BONUS TRACKS: New Music from Brandi Carlile & Elton John, Kassi Valazza, Rhiannon Giddens, Esther Rose, and more, and a New Music Podcast  

This week on Bonus Tracks we’ve got a ton of new album announcements and a fascinating new podcast about forgotten country music innovator Shelly Bush:

Brandi Carlile and Elton John

The Rocketman teamed up with Brandi Carlile to record a brand new album of duets between the two super star musicians titled Who Believes In Angels? The album is out April 4, and here’s the music video for the album’s first single and title track.

Rhiannon Giddens

Rhiannon Giddens returns to her roots and reunites with her former Carolina Chocolate Drops band mate Justin Robinson for a new album, What did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, to be released on April 18. The album consists of 18 traditional songs that the duo learned from their late mentor, old-time fiddler Joe Thompson. It was recorded outside at meaningful places to the duo, with a bare-bones set up of a couple chairs and microphones, plus one to pick up the natural world around them (bird song, wind, etc). Watch the video for the album’s lead single, “Hook and Line”:

Kassi Valazza

Former Portland, OR-based singer/songwriter Kassi Valazza will release her latest album, From Newman Street, out May 2. Named for the street where she stayed with a friend while she processed major life changes (including her impending move to New Orleans), the album is a collection of Valazza’s songs written during that period of transition. Check out the album’s first single, “Weight of the Wheel”:

Esther Rose

Santa Fe-based singer/songwriter Esther Rose will release her fifth album, and second album with New West Records, also on May 2. Watch “New Bad,” the lead single from Want below:

New Podcast from Nashville Session Musician Ellen Angelico About Forgotten Country Groundbreaker, Shelly Bush

Nashville Session Musician Ellen Angelico has for the last five years been obsessed with the story of country musician Shelly Bush, whom she played with a decade ago. “She didn’t have big hits and she wasn’t famous, but her indomitable spirit and charmingly chaotic career had an outsized impact on Nashville,” says. And so, Angelico decided to make a podcast about Bush to share her story with the world. Girl in a Hurry, which Angelico calls a “love letter to ‘making it’ as well as just making the best of it,” will debut next week, on Valentine’s Day, the tenth anniversary of Bush’s death. Enjoy the below trailer and pre-save it wherever you get your podcasts. More information can be found on the Girl in a Hurry website.

A SELECTION OF THE MUSIC WE’RE LISTENING TO THIS WEEK:

Charles Wesley Godwin —“It’s the Little Things”

The Seldom Scene — “Farewell, Angelina”

Judy Blank — “Dinosaurs” (her first single for Rounder Records)

Valerie June — “Joy, Joy!”

Penny & Sparrow — “Eloise”

Zan Fiskum —“lost like”

Back in the Garage — Los Angeles Fire Relief Compilation