2022 IVY TERRACE SERIES

Geography has so much to do with the feel of a record. It’s why artists often make pilgrimages to studios halfway around the world in search of a particular sound. Location, it seems, plays a huge role in capturing performances. And for songwriter Annie Neeley, a home studio in West Virginia near the site of Mothman’s first appearance provided the perfect spot to craft her fantastic new record Big Old Moon.

For over a decade, Neeley and her bass player/husband, Dave Kirkpatrick, have been writing songs on the folkier side of country. Her 2010 debut, Cold Heart Blues, features the type of songwriting that can coax tears from stone. With stylistic references to Hank Williams and Emmylou Harris, Neeley writes with the confidence of someone firmly connected to their roots. In 2016, she released a collaborative album with fellow writer Andrew Adkins called Appalachia. The two managed to mix traditional bluegrass instruments with an outlaw sound, particularly on songs like “When I Was Young” or “Bound for Somewhere.” Neeley has been all around the Eastern US, playing her songs with a rotating cast of friends and characters. From West Virginia to DC to Nashville and back to the holler again, Neeley has found a way to channel those deep roots into a more raucous version of her original bluegrass with Big Old Moon.