longest lasting jazz ensembles in existence. Check out these different arrangements of songs from the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Police, and others, led by Silver. Under the direction of Scotty Barnhart, the Count Basie Orchestra has garnered 20 Grammy Awards, beginning in 1958 and most recently in 2024 for Basie Swings the Blues. The band itself dates back some 90 years, and has shown itself to represent and change with the evolving times, just as its founder was known for doing.

The follow-up to her fourth full-length album from five years ago, 25 Trips, this new one from the mandolinist, singer and songwriter is more of an independent release, though it also includes integral collaborations with the likes of Béla Fleck, Tim O’Brien, Aoife O’Donovan, Lindsay Lou, Ronnie Bowman, and her husband Justin Moses. Sierra herself seems to admit this one marks a significant chapter of self-realization and expression for her. “[People say,] “She’s finally coming into her own” – it’s like that every chapter! But the truth is, that’s the human story at any level. You can be coming into your own your entire life. you know? It looks different at 16, and it looks different at 20, it looks different at 25, and it looks different now in my 30s.” Four of the songs here – “Red Bird,” “Haven Hill,” “Spitfire,” “Lord, That’s a Long Way” – nod to the matriarchs of her musical family.

Raised, and still rooted in West Texas, her songs have been shaped by the desolation of the desert, the rough and rowdy crowd that comes through these small oil towns, and early signs of depression and an ever present sense of melancholy. She’s got a pretty sharp-tongued, sarcastic sense of humor, too. She’s already racked up over a 100 million streams as she releases this, her 2nd album.

June 27th sees the release of this release from the innovative fiddle player for the Infamous Stringdusters. We thought we’d debut it on May 22nd in anticipation of our live interview with the Stringdusters, Thursday around 4pm from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Mill Spring where they play that evening. This is Garrett’s 8th studio album but his first release with the Stringdusters’ Americana Vibes Record label. Garrett’s collaborators on the record included banjo player Ryan Cavanagh, guitarist Chris Luquette, singer Lindsay, songwriting partner Josh Shilling, fiddle players Luke Bulla and Casey Driessen, bassist Travis Anderson, and Stringdusters colleague Andy Hall on Resophonic guitar/dobro. Garrett recorded the album in a one-room studio outside of Fort Collins, CO, at the foothills of the mountains, before adding his parts at his own Storm Mountain home studio, where he lives off the grid.

This 9th studio album from Austin icon Shinyribs - is a fitting return to the roots. Reunited with the artist's original record label, Nine Mile Records, Leaving Time sets aside the Soul horns and backup singers that have been a staple of the big Shinyribs band, in favor of a more stripped-down approach to this collection of songs. Fans of Kev Russell’s first couple Shinyribs albums, and his previous band The Gourds, might hear a bit of a return to that era with these arrangements.

It’s old-time string-band music with a rowdy country music twist with this fun quartet. They formed in 2009 as a pickup band for a square dance, and are made up of Kevin Martin on the fiddle, Gabriel Kelley on guitar, Daniel Binkley on banjo, and Pickle on washtub and standup bass, with special guests Sierra Ferrell and Margo Price. In addition to original tunes here, you’ll find covers of The Band, Mountain, and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. Hogslop has shared stages with the likes of the Avett Brothers, Lucas Nelson, Del McCoury, Charlie Louvin, Punch Brothers, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Dom Flemons.