I'm With Her

With the 2014 formation of I’m With Her, singer/songwriters Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins introduced an essential new force into the world of folk music: a close-knit alliance of highly esteemed musicians, each graced with a deep understanding of folk tradition and unbridled passion for expanding its possibilities. Since delivering their critically lauded debut “See You Around” and standalone singles like “Call My Name” (winner of the 2020 Grammy for Best American Roots Song), the trio have routinely taken time out from their individual careers to dream up songs together—eventually arriving at a new album exploring themes of ancestry, lineage and the collective human experience. On their long-awaited sophomore LP “Wild and Clear and Blue,” I’m With Her now bring their luminous harmonies to a soul-searching body of work about reaching into the past, navigating a chaotic present and bravely moving forward into the unknown.   

In a departure from the stripped-back intimacy of “See You Around”—a 2018 release that turned up on best-of-the-year lists from the likes of the New York Times—”Wild and Clear and Blue” centers on a far more elaborate sound informed by the trio’s intensified sense of musical kinship. All multi-Grammy-winners with deep roots in the folk scene, Watkins, Jarosz and O’Donovan first discovered their near-telepathic chemistry during an impromptu performance at the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, then co-founded I’m With Her and began touring extensively and performing at acclaimed festivals across the globe. 

Produced by Josh Kaufman—a member of Bonny Light Horseman and multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/arranger/producer who’s worked with Bob Weir and The National—”Wild and Clear and Blue” ultimately adds a bold new urgency to their delicate entangling of lived-in narrative, fable-like storytelling, and nuanced reflection on cycles of life. 

Mason Via’s new single “Wide Open,” co-written by Mason Via and Zach John King, paints vivid pictures of campfires, screen doors and sunsets over pastures while capturing the essence of young heartbreak. Raised in Patrick Springs, Virginia, Via drew on his childhood experiences growing up in the hills, hollers and backwoods of southern Virginia to inspire this incredible new song.

Via says, “The song chronicles the singer’s emotional state as he reaches back into his memory to recall how much he loved the girl who has left him, and how much her absence has cut him to the core.” This song evokes a similar emotion that Mason conveyed in “Daughter of the Highlands,” his standout vocal on the Grammy-nominated album “Jubilee.”

The track features Via on lead vocals and guitar; Aaron Ramsey on mandolin; Jason Davis on banjo; Jim Vancleve on fiddle; Jeff Partin on bass and resophonic guitar; Kyser George on second guitar; Brooks Forsyth and Nick Goad on harmony vocals.