As a trans woman who began performing music in the ‘90s, Shawna Virago is an under-heralded pioneer – which hopefully changes this year with the release of Blood in Her Dreams, one of the year’s best in the Americana vein. Virago’s attentive, vivid lyrics recall Lucinda Williams, while the ramshackle, pissed-off energy of L.A. punk band X runs through her vocals. Virago told Billboard that “Ghosts Cross State Lines” is about someone coping with the “psychic residue” of an abusive relationship, and as with every song on this LP, Virago spins the story with a keen sense of empathy. — JOE LYNCH
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Billboard Interviews Shawna Virago on LGBTQ Country Music
Not exactly renowned for its inclusivity or progressive views on the spectrum of sexual identity, country music has nevertheless been a source of inspiration for numerous LGBTQ artists over the years, from Lavender Country and Peter Grudzien in the ’70s to Orville Peck and Brandi Carlile today.
With the May 31 release of Blood In Her Dreams, it’s time to give the pioneering Shawna Virago her wildflowers. In the early ‘90s, well before the fight for trans inclusivity and representation entered mainstream discourse, she was one of the very few openly transgender musical performers in America.
After years of performing solo and in a band, Virago released her debut album, the mostly acoustic Objectified, in 2009. While the flavor of Los Angeles punk pioneers X has always inspired Virago’s (comparatively quieter) music, Blood In Her Dreams finds her adding an electric jolt of cowpunk adrenaline to her lyrically detailed, emotionally resonant Americana. Songs like “Ghosts Cross State Lines,” “Eternity Street” and “Climb to the Bottom” paint empathetic, vivid portraits of hard-luck types who’ve been battered but not beaten by life; like Lucinda Williams, Virago finds a dusty beauty in the rugged troublemakers living a country mile from polite society.
Rock and Roll Globe Premieres New Music From Jake Neuman
One of the bright new voices in modern Americana is Jake Neuman & The Jaybirds, whose debut EP, Little Bitty Town, comes out on July 14th.
But Rock & Roll Globe has an early taste of the music from this 25-year-old singer-songwriter with one of the set’s best tunes in “Say What You Mean,” which we are proud to share with our readers today on the site.
“At the time of writing this song, I was definitely going through a lot,” Neuman tells us about the song’s premise. “I realized that the people that I had surrounded myself with my entire life were not who they pretended to be. Moving away from that circle of people was earth-shattering, but it taught me to value those who ‘Say What You Mean,’ if you will.”
Rock and Roll Globe Reviews Jake Neuman and the Jaybirds’ New EP
One of the bright new voices in modern Americana is Jake Neuman & The Jaybirds, whose debut EP, Little Bitty Town, comes out on July 14th.
But Rock & Roll Globe has an early taste of the music from this 25-year-old singer-songwriter with one of the set’s best tunes in “Say What You Mean,” which we are proud to share with our readers today on the site.
“At the time of writing this song, I was definitely going through a lot,” Neuman tells us about the song’s premise. “I realized that the people that I had surrounded myself with my entire life were not who they pretended to be. Moving away from that circle of people was earth-shattering, but it taught me to value those who ‘Say What You Mean,’ if you will.”
“Say What You Mean,” along with the rest of the EP, springs from Neuman’s survival of a near-fatal brain hemorrhage, in where music served as his lifeline during a lengthy recovery.
“I was really trying to find an escape from what seemed like an inescapable situation, so I dove head-first into music,” he explains. “Artists such as Koe Wetzel, Jason Isbell, and, of course, good Ol Timmy Tyler Childers were on repeat in that trailer I was living in. They became subconscious influences when writing this song.”
Glide Magazine Premieres New Song From Mike Monterey Band
“Musically, the eerie beauty of the fiddle and pedal steel comes from Jackson Browne’s longtime companion, the late David Lindley, and the vocal harmonies have a Chris and Morgane Stapelton feel, like in “Starting Over,” says singer-songwriter Mike Montrey about the melodic warmth of his new single “Stained Glass Window Panes” that Glide is premiering below.
With his namesake band (Mike Montrey Band), the longtime troubadour has made his most fully realized album yet with Love, Time & Mortality, due out August 23rd. His previous collaborations with names like Grammy-winning producers Jim Scott and Marc Swersky brought different flavors to his music. However, with Love, Time & Mortality, Montrey brings us into his most personal songwriting yet.
Glide Magazine Reviews Jake Neuman and the Jaybirds’ New Song
“I grew up in a really tight-knit community. Bakersfield isn’t necessarily a small town; however, it definitely has that energy. A lot of folks never leave, and this song is really based around that feeling of being trapped by your hometown,” says up-and-coming artist Jake Neuman about his hometown.
Yeah, good ol’ Bakersfield is renowned for its country music scene seventy-so years ago that called Merle Haggard and Buck Owens pioneers, yet it’s nice to hear a new name from the California desert. Although he’s now a Nashville resident, somehow, Bakersfield sounds more glamorous when describing the background of this 25-year-old.
Neuman’s vocals are built of an authoritative rasp that sounds years beyond his quarter-century on the planet. When hearing his potent song approach, the names of Jason Isbell and Zach Bryan come to mind, while his band, The Jaybird, certainly reflects the creative workmanship of the 400 Unit.
Through social media and live performances, he has built a loyal following, catching the attention of New York City-based artist and producer Gregory Dwane Griffith. The two met at Americana Fest 2022 and hit it off, leading to the production of Neuman’s debut EP, Little Bitty Town, at Griffith’s Peacedale Records and Studio based in Connecticut.