From upcoming LP The Local Honeys, out July 15th via La Honda Records; Produced by Jesse Wells and featuring members of Tyler Childers’ The Food Stamps
“Growing up on an orchard was a gift,” says Linda Jean Stokley who, along with Montana Hobbs, makes up one of Kentucky’s most treasured musical acts of this century, The Local Honeys. “I grew up surrounded by plants and animals and people who knew how to care for them.” The orchard Stokley speaks of is the centerpiece of The Local Honeys’ brand new tune, “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die),” a beautiful mix of sweet, clawhammer banjo, rock and roll drums, and melodic vocal and fiddle lines fit for such a touching tribute. “‘Throw Me In The Thicket’ is somewhat of a love story to my home,” says Stokley. “I never want to leave.” Last Wednesday, The Bluegrass Situation premiered “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die).”
“Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die)” comes from The Local Honeys’ upcoming self-titled LP, out July 15th. Their first release on La Honda Records (Colter Wall, Riddy Arman, Vincent Neil Emerson), The Local Honeys features ten winsome vignettes of rural Kentucky, conjuring 90’s alternatives sounds with hillbilly Radiohead lilts, soaring above layers of deep grooves and rich tones masterfully curated by longtime mentor Jesse Wells, a GRAMMY-nominated producer, musician (currently a member of Tyler Childers’ band The Food Stamps), and Assistant Director at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State.
Fans can listen to “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die)” now at this link, check out previously released singles “Dead Horses” and “Better Than I Deserve,” and pre-order or pre-save The Local Honeys ahead of its July 15th release right here. The Local Honeys’ tour continues with a special album release show on July 15th at The Basement in Nashville, Tennessee.
A full list of tour dates can be found at thelocalhoneys.com/tour.
More About The Local Honeys (The Album): Throughout The Local Honeys, the duo demand to be interpreted as creators and storytellers, not just purveyors of tradition. Similarly, the sounds captured within the project cement their place as innovators and rule-breakers. Rollicking banjo meets overdriven guitar hooks and blue-collar rural grit is met with lush melodies and nimble harmonies; it’s a project filled with juxtaposition and it isn’t by accident. It’s reflective of who they are and who they run with. Wells along with other members of The Food Stamps – Rod Elkins (percussion) Craig Burletic (bass) along with Josh Nolan (guitar) from Clay City, Kentucky, all lent their expertise and authenticity as collaborators during the session creating a fluidity, warmth, and cohesion that can only be created through friendship. “Who better to record an album that defines your sound than the people who helped you find your sound, the people that understand where you come from, how you listen, and who you are,” The Local Honeys said. The project was engineered in Louisville at Lalaland by GRAMMY winner Anne Gauthier.
The songs on The Local Honeys speak to a new generation, a new Appalachian, the people who understand the beauty, the struggle, and the complexity of contemporary Appalachian life. In “The Ballad of Frank and Billy Buck,” Hobbs describes the grace, humor, and irony of an aging hillbilly leading up to the final moments of his unjust demise. Or there’s “If I Could Quit,” a song that grapples with the horrors of the ongoing opiate epidemic and the guttural pain of watching a friend deteriorate through addiction. Pride and sense of place run deep in songs like “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die),” a love letter about Linda’s family orchard in Central Kentucky. The album is rounded out with “The L & N Don’t Stop Here No More,” (the only cover on the record written by Appalachian royalty and kin to Hobbs, Jean Ritchie) a song highlighting the hardships of post-coal communities painting an all too familiar scene of contemporary rural Appalachia. Reflecting upon these songs Linda notes, “Songwriting can freeze people in time like a photograph, preserving little nuances particular to specific cultures and I love that.”
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The Local Honeys Tracklist:
1. The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore
2. Last Mule in the Holler
3. Dead Horses
4. Dear Woodrow
5. The Ballad of Frank & Billy Buck
6. Toadstool
7. Better Than I Deserve
8. Dumbass, Nebraska
9. If I Could Quit
10. Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die)
More About The Local Honeys (The Band):
Over the years, The Local Honeys have paid their dues, garnering countless accolades and accomplishments (tours with Tyler Childers, Colter Wall, praise from the New York Times), and have become the defining sound of real deal, honest-to-god Kentucky music. With The Local Honeys, Stokley and Hobbs ended up with the most nuanced, moody, deep-holler sound they have captured to date. “This is the first time we’ve actively gotten to express who we are and where we’re from” says Linda Jean, “The songs on the album speak for us,” adds Montana “they’re about what we know, reflections of us as people. We realized we have the power to add our own narrative into Kentucky music.”
For tour dates and ticket information, please visit thelocalhoneys.com/tour.