August 2019

August 22, 2019

The Boot Premieres Ana Egge cover "Ballad of the Poor Child" Featuring Iris DeMent

Singer-songwriter Ana Egge is debuting her new take on the song "Ballad of the Poor Child," featuring fellow artist Iris DeMent, exclusively for readers of The Boot.

Written and originally released by folk artist Diana Jones in 2009, "Ballad of the Poor Child" has a message that continues to be relevant today, both due to current events and as wealth inequality only continues to worsen. "Tell the troubles of the poor child, for their voices are too small," Egge and DeMent sing in the chorus. "Let them a drink a cup of comfort / Let them sing among us all."

According to Egge, performing "Ballad of the Poor Child" in an era when families are being separated at the U.S. border and poverty wreaks havoc across the globe was particularly emotional. "When I first heard [it], it hit me hard and made me cry," Egge tells The Boot, adding that the song also made DeMent cry when Egge played it for her.

"This song is for all of the children suffering from poverty, illness and injustice here at home, on our borders and all over the world," Egge says. "So many of us want to be able to do something. Maybe speaking up and out for those who cannot is the first step."

Based in Brooklyn, N.Y., Egge is currently preparing to release a brand-new album, Is It the Kiss, on which "Ballad of the Poor Child" appears, on Sept. 6. Alec Spiegelman, known for his work with Okkervil River, Pokey LaFarge and more artists, produced the project.

Read the full article and Listen to "Ballad of the Poor Child"

 

Singer-songwriter Ana Egge is debuting her new take on the song "Ballad of the Poor Child," featuring fellow artist Iris DeMent, exclusively for readers of The Boot. Press play below to listen.

Written and originally released by folk artist Diana Jones in 2009, "Ballad of the Poor Child" has a message that continues to be relevant today, both due to current events and as wealth inequality only continues to worsen. "Tell the troubles of the poor child, for their voices are too small," Egge and DeMent sing in the chorus. "Let them a drink a cup of comfort / Let them sing among us all."

 

According to Egge, performing "Ballad of the Poor Child" in an era when families are being separated at the U.S. border and poverty wreaks havoc across the globe was particularly emotional. "When I first heard [it], it hit me hard and made me cry," Egge tells The Boot, adding that the song also made DeMent cry when Egge played it for her.

"This song is for all of the children suffering from poverty, illness and injustice here at home, on our borders and all over the world," Egge says. "So many of us want to be able to do something. Maybe speaking up and out for those who cannot is the first step."

Based in Brooklyn, N.Y., Egge is currently preparing to release a brand-new album, Is It the Kiss, on which "Ballad of the Poor Child" appears, on Sept. 6. Alec Spiegelman, known for his work with Okkervil River, Pokey LaFarge and more artists, produced the project. Visit AnaEgge.com for more details.

Listen to Ana Egge feat. Iris DeMent, "Ballad of the Poor Child":

Read More: Ana Egge feat. Iris DeMent, 'Ballad of the Poor Child' [Premiere] | https://theboot.com/ana-egge-iris-dement-ballad-of-the-poor-child/?utm_s...

August 30, 2019

Folk Alley Review Ana Egge 'Is It the Kiss' and Premieres Full Album

Hear It First: Ana Egge, 'Is It the Kiss'

by Kelly McCartney

Great songs — honest songs — don't only give us a lens through which we can see their writers; they give us a look inside ourselves. They connect us to our own hearts, as well as each others', across time, space, and every other barrier imaginable. They teach us and reach us, heal us and reveal us, no matter who, where, and when we are in this world.

With her new release, Is It the Kiss, Ana Egge adds some great, honest songs to the collective consciousness — songs that show us her heart in order that we might see our own reflected in it. There is sorrow here, and suffering. But so, too, exists hope and calm amidst the hurt and chaos. Egge makes sure of that, time and again, letting us hear every nuance of her voice. The cracks, the slides, the strains, the breaths — it's all right there on display. That, combined with her deft guitar playing and intriguing production, and this album creates a world of its own, with sonic textures so intimate that you can't help but be pulled so deeply in.

Off the top, the laid-back country-folk of “Cocaine Cowboys” feels like a classic Emmylou Harris or Linda Ronstadt tune. From there, the set moves into the easy, but effective, woodwind- and horn-dotted shuffle of “What Could Be.” Egge's in no rush to get anywhere on any of these songs, relaxing into them, the sparse production lifting her with the invisible strength of a thousand clouds.

Throughout, the album's smooth soulfulness is grounded far more in purpose than play. Just because the singer's in no rush doesn't mean the song's have no urgency. Egge has said that they emerged all at once, “in a bit of a fever.” Their need to be heard is most obvious in the devastation of stories like those in “Teacake and Janey” and “James.” But it's also there in the optimism of “Rise Above” and “Hurt a Little.”

Is It the Kiss continues to deliver on the promise of Ana Egge's heart-revealing writing and, in doing so, consistently peels back the layers of the listener's defenses.