Jess Williamson - "Wind On Tin"

Photo by Kathryn Vetter Miller

Despite it's airy and upbeat vibe, the latest from Jess Williamson has an otherworldly  backstory. "Wind On Tin" is a gorgeous modern folk song. It's pretty straightforward in sound, the kind of song that NPR should be all over any day now. That's because Williamson does the modern folk thing so perfectly and so beautifully that I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this.

Now for the otherworldly part. It's a song about travelling to attend a friend's memorial service and possibly hearing the voice of God. Williamson explains the backstory:

“Grief has a way of making the veil between worlds very thin. Prior to the memorial service, I was sitting on a porch passing around a guitar and drinking beers with a few very dear people in my life who I look up to greatly and who were very close to the person who had passed. We heard an unexplainable sound in the wind that made us all pause. Like a flute, but more angelic. It kept going. We tried, unsuccessfully, to record it. The sound was indescribably beautiful and heavenly. ‘Were the angels singing just for us, or is that what the wind out here does on tin?’ Regardless of the answer, I know that for that brief moment we were lucky initiates into the mystery realm, and I’m deeply grateful.”

You can watch the video for "Wind On Tin" below. Sorceress, the new album from Jess Williamson, will be out May 15 on Mexican Summer. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Jess Williamson, check out her website. Current tour dates are below the video.

Sun. May. 31 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Tue. June. 2 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar
Wed. June. 3 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord
Fri. June. 5 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
Sat. June. 6 - Seattle, WA @ Clock Out Lounge
Wed. June. 10 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
Thu. June. 11 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
Sat. June .13 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake
Sun. June. 14 - Montreal, QC @ Esco 
Tue. June. 16 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott
Thu. June.  18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's 
Fri. June. 19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool 
Sat. June. 20 - Washington, DC @ DC9
Mon. June. 22 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl 
Thu. June. 25 - Dallas, TX @ Ruins 
Fri. June. 26 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk Inside
Sat. June. 27 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
Mon. June 29 - Tucson, AZ @ Exo