Purple mountains, empty highways, jet trails as the sun fades; Dogwood Tales paint in valley colours on their album “Every Star In Rockingham County“. Hailing from Harrisonburg, VA in the heart of Shenandoah, the band features founders and childhood friends Kyle Grim (guitar/vocals) and Ben Ryan (guitar/vocals), alongside college contemporaries Jake Golibart (drums) and Danny Gibney (bass).
With its location in its title, their new album is as much a love letter to the local DIY scene, vast farmlands, and surrounding mystical mountains as it is a portrait of present-day small-town American life. The humming electric guitars over beds of pedal steel and earnest lyricism find the album in dialogue with indie rock’s current lo-fi country romanticism — and lyrically pays homage to revered American songwriters in the footsteps of Townes Van Zandt — but ultimately takes listeners on a ride through uncharted territory.
It’s a ride through Rockingham County, through the moody valley, the tight bond of four friends coming of age in a rural Virginia town, and a digital age where loneliness is far too prevalent. Thankfully, we’ve got the stars to keep us company.
The Fat Angel Sings 