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TITLE: Family Reunion
RELEASE DATE: August 27, 2021

AUG 6: Advance single “Ride Away”
AUG 20: Advance single “Dry Town”
Release Day Focus Track:
“The Way It Was Before”

Produced by Della Mae
Recorded at Tonal Park, May 2021
Engineered by Charlie Pilzer, Tonal Park
Mixed by Dan Knobler at Goosehead Palace, Franklin TN
Mastered by Randy LeRoy, Tonal Park

Della Mae:  Celia Woodsmith (vocals, acoustic guitar), Kimber Ludiker (fiddle, octave fiddle, vocals), Avril Smith (acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin on The Way It Was Before, vocals), Maddie Witler (mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar on Dry Town), Vickie Vaughn (bass, vocals)

PROMOTIONAL ASSETS

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ALBUM ART & PRESS PHOTO

TOUR PROMO GRAPHICS

new music for reuniting

During the pandemic, hearing terms like “coping” and “pivot” became a cultural norm. In music, venues fell silent and artists across the world asked themselves what they could do. Della Mae asked what they could do for fans.

While the members of Della Mae live in distant geographies individually, the band continued to stay connected remotely. Beginning as one-off performances in April 2020, band members kicked off what became 15 months of weekly live-streamed performances that brought together their fans for lead singer Celia Woodsmith’s “Pretty Songs for a Sunday” and for founding fiddler Kimber Ludiker and guitarist Avril Smith’s “Monday Night Hoedown.” These weekly shows on Facebook -- and the band’s Patreon fan club which included weekly Zoom cocktail hours that are still going strong -- have allowed band members and listeners to build a new kind of bond and deeper relationship through intimate performances and the shared experience of getting through the seemingly endless months of isolation together. 

This dedicated community of new friends ultimately inspired and funded Della Mae’s new project “Family Reunion.”

In May 2021, after all were vaccinated, they converged at Tonal Park Studio in Maryland. The band that had been talking, texting, Zooming, teaching, writing, and playing was finally able to get back together - and they wanted to record the immediate moments that transpired.

We are always evolving, changing, and growing as a band - there is always further to go and more to experiment with musically. To me, this record is about independence, ownership, trust, and family. We relied on our instincts, skills and musicianship. It is also a bit about catharsis - rising from the ashes of a global pandemic with new skills, songs, and outlook on life. - Celia Woodsmith

“Family Reunion” is a collection of recordings that capture the energy, vulnerability, power, and solidarity so many are experiencing in this time of reconvention.

Leading off with “These Songs,” the Dellas express the worry, uncertainty, and reluctant longing for a romantic memory of gritty tour life. Known for their revelatory power and force as a live touring band, it is no wonder that Della Mae is eager to return to the road.

The first single releasing in advance with the album announcement is “Ride Away." Very loosely inspired by Richard Thompson’s song “Vincent Black Lightening,” it is was written by Woodsmith in 2018, and performed on tour and as part of Della Mae’s last festival set prior to the pandemic at WinterWonderGrass Steamboat Springs.

Particularly prescient is "The Way It Was Before,” written by Woodsmith with Mark Erelli, stands as a call to action - to not forget what we’ve learned, to not become complacent, or in a slip-of-the-tongue express a wish to go back to old days. While the melody and arrangement carries a sound that harkens back to earlier days, the lyrics juxtaposed declare a new future, a new chapter, a new world rich and primed for change, and the need for personal responsibility.

The Way It Was Before captures the importance of listening to each other’s stories -- not just for shared experience but also holding space to empathize with other people’s struggles that may be very different from anything we can imagine ourselves. We have to understand each other before we can move toward a world where we truly embrace our common humanity. - Avril Smith

While most tracks on the record are up-tempo and rollicking, as many expect from Della Mae, the album reflects as complex a mixture of emotion present in the human condition as has been unearthed the past year. A new original song “Goodbye My Friend/Waltz for Lois” is a direct and honest anthem for loss, mourning, and memorial.

I wrote the waltz in honor of my grandmother, Lois, after she passed away over a decade ago. This year we collaborated to put words to the melody that explore a different kind of loss. Celia wrote the first verse about losing a friend, not knowing the original inspiration for the melody. There are many songs about romantic heartbreak but we wanted to explore the pain of a relationship ending with a close friend or family member. - Kimber Ludiker 

Mixed in with the 6 new originals, Della Mae nods to their heroes and influences with new covers of songs by bluegrass greats John Hartford (“You Don’t Have To Do That)” and Hazel Dickens (“A Few Old Memories”), and songwriters Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (“Dry Town”).

A Few Old Memories is a tribute to the pioneering feminist songwriter and singer, Hazel Dickens who wrote many timeless songs about the lives of working people struggling to make ends meet as well as many beautiful songs about love and loss -- all from a woman’s perspective, something that was in short supply for too long in the bluegrass tradition. - Avril Smith

TRACK LISTING:
1. These Songs
2. You Don’t Have To Do That
3. Ride Away
4. Goodbye My Friend/Waltz for Lois
5. The Way It Was Before
6. Dry Town
7. Heart of My Home
8. A Few Old Memories
9. The End

PRESS RELEASES

Note: The content on this page is NOT official press release copy, and should NOT be quoted in media unless explicit permission is given by label and management. This album has NOT been announced to the public yet.