One beautiful evening in California’s Bay Area, late last year, a bunch of us No Depression folks were sitting around on a patio with our drinks, discussing what we could do to adequately celebrate ND’s 20th anniversary. A number of ideas surfaced, I’m sure, though I only remember one, because it’s the one that immediately took hold: we should print a magazine.
Within moments, the energy on that patio became palpable. Discussion of who we could cover, what kinds of stories would appear, what the magazine might look and feel like, were more impassioned than almost any other discussion we’d had as a company since FreshGrass – a festival and roots music foundation – took the reins earlier in 2014. In fact, I’d say the buzz that ensued in our little team was bigger than any buzz on any project I’ve ever been a part of.
I came on board with No Depression pretty much immediately after it went out of print in 2008, as the news editor of what we were, at that time, calling the “editorial site.” A couple months later, I hung on with then-publisher Kyla Fairchild as just the two of us took the company to a new place, handing the reins over to the readers for a community-generated whatever-it-was website.
For years, even as people lamented the loss of the print magazine so often, I started to take for granted – as I’m sure many of you did – that print was the past and the web was the future. It seemed silly to think otherwise.
And yet, here we are. I get to announce today that, after seven years of being an online-only publication, No Depression is firing up the presses and heading back into print, with a first annual edition releasing this September.
As I write this, we’ve already zipped up all the written content for this first issue, with stories about Jason Isbell, Punch Brothers, I’m With Her, Greensky Bluegrass, Dave Rawlings Machine, Valerie June, Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires, and so much more. I know I’m incredibly biased but, as many times as I’ve read and revised and edited and re-read all these stories, I can’t wait to read them all again, on paper.
For the rest of this month and next, as we move through the design portion of producing this thing, we’re opening up pre-orders via Kickstarter for what will be a truly unique magazine – there will be no advertisements. Instead, the articles will be accompanied only by stunning photography and original illustrations. The paper will be larger and thicker than you might remember from the original incarnation, printed by the one of the only carbon-neutral printers in North America. This magazine will embody the same kind of craftsmanship and heart that goes into the music we all love.
All this info and more is in our press release below, or if you want to go ahead and get your order in, swing on over to Kickstarter and support our campaign there. We’re only printing a limited run of these things, so you won’t want to miss out.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that nodepression.com is going away – we’re not that crazy. This site will continue to grow in all the ways you’ve been asking for. In the coming weeks, we’ll share more about what you can expect from this website as ND moves back into print. But for now, we hope you’ll help us celebrate this moment. We’ve all been waiting for it for a long time.
Now, for the official press release:
NO DEPRESSION RETURNING TO ROOTS WITH NEW PRINT PUBLICATION
Kickstarter campaign to support No Depression Magazine 2015 begins this week
We’re all about celebrating roots at No Depression: since the magazine’s founding in 1995, we’ve aimed the spotlight at both old and new roots music, bringing together voices of professional critics and regular listeners, as well as the artists themselves.
But, since 2008, those voices have lived solely online (nodepression.com). This year, which happens to be No Depression’s 20th anniversary, we’ve decided to return to our own roots – and to print. We’re excited to announce No Depression Magazine 2015, the first of an annual series of premium publications that will offer the best in articles, photos and artwork related to roots music – including Americana, bluegrass, folk and much more.
This year’s edition, which will be released in September, will feature stories on Jason Isbell, the Punch Brothers, Shovels & Rope, Valerie June, I’m With Her, Dave Rawlings Machine, Greensky Bluegrass, Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires, and more, with cover artwork by Kevin Bradley at Church of Type.
What it will not feature is advertising.
So we’re funding the magazine in part through a Kickstarter campaign. Between May 12 and July 3, we hope to raise at least $40,000 to help us achieve our goal of publishing a premium magazine that readers will want to keep with their books, not next to the toilet. With funding and pre-orders from No Depression readers and fans, we can provide top-notch writing and artwork and print with sustainability in mind.
We’ve always celebrated quality handmade music, and we believe handmade music deserves a quality magazine you can hold in your hand.
**Note: I’ve heard some confusion since this announcement as to whether or not No Depression founding co-editors Peter Blackstock and Grant Alden, and former publisher Kyla Fairchild, are involved with this return to print. They are not. ND is now owned by FreshGrass — a festival and roots music foundation based in San Francisco. The new ND in print will not be a carbon copy of the old ND in print. This is a new magazine prioritizing ND’s 20-year tradition of long-form storytelling and high-quality music photography. Peter and Grant started that tradition in 1995 and we (current ND and FreshGrass staff) are carrying it on, in new directions — both in print and online.
