Adrienne Young
Track 3 - Room to Grow
Adrienne Young could easily be a Nashville country starlet, but the earthy singer-songwriter is a crunchy activist at heart-an ardent supporter of sustainable agriculture. In her first CD, the Grammy-nominated Plow to the End of the Row, she bundled seed packets into the liner notes. With her latest disc she has taken it a giant step further, integrating a national responsible-farming awareness campaign and fundraising effort into the release of Room to Grow, out this month on her own Addie Belle record label. Proceeds will support local farming efforts in a variety of ways, from supplying non-GMO organic seeds to community gardens, to assisting progressive agricultural entrepreneurs. Her environmental efforts were recently recognized with an award from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The new album was recorded at Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock, N.Y. Although Young co-wrote most of the songs with longtime collaborator Will Kimbrough, she handled production for the first time. The elegant earthy songstress grew up in rural Florida learning church songs, but her music lands between old-time antiquity and Music Row sheen. While her other efforts have dabbled in bluegrass and folk, the latest finds a focused home in polished country and roots rock, getting help from the likes of Phish bassist Mike Gordon and singer Dale Ann Bradley. Young recently chatted with BRO about balancing music and cause.
BRO: How did local farming become so important to you? Young: I’ve always been very conscious of how the food we eat affects us, not just physiologically, but emotionally. Working on other people’s farms and having garden that I eat from, I became aware that raising food humanely, in harmony with the soil comes with the feeling of a precious energy. It’s what was completely natural up to 50 years ago. Shipping food thousands of miles and using chemicals to preserve it is a new evolution that I don’t see as beneficial. I don’t do this because I’m a hippy trying to be different. This is what we’re hardwired to do-sustain ourselves with food that is fresh.
BRO: What have you learned through your recent Virginia conservation work? Young: I’ve been working as a sustainable agricultural champion for years. Getting involved with this allowed me to reinstate my intention internally that I want my work to ultimately benefit efforts to preserve nature. It’s made me realize that I want to be more involved than ever. From clean water to protection for wildlife-I’m filled with a tremendous passion to weave that into music. As Emerson said, that’s where I go to church, in the woods. It’s imperative that as citizens we get involved and voice the fact that we care.
BRO: How did you come to collaborate with Mike Gordon? Young: We met years ago at a bluegrass festival and became friends. He’s one of the nicest people you could ever meet-which is sometimes rare in the music industry. I initially asked him to produce the record, but he was too busy. I went and sat in with his Ramble Dove band in Burlington, Vermont. For the album we did Dusty Owen's "Once More." That was a song that we both knew. We did it live and it was just effortless and simple.
BRO: This fall you plan to unveil a sustainable living tour. What will this entail? Young: We want to spotlight the abundance of resources within our own backyards. The idea is that it would hearken back to the old Chautauquas, where there would be these traveling shows that would not only entertain but also inspire and educate, and all kinds of people from an area would meet. In this case it would get all of the local farms and crafts in one area, so people can meet and learn how to use these things in their daily lives.
BRO: Is there ever pressure to compromise your ideals for more marketable avenues in Nashville? Young: I have my own label, so there is nobody telling me I should be doing this other than that. I can see why record companies exist. Today I am supposed to turn in a bar code, and I have no idea what to do. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m just doing my thing, and it’s happening as it’s supposed to.
Adrienne Young could easily be a Nashville country starlet, but the earthy singer-songwriter is a crunchy activist at heart-an ardent supporter of sustainable agriculture. In her first CD, the Grammy-nominated Plow to the End of the Row, she bundled seed packets into the liner notes. With her latest disc she has taken it a giant step further, integrating a national responsible-farming awareness campaign and fundraising effort into the release of Room to Grow, out this month on her own Addie Belle record label. Proceeds will support local farming efforts in a variety of ways, from supplying non-GMO organic seeds to community gardens, to assisting progressive agricultural entrepreneurs. Her environmental efforts were recently recognized with an award from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The new album was recorded at Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock, N.Y. Although Young co-wrote most of the songs with longtime collaborator Will Kimbrough, she handled production for the first time. The elegant earthy songstress grew up in rural Florida learning church songs, but her music lands between old-time antiquity and Music Row sheen. While her other efforts have dabbled in bluegrass and folk, the latest finds a focused home in polished country and roots rock, getting help from the likes of Phish bassist Mike Gordon and singer Dale Ann Bradley. Young recently chatted with BRO about balancing music and cause.
BRO: How did local farming become so important to you? Young: I’ve always been very conscious of how the food we eat affects us, not just physiologically, but emotionally. Working on other people’s farms and having garden that I eat from, I became aware that raising food humanely, in harmony with the soil comes with the feeling of a precious energy. It’s what was completely natural up to 50 years ago. Shipping food thousands of miles and using chemicals to preserve it is a new evolution that I don’t see as beneficial. I don’t do this because I’m a hippy trying to be different. This is what we’re hardwired to do-sustain ourselves with food that is fresh.
BRO: What have you learned through your recent Virginia conservation work? Young: I’ve been working as a sustainable agricultural champion for years. Getting involved with this allowed me to reinstate my intention internally that I want my work to ultimately benefit efforts to preserve nature. It’s made me realize that I want to be more involved than ever. From clean water to protection for wildlife-I’m filled with a tremendous passion to weave that into music. As Emerson said, that’s where I go to church, in the woods. It’s imperative that as citizens we get involved and voice the fact that we care.
BRO: How did you come to collaborate with Mike Gordon? Young: We met years ago at a bluegrass festival and became friends. He’s one of the nicest people you could ever meet-which is sometimes rare in the music industry. I initially asked him to produce the record, but he was too busy. I went and sat in with his Ramble Dove band in Burlington, Vermont. For the album we did Dusty Owen's "Once More." That was a song that we both knew. We did it live and it was just effortless and simple.
BRO: This fall you plan to unveil a sustainable living tour. What will this entail? Young: We want to spotlight the abundance of resources within our own backyards. The idea is that it would hearken back to the old Chautauquas, where there would be these traveling shows that would not only entertain but also inspire and educate, and all kinds of people from an area would meet. In this case it would get all of the local farms and crafts in one area, so people can meet and learn how to use these things in their daily lives.
BRO: Is there ever pressure to compromise your ideals for more marketable avenues in Nashville? Young: I have my own label, so there is nobody telling me I should be doing this other than that. I can see why record companies exist. Today I am supposed to turn in a bar code, and I have no idea what to do. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m just doing my thing, and it’s happening as it’s supposed to.
-Jedd Ferris