BRATTLEBORO — Two years ago, the Brattleboro-based acoustic folk and roots band Low Lily successfully funded their first record (a self-titled EP) using crowdfunding.
Now they are headed back into the studio to record a second album - this time a full-length CD of original and traditional songs, instrumentals, and songs by Mark Knopfler and Gillian Welch (two of their favorites).
The new album, entitled 10,000 Days Like These, features music that hits close to home for the band, according to a news release, containing some very personal yet universal messages of peace, equality, and humanity - which they feel is so needed in the current political climate.
The members of Low Lily - vocalist/fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger, vocalist/guitarist/mandolinist Flynn Cohen, and vocalist/guitarist Liz Simmons - have enjoyed solo careers as well as many opportunities as side-people, touring the world for over a decade. When they came together as Low Lily three years ago, they realized this combination was a very special mix of skills, personalities, and creative minds.
The past few years have seen them on festival stages and at folk clubs and concert halls throughout the U.S. and in Canada and the U.K.
Low Lily is partnering with grassroots record company Mad River Records to release the new LP.
They will be recording at a local state-of-the-art studio, Guilford Sound, and working with award-winning producer/engineer Charlie Van Kirk of Brooklyn, who brings his diverse background, keen ear, and highly skilled engineering to the project.
Here is what Low Lily has to say about the project, and their decision to share 5 percent of money raised with the Acadia Center:
“Your money will directly fund the producer/engineer, studio rental, and studio musicians. Mad River Records is covering promotion and distribution, and has furnished us with an advance to cover mastering, graphics, and photography, but they are a small, independent label, thus the need for more funds to cover the recording itself - and that's where you come in.
“We open it up to YOU to preorder the CD, and maybe consider donating more, selecting one of the many enticing rewards we have come up with to make this extra fun, and - we hope - mutually beneficial.
“In addition to being artists, we are also dedicated citizens of our world, and we love to support organizations who we feel are doing great things for the sustainability of our planet. Therefore we will be donating 5% of all money we raise to the Acadia Center, based here in the northeast. We like the Acadia Center, as they spend time and money on real, practical solutions to tackle the very pressing environmental issues locally.”