Joshua Finsel

A breathtaking dreamscape of through-hiking the Appalachian Trail. A conversation between a child and mother nature. A revved-up boot-stomping ode to antiquities. These are just some of the things you’ll hear from Jim Thorpe singer-songwriter Joshua Finsel on his gorgeous new record No Honey, and this week he brings them to life set to sweeping Americana tones in WXPN’s performance space.

A longtime Lehigh Valley musician — he fronts the band Free Range Folk and is a solo banjoist as well — No Honey is the latest release under Finsel’s own name. In this session, he chats with The Folk Show’s Ian Zolitor about making his distinctive brand of psychedelia-influenced roots music. They break down songs and reflect on honoring the past while looking to the future. We hear about Finsel’s love for cerebral lyricism, and the friends-and-family nature of this ensemble of players. On this session, Finsel’s wife Amber plays bass and sings, their daughter Ada is a guest vocalist on “The Drought,” and the band is rounded out with neighbors and close companions: Brett Andrew on electric guitar, Doug Makofka on accordion and keys, Dennis Patrick on drums.

Watch the conversation and performance below, from the hard-hitting slow burn of opener “Before The Snow” to the gnarly rock of the closing “Reputation Blues.” No Honey is out February 6th, it can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp, and Finsel and his band perform that night at Jim Thorpe’s famed Mauch Chunk Opera House for an album release celebration. Tickets and more information can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar. - WXPN Philadelphia

Americana Highways presents this premiere of Joshua Finsel’s song “The Drought” from his forthcoming album No Honey, which is due to be released on February 6th. No Honey was produced by D. Patrick with additional production and mixing by Mark Plati (David Bowie). It was mastered for digital and vinyl by Scott Hull. Engineering was performed by D. Patrick, Josh Finsel, Mark Plati, Steve Drizos, Doug Makofka, and Steven Eisenberg.

Musicians on “The Drought” are Joshua Finsel on acoustic guitar, vocals, and dobro; Ada Finsel on vocals and backing vocals; Mark Plati on fretless electric bass; D Patrick on drums; Christo Huntington on pedal steel; Quentin Fisher on mandolin; Brett Andrew on lead guitar; Jim Adkins on electric guitar; Doug Makofka on accordion; Bob Beach on harmonica; and Damian Calcagne on piano.

This song is Josh and his daughter Ada Finsel in vocal duet, performing a song that’s a dialogue between a boy and his mother about a drought. Anyone in communion with nature who has lived through a drought of any length immediately understands the deep pitted anxiety it produces, and Josh’s impetus to craft a song about drought is already set up for tone, and it carries that with excellence. As Josh put it, “it’s a conversation between a drought stricken boy and mother earth.” The songs start out slow and reflective with gentle strings and Josh’s raw vocals are soon mingled with Ada’s clear high tones, and the song has layer after layer of metaphor and meaning. It’s a song of hope, holding on, and bittersweet acceptance. “The drought will come to an end.” But not yet.

You can discover more information and details here on his website: http://www.joshuafinsel.com - Americana Highways: Melissa Clarke

‘Before The Snow’ is a song about an Appalachian Trail through-hiker whose river meditation is interrupted by a daydream. Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine is the northern end of the trail, and a hiker must get there ‘before the snow’ in order to be allowed to finish the journey.

“The lyrics are autobiographical. I teamed up with the famed string trio Bizarre Star Strings (Brandi Carlile, Madison Cunningham, The Shins) for the lush, theatrical river-like passages. Award winning fiddle player Katelynn Casper and mandolinist Quentin Fisher of Serene Green added to the arrangements. Finally, David Bowie producer and bass player Mark Plati mixed the record and played fretless bass.” – Joshua Finsel - The Bluegrass Situation