Willow Avalon on her latest album, ‘Pink Pocket Pistol’
Listening to Willow Avalon’s latest album feels a little dangerous. It’s full of murder ballads, with tales of love, betrayal and revenge, where things don’t always end well for everyone involved.
Avalon grew up hearing similar songs sung by the women in her family, and that tradition helped inspire her new album, Pink Pocket Pistol.
It’s a modern take on Southern Gothic storytelling, pairing dark and unsettling tales with cheerful melodies, a wink, a nod and, occasionally, a body.
For Avalon, it’s also a chance to turn country music conventions on their head and expand the kinds of stories women get to tell. And storytelling runs in the family. Her father is Jim White, a one-of-a-kind songwriter and storyteller who’s been a guest on World Cafe several times.
In today’s session, Avalon talks about finding her own voice, her favorite murder ballad and what she learned from her dad about writing a great song. Plus, she performs live.
This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus. Our executive producer is Bruce Warren.
