Viv & Riley - "Sourwood"

Photo by Libby Rodenbough

Viv & Riley are back with a new single, and it's everything we've come to love from the folk duo. "Sourwood" is a gentle song that perfectly captures both traditional and modern folk sounds. It's not quite folk pop, but it's also not not folk pop. I think what keeps Viv & Riley from becoming a true folk pop group is just how much of the traditional side of the genre they keep in their songs. "Sourwood" is going to be perfect for both your purists and more mainstream fans, but that's kind of how these two have always been. And their releases just keep getting better and better.

Vivian Leva says of her group's latest single:

“‘Sourwood’ was inspired by the sourwood trees that erupt into orange and red blazes in the mountains of Virginia every fall. I was thinking about how these trees display such vibrant beauty before they inevitably lose their leaves and become bare each winter. There is something that seems parallel to the human experience too, how people spend their lives growing, creating, and connecting, but also lose many of those things as they grow old. 

“‘Sourwood’ is a shared moment of companionship with someone in their autumnal season of life as they look back on the things they’ve done and the people they’ve lost, and wonder how many springs are in their future. It was recorded live to tape in Frome, England with producer Dom Monks, just the two of us singing into the same mic, a few feet apart.”

You can watch the video for "Sourwood" below. The single is out now on Free Dirt Records. For more on Viv & Riley, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook.