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On her new album ‘Headwaters’…Headwaters are the source of a river. The furthest point from where water merges with something else. They are not mighty. Just a network of small tributaries, like a creek, not necessarily picturesque, but they’re the most important part of the river. Water is fluid and inconsistent and sacred and indifferent. You can be miles down a river, but you’re still at the origin. And in that way, water feels like it has transcended time. That’s how these songs found me—the way memories find you, in that slivering, elusive water. As quickly as you come across them, you bend in another direction.
Headwaters is the sophomore album from Virginian indie folk singer Alexa Rose. A series of minutely observed vignettes that feel intimate and expansive at the same time. It captures the sweetness of life without avoiding any of the pain, with songs about time and its constraints, peppered with precise details pulled from Rose’s own life that make universal themes seem personal, inviting the listener to make each song their own.
Recorded over five sessions in Memphis, Tennessee at Delta Sonic Studios, with Bruce Watson producing, with mixing by Matt Ross-Spang and Clay Jones. Rose would sometimes bring songs written the night before and record them the next day with an all-star band, including guitarist Will Sexton, bassist Mark Stuart, drummer George Sluppick, and Al Gamble on organ and piano.
The immediacy of being in the studio with freshly written songs and an excellent band allowed Rose to expand her music in new ways.
When I turned 27 and felt the weight of a decade in a conversation, I envisioned my present and past self in the form of a frenetic, uneasy current slapping up against a steady boat. I imagined my great grandparents in their garden in the golden embers of some evening and the timeless sensation of change, the colorful sunsets I’ve seen through their own eyes, decades later.
Press Quotes:
“‘Headwaters’ is a bucolic taste of folk-hewn Americana, offering pastural scenes that touch upon the personal.” – CLASH
“Gorgeous and wistfully bittersweet.” – gorilla vs bear
“The nine tracks on Headwaters submerges you into Rose’s thorny examination of human na ture through petals of poignant lyrics, bucolic arrangements, and of course, Alexa’s mesmerizing vocals...” – KUTX
“Hypnotic…The album’s central pairing of guitar and organ sounds fuzzy around its edges and covers each song with a warmly entrancing hum.” – No Depression
“The storytelling is poignant, and her vocals are delicate.” – Stereogum
“Alexa Rose’s sophomore album Headwaters, a sparse and meditative number that gives Rose’s gorgeous vocal full range to explore and anchor the track.” – Uproxx
ABOUT JOHN GILLESPIE:
John Gillespie has been writing, recording, and performing original music since the late 80s. He is best known as half of the Chapel Hill acoustic duo, Nikki Meets the Hibachi, but he has played in many other bands such as Nantahala, Drowning Lovers, Kickball, Two Fish Blue, Collapsis and Pillowfoot. While most of his music begins on the acoustic guitar, many of his recordings employ electric instrumentation as well (and often a musical collaborator or two). For those unfamiliar with John's work, imagine early R.E.M. performed on acoustic instruments.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Wake Forest Listening Room, 415 Brooks Street,Wake Forest,NC,United States
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