For folksinger Willi Carlisle, singing is healing. And by singing together, he believes we can begin to reckon with the inevitability of human suffering and grow in love. On Critterland, Carlisle invites audiences to join him: “If we allow ourselves to sing together, there's a release of sadness, maybe even a communal one. And so for me personally, singing, like the literal act of thinking through suffering, is really freeing,” he says.
Rooted in the eclectic world of his live shows, Carlisle’s third album was produced by GRAMMY Award-nominated Darrell Scott. Critterland is a wild romp through the backwaters of his mind and America, lingering in the odd corners of human nature to visit obscure oddballs, dark secrets and complicated truths about the beauty and pain of life and love. Paste Magazine recently raved, “Carlisle has quickly established himself as one of country music’s most important and unmistakable voices.”
What It Is - Hayes Carll - On What It Is, the Houston, TX troubadour Hayes Carll is leaving the past behind. "I want to dig in so this life doesn't just pass me by. The more engaged I am the more meaning it all has. I want that to be reflected in the work," Carll says. The new album covers a broad range of topics both timely and constant; the desire to bridge the country's political divide, the ups and downs of relationships, and the challenge to stay present in your life as it goes by. What It Is continues the artistic risk-taking initiated by 2016's Lovers and Leavers; his voice is strong and assured, and his songwriting as truthful as ever.