River Whyless may employ the trappings of a typical string band — fiddle, guitar, prominent vocal harmonies — but they use those elements to surprising effect. They’re, gratefully, a far cry from the banjo-rolling Americana du jour, instead crafting tunes that would sound at home next to contemporaries like Hiss Golden Messenger and predecessors like Paul Simon.
In using footage from the Women’s March on Washington (and our hometown of Asheville) for our rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” our goal is to help speak truth to power, not for the sake of perpetuating our country’s present divisiveness, but as a way to support and encourage the need for an open, honest, and compassionate conversation about our universal rights and freedoms. We’re not asking everyone to agree, but to listen to one another. We promise to do the same.
River Whyless is named in spirit of its ongoing love affair with the natural world. Since its formation in 2009 the band has toured extensively, playing hundreds of shows from coast to coast and into Canada. Its debut album “A Stone, A Leaf, An Unfound Door” was recorded in the band’s home studio in Asheville, NC and released in March of 2012. Its sound has been described as folk-rock, nature-pop, and baroque-folk, but in the end the members of River Whyless hope only to lend craft to their passions.
The Fat Angel Sings 