Inspired by a landscape of rich imagery that forces the writer to delve into the past, retrace his own steps, dance with the present, and wistfully search for their place in the passage of time, Vickers Vimy’s second album, Atlas of the Heart, is a rootsy, textured, and timeless collection from the Ireland-based outfit.

The ten-track project includes songs like “Budapest” which elegantly unwinds like a postcard, “When The Helicopter Came” a track that captures a quiet intensity and “Mermaid of Luna Park” which chronicles the world of fables and polaroids. Here, songwriter and guitarist Ed Drea, answers the band's Essential 8 and talks songwriting, Cohen, Crowded House, Calexico, and more.


Is there a story behind your album's title?
The album is titled 'Atlas of Hearts' and is inspired by the idea that inside each of us we are made up various maps and adventures. Imprints of life if you like.

Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
Recording the album in Mayo beside the Wild Atlantic ocean inspired us to try and capture the drama of Clew Bay as the squall comes racing in across the islands. The landscape is so dramatic here that it literally pushes your pen around the page urging you to capture it in words and song.

Do you write about personal experiences?
The writing of the album was definitely inspired by travel and the imprints of family. "Budapest" is a song off the album that is about a train journey from Budapest to Italy and inspired by the music of Il Postino a beautiful Italian film. "Bonfire of Dantes" is a song off the album that has its roots in the classic Dante's Inferno. Keep your eye on the road is a song about friendship and loss and how people come and go in your life. So yeah the songs arrive from all ports, I guess

A dynamic new voice in country music, Kalie Shorr is rapidly gaining attention in Music City and beyond. In January of this year, the singer-songwriter released her new EP, Awake, a seven-song collection of guitar-led country that showcases Shorr’s contemporary writing and fresh melodies. Having recently toured with Sara Evans and Raelynn on CMT’s Next Women of Country Tour, the emerging artist is heading to NYC on April 28th for her first full-band headlining show at Opry City Stage. Ahead of the performance, Shorr kindly took the time to chat about Awake, her involvement in Song Suffragettes, and more!

2018 has been a very busy year for you beginning with the release of your EP, Awake, in January. Is there a special significance in calling the project Awake, which is also the title of the first track on the project?
“Awake” was one of the first songs I wrote for the project. My producer, Skip, and I were planning to write with a friend, but that person ended up getting sick and instead of canceling the write, we decided to write together - and it ended up being one of the most emotional writing days I ever had.
We had written together for other artists, but we had never written a Kalie Shorr song together and on that day, I felt like we really connected. I allowed myself to go to a vulnerable place and we got the song “Awake,” which is everything I wanted to say to that person, but forgot to, when we spoke on the phone.

I knew that I wanted to begin work on a new project and had a gut feeling that “Awake” was the sound that I been looking for, so I texted Skip and asked how he felt about cutting a master of the track and he was all for it. From there, the idea for the EP was born. This past summer was an amazingly creative period where I dialed into what I wanted to say, as well as my sound. It was like an awakening and I thought Awake would be the perfect title for the project.

Being that you write for yourself and others, were all the songs written in that period over the summer?
“Cool Kids”, “Backseat,” and “Candy” were but “Two Hands” and “Who What Where When Why” had longer journeys. “Two Hands” was written for Slingshot but didn’t make the cut. However, I had a special place in my heart for that one because it was the first love song I had ever written that felt true to the way I fall in love, so I decided to put it on Awake. “Who What When Where Why” was a song I wrote in LA for Selena Gomez; that didn’t end up working out, and in the end it was fine because I always loved the song and am so glad it made the EP. 

Travis Shallow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer who is best known for his prolific solo career and as a former member of alternative country band A Few Good Liars. In 2012, Shallow left the band and started writing and recording songs that would later be released as his first solo self-titled album. After extensive touring, Shallow, armed with an arsenal of new material, released his follow-up, The Great Divide, in 2017 which gives listeners a glimpse into what makes this NC Native tick via masterful instrumentation, and thoughtful lyrics that flow seamlessly between  Americana, Soul, Rock, and Country. Here, Shallow took the time to answer his Essential 8 where he spoke about Jerry Joseph, songwriting, the story behind The Great Divide, and more.

Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you?
I met a songwriter named Jerry Joseph that’s based out of Portland, Oregon about 13 years ago while he was touring the east coast. He changed how I looked at songwriting & performing 100%. I think he turned into a mentor in my head wether he knew it or not - and at times it was from afar, but I learned a lot from Jerry. He’s taken me out on a few tours since we met and I’ve come to call him a friend. He also got sober about 8 years ago and he became a mentor for me on that regard when I stopped drinking a couple years back. So yea, he’s a mentor on multiple levels for me. We keep in touch, and I actually covered one of his songs on this latest album (which was a first for me). It’s a song called “World Will Turn”. I sent him the finished version before we released the album, and was just hoping he didn’t hate it. He sent me one of the nicest emails I could’ve hope for about our version of his song, I have that one saved. ;)

Formed in 2010 when Jennica Scott, who played trumpet, and Jeremy Burchard, who was in the drumline, met as members of the University of Texas Longhorn Marching Band, Moonlight Social spent the next six years honing their craft and touring consistently, playing hundreds of shows throughout more than a dozen states including festivals with FGL in Wisconsin and songwriter nights in Texas with Jack Ingram. Building a solid fanbase via a grassroots undertaking, the duo found much success in the Lone Star State, releasing two singles to Texas radio, including the award-winning, “Rub A Little Dirt On It” [SongDoor International Songwriting Contest for Best Country Song]. All the while Jennica and Jeremy were traveling to Nashville to focus on songwriting and in doing so, fell in love with Music City, eventually bidding Texas adios and making a permanent move to Nashville in 2016.

While many artists can make a solid living recording and touring in Texas alone, the duo realized Nashville was the place for them. Jennica notes, “For years we did the Texas route, and while we had a lot of success, we were often traveling to Nashville to co-write. We really liked the vibe there and found our [musical] style fit better there as well.” Jeremy adds, “We never wanted to be boxed in or as market specific as Texas. We write and approach things slightly different than they do - and we have a female vocal, which is rare in the context of the Red Dirt/Texas scene.”

Their brand of original, contemporary country blends genres, including pop and rock, which is not surprising as Burchard says he's “a child of the 90’s, but we draw from so many genres from the Eagles and classic rock to Sugarland, too.”  Those varied influences can be heard on the duo’s new EP, Make You Smile, which features five engaging and ear-grabbing tracks, all of which the twosome wrote or co-wrote with a variety of songwriters from Jenn Bostic to Byron Hill, noting “Choosing the songs [for the project] was a process and in the end we chose the songs that we not only loved, but also had a message that was important to us.”

Heard only sparingly as a songwriter, with only a few handfuls of originals spread out over eleven studio albums, Tom Rush is poised to releases Voices the first album ever of all-Rush originals containing ten relaxed, warmhearted, and sometimes thoughtful songs that perfectly reflect the singer-guitarist's persona. Ahead of the album's release on April 27th, Rush kindly took the time to answer his Essential 8 where he spoke about a few of his musical influences, shared the story behind Voices, as well as advice for a musician just starting out, and more.

​Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? 
I’m easily influenced, so it would be just about anybody I’ve ever listened to. Main ones would be—Paul Robeson, the operatic baritone; I loved his voice and wanted to sing just like that. I was 10 at the time and my voice hadn’t changed yet, so that didn’t work out well. My (older) cousin Beau Beals, who taught me how to play the ukulele and, more importantly, taught me that music was fun, despite my horrible experiences with Piano Lessons. Josh White—I loved his songs, guitar style, voice. Eric von Schmidt, who was, in my mind at least, the mainspring of the whole Cambridge, MA, folk scene in the early ‘60’s; he had the songs, he wrote the songs, he had the style. I stole a lot from him!

With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? 
I’m still looking forward to such a moment. Songs, unfortunately, don’t come with those pop-up timers you get with roasting chickens. (I’ve asked the Muse about it, but she hasn’t been returning my call for some reason.)  Songs, for me, are very pliable, and tend to change even after I’ve recorded them. And, “Perfection,” as the wise ones say, “is for Allah.”

What’s the story behind your album’s title? 
“Voices” is, of course, one of the songs on the album. It’s a pretty diverse selection of songs, and I felt that “Voices” represented the best overview.  (I didn’t want to call it “If I Never Get Back To Hackensack It’ll Be All Right With Me,” for instance.)

Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did? 
This is the first album I’ve done where I’ve written all the songs (with the exception of two traditional tunes—I didn’t want to compromise my Folksinger credentials), and they happened to be all the songs I had at the moment. (In fact, Jim Rooney, the producer, was appalled to discover, on the second day of recording, that we only had 11 songs. “I counted one twice!” he exclaimed. I thought I had the ideal solution: we’d number the album the way Trump numbers the floors on his towers. “We’ll have songs 1 through 6, and then 8 through 12, see if anybody notices.” He wouldn’t go for it. I had to go back to the motel and write a song that night, and thus “Hackensack” was born.)

Touring the Midwest since May 2012, the Vogts Sisters -Maggie and Abigail - have gained widespread recognition for their haunting vocals, tight harmonies, and timeless melodies, taking their music wherever they can including festivals, auditoriums, theatres, and more than a few coffee houses. The Vogts Sisters, who count Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, and Gillian Welch among their influences, have garnered numerous awards in regional and international songwriting competitions and have released a total of three albums with their fourth, Broken Ties, coming in May. Ahead of its release, the sisters kindly took the time to answer their Essential 8 where they spoke about the album's title, life on the road, and much more.

Is there a story behind your album’s title?
Maggie: Not so much a story as a theme. Abbey and I were writing songs, and we could tell they differed from those we’d put on our previous album, “Homeward.” Maybe we’re too close to the project to judge very well, but something seemed to have shifted. We didn’t intend it during the writing and composing, but these new songs seem to orbit around loss. Varying losses. They are glimpses at brokenness. 
 
What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician?
Maggie: Relax. You’ll do fine.
 
What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out?
 Maggie: I guess… don’t take yourself too seriously. It’s very healthy to be able to laugh at yourself and to learn from the mistakes you’re going to make. Move right along.
 
What are your “must have” albums for the road?
Maggie: Anything from Emmylou Harris! And Gillian Welch! And Socks in the Frying Pan!
 
How do you kill the long hours in the van?
Maggie: Read. Sleep. Play word games with Abbey.
Abigail: Watercolor painting, coloring, reading, listening to music, and talking.