Life is simultaneously full of divine joy and unfortunate hardships. No matter what we’re going through in life, we are gifted with the safety net of music, always ready to catch us when we fall. For folk singer-songwriter Amos Lee, the timeless music of Lucinda Williams was a shoulder for him to lean on while struggling with grief and loss. And now he’s paying tribute to her music on a new album.
With her soulful voice and rhapsodic words, Williams has been a “songwriting hero” for Lee ever since he discovered her on the WXPN airwaves during his teenage years, he says in a press release. Lee’s music career began a few years after graduating from the University of South Carolina. His debut self-titled record in 2005, featuring fusions of acoustic folk, funk and delicate jazz, was the first major building block in gaining a vast following. Since then, Lee has released almost a dozen LPs, including his most recent album Dreamland in 2022. He even got the opportunity to collaborate with Williams on his record Mission Bell back in 2011.
After the renowned success of Dreamland, Lee plunged into musical nostalgia and revisited the exemplary works of Williams. This deep dive into the past influenced his new release Honeysuckle Switches, a tribute to Williams for being a source of spiritual guidance and comfort throughout the years. In Honeysuckle, Lee features classics all across Williams’ discography from “Sweet Old World” to “Blessed.” Along with the album’s announcement, Lee has also released a homey cover of “Greenville” from the 1998 classic Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.
Honeysuckle Switches is coming this Black Friday (November 24th), so don’t forget to add this to your shopping list. You can listen to “Greenville” now at the link below, or on your favorite streaming platform.