Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-04-26
Photo: Courtesy of Kiki Cavazos
Formerly itinerant New Orleans-via-Montana songwriter Kiki Cavazos has released Goodbye Blues, out now on Jalopy Records. Produced by Sam Doores of The Deslondes, the album arrives to strong praise from NPR Music, MOJO, No Depression, and others.
Cavazos has lived the kind of life most troubadours only sing about. Born in Montana, she spent summers traveling the Northwest with her father cutting down trees. At 16, she ran away to Alaska before drifting to Mexico, where her grandfather was from. She later played banjo in a Mexican drum band performing on buses and in the streets.
Eventually landing in New Orleans, she formed the band Sundown, writing and playing guitar with Alynda Lee Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff, Sam Doores, and others. Now back in New Orleans after years in Montana, Cavazos has performed at Newport Folk Festival, opened shows for Big Thief and The Deslondes, and earned more than 200,000 views on her Western AF videos.
Today she shared “Goodbye The Crazies,” inspired by the Montana mountain range of the same name. The song reflects on changing landscapes and the fading wildness of the American West.
Goodbye Blues is stripped down and intimate, featuring mostly Cavazos on acoustic guitar and vulnerable vocals, with touches of Telecaster, upright bass, and harmony vocals. Doores co-produced the record in New Orleans.
Doores says, “When I listen to her music it’s clear that pain and beauty are inexorably connected. Her songs aren’t influenced by any fad or era. It’s pure soul and hard honest truth — and magic.”
Her songwriting has drawn comparisons in spirit to Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley, and Lucinda Williams, balancing economy, honesty, and lived-in storytelling. Songs like “Grey Ghost Train,” “Hobo Song,” and “Two Bit Two” explore trains, wandering, heartbreak, and hard-won freedom.
Kiki Cavazos Tour Dates
(all with The Deslondes)
April 24 – New Orleans, LA – Mirror House
May 19 – Chicago, IL – The Hideout
May 20 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
May 21 – Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club
May 22-23 – Elkader, IA – Turkey River Cabin Concerts
May 24 – Park Falls, WI – The Big Dipper
May 25 – Minneapolis, MN – Icehouse
Goodbye Blues Track Listing
1. Goodbye The Crazies
2. Black Eyed Man
3. Hawthorne and Heartache (band)
4. Hobo Song
5. Little Old Dusty Road
6. Pedestal
7. Leavin'
8. Cold Mountain Blue
9. Grey Ghost Train
10. Two Bit Two
11. Hawthorne and Heartache (solo bonus track)
