[Cover photo credit to Earth Based Media]
In celebration of Earth Day last Friday, Folk-Soul ensemble Rising Appalachia commemorated the tenth anniversary of their album, Wider Circles, with a digitally remastered re-release, debuting an unreleased track, “All Fence and No Doors,” new artwork that ties into the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and a bundle of local Appalachian-influenced merchandise.
Originally released in 2015, Wider Circles marked “a major artistic and geographical expansion” for the band.
Vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder Leah Song says:
It was the beginning of what we now call the Slow Music Movement. We toured the album by train and sailboat, carried these songs into prisons, across borders, and into the heart of communities grappling with ecological and cultural resilience.
Wider Circles has songs tied into the group’s travels across Italy and through Ireland, down into Latin America into the BriBri tribes of Costa Rica, and tied to their home in the American South between Appalachia, Atlanta, and New Orleans.
Reflecting on the band’s journey and their trajectory since the album’s inception, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and co-founder Chloe Smith reflects:
Time is a slippery beautiful thing you can never quite get a hold of by the tail. Ten years ago we made the album Wider Circles, and as we work on writing our new album, this anniversary feels like something to share and celebrate with our fans. Looking back, we were neck deep in touring and finding our way in the wilds of taking a crack at music for a living as young women—equal parts student, activist, folk singer. This particular body of work felt like a large culmination of the many influences we picked up along our route. Wider Circles was a moment in our artistic path that was deeply inspired by the timeless work of Joanna Macy and her translation of Rilkes poem “Widening Circles.’ The song and the album’s theme is meant to address the necessity of open dialogues and perspectives in times of severance and severity.
Now, in the wake of Hurricane Helene that devastated parts of their Southern Appalachian community in September 2024, Wider Circles resonates with “the destruction and silver linings that occur through natural disasters.”
Central to the re-release is “All Fence and No Doors,” an unreleased studio track written years prior during the band’s time in New Orleans when it was facing hardships after Hurricane Katrina.
Leah Song adds about the track:
The lyrics have always echoed our concern for environmental justice. But after the storm, the meaning changed. Lines like ‘all this water coming after me’ and ‘I don’t have enough water to drink’ became chillingly literal. This song felt like the right sound to add to this body of work, and almost feels timeless. Recorded at Echo Mountain in Asheville, North Carolina many years back, this new version feels as if it was always a part of this album.
The track was mixed by longtime engineer Julian Dreyer whose own studio was impacted by the flooding, and features the newest full time band member Duncan Wickel on cello alongside David Brown on guitar, and Biko Casini on percussion.
The re-release also features artwork by Asheville-based woodblock printmaker Ashley McGrath, whose studio was destroyed in the floods. Leah Song discovered one of Ashley’s prints washed up in the River Arts District during a community cleanup.
Leah Song concludes:
The print was covered in mud, but something about it struck me. We tracked down the artist and I knew I wanted to work with her. It felt like serendipity—art and nature, destruction and renewal, all in one.
