CR 003: Rising Appalachia's Leah Song on Cover Songs and Creative Sabbaticals

Rising Appalachia's co-frontwoman discusses the Slow Music Movement, the joy of being label-less, and the band's new album, "Folk & Anchor."

In 2006, sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith released their debut album, Leah and Chloe, under the name Rising Appalachia. With a nod to their Atlanta roots and musical upbringing (a childhood steeped in Appalachian folk music, soul, and hip hop), the duo aimed to create a sound all their own. Seamlessly weaving world music, blues, folk, Americana, and spoken word, Rising Appalachia’s albums have featured a rich blend of traditional songs alongside contemporary originals, with many of the tracks bolstered by longtime band members David Brown (baritone guitar, upright bass), Duncan Wickel (fiddle, cello), and Biko Casini (drums and percussion). Offstage, the band members are deeply involved in social activism, and have long advocated for a more environmentally-friendly, community-based, sustainable method of touring.

This year marks a watershed moment for the band. After nearly two decades of constant touring and recording, Rising Appalachia is taking a break. Referring to it as a “creative sabbatical,” they will spend the rest of 2024 recharging. But before the official pause begins they’re sharing one final gift with their fans: a new album, Folk & Anchor. Their first record consisting entirely of cover songs, it features remakes of tracks by a wide array of musicians, including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, James Blake, Erykah Badu, and Beyoncé, all done in Rising Appalachia’s unique world-folk style.

The covers are a glimpse into the innumerable diverse artists whose work has influenced Song and Smith since their childhood. When asked to name artists she’d like to collaborate with in the future, Song ticks off a distinct roster. “Willie Nelson, definitely on the list,” she says. “André 3000, the Outkast crew, which was a huge part of our upbringing. We would love to collaborate with James Blake, as well.”

Song recently chatted with me over Zoom from South Carolina, where she was spending some time after wrapping up a short tour, and we discussed the band’s latest album, their vision for a “Slow Music Movement,” and how she and her sister avoid burnout.

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SANDRA EBEJER: You and your sister harmonize together so beautifully. Were you raised in a musical family? When did you begin playing music?

LEAH SONG: We were raised in a very musical family. We’re here actually [in South Carolina] with our mom and she doesn’t go anywhere without her fiddles. Our folks were really into vintage jazz and blues and Americana folk when we were kids. That would have been in the early ‘80s. And when we were both quite young, our mother got interested in the Appalachian fiddle traditions. She became sort of a hobby Appalachian musicologist. She wouldn’t call herself that, but she just started following the Appalachian fiddle camp music everywhere she could find it. So we grew up with band practices in the house and folk music camps on many, many weekends. She wasn’t a professional musician; that’s just what we did as a family. We would go all over the southeast and spend time learning and listening to all these old Appalachian folk tunes. It was a very cool way to grow up and it was much later on that we realized what a special tradition holder she was and is still. She plays five hours a day sometimes.

Wow! At what point did you two decide that this was going to be a career path?

Way later. I mean, as kids we loved it, but it was what our parents did. And then as teenagers, we didn’t like it at all and we really rebelled from it. Then we both picked up fiddle and banjo in our early 20s just to feel connected to our family. It was probably not for a chunk of years, well into our 20s, that we started being invited to perform more often. We were very resistant to that for the first few years. And then the invitations kept coming. I don’t know. I still think we're not sure if this is our career path even though we’re solidly 15 years in, but the invitations keep coming. That feels good.

Your new album, Folk & Anchor, is a collection of cover songs. When you’re pulling together an album like this, is it difficult to narrow down which songs to include? What is that process like?