Folk Alley Sessions

Breakups, love affairs, family dramas, loss and mourning – all of it is represented on the album Sera Cahoone says is her most personal to date. Cahoone, a musician from the Pacific Northwest, shared that revelation about her 2017 album From Where I Started during her exclusive in studio session at this year’s 30A Songwriter’s Festival in Florida.  During that session, which was recorded and produced with our friends from Beehive Productions Studios, Cahoone also shared a secret: she says it takes her a very long time to finish songs.  Once she has an idea, whether musical or lyrical, she has to let it simmer a bit before it can develop into a fully-fledged tune. Her 2017 release From Where I Started is the delicious result of several years of slow-simmering and you get a free sample: Cahoone and musician Alex Guy shared a couple of songs from it during their session. They also shared a song from Cahoone’s 2008 album, Only as the Day is Long.  After you spend some time enjoying this sessi

Some people love working on their own. And some people love working with others. Kim Richey falls firmly into the latter category. “There’s nothing better than a sharing a song with someone else,” she says. During a recent session at the 30A SW Festival in Florida, Richey shared some thoughts about her new recording, 'Edgeland,' a recording she made with her friends, and a recording she’s really, really excited about. “I love it because it’s inspiring to write with someone else,” she says. And, actually, that’s WHY Kim Richey wanted to get into music in the first place – “I wanted play music with other people,” she said, “not just sit in my room alone.” She was not alone in Florida – accompanied by her friend and fellow musician Mando Saenz, Richey joined us - and our friends at Beehive Productions Studios for an exclusive recording session.

People say you're supposed to write what you know. It seems kind of clichéd, maybe, but it actually isn't bad advice and it's advice that Paul Thorn uses very effectively. This guy knows a LOT about...a LOT. The Mississippi born and bred musician has done a little bit of everything in his life; notable highlights include a respectable career as a professional boxer, not to mention service in the National Guard. Perhaps his biggest influence, though, is the fact that he grew up with Pentecostal minister for a dad. From the time he was 3 years old, Paul Thorn was singing in churches all over Mississippi " music has always been in his life.His new album, 'Don't Let the Devil Ride,' dives deep into those childhood church experiences and Thorn shared some thoughts about the new record, as well as a couple of older favorites, during his session with us at the 2018 30A Songwriter's Festival in Florida.

Imagine being part of a duo for decades. Things are working well: you're successful, you're creative, you're enjoying yourself and the music you make and yet...you feel that something is missing. What do you do?Emily Saliers, best known as one of the two Indigo Girls, went out on her own last year for the first time ever. And while she was scared and uncertain about making such a dramatic change, it was something she knew she had to do in order to grow and develop as an artist.Saliers took a deep breath and, with the help of producer and violinist Lyris Hung and musician Lucy Wainwright Roche, released her first ever solo album, 'Murmuration Nation.' We caught up with her at this year's 30A Songwriters Festival in FL to talk about the album and the music she's making on her own.

After spending time living and working in a few different places, among them Boston and Atlanta, David Robert King decided he was ready to go back home " musically, anyway.His new recording, 'Idaho', was inspired by his childhood and young adulthood in Idaho. It took awhile, King says, to realize just how much his writing was and is inspired by memories of his past. Idaho is "about growing up," King says. "About the one who got away, the one who's with me now, the kid who punched me, the people I wronged and the people who wronged me."Sharing songs about a darker side of his own humanity, a friend in desperate need of help, and the idea that some things are simply out of our control, David Robert King's the kind of songwriter you'll want to pay attention to " the kind of songwriter you NEED to pay attention to.

Canadian singer songwriter David Myles grew up admiring the crooners so popular in the 1950s and 1960s " you know the ones: Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Chet Baker. And he channels those musicians admirably in his new recording, 'Real Love.' It's a fun record, one filled with songs that'll make you want to dance " and that, Myles says, is exactly what he wanted to create.Myles came to Beehive Productions Studios in Saranac Lake, New York with some of his longtime bandmates to share some thoughts about the album. And as soon as he started to share those thoughts, it was hard NOT to be absolutely delighted. He's a high energy kind of a guy who clearly believes in the music he's making and from an a cappella sea-chanty-esque tune ("Dreaming") to the song he describes as his "Love Me Tender" moment ("If You Want Tonight"), there's something irresistible about David Myles and the music he makes.

Earlier this year fiddler and singer Laura Cortese released her new album, 'California Calling.' It's her first on Compass Records with her band The Dance Cards: Valerie Thompson " cello & vocals; Jenna Moynihan " fiddle & vocals; and Natalie Bohrn " bass & vocals.In November 2017, Laura and the Dance Cards (Thompson, Moynihan, and Zoe Guigueno on bass) came to Beehive Productions studio in Saranac Lake for an in-studio performance and to share some thoughts about the excitement of making her first album that "brings into focus the idea of stings (two fiddles, cello and bass) and voices making indie-folk music" with rich, textured soundscapes.

Boston's Twisted Pine came together at the famed Tuesday Night Bluegrass jams at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusettes, while in school at the Berklee College of Music. After honing their traditional bluegrass chops there for two years, they started to write original material. This opened the door to incorporating their diverse musical influences and backgrounds that range from classical to indie-songwriters to jazz and funk to Celtic. What results is a fresh progressive "pop-grass" string band sound like none other. Twisted Pine (Rachel Sumner - guitar, vocals; Kathleen Parks - fiddle, vocals; Dan Bui - mandolin; Chris Sartori - bass) stopped by for a Folk Alley Session at Beehive Productions studio in Saranac Lake, NY in August, 2017 to play songs from their Signature Sounds, self-titled debut album.

Nourished by deep roots in the expansive canon of traditional American music, The Lonely Heartstring Band embodies the modern American condition - an understanding and reverence for the past that informs a push into the future. This multi-talented group of musicians is a classic Bluegrass quintet - always far greater than the sum of its parts.The members of The Lonely Heartstring Band, who met at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, originally formed as a bluegrass Beatles cover band. Its repertoire has expanded since then " still mixing covers in with new songs created by Patrick M'Gonigle (fiddle, vocals), Matt Witler (mandolin, vocals), George Clements (guitar, vocals), Charles Clements (bass, vocals), and Gabe Hirshfeld (banjo).Since their beginnings in 2012, they has been on the rise and have shown no sign of slowing down. With their 2015 IBMA Momentum Award and their 2016 release of their debut full-length album, 'Deep Waters' on Rounder Records, there is every reason to hope that

Singer-songwriter Amilia K Spicer has a thing for wide-open spaces and mystical places. Even her record label name, Free Range Records, reflects her vagabond spirit"which has carried her from the green hills of her native Pennsylvania, through the hill country of central Texas, to the mountain monasteries of Tibet. Based in Los Angeles and Austin, she might tell you she feels most rooted when she's heading toward a distant horizon.For her work on 'Wow & Flutter,' taking trips to Southeast Asia and expanding her instrumental vocabulary seemed like worthy sidesteps " especially for Amilia, who moved to LA to become a director and builds songs like tiny movie stories. Her new collection takes on a theme of exploration as she added guitar and banjo to her repertoire " inspiring new songs that didn't connect with her piano work.Amilia stopped by the studios at BeeHive Productions in Saranac Lake, New York, to tell us about the new album and record a few exclusive video performances.

Laurel Premo and Michael Beauchamp formed the duo Red Tail Ring with the idea of reinterpreting traditional folk and creating new music with a clawhammer spirit. Their sound is something of a folk-fusion formed by pulling themes from blues, old-time, mountain music and other traditions into a contemporary acoustic mix. The pair like to create their new music without modern influences " going as far as to write on a typewriter.The Kalamazoo, Michigan-based pair is fresh off their fourth full-length studio release, 'Fall Away Blues,' featuring new songwriting fused with old-time and country blues themes, and they brought their new-old sound to Saranac Lake, New York, for exclusive Folk Alley performances captured by Beehive Productions.

Korby Lenker's deliberate approach to music is the mainstay of career now tipping into its third decade. Along the way there have been numerous songwriting awards, including first place wins at the 2016 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriters Showcase and festival appearances at Sasquatch and Bumbershoot, amongst others.For his 7th album, Korby hatched an ambitious plan. He purchased some recording gear and a high-end battery typically used in climbing expeditions, and drove out to Idaho to see what would happen. He recorded the heart of each song - the guitar and vocal - in different places important to him personally. He recorded during the day and slept in a tent at night. He spent the next several months driving around the country, recording his friends where they lived - in backyards and hotel rooms - in Seattle, Portland, LA, Austin, Madison, Boston and more. 'Thousand Springs' was recorded in seven states and features almost 30 different artists from the young folk scene.Lenker sat down with Folk All

They went from touring with Bob Dylan to losing their label, purging their team, filing bankruptcy and almost permanently trading harmonies for housecleaning. But there's a mythical pull to music that kept sisters, Laura and Lydia Rogers, moving forward, and they came out with a biting and beautiful third LP, produced by Brandi Carlile, 'You Don't Own Me Anymore.'In the beginning, before that darkness moved in, things were a little like rainbows and roses for the sisters, who rose quickly through the music universe. An open audition in Nashville in 2009 lead them to a major label deal and a debut record produced by T Bone Burnett and Dave Cobb, followed by a tour with Levon Helm and Ray LaMontagne, a feat for any artist, let alone two that had just gotten started.From there, they opened for the likes of Dylan, Willie Nelson and Paul Simon, appeared on numerous late night shows and released a second album with Burnett. But the tides turned quickly " things can change in an instant, both for the good, and the b

They went from touring with Bob Dylan to losing their label, purging their team, filing bankruptcy and almost permanently trading harmonies for housecleaning. But there's a mythical pull to music that kept sisters, Laura and Lydia Rogers, moving forward, and they came out with a biting and beautiful third LP, produced by Brandi Carlile, 'You Don't Own Me Anymore.'In the beginning, before that darkness moved in, things were a little like rainbows and roses for the sisters, who rose quickly through the music universe. An open audition in Nashville in 2009 lead them to a major label deal and a debut record produced by T Bone Burnett and Dave Cobb, followed by a tour with Levon Helm and Ray LaMontagne, a feat for any artist, let alone two that had just gotten started.From there, they opened for the likes of Dylan, Willie Nelson and Paul Simon, appeared on numerous late night shows and released a second album with Burnett. But the tides turned quickly " things can change in an instant, both for the good, and the b

They went from touring with Bob Dylan to losing their label, purging their team, filing bankruptcy and almost permanently trading harmonies for housecleaning. But there's a mythical pull to music that kept sisters, Laura and Lydia Rogers, moving forward, and they came out with a biting and beautiful third LP, produced by Brandi Carlile, 'You Don't Own Me Anymore.'In the beginning, before that darkness moved in, things were a little like rainbows and roses for the sisters, who rose quickly through the music universe. An open audition in Nashville in 2009 lead them to a major label deal and a debut record produced by T Bone Burnett and Dave Cobb, followed by a tour with Levon Helm and Ray LaMontagne, a feat for any artist, let alone two that had just gotten started.From there, they opened for the likes of Dylan, Willie Nelson and Paul Simon, appeared on numerous late night shows and released a second album with Burnett. But the tides turned quickly " things can change in an instant, both for the good, and the b

They went from touring with Bob Dylan to losing their label, purging their team, filing bankruptcy and almost permanently trading harmonies for housecleaning. But there's a mythical pull to music that kept sisters, Laura and Lydia Rogers, moving forward, and they came out with a biting and beautiful third LP, produced by Brandi Carlile, 'You Don't Own Me Anymore.'In the beginning, before that darkness moved in, things were a little like rainbows and roses for the sisters, who rose quickly through the music universe. An open audition in Nashville in 2009 lead them to a major label deal and a debut record produced by T Bone Burnett and Dave Cobb, followed by a tour with Levon Helm and Ray LaMontagne, a feat for any artist, let alone two that had just gotten started.From there, they opened for the likes of Dylan, Willie Nelson and Paul Simon, appeared on numerous late night shows and released a second album with Burnett. But the tides turned quickly " things can change in an instant, both for the good, and the b

Whether it's rock, folk, country or blues, Darrell Scott, the 4-time Grammy nominated Nashville songwriter, has written hits for artists all the way from Brad Paisley and the Dixie Chicks to Del McCoury, Sam Bush and Keb Mo; contributing songs to three of 2016's best albums alone. He has the rare ability to make just about any instrument talk - listen to his vocals and songwriting to hear him contain every emotion between joy and pain within one verse in his singing and in his pen. Nowadays he's taking the outsider role even more seriously; after 23 years in Nashville he spent 2016 devoting himself to a self-sufficient lifestyle in the country while simultaneously putting together 'Couchville Sessions,' his best album in years.Scott is a great performer and where he shines like the sun is as a songwriter. Folk Alley and the crew from BeeHive Productions caught up with Darrell at the 2017 30A Songwriters Festival to talk about songwriting and the mystery of successful collaboration, including with the late Guy

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 are bluesmen Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Earlier in 2017, they released a tribute album, 'Sonny and Brownie's Last Train.' Guy Davis explains the concept of the recording: "Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry were two musicians whose work will not be surpassed, let alone improved on. This musical opus, was produced by Fabrizio Poggi. It features our combined musical talents, and is not meant to compete with the originals. It's meant to be a love letter to Brownie and Sonny signed by the both of us. They were two of my favorites."In March 2017, Davis and Poggi came to Beehive Productions studio in Saranac Lake, NY for an exclusive in-studio performance and to share their tribute to Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

Rayna Gellert grew up in a musical family, and has spent most of her life immersed in the sounds of rural stringband music, heartfelt gospel songs, and old ballads. After honing her fiddle skills playing at jam sessions and square dances, Rayna fell into a life of traveling and performing. From 2003 through 2008, Rayna was a member of the acclaimed stringband Uncle Earl, with whom she released two albums on Rounder Records and toured like mad. In 2012, Rayna released her first solo album, 'Old Light: Songs from my Childhood & Other Gone Worlds,' on StorySound Records.Kieran Kane is a Top Ten songwriter and performer who has decades of experience as a musical storyteller and collaborator. After mixed experience as an artist on the Atlantic label, Kieran joined with friends to create the Dead Reckoning Records collective. He is also a talented visual artist.For Rayna's follow-up solo effort, her 2017 release, 'Workin's Too Hard,' she teamed up with Kieran Kane to pare back the creative process with an end p

by Kelly McCartney (@theKELword) for Folk AlleyWhen you think about it, songwriters do an amazing thing. Taking a limited number of notes and a limited number of words, they craft infinite expressions of emotion. They turn the mundane into the sacred, the personal into the universal. It's a wonder, really, that there are so many different ways to say - or sing - ”I love you” - or “I hate you” - but there are. And Caroline Spence keeps finding incredibly poetic ways to do just that.On her wonderful new release, 'Spades & Roses,' the Virginia native burrows into her own heart and emerges with 11 fantastic tunes. Some lean into everyday metaphors in order to get their points across; others turn simple phrases sideways to do the same. (Not sure how “All the Beds I've Made” hadn't been written yet, but now it sure has... and beautifully so.)Spence's style meanders in the middling area between contemporary folk and traditional country, and her talent runs wide enough to do th