Margo Cilker
Hailed as "the future Lucinda Williams of the West" (Bandcamp Daily), Margo Cilker writes country-classic songs that hum with ancestry and expanse, turning grief — both personal and collective — into something restorative. Cilker, a fifth generation Californian, is now based in the Pacific Northwest and making music rooted in a deep reverence for the land and those who came before. The release of her stunning 2021 debut Pohorylle saw Rolling Stone proclaim, "Cilker shows that she is as interested in reinvigorating Southern country-folk storytelling tropes as she is in exposing their flaws," and Pitchfork deemed her a "country artist who pushes against conventions of the genre." Her highly acclaimed sophomore record Valley of Heart's Delight landed on Best Albums of 2023 lists across the U.S. and UK, with NPR Music praising: "Cilker's sound is classic cowboy country, but her sensibility is totally now." As she readies her next project, Cilker draws on the deep tradition of Texas singer-songwriters, having traveled to Lockhart to record with Bruce Robison — the writer and producer behind work by Charley Crockett, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, and The Chicks.
Lilly Hiatt
The last few years have been a little hazy for Lilly Hiatt, who finds herself searching for answers on her striking new album, Forever. Recorded at home with her husband, Coley Hinson who produced and played most of the instruments, Forever grapples with growth and change, escape and anxiety, self-loathing and self-love. The songs are intensely vulnerable, full of diaristic snapshots and deeply personal ruminations, but they’re also broad invitations to find yourself in their unflinching emotional excavations. The result is a raw, unvarnished work of love and trust that walks the line between alt-rock muscle and singer/songwriter sensitivity, a bold, guitar-driven exploration of maturity and adulthood from an artist who wants you to know you’re not alone, no matter how lost you may feel.
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Tennessee, Hiatt first earned buzz with a pair of early solo records before breaking out with 2017’s Trinity Lane, which helped earn dates with the likes of John Prine, Margo Price, Drive-By Truckers, and Hiss Golden Messenger in addition to festival slots from Pilgrimage to Luck Reunion. NPR called the album “courageous and affecting,” while Rolling Stone hailed it as “the most cohesive and declarative statement of the young songwriter’s career.” Hiatt returned in 2020 with the similarly well-received Walking Proof, and in 2021 with Lately, which The Boston Herald said showcased her “knack for plainspoken, poetic lyrics” and Uncut