Birdie Busch celebrates the comfort of conversation on “Someone To Talk To”

After a year that forced people to stay apart, Birdie Busch reminds us of the comfort of confiding in others on “Someone To Talk To.” Even if they can’t occur in person, the bright folk track is a testament to the conversations and connections that make even the uncertainty of COVID a little easier.

Ten years in the making, Busch started recording the track in 2011 with Seth Kaufmann (known for his band Floating Action, as well as his work with Angel Olson and Ray Lamontagne) during a long weekend at his home studio in Black Mountain, NC. Back in her hometown of Philadelphia, Busch recently decided to revisit the track. In addition to some recordings done at Sparkle Bones Studio, she enlisted the help of Chad Brown to record and arrange some horns. Brown recorded the horns in his home studio at Rigby Mansion, a property in Germantown that artists and musicians of various sorts call home.

The song is dedicated to Fred Horwitz, whom Birdie spent the pandemic talking on the phone with every day. Their phone calls would help him cope with the loneliness and isolation of his living facility. Horwitz peacefully passed away in his sleep on May 10, 2021. With vocals sweet as honey and a bluesy slide guitar by Kaufmann, the song is a loving tribute to his memory.

Busch also performed “Someone To Talk To” at the most recent Unprecedented Session livestream concert, which took place at Rigby Mansion with another one of the house’s residents, Philadelphia-based trumpet player Koof. Watch it, and listen to Busch’s newly completed older song, below