Kelly Avenson
Door County-based folk singer Katie Dahl’s new release, Wildwood, is a musical homestead. Rolled hay, balls of yarn, snowfall, and broken barns. It could be a storm of cliche, and in the wrong hands it would be. But, as Bob Dylan said, “some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.”
Dahl feels the rain. She’s been quietly toiling away on the shore of Lake Michigan long enough to have produced five albums, written two musicals and performed more than 100 shows annually for the past several years. Dar Williams and Peter Mulvey are among her fans and kindred spirits.
Dahl’s previous work no doubt paved the way for the trust and faith of the people who surround her on Wildwood. The album was produced by folk tinkerer and leader of Birds of Chicago, JT Nero. Nero assembled a powerhouse band at Hen House Studio in Nashville to record and collaborate with Dahl. The investment pays off.
Dahl’s voice, described by Mary Chapin Carpenter as a “creamy alto,” can also be earthen and worried. Her singing is sharpened throughout these cuts by harmonies from Allison Russell (Birds of Chicago, Po’ Girl). Their voices reminded me of the seamless, lilting vocals of the Milk Carton Kids. That was before I noticed that drumming for Wildwood was provided by Jamie Dick, who also plays with the Milk Carton Kids and Riannon Giddens. The ensemble is filled out by instrumentalists borrowed from Dolly Parton and Bruce Cockburn.
“Braver Than Me” is either a letter to a lover or, just as likely, a true friend. It’s a friendship any of us would be lucky to have. It describes falling “into a full moon field with a thump in our hearts.” “Worry My Friend” has the rustic mountain character of a Gillian Welch/David Rawlings number. “Oh Minnesota” takes you to all the familiar places in entirely fresh ways.
Dahl brings her harvest of new songs to Crescendo Espresso Bar at 1859 Monroe St. for an album release show on Sept. 13.