Hear the Best New Folk Music with Fresh Cuts Friday

Discover the Best New Music of the Week!

We’ve pulled together some of the best new music we’ve heard lately — and you can hear it all on Fresh Cuts, my weekly radio hour. Tune in every Friday at 2pm ET / 11am PT on Folk Alley’s 24/7 stream — available on our website, mobile app, or your smart speaker too.

Prefer to listen on your own time? Just click on the Fresh Cuts stream whenever it works for you.

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at some exciting new music that’s caught our ears this week!

Peter Rowan, “Free Mexican Airforce”

Bluegrass legend Peter Rowan’s latest album Tales of the Free Mexican Air Force explores the Tex/Mex roots running through his music. The album bridges bluegrass, conjunto, and Americana, and features guest appearances from the late Flaco Jiménez and Max Baca.

Dar Williams, “Tu Sais Le Printemps”

Since 2013, Williams has been leading songwriting workshops where she teaches students to let songs find their own trajectories. While writing the breezy bossa nova “Tu Sais Le Printemps,” (new album out on September 12) Williams questioned why she was writing a light, flirty song amidst many gloomy news stories. “I was having coffee with some of my fellow retreat leaders and Beth Nielsen Chapman, telling them about my ‘frilly’ song, and Beth said, ‘That’s just what I want to hear right now!’ It was a nice moment to follow my own advice and let the song find its way.”

Alexa Rose, “Where the Magic Lives”

North Carolina singer Alexa Rose’s new album Atmosphere (out October 31) features the song “Where the Magic Lives.” Hurricane Helene hit the western part of NC shortly after Rose recorded the album, and the storm’s wake—eerie and desolate and decisive—cast a new light on the music. “I had just moved into a new place after losing access to my house, and felt a little tossed around the way everyone did,” Rose shares. “The experience deepened my love for my home and my belief in the resilience of the land and communities in Appalachia.” She spent the harsh winter to follow revisiting the album and re-recording certain songs in her cabin outside Asheville, replacing studio shimmer with intimate sparsity, a deliberate bareness to better express her feeling at the time. “Stripping the songs down felt truer: nothing to hide behind anymore, but believing the roots are strong enough to hold.”

Dean Johnson, “Death of the Party”

Out today (8/22), Dean Johnson’s new album I Hope We Can Still Be Friends features the song “Death of the Party.” He shares “We all know people who can’t stop talking; as though every thought is wired to their tongue. People who drain the life out of you and ruin what would have otherwise been an enjoyable party. This song is dedicated to all the energy vampires I’ve ever known.”

More this week on FreshCuts!

Asleep at the Wheel – “Riding High In Texas” (feat. Billy Strings)
Emma Swift – “No Happy Endings”
Kathleen Edwards – “Pine”
Lera Lynn – “Cherry Tree”
Mister Romantic (John C. Reilly) – “I’ll Be Seeing You”
Molly Tuttle – “The Highway Knows”
Margo Price – “Losing Streak”
The Lonesome Ace Stringband – “The Moon Is Down”
Tyler Childers – “Poachers”