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.
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Folk Alley is able to produce and offer this weekly new music hour thanks to support from our members. If you enjoy the Fresh Cuts hour please donate to Folk Alley or consider becoming a sponsor.
Canadian-based, Cuban-born musician Alex Cuba’s latest album, Voces De Mi Familia (out now), features members from his very musical family. “Tiene Sabor” prominently features Cuba’s father, the very accomplished Cuban musician Valentin Puentes.
Ben Sollee, a singer/songwriter/cellist from Kentucky, returns with his first new album in seven years, Long Haul (out August 16). Musically, the album draws influences from nearby Appalachia (he is from and still lives in Kentucky) to lands far away including Polynesia and West Africa.
Chapin Sisters, “Wasting Your Time”
Abigail and Lily Chapin, the sibling members of a folk music dynasty (father is the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Tom Chapin, and their late uncle is legendary folk musician and social justice activist Harry Chapin) share “Wasting Your Time” featuring Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers). The single track is a song about those initial hazy and love-filled days when you can’t spend enough time together. “There are feelings of guilt about what you should be doing, time can feel wasted. Then one day you wake up and realize that that ‘wasted time’ has turned into a life,” explains Abigail, who wrote the song about the conflicts between love and productivity.
Steep Canyon Rangers, “Fruits of My Labor” (live)
Live at Greenfield Lake is the first live album of original material from the beloved band Steep Canyon Rangers. Out on August 30, the set was recorded at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater in Wilmington, NC on September 29, 2023.
