Many of the musicians featured in the Saturday Soundtrack posts are like old friends who have been in my life for a long time. As part of the series, I have also committed to discovering music that I didn’t follow when I was young, highlighting musicians brought to my attention by friends, readers, and music newsletters. Those new discoveries are gifts, if you will.

Since we are in the gift-giving season, I want to revisit a few of those “new favorites” that may be well known to some of you, but that I just discovered (or rediscovered) in 2021 and 2022.*

John Reischman

Reischman, whose music we explored early this year, writes melodic mandolin tunes that have become classics. Here, with his longtime collaborators the Jaybirds, John leads the group on a lovely version of Lancaster Sound.

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Windborne

Perhaps my favorite discovery of 2022 is Windborne. We heard this group of amazing acapella singers in concert earlier this month and have become new fans. I’ve chosen three songs to feature: Huddie Ledbetter’s Bring a Little Water, Silvie, recorded several years ago; along with a beautiful arrangement of Bread and Roses. The band’s humor really came through live, and you can capture a bit of that magic in How We Do It — a visual and musical display of the way they create the arrangements for their songs.

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Yasmin Williams

I continue to be amazed by the musicianship and creativity of Yasmin Williams, whose music I discovered in 2021. Her sound and style stand as a “challenge to widespread preconceptions about the music made by young Black people or acoustic guitarists. It’s Williams’s achievement that she makes that challenge sound so calming and beautiful.” Take a listen to Through the Woods, recorded at Washington’s Dumbarton Oaks for the New York Guitar Festival sessions.

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Low Lily

The folk trio Low Lily was another find from 2021 that I return to again and again. The band has a new album, Angels in the Wreckage, coming out in 2023, and they’ve released a video of the first single from that project, Shawn Colvin’s Round of Blues.

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Kyshona

A self-proclaimed “music therapist gone rogue,” Kyshona blends a powerful voice with a healing message. She has been touring throughout 2022, releasing new music, and collaborating with a wide group of amazing musicians. I love this recent video of My Own Grave, filmed in Nashville’s replica of the Parthenon.

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Tatiana Eva-Marie and the Avalon Jazz Band

Seldom a day passes when at least one reader doesn’t stop by to check in on the 2021 post featuring Tatiana Eva-Marie and the Avalon Jazz Band. It is easy to see why, once you listen to Eva-Marie’s captivating voice and see her hot and sassy style of interpreting 1930s jazz. She has a new project in the works, celebrating the music of guitarist Django Reinhardt, the inventor of Gypsy Jazz. Give a listen to her sing a beautiful arrangement of Autumn Leaves.

Enjoy!

More to come…

DJB

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*Over the course of 2022, I did not feature as many new artists as was the case the year before. Click here to check out the Gift of New Favorites from 2021.

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Next week on Saturday Soundtrack, we’ll highlight music of the Yuletide seasons. In two weeks, look for the top ten posts from 2022 in this series, based on readers’ views. It is a great list!

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Image by Mike Gattorna from Pixabay.