We rode the Colorado prairie, swam in the creek, and sat on the porch with the incomparable Bella White, discussing not only her latest album, A Sign in the Weather, but also the insatiable curiosity that makes an artist like her possible.

Men are socialized to dislike vulnerability, to think of public humiliation like death. Yes, many men are socialized to endure all forms of physical discomfort, pain, and danger. When met with physical or emotional pain, we are told to stop crying, to bite our tongues until blood comes up.

Alaskan singer/songwriter Josh Fortenbery writes danceable, cry-worthy, and heartfelt music that will make you think.

Alluringly anonymous Austin-based alt-country/indi-folk quartet Boomershack sounds somewhere between Buddy Holly and The Deslondes, crossed with a stop on the continuum between Houndmouth and The Band of Heathens.

In some sense, a singer/songwriter’s most essential function is observation: to collect and catalogue the ordinary and extraordinary into relatable stories. They’re set to music, and sung out loud just so, so that the listener feels something and maybe, if they — or the songwriter is extra lucky — learns something, too. Durham, North Carolina-based musician Lou Hazel inhabits this role as curious spectator, with a particular bent toward minute and absurd circumstances, and evoking with his slightly-twisted kaleidoscope of revealing, thoughtful ruminations, the likes of John Prine and Dave Van Ronk.

Raised in the high desert of Idaho, Valley James found refuge from her turbulent family life in the vast landscapes of the American West. Her cinematic blend of Gothic country, Americana, and alt-pop meditates on themes of liminal space, death, and redemption.