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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Valerie June, “Sweet Things Just for You”
Owls, Omens, and Oracles (out 4/11/2025), the upcoming album from Valerie June features the delightful new acoustic track “Sweet Things Just for You.” With guests M. Ward and Norah Jones, of the song June shares “how do we show up for each other with the spirit of sweetness in every move? We spend our whole lives toiling, and what is the spirit of our service? Though it seems easy, I’ve found it to be super challenging to practice sweetness, especially when we are facing the hurdles of the modern world.”
Steve Tilston, “As Night Follows Day”
English folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. Steve Tilston has released his final album, Last Call. Best known for being in John Renbourn’s group Ship of Fools and his work with the late Maggie Boyle, Tilston’s career has gone on for more than 50 years after releasing his debut. Of the song “As Night Follows Day” he shares, “A worm of an idea born of insomnia and homesickness in a distant hotel room.”
The trio of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan return with their upcoming album Wild and Clear and Blue (out 5/9/2025). Their new song “Ancient Light” is a tender meditation on ancestral ties and cycles of life. Of the track, the band says: “We started playing around with this riff in a Silverlake bungalow in October of 2022. We were still at the beginning of writing this album, and as these images of joyful melancholy floated towards us, we found ourselves reaching for them in a free-flowing way that felt wholly new to us, yet completely natural. This song is a journey, and (producer) Josh Kaufman encouraged us to open the song up and let it breathe. ‘Ancient Light’ sets the tone for the entire album, communing with our past and future selves.”
Kristin Scott Benson, Gena Britt, & Alison Brown, “Ralph’s Banjo Special”
Three of the 5-string banjo’s leading ladies: Kristin Scott Benson, Gena Britt, and Alison Brown, team up for the Ralph Stanley instrumental. The single will be on the upcoming star-studded 80th Anniversary Stanley Brothers Tribute album to be released on Compass Records later this year.
