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!
Kacey Musgraves, “Dry Spell”
The new Kacey Musgraves video for her new song “Dry Spell” has us clutching our pearls. Written during a period of reflection and post-breakup clarity, this collection of songs, Middle of Nowhere (out 5/1), finds Musgraves leaning intentionally into open space and traditional western elements. “The bulk of this record was made during the longest single period of my life”, says Musgraves, and “I found that for the first time, it actually felt incredible being alone and existing in a space not defined by anyone else. I became fascinated with the concept of liminal space, both geographical and emotional. We don’t linger in these transitional, empty spaces long enough and rush to define where or whatever is next. I became so at ease with being in the “middle of nowhere” in many senses and sitting in the un-comfort of the undefined. I had a lot of time for creative ambling and leaning into myself in different ways; horses, humor, writing with my early collaborators again, and living out my very simple, inspired life between Texas, Tennessee, and Mexico.”
Niall McCabe, “The Heart Remembers”
Irish songwriter Niall McCabe’s latest is the beautiful “The Heart Remembers.” Featuring vocals from Sting & Foy Vance and dobro from Jerry Douglas, the song was written and shaped on Clare Island. It reflects an islander’s relationship with home, expansive, imagined, and slightly out of reach, while resisting the idea that home is fixed, superior, or singular. Instead, it acknowledges longing as something shared, recognizing that every place is someone else’s remembered land.
Mary Gauthier, “Soldier of Fortune”
Mary Gauthier’s latest, “Soldier of Fortune,” was co-written with Eliza Gilkyson. They wrote it in memory of Alex Jeffrey Pretti and Renee Goode, shot dead on the streets in Jan 2026 in Minneapolis, by ICE. This song is dedicated to the people fighting state terror everywhere.
Brennen Leigh, “The Traveling Kind”
Brennen Leigh’s latest is a cover of Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell’s “The Traveling Kind.” Leigh and her husband Kevin Skrla recorded the song at the request of Truly Handmade Records president Tamara Saviano, who wanted a fresh version of the tune to use as the theme song of her new Wisconsin radio show. The Americana music program, which also will be called The Traveling Kind, will air from 5-7pm on the third Saturday night of each month beginning March 21 on Monona, WI, community station WVMO 98.7 FM.
More this week on Fresh Cuts!
Aysanabee – “Home” (‘Timelines’ acoustic)
Big Harp – “Hello Honey”
Bonnie Montgomery & Melissa Carper – “Rather Have Love”
Courtney Barnett – “Site Unseen” (feat. Waxahatchee)
Flatland Cavalry – “Real Slow”
José González – “Pajarito”
Matt the Electrician – “Like Love”
Mumford & Sons – “Here” (feat. Chris Stapleton)
Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band – “Time”
