Kentucky’s Joan Shelley may be influenced by the traditional music of the United States and the United Kingdom, but don’t call her a folk singer. Think more of a soft country mix between Dolly Parton and Roger Miller, with an earnest temperament that’s landed her opening spots for Andrew Bird and Wilco.
Shelley’s been building up her repertoire for most of the past decade but it’s only after the release of her fourth full-length in 2015 that she’s broken out of the local scene to conquer tours across the US and Europe. Last Friday Shelley continued her naturalistic saga with Like the River Loves the Sea, twelve new tracks recorded in Reykjavík, Iceland that are still firmly rooted in Louisville. Shelley kicks off an extended national tour at the end of the month, and today you can treat yourself to an animated video for one of the album’s lead singles, “The Fading”!
–Jack Anderson
Photo: Amber Estes Thieneman
