Dark Shadow Recording has signed Grammy nominated fiddler and vocalist, Laura Orshaw, to its roster. A two-time IBMA Award-winning artist, and the first Female to win SPBGMA Fiddle Player of the Year, Orshaw is currently in pre-production for her debut Dark Shadow project, due out in 2022.

Last month, Villagers released their fifth album Fever Dreams; a paean to human connection, the transporting and hypnotic record hit the Top 20 in the UK charts and garnered praise from across the board. Villagers’ Conor O’Brien saw Fever Dreams as a way of bringing the real and the surreal together.

Poetica has released a lyric video for “Magenta and Blue,” the third single from their debut self-titled album (out October 22nd via MPress Records). What began as a remote duo collaboration between poet/vocalist/producer Rachael Sage and three-time Grammy nominated cellist Dave Eggar, Poetica eventually evolved into a full-blown spoken word concept album, with musicians contributing from around the globe.

TEOA (The End of America) is a band of friends, more so brothers, that have been releasing music for over a decade. The Philadelphia, Connecticut and New Hampshire based trio consist of band members Trevor Leonard, James Downes and Brendon Thomas. Through their years of being a band and road dogs, they’ve garnered many fans and have become recognized for their live performances, harmonies and songwriting. Most recently gaining attention on Spotify’s Folk Pop editorial playlist for their song “Wait No More”. After their recent release “Push Back”, they are now anticipating their next single drop “Empty Sea (Reprise)” due out on October 22. This track will be their final single release before they deliver their fourth LP Night Is Alive out on November 12, 2021.

Independent singer-songwriter Alex McCue opens a window into a reflective, shimmering world with his smooth new single “Shape of Years” out October 20. Accompanied by a whimsical music video capturing the raw beauty of a picturesque lakeside in a Massachusetts reservoir, this project nourishes the soul with its spiritual freedom. Incorporating elements of meditation with introspective, poetic lyricism, this hypnotic track draws listeners out of their heads, and into a mellow relaxation.

Chicago singer, songwriter, and pianist Neal Francis releases his second song from his soon-to-be-released album. "Alameda Apartments" is available now at all DSPs, and a companion video filmed in the church in which Francis lived as well as wrote and recorded the album is streaming on YouTube. "Alameda Apartments" is the opening song on In Plain Sight, mixed by the Grammy-winning producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, MGMT) and out via ATO Records on November 5.

American guitarist Norman Blake is one of the great unsung heroes of 20th century folk music. Over the course of his long career, he’s been at the forefront of multiple revivals of American roots music, from his time in the late 60s and 70s as the house guitarist for Johnny Cash and his playing on Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, to his work creating newgrass with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and in the 2000s reinventing bluegrass for a new generation with T Bone Burnett on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

JACOB AND THE DAZEY CHAIN, the Brit-pop/rock-influenced singer, songwriter, guitarist and recent Nashville transplant from South Florida, today (September 20) releases his debut EP THE SKY IS ALL I NEED TO GET HIGH on indie label Gratuitous Noise. LISTEN HERE to the EP on all streaming platforms and check out JACOB’s quotes below about the songs.

Smithsonian Folkways is proud to announce that the award-winning bluegrass group Po’ Ramblin’ Boys will release their third studio album on the label in 2022. The new album follows the acclaimed 2019 release Toil, Tears & Trouble on Rounder, which earned them praise from No Depression, American Songwriter, PopMatters, and a coveted appearances on NPR’s Mountain Stage and Nashville’s famed Grand Ole Opry.

The Gold Souls are bringing the driving grooves of funk, the rich textures of soul, and the compelling storytelling of the blues to the Northern California scene and beyond. Drawing from a wide range of influences and experiences, they deliver captivating lyrics and fresh arrangements over a vintage sound.