We've hinted, we've teased...and now we're finally ready to make the announcement: "Star Above the Mountain," our 3rd studio album, is officially on its way!
This album began in 2022 with an Arts Matter Grant from the City of Roanoke and the National Endowment for the Arts. The mission was simple: we would pen a collection of Roanoke-themed songs and tunes that embraces the Celtic motif of place—exploring our city, its history, its people, and its stories through traditional music.
And we did it! The project, "Kinnfolk Presents: Star Above the Mountain," resulted in 5 new songs, 9 new tunes, and culminated in a SOLD OUT performance at The Spot on Kirk on June 30, 2023. The following year, The Roanoker Magazine awarded the show Platinum for "Best Local Artwork Project" for 2024.
We spent the first months of this year at Fainting Goat Studio laying down tracks. So, what can you expect?
1. Original Compositions...and a Few Trad Favorites
"Star Above the Mountain" is special because it's our first album of original compositions! That's 4 new original tunes, 3 tune sets (composed of 3 tunes each), and 1 cover of a song written by our friend and part-time Roanoker, Terry Wetmore.
But trad fans, don't despair: we could resist sprinkling a few old favorites into the track list! We think you'll like what we've chosen. But we'll release the track list on a later date...
2. Guest Musicians
This is a first for us! We've invited five talented musicians from the Roanoke Valley to join us on this album: Paul Brockman (fiddle), Brandon Davis (uilleann pipes, small pipes), Burt Mitchell (flute), Mitch Petersen (tin whistle), and Tim Sauls (banjo, bouzouki).
When we performed "Kinnfolk Presents: Start Above the Mountain" back in June 2023, it was important to us to include other musicians from the community. The whole point was to celebrate Roanoke through Celtic music, after all!
You've never heard Kinnfolk tunes like this before...and we can't wait to share them with you!
3. Singles (& Music Videos!)
Why wait until 2025 to hear the new music?? We're planning to release 2, maybe 3, of the tracks BEFORE the full album releases next year. These releases will also include brand-new official music videos, so follow us on Spotify and YouTube to be the first to know!
4. A "Star Above the Mountain" Kickstarter
We're finally giving it a try! Kickstarter is a remarkable platform that allows fans (and potential fans) to pledge support to a project before it's been made. Why is this important? Because it allows us to crowdfund create a BETTER album for everybody, all while providing rewards for people who participate!
We're still putting our Kickstarter together, but you can expect perks such as signed copies of CDs, hand-written thank-you notes, and early access to brand-new Star Above the Mountain merch. We're extremely excited about this, and we hope you have as much fun with it as we do!
Join our newsletter (bottom of the page) to know when the Kickstarter goes live.
5. Behind-the-Scenes on Patreon
Finally, consider joining our Patreon community! We've already been giving them behind-the-scenes peeks at tracks, images from the recording studio, updates on the project, etc. As we continue to bring this project to life, they'll be the first to know about everything. (Hello, album art?? Early peeks at music videos?? Yes please!)
Click below to explore the community!
Watch this space for more "Star Above the Mountain" news! We can't wait to share the new music with you!
~Josh & Julie
Comments