Hilary Saunders

⟦ writes things ⟧ Managing Editor @NoDepression 🎶 Previously in Paste / ESPN / Next City / Bitch / Complex / etc. Rock and roll can save the world. She/ella/זי

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Articles

BONUS TRACKS: New Website, Memberships, and More Music and Media Industry News

1 week ago | nodepression.org | Hilary Saunders

This past week has been a big one for both the music and media industries. In case you missed it, welcome to the new No Depression! Read on to learn about all the new changes, find answers to some FAQs, and subscribe to the leading source for independent roots music and culture journalism. In this corner of roots music, mandolinist and singer-songwriter Sierra Hull (ND review of her latest album) was recently featured on PBS News Hour.
Valerie June - "I'm In Love" [VIDEO] - No Depression

1 week ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

Editor’s Note: Valerie June is No Depression’s Spotlight Artist for April 2025. Learn more about her life and new album, Owls, Omens, and Oracles, which was released April 11, in this feature. Valerie June cozied up in her basement for a solo-acoustic version of her new song, “I’m In Love.” In the feature profile, the singer-songwriter spoke about how joy is a practice and described some of the ways she explores this practice, including music (of course), dance, yoga, mantras, and breath work.
BONUS TRACKS: Songs for Earth Day and More Roots Music News

1 week ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

With Earth Day on Tuesday and Arbor Day today, we thought it prudent to share some roots music in honor of the planet, the trees, and our urgent, global need for environmental protections.
BONUS TRACKS: Roots Music News from Yasmin Williams, Amadou & Mariam, Rhiannon Giddens, and Turnpike Troubadours

3 weeks ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

Innovative picker and songwriter Yasmin Williams made some headlines on Wednesday after she received “absolutely insane” email responses from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. Earlier this week, she wrote to Interim Executive Director Richard Grenell (appointed by Donald Trump during his complete gutting of one of the Capital’s most prestigious performing arts centers in February) with two main questions.
SPOTLIGHT: Valerie June Clings to Joy on ‘Owls, Omens, and Oracles’

3 weeks ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

Like an alter with mystical crystals, holy spirits, and positive energies, everything about Valerie June’s fourth studio album is offered right there in the title — Owls, Omens, and Oracles. Calling from her home in Brooklyn, seated in front of enough shelving with vinyl records to cover the entire Zoom background, June explains that she splits her time between the city and rural Tennessee lands where she grew up.
BONUS TRACKS: Lost Highway Record Label Relaunches and a 4/20 Treat from Willie Nelson

3 weeks ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

Lost Highway, a beloved country and alt-country record label of the early-aughts, is coming back to life with support from Interscope Geffen A&M. Most famous for releasing the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and albums by artists like Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, and Kacey Musgraves, Lost Highway had been dormant since original founder Luke Lewis retired in 2012.
In The Deep End With ... Marlon Williams

3 weeks ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

Earlier this month, New Zealand/Aotearoa singer-songwriter Marlon Williams released his fourth studio album. A noted collaborator, Williams has also released four record co-written and released with artists like Delaney Davidson, Tami Neilson, and Kacy & Clayton. This new music holds particular significance to Williams, though: Te Whare Tīwekaweka is his first sung entirely in the Māori language.
Introducing No Depression’s Spring 2025 Journal + Playlist

1 month ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

EDITOR’S NOTE: Managing Editor Hilary Saunders’ letter, below, opens our Winter 2024 quarterly journal, featuring the best and most timely stories in roots music today. Buy the Winter 2024 issue in print or digitally here. Music has taken me all over the world. Last year, I went to Kansas City, Juneau, Tulsa, Bentonville, Wichita, Park City, Tønder, Copenhagen, North Adams, Mississauga, Niagara, and St. Louis for music.
BONUS TRACKS: Michael Hurley Passes Away at 83 and More Roots Music News from Bruce Springsteen and Kelsey Waldon

1 month ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

The roots music community was stunned to hear about the passing of “outsider folk” singer-songwriter Michael Hurley yesterday at the age of 83 years old. The news was ostensibly broken by Brooklyn-based venue Union Pool, which posted a photo of musician in front of its red, velvet stage curtain and framed by bulb lights. As his family wrote in a statement:It is with a resounding sadness that the Hurley family announces the recent sudden passing of the inimitable Michael Hurley.
No Depression's Best of March 2025 Playlist

1 month ago | nodepression.com | Hilary Saunders

Today might be April Fool’s Day, but last month’s playlist is no joke. March 2025 saw the return of some of roots music’s biggest stars like Jason Isbell and Alison Krauss and Union Station. Additionally, ever-prolific Charley Crockett released his 15th studio album last month and bluegrass stalwarts The Seldom Scene keep reinventing themselves in their fifth decade. Sierra Hull released her first new album in five years and Lucy Dacus released her first solo material in four years.