Folk Alley Sessions

From the Folk Alley Sessions archives, in 2010, Karan Casey and her band stopped in to Folk Alley's studio for an exclusive performance and interview with Jim Blum.

Eamon O'Leary and Jefferson Hamer met in New York while performing traditional Irish music. They discovered a shared love of the old songs - from Ireland and throughout the British Isles. They joined together on an album that became the name of their duo - The Murphy Beds - which O'Leary says is a mystery to their audiences in Ireland. In 2015, the pair visited Saranac Lake, NY for an exclusive Folk Alley Sessions recording to play the traditional music that they have "decorated." Watch video performances and hear an interview with the duo.

(This Folk Alley Session was originally published March 14, 2014) RUNA draws on the diverse musical backgrounds of its band members and offers a contemporary and refreshing approach to traditional and more recently composed Celtic material. Through their repertoire of both highly energetic and graceful, acoustic melodies, along with their fusion of music from Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and the United States, this vocal and instrumental ensemble gives its arrangements of traditional songs and tunes a fresh sound.

We all have people in our lives who inspire us, encourage us, and who push us to dream, hope and create. For musicians Guy Davis and Fabrizio Poggi, two of those inspirations where the great bluesmen, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Earlier in 2017, Davis and Poggi released a tribute album, 'Sonny and Brownie's Last Train' and stopped by Folk Alley for an exclusive in-studio performance and to talk more about two of their musical heroes.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk Alley Sunny War came of age hopping trains and busking around Los Angeles. She played in a punk band even as she was a fan of folk-blues artists from a century ago. All of these elements swirl together in her songwriting, which is unpretentiously poetic, clear and concise, catchy but remarkably simple. Across her handful of albums, her songwriting has depicted the remarkable growth and evolution of a songwriter with impeccable instincts, and her latest effort, Simple Syrup, is another impressive step on that journey. When we spoke for the Why We Write podcast, Sunny War was in the process of recording the album, happy to ruminate on her unfolding career, her experiences with ayahuasca, and the way a year of quarantine was impacting her creative process.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk Alley There is much that could be said about Rosanne Cash's number-one hits and Grammy awards, her family legacy and her celebrity. But whether she's writing songs, articles, essays, or books, Cash is always a writer's writer.She has a knack for catchy, chorus-worthy turn of phrase, sure, but she also has a generally superb literary sensibility. Thus, the opportunity to discuss writing with her for this episode of Why We Write was a bit of a no-brainer.One of the things that strikes me most about Cash's songwriting is the way she sets her songs and stories very strongly in a specific place. So, we began our conversation with the relationship between story and place. Press play and come along for the ride

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk Alley There is much that could be said about Rosanne Cash's number-one hits and Grammy awards, her family legacy and her celebrity. But whether she's writing songs, articles, essays, or books, Cash is always a writer's writer.She has a knack for catchy, chorus-worthy turn of phrase, sure, but she also has a generally superb literary sensibility. Thus, the opportunity to discuss writing with her for this episode of Why We Write was a bit of a no-brainer.One of the things that strikes me most about Cash's songwriting is the way she sets her songs and stories very strongly in a specific place. So, we began our conversation with the relationship between story and place. Press play and come along for the ride

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk Alley Ani DiFranco has released almost two dozen studio albums since her 1990 self-titled debut. That doesn’t count her many live and official bootleg recordings, her collaborations with Utah Phillips, and a couple of “greatest hits”-style recordings. Indeed, she has proven to be one of her generation’s most prolific and influential songwriters. So, when it came time to launch a podcast for Folk Alley called Why We Write — where we’ll talk to great songwriters about songwriting — Ani DiFranco seemed like the perfect person with whom to start. When we spoke, she was on the precipice of releasing her latest project, Revolutionary Love, where she goes deeper and further with the concept of “love” than most songwriters are willing to go. But going deeper and unpacking further—always via her life-and-emotion-nailing poetic lyricism—is one of the things DiFranco does best. Exactly why she feels called to write this way, is where we started our conversation. Of course, you’re never in for light small talk with Ani DiFranco. So press play and settle in, and enjoy Why We Write. ### (Explicit language)

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk Alley Ani DiFranco has released almost two dozen studio albums since her 1990 self-titled debut. That doesn't count her many live and official bootleg recordings, her collaborations with Utah Phillips, and a couple of “greatest hits”-style recordings. Indeed, she has proven to be one of her generation's most prolific and influential songwriters. So, when it came time to launch a podcast for Folk Alley called Why We Write — where we'll talk to great songwriters about songwriting — Ani DiFranco seemed like the perfect person with whom to start. When we spoke, she was on the precipice of releasing her latest project, Revolutionary Love, where she goes deeper and further with the concept of “love” than most songwriters are willing to go. But going deeper and unpacking further—always via her life-and-emotion-nailing poetic lyricism—is one of the things DiFranco does best. Exactly why she feels called to write this way, is where we started our conversation. Of course, you're never in for light small talk with Ani DiFranco. So press play and settle in, and enjoy Why We Write. ### (Explicit language)

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk Alley Ani DiFranco has released almost two dozen studio albums since her 1990 self-titled debut. That doesn't count her many live and official bootleg recordings, her collaborations with Utah Phillips, and a couple of “greatest hits”-style recordings. Indeed, she has proven to be one of her generation's most prolific and influential songwriters. So, when it came time to launch a podcast for Folk Alley called Why We Write — where we'll talk to great songwriters about songwriting — Ani DiFranco seemed like the perfect person with whom to start. When we spoke, she was on the precipice of releasing her latest project, Revolutionary Love, where she goes deeper and further with the concept of “love” than most songwriters are willing to go. But going deeper and unpacking further—always via her life-and-emotion-nailing poetic lyricism—is one of the things DiFranco does best. Exactly why she feels called to write this way, is where we started our conversation. Of course, you're never in for light small talk with Ani DiFranco. So press play and settle in, and enjoy Why We Write. ### (Explicit language)

(This Folk Alley Sessions was originally published in July, 2017.)L.A. born John Craigie discovered beauty in storytelling through music, diving into the folk scene in the grunge-driven '90s. For him, it's about the relationship between singer and audience (so much so that he added a group of friends to his latest studio sessions - creating a house concert vibe). He's something of a neo-hippie, in-name-only Math major who found his true self touring the country with a guitar as his calling card.John stopped by BeeHive Studios in Saranac Lake, NY, in May 2017 to record a few songs from his recent 'No Rain, No Rose' album exclusively for Folk Alley.

(This Folk Alley Sessions was originally published in July, 2017.)L.A. born John Craigie discovered beauty in storytelling through music, diving into the folk scene in the grunge-driven '90s. For him, it's about the relationship between singer and audience (so much so that he added a group of friends to his latest studio sessions - creating a house concert vibe). He's something of a neo-hippie, in-name-only Math major who found his true self touring the country with a guitar as his calling card.John stopped by BeeHive Studios in Saranac Lake, NY, in May 2017 to record a few songs from his recent 'No Rain, No Rose' album exclusively for Folk Alley.

(This Folk Alley Sessions was originally published in July, 2017.)L.A. born John Craigie discovered beauty in storytelling through music, diving into the folk scene in the grunge-driven '90s. For him, it's about the relationship between singer and audience (so much so that he added a group of friends to his latest studio sessions - creating a house concert vibe). He's something of a neo-hippie, in-name-only Math major who found his true self touring the country with a guitar as his calling card.John stopped by BeeHive Studios in Saranac Lake, NY, in May 2017 to record a few songs from his recent 'No Rain, No Rose' album exclusively for Folk Alley.

(This Folk Alley Sessions was originally published in July, 2017.)L.A. born John Craigie discovered beauty in storytelling through music, diving into the folk scene in the grunge-driven '90s. For him, it's about the relationship between singer and audience (so much so that he added a group of friends to his latest studio sessions - creating a house concert vibe). He's something of a neo-hippie, in-name-only Math major who found his true self touring the country with a guitar as his calling card.John stopped by BeeHive Studios in Saranac Lake, NY, in May 2017 to record a few songs from his recent 'No Rain, No Rose' album exclusively for Folk Alley.

She's a poet, a writer, an artist, an entrepreneur and someone who knows how to use her voice articulately and effectively to encourage great social change. She is Ani DiFranco, a fantastically talented guitarist and a singer who first started making music in coffee shops when she was just 9 years old. Early in 2016, Ani was at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida and she graciously sat down with us to talk about politics, music and everything in between.

(Session first published April 2016) by Kelly McCartney (@theKELword) for Folk AlleyOver the course of her more than 25 years of making music, Ani DiFranco has been widely celebrated and often emulated. The trouble is, DiFranco's work is a moving target which words and imitation fail miserably in hitting. She would argue -- and has -- that hers is a living, breathing body of performance art that makes its most comfortable home on stage. "I am a work in progress," she concedes in "The Slant," off her 1990 self-titled debut, adding some years later on the title track to 'Evolve,' "I don't take good pictures 'cause I have the kind of beauty that moves."In an interview with Cuepoint about her last release, 'Allergic to Water,' Ani upped the ante even more:"This is my problem making albums, to begin with, is that they do not move. There's a stagnant... I may as well write my words down on paper while I'm at it, if I want them to just fucking sit there. ... I've made incredible mistakes along the way in my recording career because I'm so living in the moment ... Look at all these beautiful songs that have dubious to highly unfortunate recordings. ... But that's the kind of artist I am, though. The consummate moment, it happens on stage. It comes and it goes. That's where my art lives. That's where it's truest. All of my songs will be most resonant on a stage in a moment, not on a recording, because it's translating something there. The art, itself, when it comes to me, is happening in time. And, I think that's what I'm most comfortable with. ... the song is transforming all the time. To me, that's truth."Even so, DiFranco has made some truly remarkable records. From that eponymous, saber-rattling debut to the pointedly poetic 'Not a Pretty Girl' to the top-to-bottom solo set that is 'Educated Guess' to the sputtering prose of 'Allergic to Water,' Ani has never stopped searching for the answers and anthems that might help us all get through life with just a bit more honor in our hearts and fire in our fists. She's a folk singer through and through, cut from the same cloth as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, but with a style completely of her own.Because of her absolute inability to color -- or stand -- within any culturally dictated lines, DiFranco amassed a rigorously anti-establishment fan base early on that, for perhaps the first time, saw something of themselves in someone else. And they claimed her as their own, clinging to her words in times of madness and mirth.Still, as she tells Folk Alley, they have never been shy about letting her know when she's not meeting their expectations. It's just that, these days, the floggings are much more public because of "this new kind of coliseum of social media where people get dragged out and skewered and people cheer":"My whole life one of my strengths, I think, is not being afraid -- not being afraid to just say it. And I've caught a lot of flak. But I've also got the respect of people that I respect, people that I care about, and people that I've stood up for. So that always just felt doable. But now, when you don't know where the attack will come from, when it could be the person you've been standing next to this whole time that will suddenly turn on you ... it's very disturbing."DiFranco did, indeed, get skewered a few years back over plans to host a songwriting retreat at a former plantation outside of her adopted hometown of New Orleans. Though she originally believed her song "Allergic to Water" to be about the birth of her son, she came to find out that is was a sort of subconscious foreshadowing of the deep hurt she would suffer over the controversy. In it, she sings about the need to look for empathy outside of ourselves... sometimes very far outside: "You may wonder what would possess someone like me to go on. You may wonder how it's possible something so basic could go wrong. And all I can say is, if you stretch your mind all the way as far as it goes, there's someone out there who lives further than that in a place you can never know."In her 30A Folk Alley Session, Ani offers a sobering rendition of that track, along with sprightly takes on "Play God" and "Binary," two socially minded pieces that further exemplify her singular sound which, try as we all might to write about it or replicate it, no one comes close to pinning down.---*Language advisory: "Binary" contains profanity.*

(Session first published April 2016) by Kelly McCartney (@theKELword) for Folk AlleyOver the course of her more than 25 years of making music, Ani DiFranco has been widely celebrated and often emulated. The trouble is, DiFranco's work is a moving target which words and imitation fail miserably in hitting. She would argue -- and has -- that hers is a living, breathing body of performance art that makes its most comfortable home on stage. "I am a work in progress," she concedes in "The Slant," off her 1990 self-titled debut, adding some years later on the title track to 'Evolve,' "I don't take good pictures 'cause I have the kind of beauty that moves."In an interview with Cuepoint about her last release, 'Allergic to Water,' Ani upped the ante even more:"This is my problem making albums, to begin with, is that they do not move. There's a stagnant... I may as well write my words down on paper while I'm at it, if I want them to just fucking sit there. ... I've made incredible mistakes along the way in my recording career because I'm so living in the moment ... Look at all these beautiful songs that have dubious to highly unfortunate recordings. ... But that's the kind of artist I am, though. The consummate moment, it happens on stage. It comes and it goes. That's where my art lives. That's where it's truest. All of my songs will be most resonant on a stage in a moment, not on a recording, because it's translating something there. The art, itself, when it comes to me, is happening in time. And, I think that's what I'm most comfortable with. ... the song is transforming all the time. To me, that's truth."Even so, DiFranco has made some truly remarkable records. From that eponymous, saber-rattling debut to the pointedly poetic 'Not a Pretty Girl' to the top-to-bottom solo set that is 'Educated Guess' to the sputtering prose of 'Allergic to Water,' Ani has never stopped searching for the answers and anthems that might help us all get through life with just a bit more honor in our hearts and fire in our fists. She's a folk singer through and through, cut from the same cloth as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, but with a style completely of her own.Because of her absolute inability to color -- or stand -- within any culturally dictated lines, DiFranco amassed a rigorously anti-establishment fan base early on that, for perhaps the first time, saw something of themselves in someone else. And they claimed her as their own, clinging to her words in times of madness and mirth.Still, as she tells Folk Alley, they have never been shy about letting her know when she's not meeting their expectations. It's just that, these days, the floggings are much more public because of "this new kind of coliseum of social media where people get dragged out and skewered and people cheer":"My whole life one of my strengths, I think, is not being afraid -- not being afraid to just say it. And I've caught a lot of flak. But I've also got the respect of people that I respect, people that I care about, and people that I've stood up for. So that always just felt doable. But now, when you don't know where the attack will come from, when it could be the person you've been standing next to this whole time that will suddenly turn on you ... it's very disturbing."DiFranco did, indeed, get skewered a few years back over plans to host a songwriting retreat at a former plantation outside of her adopted hometown of New Orleans. Though she originally believed her song "Allergic to Water" to be about the birth of her son, she came to find out that is was a sort of subconscious foreshadowing of the deep hurt she would suffer over the controversy. In it, she sings about the need to look for empathy outside of ourselves... sometimes very far outside: "You may wonder what would possess someone like me to go on. You may wonder how it's possible something so basic could go wrong. And all I can say is, if you stretch your mind all the way as far as it goes, there's someone out there who lives further than that in a place you can never know."In her 30A Folk Alley Session, Ani offers a sobering rendition of that track, along with sprightly takes on "Play God" and "Binary," two socially minded pieces that further exemplify her singular sound which, try as we all might to write about it or replicate it, no one comes close to pinning down.---*Language advisory: "Binary" contains profanity.*

(Session first published April 2016) by Kelly McCartney (@theKELword) for Folk AlleyOver the course of her more than 25 years of making music, Ani DiFranco has been widely celebrated and often emulated. The trouble is, DiFranco's work is a moving target which words and imitation fail miserably in hitting. She would argue -- and has -- that hers is a living, breathing body of performance art that makes its most comfortable home on stage. "I am a work in progress," she concedes in "The Slant," off her 1990 self-titled debut, adding some years later on the title track to 'Evolve,' "I don't take good pictures 'cause I have the kind of beauty that moves."In an interview with Cuepoint about her last release, 'Allergic to Water,' Ani upped the ante even more:"This is my problem making albums, to begin with, is that they do not move. There's a stagnant... I may as well write my words down on paper while I'm at it, if I want them to just fucking sit there. ... I've made incredible mistakes along the way in my recording career because I'm so living in the moment ... Look at all these beautiful songs that have dubious to highly unfortunate recordings. ... But that's the kind of artist I am, though. The consummate moment, it happens on stage. It comes and it goes. That's where my art lives. That's where it's truest. All of my songs will be most resonant on a stage in a moment, not on a recording, because it's translating something there. The art, itself, when it comes to me, is happening in time. And, I think that's what I'm most comfortable with. ... the song is transforming all the time. To me, that's truth."Even so, DiFranco has made some truly remarkable records. From that eponymous, saber-rattling debut to the pointedly poetic 'Not a Pretty Girl' to the top-to-bottom solo set that is 'Educated Guess' to the sputtering prose of 'Allergic to Water,' Ani has never stopped searching for the answers and anthems that might help us all get through life with just a bit more honor in our hearts and fire in our fists. She's a folk singer through and through, cut from the same cloth as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, but with a style completely of her own.Because of her absolute inability to color -- or stand -- within any culturally dictated lines, DiFranco amassed a rigorously anti-establishment fan base early on that, for perhaps the first time, saw something of themselves in someone else. And they claimed her as their own, clinging to her words in times of madness and mirth.Still, as she tells Folk Alley, they have never been shy about letting her know when she's not meeting their expectations. It's just that, these days, the floggings are much more public because of "this new kind of coliseum of social media where people get dragged out and skewered and people cheer":"My whole life one of my strengths, I think, is not being afraid -- not being afraid to just say it. And I've caught a lot of flak. But I've also got the respect of people that I respect, people that I care about, and people that I've stood up for. So that always just felt doable. But now, when you don't know where the attack will come from, when it could be the person you've been standing next to this whole time that will suddenly turn on you ... it's very disturbing."DiFranco did, indeed, get skewered a few years back over plans to host a songwriting retreat at a former plantation outside of her adopted hometown of New Orleans. Though she originally believed her song "Allergic to Water" to be about the birth of her son, she came to find out that is was a sort of subconscious foreshadowing of the deep hurt she would suffer over the controversy. In it, she sings about the need to look for empathy outside of ourselves... sometimes very far outside: "You may wonder what would possess someone like me to go on. You may wonder how it's possible something so basic could go wrong. And all I can say is, if you stretch your mind all the way as far as it goes, there's someone out there who lives further than that in a place you can never know."In her 30A Folk Alley Session, Ani offers a sobering rendition of that track, along with sprightly takes on "Play God" and "Binary," two socially minded pieces that further exemplify her singular sound which, try as we all might to write about it or replicate it, no one comes close to pinning down.---*Language advisory: "Binary" contains profanity.*

(Session first published April 2016) by Kelly McCartney (@theKELword) for Folk AlleyOver the course of her more than 25 years of making music, Ani DiFranco has been widely celebrated and often emulated. The trouble is, DiFranco's work is a moving target which words and imitation fail miserably in hitting. She would argue -- and has -- that hers is a living, breathing body of performance art that makes its most comfortable home on stage. "I am a work in progress," she concedes in "The Slant," off her 1990 self-titled debut, adding some years later on the title track to 'Evolve,' "I don't take good pictures 'cause I have the kind of beauty that moves."In an interview with Cuepoint about her last release, 'Allergic to Water,' Ani upped the ante even more:"This is my problem making albums, to begin with, is that they do not move. There's a stagnant... I may as well write my words down on paper while I'm at it, if I want them to just fucking sit there. ... I've made incredible mistakes along the way in my recording career because I'm so living in the moment ... Look at all these beautiful songs that have dubious to highly unfortunate recordings. ... But that's the kind of artist I am, though. The consummate moment, it happens on stage. It comes and it goes. That's where my art lives. That's where it's truest. All of my songs will be most resonant on a stage in a moment, not on a recording, because it's translating something there. The art, itself, when it comes to me, is happening in time. And, I think that's what I'm most comfortable with. ... the song is transforming all the time. To me, that's truth."Even so, DiFranco has made some truly remarkable records. From that eponymous, saber-rattling debut to the pointedly poetic 'Not a Pretty Girl' to the top-to-bottom solo set that is 'Educated Guess' to the sputtering prose of 'Allergic to Water,' Ani has never stopped searching for the answers and anthems that might help us all get through life with just a bit more honor in our hearts and fire in our fists. She's a folk singer through and through, cut from the same cloth as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, but with a style completely of her own.Because of her absolute inability to color -- or stand -- within any culturally dictated lines, DiFranco amassed a rigorously anti-establishment fan base early on that, for perhaps the first time, saw something of themselves in someone else. And they claimed her as their own, clinging to her words in times of madness and mirth.Still, as she tells Folk Alley, they have never been shy about letting her know when she's not meeting their expectations. It's just that, these days, the floggings are much more public because of "this new kind of coliseum of social media where people get dragged out and skewered and people cheer":"My whole life one of my strengths, I think, is not being afraid -- not being afraid to just say it. And I've caught a lot of flak. But I've also got the respect of people that I respect, people that I care about, and people that I've stood up for. So that always just felt doable. But now, when you don't know where the attack will come from, when it could be the person you've been standing next to this whole time that will suddenly turn on you ... it's very disturbing."DiFranco did, indeed, get skewered a few years back over plans to host a songwriting retreat at a former plantation outside of her adopted hometown of New Orleans. Though she originally believed her song "Allergic to Water" to be about the birth of her son, she came to find out that is was a sort of subconscious foreshadowing of the deep hurt she would suffer over the controversy. In it, she sings about the need to look for empathy outside of ourselves... sometimes very far outside: "You may wonder what would possess someone like me to go on. You may wonder how it's possible something so basic could go wrong. And all I can say is, if you stretch your mind all the way as far as it goes, there's someone out there who lives further than that in a place you can never know."In her 30A Folk Alley Session, Ani offers a sobering rendition of that track, along with sprightly takes on "Play God" and "Binary," two socially minded pieces that further exemplify her singular sound which, try as we all might to write about it or replicate it, no one comes close to pinning down.---*Language advisory: "Binary" contains profanity.*

(Session first published April 2016) by Kelly McCartney (@theKELword) for Folk AlleyOver the course of her more than 25 years of making music, Ani DiFranco has been widely celebrated and often emulated. The trouble is, DiFranco's work is a moving target which words and imitation fail miserably in hitting. She would argue -- and has -- that hers is a living, breathing body of performance art that makes its most comfortable home on stage. "I am a work in progress," she concedes in "The Slant," off her 1990 self-titled debut, adding some years later on the title track to 'Evolve,' "I don't take good pictures 'cause I have the kind of beauty that moves."In an interview with Cuepoint about her last release, 'Allergic to Water,' Ani upped the ante even more:"This is my problem making albums, to begin with, is that they do not move. There's a stagnant... I may as well write my words down on paper while I'm at it, if I want them to just fucking sit there. ... I've made incredible mistakes along the way in my recording career because I'm so living in the moment ... Look at all these beautiful songs that have dubious to highly unfortunate recordings. ... But that's the kind of artist I am, though. The consummate moment, it happens on stage. It comes and it goes. That's where my art lives. That's where it's truest. All of my songs will be most resonant on a stage in a moment, not on a recording, because it's translating something there. The art, itself, when it comes to me, is happening in time. And, I think that's what I'm most comfortable with. ... the song is transforming all the time. To me, that's truth."Even so, DiFranco has made some truly remarkable records. From that eponymous, saber-rattling debut to the pointedly poetic 'Not a Pretty Girl' to the top-to-bottom solo set that is 'Educated Guess' to the sputtering prose of 'Allergic to Water,' Ani has never stopped searching for the answers and anthems that might help us all get through life with just a bit more honor in our hearts and fire in our fists. She's a folk singer through and through, cut from the same cloth as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, but with a style completely of her own.Because of her absolute inability to color -- or stand -- within any culturally dictated lines, DiFranco amassed a rigorously anti-establishment fan base early on that, for perhaps the first time, saw something of themselves in someone else. And they claimed her as their own, clinging to her words in times of madness and mirth.Still, as she tells Folk Alley, they have never been shy about letting her know when she's not meeting their expectations. It's just that, these days, the floggings are much more public because of "this new kind of coliseum of social media where people get dragged out and skewered and people cheer":"My whole life one of my strengths, I think, is not being afraid -- not being afraid to just say it. And I've caught a lot of flak. But I've also got the respect of people that I respect, people that I care about, and people that I've stood up for. So that always just felt doable. But now, when you don't know where the attack will come from, when it could be the person you've been standing next to this whole time that will suddenly turn on you ... it's very disturbing."DiFranco did, indeed, get skewered a few years back over plans to host a songwriting retreat at a former plantation outside of her adopted hometown of New Orleans. Though she originally believed her song "Allergic to Water" to be about the birth of her son, she came to find out that is was a sort of subconscious foreshadowing of the deep hurt she would suffer over the controversy. In it, she sings about the need to look for empathy outside of ourselves... sometimes very far outside: "You may wonder what would possess someone like me to go on. You may wonder how it's possible something so basic could go wrong. And all I can say is, if you stretch your mind all the way as far as it goes, there's someone out there who lives further than that in a place you can never know."In her 30A Folk Alley Session, Ani offers a sobering rendition of that track, along with sprightly takes on "Play God" and "Binary," two socially minded pieces that further exemplify her singular sound which, try as we all might to write about it or replicate it, no one comes close to pinning down.---*Language advisory: "Binary" contains profanity.*

by Kim Ruehl, (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyWhen the Indigo Girls dropped by the Folk Alley house during this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival, the duo was gearing up for the release of its 15th album, Look Long. (A review is available here.)The disc, which released on May 22, saw the IGs backed once again by the same group of musicians who played on their 1999 album Come on Now Social - a reunion they both relished, which was a long time in the making. As they played an intimate set that included two new songs and one old fan favorite, the duo had much to say between songs about the new album, their decades of collaboration, their most requested classic, and much more.

by Kim Ruehl, (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyWhen the Indigo Girls dropped by the Folk Alley house during this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival, the duo was gearing up for the release of its 15th album, Look Long. (A review is available here.)The disc, which released on May 22, saw the IGs backed once again by the same group of musicians who played on their 1999 album Come on Now Social - a reunion they both relished, which was a long time in the making. As they played an intimate set that included two new songs and one old fan favorite, the duo had much to say between songs about the new album, their decades of collaboration, their most requested classic, and much more.

by Kim Ruehl, (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyWhen the Indigo Girls dropped by the Folk Alley house during this year's 30A Songwriters Festival, the duo was gearing up for the release of its 15th album, Look Long. (A review is available here.)The disc, which released on May 22, saw the IGs backed once again by the same group of musicians who played on their 1999 album Come on Now Social - a reunion they both relished, which was a long time in the making. As they played an intimate set that included two new songs and one old fan favorite, the duo had much to say between songs about the new album, their decades of collaboration, their most requested classic, and much more.

by Kim Ruehl, (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyWhen the Indigo Girls dropped by the Folk Alley house during this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival, the duo was gearing up for the release of its 15th album, Look Long. (A review is available here.)The disc, which released on May 22, saw the IGs backed once again by the same group of musicians who played on their 1999 album Come on Now Social - a reunion they both relished, which was a long time in the making. As they played an intimate set that included two new songs and one old fan favorite, the duo had much to say between songs about the new album, their decades of collaboration, their most requested classic, and much more.

When the Indigo Girls dropped by the Folk Alley house during this year's 30ASongwriters Festival, the duo was gearing up for the release of its 15th album, Look Long. As they played an intimate set that included two new songs and one old fan favorite, the duo had much to say between songs about the new album, their decades of collaboration, their most requested classic, and much more.

by Kim Ruehl, (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyWhen the Indigo Girls dropped by the Folk Alley house during this year's 30A Songwriters Festival, the duo was gearing up for the release of its 15th album, Look Long. (A review is available here.)The disc, which released on May 22, saw the IGs backed once again by the same group of musicians who played on their 1999 album Come on Now Social - a reunion they both relished, which was a long time in the making. As they played an intimate set that included two new songs and one old fan favorite, the duo had much to say between songs about the new album, their decades of collaboration, their most requested classic, and much more.

by Kim Ruehl, (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyWhen the Indigo Girls dropped by the Folk Alley house during this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival, the duo was gearing up for the release of its 15th album, Look Long. (A review is available here.)The disc, which released on May 22, saw the IGs backed once again by the same group of musicians who played on their 1999 album Come on Now Social - a reunion they both relished, which was a long time in the making. As they played an intimate set that included two new songs and one old fan favorite, the duo had much to say between songs about the new album, their decades of collaboration, their most requested classic, and much more.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyGlimmer was Kim Richey’s third album, released in 1999, but it contained so many fan-favorites that it has become one of her most beloved. To celebrate its 20th year, Richey revisited these old songs with new eyes and ears, and the result—Long Way Back—is a stirring emotional tribute to the way songs can grow and evolve over time, right along with their singer.Indeed, at this year’s 30A Songwriter Festival in Florida, Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of these old favorites that never get old. She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyGlimmer was Kim Richey’s third album, released in 1999, but it contained so many fan-favorites that it has become one of her most beloved. To celebrate its 20th year, Richey revisited these old songs with new eyes and ears, and the result—Long Way Back—is a stirring emotional tribute to the way songs can grow and evolve over time, right along with their singer.Indeed, at this year’s 30A Songwriter Festival in Florida, Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of these old favorites that never get old. She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyGlimmer was Kim Richey's third album, released in 1999, but it contained so many fan-favorites that it has become one of her most beloved. To celebrate its 20th year, Richey revisited these old songs with new eyes and ears, and the result—Long Way Back—is a stirring emotional tribute to the way songs can grow and evolve over time, right along with their singer.Indeed, at this year's 30A Songwriter Festival in Florida, Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of these old favorites that never get old. She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyGlimmer was Kim Richey’s third album, released in 1999, but it contained so many fan-favorites that it has become one of her most beloved. To celebrate its 20th year, Richey revisited these old songs with new eyes and ears, and the result—Long Way Back—is a stirring emotional tribute to the way songs can grow and evolve over time, right along with their singer.Indeed, at this year’s 30A Songwriter Festival in Florida, Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of these old favorites that never get old. She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.

At the 2020 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida, with her new album 'Long Way Back: The Songs of Glimmer' on they way, Kim Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of songs from her 1999 album, 'Glimmer.' She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyGlimmer was Kim Richey's third album, released in 1999, but it contained so many fan-favorites that it has become one of her most beloved. To celebrate its 20th year, Richey revisited these old songs with new eyes and ears, and the result—Long Way Back—is a stirring emotional tribute to the way songs can grow and evolve over time, right along with their singer.Indeed, at this year's 30A Songwriter Festival in Florida, Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of these old favorites that never get old. She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyGlimmer was Kim Richey’s third album, released in 1999, but it contained so many fan-favorites that it has become one of her most beloved. To celebrate its 20th year, Richey revisited these old songs with new eyes and ears, and the result—Long Way Back—is a stirring emotional tribute to the way songs can grow and evolve over time, right along with their singer.Indeed, at this year’s 30A Songwriter Festival in Florida, Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of these old favorites that never get old. She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyGlimmer was Kim Richey’s third album, released in 1999, but it contained so many fan-favorites that it has become one of her most beloved. To celebrate its 20th year, Richey revisited these old songs with new eyes and ears, and the result—Long Way Back—is a stirring emotional tribute to the way songs can grow and evolve over time, right along with their singer.Indeed, at this year’s 30A Songwriter Festival in Florida, Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of these old favorites that never get old. She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.

L.A. born John Craigie discovered beauty in storytelling through music, diving into the folk scene in the grunge-driven '90s. For him, it's about the relationship between singer and audience (so much so that he added a group of friends to his latest studio sessions - creating a house concert vibe). He's something of a neo-hippie, in-name-only Math major who found his true self touring the country with a guitar as his calling card. John stopped by BeeHive Studios in Saranac Lake, NY, to record a few songs from his 2017 'No Rain, No Rose' album exclusively for Folk Alley.

At the end of the day, Vancouver native and banjo player Taylor Ashton says, his new album is “pretty fun.” The Romantic (Signature Sounds Recordings) is a record that was 10 years in the making, a record that forced Ashton into the solo spotlight for the very first time in his music career, and a record that is, at its heart, about change.In March of 2020, Taylor Ashton joined Folk Alley at the gorgeous and eclectic studio space at The Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about the winding road his music has taken him on and to share songs from his debut release.

At the end of the day, Vancouver native and banjo player Taylor Ashton says, his new album is “pretty fun.” The Romantic (Signature Sounds Recordings) is a record that was 10 years in the making, a record that forced Ashton into the solo spotlight for the very first time in his music career, and a record that is, at its heart, about change.In March of 2020, Taylor Ashton joined Folk Alley at the gorgeous and eclectic studio space at The Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about the winding road his music has taken him on and to share songs from his debut release.

At the end of the day, Vancouver native and banjo player Taylor Ashton says, his new album is “pretty fun.” The Romantic (Signature Sounds Recordings) is a record that was 10 years in the making, a record that forced Ashton into the solo spotlight for the very first time in his music career, and a record that is, at its heart, about change.In March of 2020, Taylor Ashton joined Folk Alley at the gorgeous and eclectic studio space at The Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about the winding road his music has taken him on and to share songs from his debut release.

At the end of the day, Vancouver native and banjo player Taylor Ashton says, his new album is “pretty fun.” The Romantic (Signature Sounds Recordings) is a record that was 10 years in the making, a record that forced Ashton into the solo spotlight for the very first time in his music career, and a record that is, at its heart, about change.In March of 2020, Taylor Ashton joined Folk Alley at the gorgeous and eclectic studio space at The Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about the winding road his music has taken him on and to share songs from his debut release.

At the end of the day, Vancouver native and banjo player Taylor Ashton says, his new album is “pretty fun.” The Romantic is a record that was 10 years in the making, a record that forced Ashton into the solo spotlight for the very first time in his music career, and a record that is, at its heart, about change. Taylor Ashton joined Folk Alley at the eclectic studio space at The Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about the winding road his music has taken him on and to share songs from his debut release.

At the end of the day, Vancouver native and banjo player Taylor Ashton says, his new album is “pretty fun.” The Romantic (Signature Sounds Recordings) is a record that was 10 years in the making, a record that forced Ashton into the solo spotlight for the very first time in his music career, and a record that is, at its heart, about change.In March of 2020, Taylor Ashton joined Folk Alley at the gorgeous and eclectic studio space at The Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about the winding road his music has taken him on and to share songs from his debut release.

At the end of the day, Vancouver native and banjo player Taylor Ashton says, his new album is “pretty fun.” The Romantic (Signature Sounds Recordings) is a record that was 10 years in the making, a record that forced Ashton into the solo spotlight for the very first time in his music career, and a record that is, at its heart, about change.In March of 2020, Taylor Ashton joined Folk Alley at the gorgeous and eclectic studio space at The Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about the winding road his music has taken him on and to share songs from his debut release.

At the end of the day, Vancouver native and banjo player Taylor Ashton says, his new album is “pretty fun.” The Romantic (Signature Sounds Recordings) is a record that was 10 years in the making, a record that forced Ashton into the solo spotlight for the very first time in his music career, and a record that is, at its heart, about change.In March of 2020, Taylor Ashton joined Folk Alley at the gorgeous and eclectic studio space at The Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about the winding road his music has taken him on and to share songs from his debut release.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyKyshona Armstrong was a music therapist before she shifted her focus to pursuing a career in songwriting. Drawing from her background experience of using music as a healing force in people’s lives, the songwriting on Armstrong’s latest album, Listen., is heavy on transcendence and empowerment. “Fear,” for example, digs deep into one of the emotions so many people tend to run from, encouraging folks to “call it by its name” rather than giving in to its pull. And that’s just the beginning of Armstrong’s fearless approach to intensely emotional lyricism.During this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival, we talked with Armstrong about all of this and more. Tune in and discover one of Nashville’s finest up-and-coming singer-songwriters.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyKyshona Armstrong was a music therapist before she shifted her focus to pursuing a career in songwriting. Drawing from her background experience of using music as a healing force in people’s lives, the songwriting on Armstrong’s latest album, Listen., is heavy on transcendence and empowerment. “Fear,” for example, digs deep into one of the emotions so many people tend to run from, encouraging folks to “call it by its name” rather than giving in to its pull. And that’s just the beginning of Armstrong’s fearless approach to intensely emotional lyricism.During this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival, we talked with Armstrong about all of this and more. Tune in and discover one of Nashville’s finest up-and-coming singer-songwriters.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyKyshona Armstrong was a music therapist before she shifted her focus to pursuing a career in songwriting. Drawing from her background experience of using music as a healing force in people's lives, the songwriting on Armstrong's latest album, Listen., is heavy on transcendence and empowerment. “Fear,” for example, digs deep into one of the emotions so many people tend to run from, encouraging folks to “call it by its name” rather than giving in to its pull. And that's just the beginning of Armstrong's fearless approach to intensely emotional lyricism.During this year's 30A Songwriters Festival, we talked with Armstrong about all of this and more. Tune in and discover one of Nashville's finest up-and-coming singer-songwriters.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyKyshona Armstrong was a music therapist before she shifted her focus to pursuing a career in songwriting. Drawing from her background experience of using music as a healing force in people’s lives, the songwriting on Armstrong’s latest album, Listen., is heavy on transcendence and empowerment. “Fear,” for example, digs deep into one of the emotions so many people tend to run from, encouraging folks to “call it by its name” rather than giving in to its pull. And that’s just the beginning of Armstrong’s fearless approach to intensely emotional lyricism.During this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival, we talked with Armstrong about all of this and more. Tune in and discover one of Nashville’s finest up-and-coming singer-songwriters.

Kyshona Armstrong was a music therapist before she shifted her focus to pursuing a career in songwriting. Drawing from her background experience of using music as a healing force in people's lives, the songwriting on Armstrong's latest album, Listen., is heavy on transcendence and empowerment. During this year's 30A Songwriters Festival, we talked with Armstrong about all of this and more. Tune in and discover one of Nashville's finest up-and-coming singer-songwriters.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyKyshona Armstrong was a music therapist before she shifted her focus to pursuing a career in songwriting. Drawing from her background experience of using music as a healing force in people's lives, the songwriting on Armstrong's latest album, Listen., is heavy on transcendence and empowerment. “Fear,” for example, digs deep into one of the emotions so many people tend to run from, encouraging folks to “call it by its name” rather than giving in to its pull. And that's just the beginning of Armstrong's fearless approach to intensely emotional lyricism.During this year's 30A Songwriters Festival, we talked with Armstrong about all of this and more. Tune in and discover one of Nashville's finest up-and-coming singer-songwriters.

by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyKyshona Armstrong was a music therapist before she shifted her focus to pursuing a career in songwriting. Drawing from her background experience of using music as a healing force in people’s lives, the songwriting on Armstrong’s latest album, Listen., is heavy on transcendence and empowerment. “Fear,” for example, digs deep into one of the emotions so many people tend to run from, encouraging folks to “call it by its name” rather than giving in to its pull. And that’s just the beginning of Armstrong’s fearless approach to intensely emotional lyricism.During this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival, we talked with Armstrong about all of this and more. Tune in and discover one of Nashville’s finest up-and-coming singer-songwriters.