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 — including the latest from Sierra Hull, Hannah Read, Caroline Spence & Robby Hecht, Bryan Sutton, and more. 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!
Sierra Hull, “Movement 3”
Today (4/10), Sierra Hull releases The Movements, written for her FreshGrass commission. The Institute commissioned Hull to write a “bluegrass concerto” which they performed at 2023’s FreshGrass Festival. “’Movement 3′ has been a staple in our live shows over the last few years, occasionally sneaking in ‘Movement 1’ or ‘Movement 2’ when we were craving a challenge,” says Hull. “Folks have been asking for a while now when we would finally release a recording of them, so we are pumped to finally share it with everyone! It’s truly a capture of the earliest days of this group of musicians learning to make music together.”
Hannah Read, “Might See Liam”
Following the release of Fungi Sessions Vol. 1, musician and composer Hannah Read returns with The Fungi Sessions Vol. 2, the next installment in a growing body of work inspired by the world of fungi. Hannah composed this album while in woods outside Anchorage, Alaska, Eucalyptus lined hills behind San Mateo, California, and finally in the Moorfoot Hills of the Scottish Borders where the album was recorded. These two albums are a tribute to Hannah’s late father, mycologist Nick Read.
Bryan Sutton, “Blue Night’ (feat. Joe Bonamassa)
“Blue Night” is part of Sutton’s From Roots to Branches guitar duets series and features him exchanging licks with blues master Joe Bonamassa. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Joe Bonamassa on this duets project,” enthuses Sutton. “I’ve been a fan of his for a long time. I wasn’t sure what he would play when we cut this song, because all of this was acoustic. I love that he played electric guitar.”
Caroline Spence & Robby Hecht, “Swing Low”
Robby Hecht & Caroline Spence met while performing at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in 2013. Since then, these two friends have gotten into the habit of taking time off from their solo projects to write and sing together in their hometown of Nashville and on tour across the country. Their recent collaboration, the song “Swing Low,” is “about being there for someone through all their ups and downs and asking them to not forget that they can hold onto you to steady themselves” shares Caroline.
More this week on Fresh Cuts!
David Huckfelt – “Chief Seattle’s Dream”
Eilen Jewell – “Deportee”
Hrishikesh Hirway – “Rollercoaster” (feat. Fenne Lily & Uwade)
Kara McKee – “Goodbye”
Mimi Naja – “Time Card”
Renee Fleming with Bela Fleck – “In The Pines” (feat. Dolly F Parton)
Sam Weber – “Slow Decline”
Steep Canyon Rangers – “Rumble Strip”
Tenille Townes – “we could use a little more”
