Folk Alley Sessions: Todd Snider, Backstage at the 2013 Green River Festival

Todd Snider was one of those rare songwriters who could make you laugh out loud one minute and hit you right in the gut the next—cut from the same cloth as his dear friend John Prine. He had a way of telling the truth that was plainspoken, funny, a little sideways, and utterly relatable. His passing on November 14 is a seismic heartbreak, one that has rippled through every corner of the folk and Americana world.

Folk Alley was lucky enough to spend some time with Todd backstage at the Green River Festival in Greenfield, Massachusetts back in 2013, where he recorded three stripped-down songs for us.

He played “Too Soon to Tell,” a quiet look at uncertainty and the mix of hope and doubt we all experience.

“Big Finish” about the ups and downs of the musician’s life, delivered with that classic Todd grin that leaves you feeling he was letting you in on the joke.

And, “The Very Last Time” is a reflective song that feels even more poignant now. It’s about endings – honest, unflinching, but still full of heart – and Todd sings it in a way that makes the moment feel almost private.

These three performances capture and remind us of what made Todd Snider special: the humor, the vulnerability, the grit, and the enormous humanity behind every line he wrote.

His loss hits hard. But his songs are going to stick around for a very long time.