The Alley Gets Wider – Part One, The Singers.

Here’s a quick rundown on three promising releases added to the stream. Eliza Gilkyson‘s Land of Milk and Honey ponders isolation, tragedy, and the American infatuation with fossil fuels. As serious as these songs are, I found myself singing along, partly because of the catchy melodies but mostly because I realized that when I sing, I’m speaking out, too. Jack Williams has been impressing audiences in the Carolinas for years, but he’s just started to walk down Folk Alley. He sings about Josh White, Birmingham Sunday, a slave turned archeologist, and the simple joy of walking on the album Walkin’ Dreams. Vienna Teng is a classical pianist who is quite at ease as a writer. Her life experiences spoke to her in song — from her passion for nature to seeing love in a child’s eyes to the erie Passage, where the victim of a car accident speaks to us from the grave. Teng’s release called Warm Strangers also includes a touching Chinese lullabye as a bonus track. These three have found their way to the Alley, but not by walking. Their songs have traveled for them, carrying visions which grasp and inspire.