Hear the Best New Folk Music with Fresh Cuts Friday
Ready for some of the best new music we’ve heard this week? It’s a great list as you’ll see below — and as you’ll hear when you join me for my ‘Fresh Cuts’ radio hour! Listen every Friday at 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. Pacific via the 24/7 stream on our website, app, or your smart speaker.
Or, just click on the Fresh Cuts stream whenever it’s convenient for you.
In the meantime, check out some of the best new music we’ve been listening to this week.
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Bonnie “Prince” Billy, “Our Home” (featuring Tim O’Brien)
Today Will Oldham, aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy, releases his new album The Purple Bird. The Purple Bird is Oldham’s Nashville country album he made with producer David “Ferg” Ferguson and an ensemble of A-list session musicians.
Loudon Wainwright III, “Primrose Hill”
Out today, Loudon Live in London was recorded in 2024 during LW3’s short residency at Nell’s Jazz and Blues club. Wainwright explained about the song: “Years ago in London I used to ride my bike from St John’s Wood High Street to Regent’s Park Road to have lunch at my favorite Greek restaurant. My route (illegally) took me across Primrose Hill and one day I noticed a homeless man who seemed to be living on the hillside. He had a guitar, a small dog tied to a piece of clothesline, and an old sleeping bag and he was surrounded by crumpled cans of ‘Scotland’s Favourite Lager.’ We never met but he was the inspiration for ‘Primrose Hill.’ There used to be a wooden bench on the park’s central walkway with a dedication plaque to Andy ‘Cat’ Collins, who had been a popular local character. Someone once told me that Andy and my homeless guy were one and the same. I hope so.”
Miko Marks recently released a very chill live version of “Peace of Mind” originally from her album, Feel Like Going Home (2022). She says: “‘Peace of Mind’ is a song that I hold close to my heart as it reminds me to pause for my peace as I navigate my life from day to day. Feelings of worry, fear, anxiety, and stress can really take me to dark places where I feel overwhelmed and sometimes I’m unable to see my way out. This song reminds me to take time to step away, to get a larger perspective. Rain falling down, stars shining down, those are symbols that the Universe keeps doing what it does, beyond the problems and stresses in our world; that I’m a part of the Universe and part of the natural world and I can find that connection. As the world hurries and worries itself along, we’re part of something bigger and more constant than our struggles, our careers, our politics. Right now in particular, we feel so divided and angry as a nation. Regardless of where we fall politically, we all need to find peace of mind in place of rage, blame, and despair. When I sing this song, I am always able to find the serenity and calm that I need and I hope the listeners are able to tap into the same. Of all the songs in my live set, this is the one most likely to draw out some of my tears, and you can hear it in this live version. They’re tears of release and hope and of gratitude for the present and for days to come.”
The latest song from Nina de Vitry is a tribute to her late grandmother, Joanne. Nina shares, “I think of this song as a tribute to the legacy of love that she left with me and all whose lives she touched. I don’t often listen to my own music, but sometimes I come back to this song when I need a reminder that her love is still with me, and always will be. And that no matter what, love truly is the meaning of it all.”
