“Folk music is just storytime for adults”

Listen to a 22 minute WAMC NPR feature on our new album — and stream a performance and interview on WCBE today at 11AM.

I’m thankful for public radio stations. I listened regularly to WYSO out of Yellow Springs as a kid, and they offer such a window into art and music, particular the stuff that’s just a quick jog off the beaten path.

I’d like to appreciate Sarah LaDuke from WAMC NPR out of Albany, New York. She took a liking to our album and reached out to feature it on their airwaves that reach half a million people a month in the northeastern US. I took the interview, during my lunch break at the library no less.

I was impressed by her thoughtful approach and desire to highlight b-sides — Sale Today and Couch Song — that were not highlighted as singles. We had a lovely talk (which became a 22 minute feature!!) about the intersection of Toddler Storytime and folk music, how work at the library allows me to make art more freely, and some additional details about dad’s accident at the center of our new record.

If you want to hear us on an NPR station in our hometown, tune into WCBE (or stream it on their website) at 11am. We’ll be playing live and chatting about our big release show tomorrow at Rumba cafe.

I imagine that this will be the only time we play the album in its entirety with a 7-piece band. If you want to be there, I’d suggest buying a ticket online post-haste.

With appreciation,

Sam

our new album is out!

It’s here!

I’m so thrilled to share this album with you. I could say many things, but I’ll leave it at this. I am proud of what we made. It helped me grow through a difficult time and come out a better person. And I am thankful for the family and friends by my side throughout it.

For context on the album, I suggest reading this amazing article by Columbus Monthly. I was floored by how thoughtfully it was written and how thoroughly it was researched. Hard recommend.

I think the album pairs well with a comforting drink of your choice, a comfortable place to sit, and about 40 minutes of sustained attention (for me, that’s a decaf irish coffee on the long mustard-yellow couch in front of my stereo). But that’s just me — you can enjoy it however you’d like to. (If you want it on CD, LP, or want some merch, it all ships for free today.)

Are you going to play these songs at some shows? — Yes!

We are celebrating with a release show in Columbus, Ohio with a seven-piece band at Rumba Cafe. It is on Saturday, April 13th and doors open at 5pm. We’re not night owls, so come join us for an early show, opened up by Chamber Brews.

We are also playing in Chicago on Saturday April 27th at Judson & Moore Distillery with Holy Joke and Marvin Stumbles.

After that, we’ll go to Germany to play a bunch of shows.

What comes next?

We’re lining up other shows after we return to Europe — reply to this email if you want us to come to where you live. And if you have any thoughts you’d like to share or questions that arise, send me a message through the website. I’d love to hear what you have to say

Wishing you well — I hope you get to see your family and friends this weekend (that is, if you want to see you family and friends).

Cheers,

Sam & Hello Emerson

new single and music video out now!

It has my first guitar solo. So like, let me know how I did?

But seriously, this is the climax of our newest album, due out on 3/29. I am incredibly proud of the whole album, and this song in particular. If you’ve liked our singles, be sure to share them with someone you think may enjoy them, and pre-save the whole album.

We also made this beautiful music video with our generous friend Kyle Lowry. We hit it off after he heard our song “Ohio” and we made this video together. I think it walks the line between mundane and magical — which is essentially our brand more often than not. I hope you enjoy.

Special thanks to the Greater Columbus Arts Council!

We were generously awarded a grant last year to help us produce and support this release. If you’re an artist, you know the strange space that this work can take up — always existing somewhere between vocation, hobby, career, passion, small business, frustration, joy, life-purpose, and productive distraction from day-to-day life. It takes money and time to make any kind of art and still live a balanced and sustainable life. We are so thankful for their support — and encourage you to apply for their 2024 Funds for Artists. They have rolling applications awarding up to $500 per artist. Please check them out if you are in Central Ohio.

Ok that’s all! Thanks for listening!

Sam & Hello Emerson

Germany tour dates + 
Pre-save our FINAL single

Hey there. Hope Tuesday is ok for you — I have two updates.

1. Our final single comes out on Friday.

Consider giving it a pre-save here — it’s a free way to help it find other strangers who might love our music if they had the chance to hear it. And it will help you not forget to give it a listen when it comes out! Dubs all around.

2. We are touring as a trio in Germany in May.

Be sure to check the dates and add us to your calendar — and let us know if you’re coming! (I will be bringing my journal with me in case you want a closer look.)

Sending you my best,

Sam & Hello Emerson


new single (+ my favorite music video ever)

Hey there. I won’t waste your time.

We have a new single out — you can find it on your favorite streamer here. I’m incredibly proud of it.

But I’m most excited about sharing this music video that we made with our friends Kim and Jerry. They’ve been married and ballroom dancing for 47 years. From songwriting to collaborating with our pals on the film crew, it’s my absolute favorite piece of art I’ve ever made. I really want you to see it.

Wishing you well,

Sam & Hello Emerson

new full length on 3/29/2024 via Anyway Records

Thanks for listening to our new single “Tupperware for Glass” — it’s the opening salvo for our third album, due out in a matter of weeks. I’m more proud of it than anything I’ve made (ever) and I’m so thrilled to share it with you.

If you listened to it, you probably noticed it starts with a man’s voice. That’s my father, recounting his last memories before a serious and sudden accident wiped his memory and landed him in the hospital for nine days. At the end of the story, he’s alive and well (though with less of a filter and no sense of smell). But at the time, I was certain that I would never speak to him again. During those nine days, the family walked the balance beam between pulling for his recovery and steeling ourselves to say goodbye. It was difficult — and it require some unpacking.

For me, unpacking all of that meant making a record from it.His voice carries us through the entire 40 minutes, with additional chamber instrumentation from Knisely. I am so excited to share it with you — and I believe that it can provide some comfort and solace to people who have also sit in hospital rooms with loved ones, without much productive to do but hope.

If you are excited to listen, consider the following calls to action.

1. You can pre-order the record on our website.

2. Come to the Kafe Kerouac open mic in Columbus, Ohio tomorrow night.

3. Buy tickets to our next full band show at The Rambling House with Danielle Durack on February 23rd. (You can also listen to her newest song, “Dean” and you should).

Cheers,

Sam & Hello Emerson

Listen to “Tupperware for Glass” today!

Our newest album starts with these two tracks. The whole album focuses on an event in 2017 that landed my father in the hospital for nine days, without any memory to explain why. This is about first hearing the news.

I remember that I got a call from Mom at work on a Wednesday. In a little office with a little window that looked out at the parking lot. And she didn’t really have any information. Just that she was on the highway driving up to the University of Michigan hospital. She called me to let me know, and to prepare me for when she called back later – either to tell me to stay home or to drive up.

Part of the difficulty of everything is that the event that led to his injury was a random accident while he was doing a random act of kindness. There’s nothing that anyone could do to prevent it. There’s no one to blame. We can do everything we can to avoid carcinogens, keep ourselves healthy, work out, eat well, and it is worth doing. But it also means nothing at the same time, because that’s just how the world works.

I hope you listen, reflect, and maybe share it with someone who’s been in a similar situation.

Be well,

Sam & Hello Emerson

this song is the collective effort of eleven people who decided that songs are important.

sam emerson bodary | songs, guitars, vocals, synths, production

daniel lawrence seibert | percussion, synths, arrangements, production

jack keating doran | keyboards, production

with chamber contributions from Knisely

evan lynch | clarinet

helen cates | violin

shine robison | piano

zach koors | vibraphone

and these thoughtful collaborators

benjamin ahlteen | bass guitar

tony rice | recording, mixing, production

glenn davis | mastering

featuring the voice of david lawrence bodary

recorded by StoryCorps

on july 14th, 2019

4-Track Cover | "Lua" by Bright Eyes

I remember there was a CD compilation from the organization Red Hot that was called Dark Was the Night. It had all of the 2000s indie heavy hitters on it. It was honestly an introduction to a lot of songs that would introduce me to some of my favorite songwriters. And there was a version of Bright Eyes’ “Lua” on it that had Conor Oberst — but it also had Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. And I love that song, and it loved that specific version of that song.

So, this week I recorded a little version of it that’s inspired by Gillian and Dave’s interpretation, using a tuning that I found from The Tallest Man on Earth. So, if that sounds interesting to you, you can watch/listen to it here in full.

I love this song. Hope you’re doing ok.

Sam

On local shows, modest virality, and free shipping

On local shows

We played a show last Wednesday with Elijah Berlow from Chicago. It was at Columbus, Ohio’s Rambling House. Tom at the door has always been so supportive of us, always certain that if we moved to New York City or somewhere big we’d get seen, discovered, appreciated, so on. It was a lovely night. An early show with plenty of folks paying close attention to songs really made it a treat to perform.

Elijah had a lovely set after a long drive from Chicago. His fingerpicking is damn beautiful, and his songs feel lived-in like a great pair of worn down slippers. Listen to his music and follow him if you like Tallest Man on Earth, Nick Drake, John Prine, and Townes Van Zandt.

On modest virality

In the strangeness of algorithmically determined social media followings, several of our journaling posts have been served up to hundreds of thousands of people scrolling on their phones. They resonated enough with some of those people that they liked the post, shared it, and followed us. So, our followings have doubled.

Many of these people are just here for little journal videos, but everyone is invited to take a listen to our music. Honestly, if you’re the kind of person who likes journaling videos on social media, our music is probably your exact vibe.

Regardless of how the numbers next to our posts change, I’ll just keep on doing my little routine. I chose to post these journaling videos because it’s good for me and sustainable to begin with, so even when the numbers stop going up, I’ll still keep making them. And I’m happy that a few more people will be able to find our music in the meantime.

On free stickers

We are still shipping out free stickers across the country, but I decided to expand free shipping across our merch. We’re redesigning and reordering merch, so feel welcome to nab something off of our website in the meantime. We have very few copies of our first record left — if you’ve been waiting, this is probably your last chance.

If you’re old to us, your support means so much. Thanks so much for your support over eight years and two albums.

If you’re new to us, welcome! Thanks for reading, listening, and watching. We’ve got two great albums of songs — one might be your new favorite.

— Sam





notes in gratitude to The Tallest Man 
on Earth (and a cover video)

I got most of the music that I love on a USB flash drive inside of a bubble mailer via USPS from Michigan to Ohio from my cousin Rob. I think this is how I got exposed to The Tallest Man on Earth in middle school or early high school. But memories can be fuzzy. All I know is that I fell in love with the songs on his early records at an impressionable age. I remember sharing them and Ezra Furman’s with my mom, and her response being something along the lines of, “the songs are nice, but that voice is not for me”.

The songs were for me. And the voice was too. Not because I loved the voice, but because it was emphatically and confidently his own voice, like a welcome mat into this art that knew that it wouldn’t be for everyone in the world — but anyone making art with the illusion that it is for everyone in the world is a bit deluded. For the kid that I was, slowing figuring out how my own voice sounded, it was a gift.

His playing was a gift as well. I learned his songs when I started to push myself playing guitar in high school. Trying out wacky tunings, practicing my fingerpicking while watching TV shows, and breaking way too many strings. Many of our songs are written in a D9 / DADEAD tuning that I learned “Like the Wheel” on. It feels more like home than standard ever did.

I am driving to Louisville to see him play tonight. I’ll enjoy soaking things in and appreciating songs. I covered his “Fields of Our Home” for this week exercise. After some hours together, I think I understand what it’s saying a bit more. But I arranged it a bit differently on standard and slowed it down a bit, added a bit of organ and mellotron and a kiss of backing vocals. I hope you enjoy it.

Be well,

Sam