Lindsay Lou in the studio – photo © Sawyer Gieseke
Americana star Lindsay Lou, who has done her due diligence in bluegrass, has wound her way back to our world for her upcoming album with Bart Records / Soundly Music, Bluegrass Women.
It’s her tribute to the greatest female-written songs from the deep bluegrass catalog, performed by herself and a who’s who of contemporary female artists. Something of a statement, one might say. Guests include the likes of Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz, Laurie Lewis, Alison Brown, and more.
Recording this project while many months pregnant, Lindsay says that she’s doing it this way intentionally.
“Some of these songs I sang for many years before realizing they were penned by a wife/mother/female artist. As a woman, it’s easy to feel like an outsider, or like you don’t belong, in a genre where there is a noticeable lack of representation of women among the forebears. To know that women’s voices made it into the traditional songs feels like a quiet win, and I want to draw more attention to it.”
And she’s kicking things off today with a debut single from the album, All I Ever Loved Was You, among the most beloved classics ever recorded. Famously written by Dorothy Skaggs, Ricky’s mother, Lou sings the soulful trio with Tatiana Hargreaves and Laurie Lewis, assisted by Maddie Witler on mandolin, Hasee Ciaccio on bass, and Alison Brown on banjo. Lewis and Hargreaves also provide the twin fiddles.
Lindsay remembers this one as we all do from Ralph Stanley’s Plays Requests record in 1972.
“I’ll never forget hearing Ricky and Keith Whitley sing this duet in Ralph Stanley’s band. The harmonies and the tenderness of it blew me away.
Like many of these songs, I sang it for years before I knew who wrote it.”
They turn in a lovely take on this all-time favorite. Have a listen.
There is a big promotional push coming for Bluegrass Women, including a four-part mini-documentary on the making of the album, and Lindsay Lou’s Grand Ole Opry debut on July 31.
Here’s a look at the trailer for the making of doc.
Also to be included on the album are:
- Like A River
- High On A Mountain
- I Only Exist
- I’ve Endured
- Jubilee
- Won’t You Come And Sing For Me
- CC Rider
- Freight Train
- Your Lone Journey
All I Ever Loved Was You is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Pre-orders for Bluegrass Women are likewise enabled.
This should be a good’n.
