Jan 9, 2026
Jan 8, 2026
ifitbeyourwill S06E24 • The Barr Brothers
A melody looping in a hospital hallway. A chorus that took six years to learn its own name. Sitting down with Brad Barr, we talk about writing when life insists on co-author credit—kindness traded for drum lessons, heartbreak turned into breath, and a city that lets a voice arrive on its own time. From Providence to Montreal, Brad and Andrew built a shared language—first as The Slip, then as The Barr Brothers—rooted in groove, generosity, and patience.
The focus is Let It Hiss, their first record in eight years, and the clarity that came only after the songs could stand on their own. Jim James adds a spectral lift to “English Harbor.” Elizabeth Powell and Ariel Engle color the margins. Klô Pelgag reframes a verse in French, returning harmonies that feel like a second producer’s hand.
There’s tactile joy—cassettes, handheld recorders, chord voicings shared online—and a clear ethic: measure success by honesty, not algorithms. Ahead: Let It Hiss outtakes, North American and European dates, Sleeping Operator finally stirring, and Brad’s first vocal solo record as he learns which songs belong to which home.
Jan 7, 2026
Jason P. Woodbury & The Night Bird Singing Quartet • When I Get Lonesome • 2026
Jason P. Woobury—the Phoenix based musician, writer, and podcaster—announces his new album, Jason P. Woodbury and the Night Bird Singing Quartet, out March 13 via his own Always Happening Records, and shares two singles, “When I Get Lonesome (Again)” and “Get To Meet Them.” With songs about aliens, family, God, worry and relief, water and the desert, the album veers from rocking to hushed, with a pop-forward sensibility that evokes an era when classic rock evolved into new wave and snuck onto soft-rock radio. In a voice reminiscent of artists like Lindsey Buckingham or even the Beach Boys’ various Wilsons, Woodbury spills out lyrics that split the difference between the self-aware screeds of Elvis Costello and the coiled spirituality of Van Morrison.
In addition to Woodbury on vocals, guitars, and sound design, Night Bird Singing features the titular quartet—producer Zachary Toporek on vocals, drums, percussion, guitars, and keys; Andrew Bates on electric and upright bass; Rick Heins on pedal steel, guitars, and effects; and Rob Kroehler on keys—as well as Joshua Wayne Hensley and Michelle Larios on background vocals.
Jan 2, 2026
ifitbeyourwill S06E23 • Emily Yacina
Snow hushes the streets; songs do the same to the head. We open on a coast-to-coast weather check and drift into a story that starts in Philly basements and only really clicks once Emily Yacina loosens her grip. Confidence, she says, was something the scene lent her early on—small rooms, big hearts. Most songs still arrive as a fragment: a phrase, a melodic flicker. Writing becomes a place to set feelings down when there’s nowhere else to put them.
There’s a pivot here—from hardline DIY to letting collaborators leave fingerprints. Control gives way to trust. A pianist widens the frame, a violinist pulls a thread, a great engineer sharpens the picture. Emily talks about the awe of unfamiliar studios and the humbling realization that audio engineering is its own deep craft, not just a means to an end. Then comes release-day whiplash: years of work suddenly gone, the quiet after the drop, the itch to check a feed for proof of life. She’s honest about the pressure to “go viral,” and how she learned to measure success by connection instead of metrics.
Touring again—after time away—reset the temperature. Nightly rooms, real conversations, and a sense of abundance replaced scarcity. Move your body, move your ideas. Momentum follows motion. She’s carrying that energy into 2026: more sessions, more collaborators, and a steady aim to make songs feel as alive as the feelings that sparked them.
If you’re into indie folk with DIY roots, the mechanics of songwriting, and the quiet courage it takes to share something personal, this conversation sketches a practical map for sustainable creativity.
If it hits home, follow the show, pass it to a friend who lives for singer-songwriters, and leave a review—so the right ears can find it.
