Creekbed Carter Hogan

The Montvales at Judson & Moore Distillery

The music of Creekbed Carter Hogan (he/they) is a quiet act of defiance made at the end of your rope. It is the warm feeling of solidarity coursing through your body as you link arms with strangers. It is a hard-won laugh, brittle but brave, in the face of what hurt you the most. It is finding hope where there is none, asking questions when you’re told to stay quiet, demanding a future you believe in, and facing a world hellbent on destruction with community, enthusiasm, and joy.

Conceived under eclipsed skies, Path of Totality, the new album from The Montvales, unites the vast American diaspora into one collective and cosmic tapestry. Inspired by the long tradition of radical country and folk artists, longtime friends Sally Buice and Molly Rochelson use their passion for literature and storytelling to craft an album that reckons with the current global fever pitch. The album’s 12 introspective, thematically and sonically layered tracks chart a transformative pilgrimage through an inextricably connected world. A woman desperate to save her community from a gas pipeline in “Plains of Ohio,” a devout grandmother traveling across the world to Yugoslavia in search of the Virgin Mary in “Our Lady,” and a trouble-making Bible College misfit in “Loud and Clear” are just a few of the archetypes listeners meet. The Cincinnati-based duo cut their teeth as teens busking on Market Square in Knoxville, TN. Produced by Eli LoPinto (Chris Stapleton), the duo opted for a bigger sound and the result is a bonafide, left-of-center indie country record. Path of Totality does not shy away from the weight of political strife and catastrophe, opting instead to boldly confront it, bringing to bear the power to unite us all.