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.
Lizzie No – “The Heartbreak Store”
On Lizzie No’s third album (out January 19), she offers up an emotional respite for the broken-hearted outcasts via her country tune, “The Heartbreak Store.” No was inspired after a life-changing tour with Patrick Haggerty (Lavender Country) and a crew of queer country artists in 2022. “The way Patrick Haggerty fostered queer community was remarkable… He taught me that making music isn’t about promoting yourself. It’s about bringing people together and saying ‘you belong here. I see you here. I embrace you here…’ Whatever I do as an artist and activist, I am steering towards that same north star of transparency, courage, and compassion.” – Lizzie No
The Mammals – “Unpopular Ideas”
Here is the first in a series of singles from Hudson Valley folk band The Mammals which sings true to power while holding big industry responsible. “My favorite part of the song are the solutions in the final verse: gardening, shared meals amongst neighbors, un-plugging from fear . . . supporting decentralization and regenerative farms. In this hyper-polarized culture I hope Unpopular Ideas will inspire folks to feel that maybe their ideas aren’t as unpopular as they’ve been made to believe.” – Mike Merenda
Muireann Bradley – “Richland Woman Blues”
The debut album of blues and folk guitarist and singer Muireann Bradley (pronounced “moor-un”) showcases this cover of Mississippi John Hurt’s “Richland Woman Blues.” Bradley, based in Ballybofey in County Donegal Ireland, was signed when she was 13. After Covid-related delays, her new album is finally coming out on December 8; she’ll be 17.
Kishi Bashi – “Summer of ’42” (Orchestral Edition)
Coming out next week, Music from the Song Film: Omoiyari is the companion soundtrack to the forthcoming A Song Film By Kishi Bashi: “Omoiyari” documentary, co-directed by Ishibashi and Justin Taylor Smith. “Summer of ’42” is a string-rich stirring composition where K shines alongside a gorgeous music video that will leave you longing for a loss you never knew you had.
