As I emerge from the crucibles of that last few months, I am looking for certain things:

• music that reminds me that new and beautiful things are growing and taking root even as others are burning down;
• music that helps me sing about recent losses as if some might now be storms in the rearview mirror instead of the encompassing Now;
• music that re-energizes me in my state of emotional exhaustion;
• music that helps me find hope as the headlines about what America is becoming grow darker;
• music that reminds me that we have been saved by God’s grace, that God’s kingdom is accessible here and now (not somewhere else in the future), and that the troubles of this present darkness are nothing compared to the joy we have been so generously promised.

But maybe what I’m searching for most of all is music that kindles my imagination with new ideas and that motivates me to be creative myself.

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Here are a few current highlights that sound fresh and invigorating to me.

David Byrne, “Everybody Laughs”

Annahstasia, “Believer” and “Villain”

Of the recent new releases, the album that has my attention most fully and that I suspect will rank highly on my year-end favorites list is Tether from Annahstasia, a voice I’ve never heard before but I hope I’ll be hearing for many years to come. The comparisons to Tracy Chapman are easy, of course, but there’s a sensuality, an edge, and an adventurousness to her voice that makes it singular and exciting.

Here’s her Bandcamp page for the album, and here’s the “Best New Music” rave on Pitchfork.

Elbow, “Dis-Graceland 463-465 Bury New Road” and “Adriana Again”

I think I like some of the leftovers on Elbow’s new EP Audio Vertigo Echo as much or more than anything that they put on their last full album Audio Vertigo.

Laura Stevenson, “Honey” and“I Couldn’t Sleep”

I look forward to reading about this new album Late Great from Laura Stevenson, as I’ve enjoyed her records so much in the past. (Her NPR Tiny Desk Concert was lovely, too.)

These two tracks that got an early release were promising, and now that I’m savoring the lush arrangements of the full album, I’m glad she’s bringing along a string section for some of these tracks. (You’ll have to hear the whole album to appreciate that.)

We’re going to Nowhere Else Festival 2025. Come with us!

Anne and I have made our decision: Our biggest adventure of the year will be to travel to Martinsville, Ohio for the Nowhere Else Festival — our second time celebrating great music at Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler’s big old barn. We’ll be there to

• hear our favorite band sing old favorites and new tunes;
• bask in the glory of other artists we love (this time, we get to hear more of the artist who was our most exciting 2024 discovery: Portland’s own Jeffrey Martin); and
• discover great artists we’ve been missing.

And — I’ll say more about this soon — I may be playing a small part in the program as well.

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So, Anne and I are starting to explore the huge menu of music by the artists we’re going to see there who we haven’t heard before. And I’ll share some of my favorite discoveries here at Give Me Some Light.

First up, it’s Amy Helm. She’s been making great music for many years, but somehow she’s never shown up on our radar before. Anne and I listened to Helm’s most recent album, 2024’s Silver City, last night, and we both really loved it. Helm’s voice is so engaging: soulful without being showy, able to cross a diverse range of genres with confidence. I’ve already listened to Silver City all the way through again today. Here are a couple of songs from the record’s first half that made me realize right away I was going to become an Amy Helm fan.

Amy Helm, “Money on 7” and “Baby Come Back”

“Baby Come Back” has lyrics that recall Billie Holliday, but it’s Aretha Franklin I hear in Helm’s vocals. And that’s not a sound many artists I know can achieve while retaining their own singular presence.

Some flashbacks to last year’s Nowhere Else festival…

We missed out on last summer’s Nowhere Else Festival, but there are some impressive videos of Over the Rhine’s closing show with The Newbees popping up on YouTube.

Tell me about a song that’s deeply moving you…

… and I’ll add a link to it here for others to discover.

From Ken Priebe:

I discovered an incredible obscure ’60s psychedelic rock band called Ultimate Spinach.

From John Barber:

For me, it’s the Clem Snide & Eef Barzelay cover of “I’ll Be Your Mirror.” With my wife away pursuing her MFA, I’m putting so much of my energy into supporting her in this wonderful and important endeavor. This one perfectly captures how I feel about her, even when she doesn’t see it in herself.

Sunday Update: Patty Griffin returns!

Anne and I saw Patty Griffin most recently at the Nowhere Else festival, as it turns out. And I’ll never forget seeing her in a fantastic sunset show at a brewery on the edge of Santa Fe, New Mexico promoting her 2007 record Children Running Through.

Lo and behold — Griffin has a new album on the way, and the first two tracks are already available.