Folk Roots Radio Episode 556: feat. Leah Barley – Bring Out Your Dead & More New Releases

Vancouver based singer-songwriter Leah Barley joins us on Episode 556 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about her first full length album “Bring Out Your Dead” which features eight original songs for both guitar and banjo – ranging from foot stomping love songs to others that are dark and broody, and, clearly, quite personal. It’s a great listen, and an excellent interview – we hope you’ll stay with us to check it out. As always, we wrap up the episode with more of the new music we’ve received and this time around we hear from Braden Gates, Julie Title, Tré Burt, Gwenifer Raymond, Ordinary Elephant, Chris Pierce and Cidny Bullens. Check out the full playlist below.

Interview

In “Bring Out Your Dead”, Leah Barley has produced an album of light and dark that fits very nicely into the folk/country genre – perfectly balancing her distinctive songwriting – from the rousing boot stompers “I Wish” and “Drinkin’” to the chill-inducing “Rise” and “The Doctor” (which recounts a recent period of severe illness, from which she has thankfully recovered).

“I really wanted to share a raw and personal side of myself, so I focused on songs that expressed that best – while making sure there was enough variety to showcase who I am as a musician. Each song has its own interesting story for me, but some of them have a deeper emotional context and an exposed honesty. It made writing them therapeutic and terrifying at the same time.”

The first single “Mountains” is an upbeat song about new love. It was actually written about the new love of her viola player John Kastelic, but it comes with a fabulous video that utilizes home movies – including mountain vistas and lake scenes from her grandparents’ 1942 B.C. honeymoon to great effect.

An accomplished self-taught banjo player, as well as guitarist, Leah Barley is joined on the album by a full band featuring her longtime collaborators violist John Kastelic and multi-instrumentalist Ross Christopher Fairbairn.

Because of the on-going coronavirus pandemic, Leah Barley has not been able to tour the new album, or even play a real release show. She hopes that she will be able to remedy that in 2021.

For more information about the music of Leah Barley, visit leahbarleymusic.com.

That’s all we have time for. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We have lots of great music and interviews to bring you on future episodes.

If you enjoy the music we play on this show and want to support the artists – many of whom aren’t able to play live at the moment because of the Covid-19 pandemic, don’t just stream their music – that earns them much less than a penny per play. Instead, buy their music – and really make a difference to their income. They’ll love you for it!

Listen

You can listen to this episode again on Soundcloud by following the link below. You can also listen to episodes of Folk Roots Radio, on demand, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Tune-in Radio. (Click on the highlighted link to reach your chosen platform.)

Playlist

Nicolas & The Iceni (Theme)
Lucy She Rises
Roll Right (2019, self)

Braden Gates
New In Town
Kitchen Days (2020, Borealis Records) CDN

Julie Title
Tornado
(single) (2020, Self) CDN

Tré Burt
Under The Devil’s Knee (feat. Allison Russell, Leyla McCalla & Sunny War)
(single) (2020, Oh Boy Records)

Gwenifer Raymond
Ruben’s Song
Strange Light Over Garth Mountain (2020, Tompkins Square)

Leah Barley
Mountains
Bring Out Your Dead (2020, Self) CDN

Interview: Leah Barley discussing her first full length long-player “Bring Out Your Dead”.

Leah Barley
Bring Out Your Dead
Bring Out Your Dead (2020, Self) CDN

Leah Barley
Hush
Bring Out Your Dead (2020, Self) CDN

Ordinary Elephant
Let Me Tell You What I Think
(Single) (2020, Berkalin Records)

Chris Pierce
American Silence
(single) (2020, Self)

Cidny Bullens
Walkin’ Through This World
Walkin’ Through This World (2020, Blue Lobster Records)