THROUGH THE LENS: ND Photographers’ Favorite Roots Albums of 2024

This week 14 No Depression photographers, from towns all across the United States and as far abroad as Australia highlight the cream of the roots music albums released this year. From a bluegrass song cycle to symphonic metal this collection of albums not only comprises a diverse and invigorating playlist of roots music but also demonstrates how roots music is expanding in so many directions all at once.

While in previous years two, or in one instance three, photographers chose the same album, this time around there is no duplication. Many thanks to them, identified along with their picks, and to the artists whose work has made 2024 such a memorable year.

Becky Buller — Jubilee

Invoking the Biblical story of Jonah as a metaphor, Buller has crafted a musical memoir of her descent into depression and the journey back to solid ground. The album, recorded live, is a song cycle designed to be heard as a single piece, a rarity in the Bluegrass genre. It’s a welcome invitation to a more thoughtful engagement with her music. — Kevin Slick 

Jake Shimabukuro & Mick Fleetwood — Blues Experience

Shimabukuro goes way beyond what most people would think the ukulele is capable of and if you didn’t know any better he sounds more like he’s playing a six string guitar. On working together Fleetwood said, “It was a thrill to put out a blues based selection of instrumental versions of some famous old classics playing as only [Shimabukuro] can do.”  — Eric Ring 

Leyla McCalla — Sun Without the Heat

Drawing upon her Haitian roots, along with a New Orleans influence, McCalla brings forth an album that taps into many different cultural stylings and creates an album that is truly eclectic in sound and texture. I listen to it over and over again. — Peter Dervin 

Amythyst Kiah — Still + Bright

Symphonic metal seems like an odd genre to influence roots music, but Kiah cites it in the creation of this album. While it’s roots in every way, the spectacle, the fullness of the songs give a nod as much to the Finnish band Nightwish as they do to John Prine, especially on “I Will Not Go Down,” with its wall of acoustic guitar sound supplied by Billy Strings. — Chris Griffy 

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore — TexiCali

With Alvin’s guitar playing that setting the album’s tone, vocally they take you on a road trip exploring their respective home sates of California and Texas. “Borderland” is my favorite tune and “Blind Owl” gives us a good taste of Alvin’s love of the Blues. — Mark J. Smith 

Jon Batiste —  Beethoven Blues

What happens when the son of one of New Orleans most important musical families who finds joy in the global frequency turns his sights to “Ode To Joy” (from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony)? Answer, this album, a genre bending (or is it?) solo piano project. Batiste is a spiritual ambassador of something way deeper than the notes he plays, and he crosses centuries as naturally as breathing in oxygen. — Jim Brock 

Hurray for the Riff Raff  — The Past Is Still Alive

A slow burner, this album is one to which I keep returning. “Alibi” is a near-perfect opening track. — Justin St. Clair

Paul Cauthen  — Black on Black 

I had been seeing Cauthen on the festival circuit for the past few years now, but when he picked up a banjo and sat down on a couch at Pappy + Harriet’s in Pioneertown, California his baritone voice, sounding like a cross between Johnny Cash and Elvis, gave me goose bumps. This album, with catchy dance club songs like “Sweetheart From The Trailer Park” and slower songs like “Black Roses,” replicates those live moments. — Liza Orozco 

Adrianne Lenker — Bright Future

Not only did I select Lenker’s solo performance as my favorite show of 2024, Lenker’s album, Bright Future, is also a favorite of mine. This album is hauntingly beautiful with it’s intimate, vulnerable lyrics. Every song is a masterpiece, with “Sadness As a Gift” being my favorite. — C. Elliott 

Sierra Ferrell — Trail Of Flowers

This is an easy pick or me as Ferrell hasn’t put a foot wrong since her previous album, Long Time Coming, my favorite album of 2021. I am not alone as it has won many awards, including the prestigious Americana Music Association’s Album of the Year, and has garnered four Grammy nominations. — Steve Ford

Kasey Chambers — Backbone 

This album serves as a companion to Chambers’ book Just Don’t Be A D**khead. The book features QR codes that link certain chapters to the songs, my favorite being the title track “Backbone (The Desert Child)” a throwback country song with a nod to familiar current instrumental sounds, including drums by the one and only Brady Blade. It’d make Emmylou proud. — Boom Baker 

MJ Lenderman — Manning Fireworks

Mixing a blend of Americana and indie rock, on his fourth album Lenderman, featured on vocals, guitar, bass, drums and organ, adroitly mixes Americana and indie rock. Highlights are “She’s Leaving You” and “Wristwatch.” — Chad Cochran

Sarah Gayle Meech — Easin’ On

Lower Broadway’s Nashville honky tonk and outlaw country traditionalist, Meech evokes an oft overlooked era of Country Music, the late 70s and the 80s. Walking the line between the tough girl persona of her live performances and vulnerability and sultriness, the album grabs you with a genuine sense of intrigue. If there’s any justice, more folks will discover the magic of Sarah Gayle Meech. — Kevin Smith

Charley Crockett — $10 Cowboy

As ND said when reviewing this album, “With his 13th album, $10 Cowboy…. [is] a cross between Hank Williams, a low-key carnival announcer, and the Coen brothers’ Buster Scruggs, Crockett has perfected his craft: $10 Cowboy is a 2024 standout.”  — Holly Horn 

Click on any photo below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.