These two members of the Rising Appalachia band, both of whom grew up in Asheville, recorded this album in a rustic cabin in Colorado (named Long Branch.) It’s a wonderful exploration of both both traditional Appalachian and Irish tunes and inventive originality here. Duncan played fiddle, mandocello, guitar, cello; David played guitar, banjo, upright bass. By the way, the album art is by another artist who grew up in Asheville, Hannah Seng. She helped introduce the two to each other years ago, as well as coax Duncan into playing old time fiddle.

Lake Street Dive singer Rachael Price and guitarist/songwriter Vilray Bolles have their 3rd collaboration out, and this time it’s an out-of-time vision of their beloved New York City, inspired by Vilray’s recent fascination with classic musicals. Recorded at Sear Sound in New York City, West of Broadway features saxophonist Steve Wilson (Chick Corea’s Origin sextet) and drummer John Riley (Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie). Comedian and late-night TV host Stephen Colbert, a longtime fan, also appears on the album version of “Off Broadway.” “There’s so much imagery in the lyrics,” says Price. “I think a fun way to listen to the record would be to go for a walk and let the songs play out like a little movie in your mind.”

Recorded live over four days at 64 Sound Recording Studio in Los Angeles, Right Now! is a masterclass in instinct and improvisation by skillful musicians meeting in real time to find the songs as they go. “Everything about this record is intuitive,” says GRAMMY award-winning singer/songwriter and guitarist and The Third Mind co-founder Dave Alvin. “It’s five musicians walking a tightrope, improvising in dialogue with each other and finding the songs in real time.”

Produced by Grammy Award-winner Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker), American Romance cements Nelson as a singular artist, as he showcases his songwriting dexterity in a way that feels both familiar and new. Reflecting on the project, Nelson shares, “This album is the first chapter in a whole new era of my life as an artist. It’s a love story to the country that raised me. Diners and highways that carried me through the joy and pain that led to the music you hear now.” He’s embarked on an extensive tour that includes the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion (September 19-21.)

On this, her 11th album, Patty Griffin once again forms a poetic tapestry woven from the threads of love, loss, grief, disillusionment, resilience, and hope, shifting fluidly between intimate confessions, philosophical musings, and symbolic storytelling – all grounded in intensely human feelings and emotion. Burrowing into the stories she had long been telling herself, the award-winning songwriter ruminates on a vast array of themes and deeply personal topics, spanning the trajectory of women in the 20th and 21st centuries and communion with nature to the sound of her voice after cancer treatment made its mark to the relationship with her late mother, whose wedding day photo graces the album’s cover, set into artwork by Mishka Westell that captures many of her greatest loves, including the Maine woods of her – and Patty’s – childhood.

Produced by Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker), “Heart of the Eternal” features a selection of songs that journey from psychedelia to Philadelphia soul to Latin-infused jazz-pop, and you can probably detect a couple of other genres, too. The album was completed during Croce’s downtime from his ongoing “Croce Plays Croce” tour—a widely celebrated run in which he performs classic songs from his late father Jim, along with his own material and a number of specially curated covers.

Hayes crafts songs that allow us to take a good look at ourselves – the good, the bad, and even the absurd – through his character narratives and sage perspectives. On his tenth album (release date August 8th on Thirty Tigers), Carll turns the mirror back on himself for the most deeply introspective, reflective work he has created to date. "Like John Prine, Carll has a clever, concise style of communicating serious concepts, frequently through dark humor, displaying world-weary truths underneath wry lyrics." (American Songwriter).

We’ve been following the growth of brother/sister duo Elisha and Aila Wildman of Floyd, VA, for the past few years, including a Studio B session in 2022. Their old-time and bluegrass backgrounds remain strong as they forge ahead with other interests like indie-folk, and a love for Gram Parsons. This new album was cultivated in the midst of Aila and Elisha each finishing school at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, but recording it at Applehead Recording Studio in Woodstock, New York (by producer Nicholas Falk, partner/collaborator with Dori Freeman, who hails from nearby Galax, VA), and that experience reminded them of the Floyd area.

Producer Adrian Quesada introduced us to the rich technicolor sounds of late ‘60s and early ‘70s Latin American psychedelia and baroque pop three years ago with Boleros Psicodelicos. He now has a second volume of classic covers and new songs, featuring contributions from Hermanos Gutierrez, Angelica Garcia, co-producer Alex Goose, and others.

Canadian native Tami Neilson has another powerful album of Americana styles with this tribute to the larger-than-life statue “towering over Broadway like the patron saint of heartbreak in downtown Nashville as she smiles coyly over her shoulder in red cowboy boots.”