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 Samuel Smith, Rachel McCartney, Alela Diane, Silvana Estrada & pablopablo, 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!
Samuel Smith, “The Art of Letting Go”
Samuel is a London-based professional (a former BBC journalist and director at the communications firm Freuds) and a lifelong guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2020 at age 44 and set out to record his songs to document his passion for music and leave a legacy for his sons. This led to his first album in 2023, which featured remotely recorded contributions from some of his favorite musicians (Stuart Duncan, Sierra Hull, Matt Rollings). Even as the disease progressed, the songs kept coming, and pianist/producer Matt Rollings, who had contributed to Sam’s first record, suggested they record the new songs in Nashville with a top-level cast of players to help convey Sam’s vision for the music. The album The Art of Letting Go is out today (5/22.)
Rachel McCartney, “Monster”
Today (5/22), Rachel McCartney releases her first album in seventeen years. If you were in the Boston area in the early 2000s, chances are you were aware of McCartney’s burgeoning music career. Even if not, it’s likely that you heard her voice wafting through your local MBTA train/bus station, as she was deeply committed to her morning busking shift, even after late nights of playing shows. After over a decade spent nurturing her nursing career and her family, Rachel McCartney is returning to the stage with a batch of songs and stories that have been quietly incubating, waiting for the right moment to be shared.
Alela Diane, “Dusty Roses”
Alela Diane’s latest album Who’s Keeping Time? is out today (5/22.) Of the track, the Portland songwriter offers, “I wrote this song about a dear friend of mine whose path took a wrong turn a number of years ago. I think she’s still alive, but no one knows where she ended up. I believe that we all have the capacity to lose ourselves along the way. I’ve seen it happen again and again, whether through mental health struggles, drug use, addiction, trauma, depression, or grief. So many of us have seen someone we love lose the light in their eyes, and become a stranger to themselves. It feels like we’re all just teetering on the edge, and some just don’t have a sturdy enough footing to get back on track. This one is for all the lost girls.”
Silvana Estrada & pablopablo, “Antes De Ti”
Mexican songwriter Silvana Estrada and London/Madrid-based pablopablo recently released their new single “Antes De Ti,” which translates to “Before You.” The song is a tender reflection on love as transformation – framing life before a partner as chaotic and unmoored, and their arrival as grounding and redemptive.
More this week on Fresh Cuts!
Allison Russell – “No Springtime” (feat. Joy Oladokun, Julie Williams)
Aldous Harding – “Worms”
Fruit Bats – “That Goddamn Sun”
Jim Lauderdale – “Everybody’s Got Problems”
Maya de Vitry – “All My Faith”
Michaela Anne – “Two Pianos” (feat. Caroline F Spence)
The McDades – “Dance Around the Spinning Wheel”
Pharis & Jason Romero – “These Are The Days”
Steep Canyon Rangers – “Heart’s the Only Compass” (feat. Steve Martin)
