Basic Folk Podcast: Becca Mancari

** Editor’s note: This episode of Basic Folk features guest host Lizzie No! Listen back to previous Lizzie interviews with Amythyst Kiah and Kishi Bashi.

Becca Mancari does things her own way. Raised in New York and Virginia, Mancari found herself living a nomadic lifestyle in her teens and twenties. As she grew as a songwriter and performer she also found her footing as an outspoken queer woman. She renegotiated her relationship to spirituality and gender and this transformation found its way into her music in powerful ways. Her 2020 album ‘the greatest part’ is a coming out album that invited listeners into a deeply personal journey. Musically the album is a departure from her earlier indie-folk releases. Becca worked with Zac Farro of Paramore to create a pop-influenced indie rock sound scape that always stays true to Becca’s intimate feeling. I think that feeling is a big part of why so many fans keep coming back to Becca Mancari shows with a kind of spiritual reverence. She has a transcendent connection with her audience.

We also talked about Becca’s 2021 EP ‘Juniata,’ an orchestral daydream of an EP, and we dug into the nitty gritty icky details of funding an independent album, Becca’s quarantine ditch digging, and her friendships with musicians like Julien Baker and Brittany Howard.

*** I want to share a word of caution that my conversation with Becca touches on some difficult topics such as religious trauma and homophobia. I know those stories can be upsetting, so I want our listeners to have a heads up about that. – Lizzie No