BEST OF 2024: Cindy Howes, host of Basic Folk

Where did you find the tunes this year? Sadly for me at this stage in my life it’s EMAIL D: (SAD TROMBONE)…. I have hundreds of emails in my inbox that I go through weekly from publicists, radio promoters, independent artists, etc. Although EXTREMELY necessary, it’s not my preferred method for finding “the tunes.” Instead, I’d rather have my insides light up watching an unknown artist perform on stage for the first time: this year for me it was NEW DANGERFIELD. I love hearing music in a good weird TV show or movie: Janet Planet gave me Bob Carpenter this year. Another good hit for me in “tune finding” is when a good pal sends a suggestion along; thanks to lizzie no for sending Olivia Ellen Lloyd my way this year. And of course, my first “tune-finding” love, radio; there are too many to name from John Richards at KEXP. I have a few new year’s resolutions: less sweets, learn enough guitar for the campfire, write down my feelings…. I’m going to add “find more tunes offline.” If you see me in the wild, do me a favor and hold me to it. If I missed anything on my list, let me know.
Want my playlist on Tidal? HERE.

Album of the year: Lizzie No, Halfsies
Creepy historical song of the year: Rachel Sumner, Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)

BEST OF 2024: Lizzie No, co-host of Basic Folk

Dear Basic Folk Community,

I am so happy to be writing to you from my kitchen in Nashville, where I have been dancing to my End-of-Year playlist all week.

The songs on my playlist accompanied me through the highs and the heartbreaks of 2024. I experienced career highwater marks singing “All In Good Time” all over Europe with the phenomenal Iron and Wine. Lainey Wilson’s “Hang Tight Honey” and GloRilla’s “TGIF” helped me shake off the bullshit and keep going when being away from home for months at a time didn’t feel particularly glamorous. I connected with my inner child listening to Kane Brown’s “Backseat Driver,” Kacey Musgraves’ “The Architect,” and “Play God And Destroy The World,” Amythyst Kiah’s scorching duet with S.G. Goodman. 

Releases from my favorite new(ish) folk(ish) artists Lutalo, Ken Pomeroy, Liv Greene, and Sima Cunningham reminded me to believe in the future of roots music. Miranda Lambert’s unbroken decade-long streak as Most Consistently Good Mainstream Country Artist provided a rare feeling of certainty in a world of chaos. When everyday American injustice got me down I found folk heroes to root for in BigXthaPlug’s “The Largest” and Kaïa Kater’s “Fédon.” 

I hope you like the playlist. I hope that the dancing-inclined amongst you enjoy the healthy mix of bangers and bops, and in a few cases, slick transitions FROM bangers TO bops (see: “Gift Horse” into “Up All Night.”) I hope 2025 brings to each of us good health and a Shaboozey-Sierra Ferrell collab. I hope D*nald Tr^mp slips on a banana peel in the middle of Midtown traffic and is at least maimed. 

Whether you heard one episode or every episode in 2024, I am very grateful for you!

Thanks for listening.

XOLN

BEST OF 2023: Cindy Howes, host of Basic Folk

2023 is the year that I officially felt myself becoming a little more country and less rock and roll. Thanks to my work at WUNC Music, I was able to get into cool tracks from Obongjayar, Bully, Liza Anne and Bailen. However, most of my favorites definitely sound like they have a sprig of wheat sticking out of their mouths. I just moved to Maine and I am intending to live off the land, do some canning for the summer season and shooting my first deer. Send any farmer or hunter songs my way. Other goals for 2024: more meditation, playing my clarinet and buying an affordable house in Portland, ME. If I missed anything on my list, let me know.
What my playlist on Tidal? HERE.

Album of the year: Margo Cilker, Valley of Heart’s Delight
Favorite lizzie no song: “THE HEARTBREAK STORE”

BEST OF 2023: Lizzie No, co-host of Basic Folk

well, we did it. we made it through another year on the calendar, and another heap of hurdles we didn’t see coming. or maybe that was just my 2023. i am writing to you from nashville, where i live now! i am writing to you with hope for the year ahead. take that, gods of despair!

as always, i enjoyed putting together a list of my favorite songs from the past year. there’s a lot of folksy-rootsy stuff in there (highlights include songs by dori freeman, jaime wyatt, sunny war, and margo cilker), but also some interesting genre-fusing work from mckinley dixon, lafuey, lila blue, tre burt and others. one subgenre of song that shows up several times on this playlist is “indie rock banger that encourages you to hang in there, at least for one more day,” and i would like to thank brian dunne, bully, speedy ortiz, lydia loveless, ben delacour, and corinne bailey rae for their contributions to that category.

while i’m thanking people, i would like to thank YOU, dear reader, for listening to basic folk this year. without you, cindy and i would just be two mouthy broads shouting our music opinions into the void. you’ve stuck with us and that means everything. wishing you peace and great music in 2024.

BEST OF 2022: Cindy Howes, host of Basic Folk

2022 was a HUGE year for me! I got married, bought a house, my dog died, I got a new puppy and 100,000 other things. Music was always there for me and I NEEDED it. Sometimes when you’re running around for 6 straight months, you can forget to unwind and have fun. I feel lucky to be able to spend so much time listening and then sharing. It’s my favorite thing! Hope you find some new favorites on here. I always love hearing what you like, so let me know.
Want my playlist on Tidal? HERE.

Album of the year: Ondara, Spanish Villager No. 3
Discovery of the year: Eliza Edens, We’ll Become the Flowers

BEST OF 2022: Lizzie No, guest host of Basic Folk

i have never been interested in ranking the “best” songs of the year for the same reason that i would never attend a potluck and rank my loved ones’ contributions. how can you compare macaroni and cheese to pound cake, especially if both were made with love? you can’t. but i do enjoy looking back on the songs that stuck with me throughout the year.

in the spirit of reflection, i’m listening to my 2022 favorites playlist and noticing some themes. there were blood-thumping pop songs that asked bold questions like “am i ready to be loved?” [lizzo] or “did it help you sleep, did it make you stronger, beating up on me?” [betty who]. there were intimate folk songs that admitted they didn’t have the answers just yet, like anais mitchell’s “little big girl” and anthony d’amato’s “but i go.” there were catchy, delicate snowglobes of nostalgia such as kevin morby’s “bittersweet, tn” and brittney spencer’s “a hundred years old.”

but my very favorite songs this year, the ones that got me through the hard days, were expertly executed, defiant anthems that seemed to be written specifically for this moment of history. i’m talking about s.g. goodman’s “if you were someone i loved,” molly tuttle’s “crooked tree,” adia victoria’s “ain’t killed me yet,’ and miranda lambert’s “strange.” each of these songs seems to say, “i have my eyes wide open to what the world is like, and i am choosing to carry on anyway.” each of these songs invites us to look truth straight in the eye. each has a sublime sense of melody combined with rock and roll confidence.

thank you for listening to basic folk in 2022. i hope we were able to bring some new music into your life.

xo,ln

Hello! Guess What?! Your Basic Folk buds have found a new home with The Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network! Lizzie and Cindy are thrilled to join this amazing and wonderful publication, celebrating ten years of being *the* hub for all things roots. Their approach aligns perfectly with Basic Folk’s mission to celebrate the best in roots while being dedicated to changing the landscape and the gatekeepers of the folk music community. TBH, we couldn’t be more pumped to join the BGS team!

Look out for our very first episode on The Bluegrass Situation Podcast Network on Thursday March 10 featuring Maya De Vitry. Subscribe where you get podcasts or here: Apple, Spotify or Stitcher.

*CONTEST* Enter to win a Sweet BGS/Basic Folk Prize Pack!

Basic Folk and The Bluegrass Situation are giving away a sweet prize pack! One lucky winner will receive a handmade Basic Folk beanie (by Cindy’s mom) AND a very cool and official BGS “F*lk Yes” crewneck. Enter now and get this full folk lewk. Enter here!

Don’t wanna chance it? You can get your Basic Folk Beanie at our store right now: click click click. OR check out BGS’ store right <here>.

To celebrate this glorious new friendship between Basic Folk and The Bluegrass Situation, we created a playlist featuring songs about friends, pals, buds and the like. I made versions on Tidal, Apple Music and Spotify. Pick your platform! Then go buy (at least) one of these’s artists’ records. 

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BEST OF 2021: Cindy Howes, host of Basic Folk

2021 was the first year that I have been fully immersed in listening to new music as my main job. My work at Folk Alley allows me the opportunity to be on top of the latest music releases (major ones and indie alike). I don’t have all the time to listen to everything that gets sent (since I’m listening for songs that would fit on Folk Alley). My process of discovery is that if I see a name in my inbox that I recognize (from whatever), or get an email from a publicist/radio promoter that I respect, I’ll throw that song on a monthly playlist. Then, when I’m working out twice a week, I’ll listen to that non-folk playlist list to absorb and really figure out what I like. This has allowed me to enjoy some of my favorite non-folk bands like Middle Kids and War on Drugs and make cool discoveries like Tayla Parx and Wale. I could go on and on about this list, like my first draft of this playlist was NINE HOURS long! It was a struggle to get it down to four! I hope you enjoy and maybe hear something you really love. Please comment on this post or email me if you find something new on here.

BEST OF 2021: Lizzie No, guest host of Basic Folk

Not to brag, but I have been making a favorites-of-the-year playlist since before Spotify playlists existed. For years, listing my favorite songs was a part of my journaling practice. it was a way of scrapbooking the year sonically. and I always thought of it as a gift to my future self: “remember what mattered to you in 2014!” a lot of end-of-year lists rank songs or albums and pick the best ones which i think is silly, because we are talking about music, not a track meet.

I made a playlist of the songs I liked the most that came out in 2021. Many of them hit me on a pure pleasure level, like Turnstile‘s “MYSTERY” or Joshua James‘ “darkness is near me” and others made me envious as a songwriter, like Madi Diaz‘s “resentment.” Another exciting theme I noticed in great songs this year was fun-as-hell political songs. I would put Darryl Rahn‘s “Spirit Halloween,” Hayes Carll‘s “nice things,” Lula Wiles‘ “Oh My God,” and Chris Pierce‘s “Chain Gang Fourth of July” in that category.

One thread that runs through many of the songs I loved this year is getting to the point. It takes courage to write or perform a song that says exactly what you mean without much adornment. And when it’s done elegantly, it’s unforgettable. Think about Amythyst Kiah‘s “Wild Turkey” or Summer Walker‘s “You Don’t Know Me” or Dori Freeman‘s “I Am.” We spend so much of our adulthoods talking around the truth for the sake of politeness or survival or keeping the peace, so it’s intoxicating to see someone say THE THING with their whole chest. [On that note, good luck listening to Jazmine Sullivan‘s “Lost One” without feeling some feelings.]

Please enjoy my time capsule of a fast, painful, miraculous year.

We are excited to announce that Lizzie No has joined Basic Folk as guest host. Lizzie is a talented singer who will be hosting interviews with folk musicians on the pod once a month alongside Cindy Howes’ interviews. She brings a lot of amazing insight to these conversations.

Get to know Lizzie through this cute little promo vid:

And check out Lizzie’s Welcome to Basic Folk playlist:

Basic Folk is dedicated to showcasing the best in folk and roots musicians including BIPOC musicians who have been excluded, or felt like they did not belong, in the folk world. Welcoming Lizzie No as guest host brings a new perspective to our honest conversations and a further dedication to changing the landscape and the gatekeepers of the folk music community.