NO DEPRESSION SESSIONS at MerleFest: Humbird

No Depression set up the "studio" at the 37th annual MerleFest for a dozen sessions with legends and legends-in-the-making. The festival was founded in 1988 in memory of Doc Watson’s son Merle, and features “traditional plus” music, meaning a broad range of styles from the sweet falsetto harmonies of East L.A. to the high lonesome sounds of the Appalachian Mountains.

In the last decade recording intimate acoustic(ish) sessions and devouring all sorts of music, I've never come across an album like Humbird's Astrovan: The Love Song Vignettes. Siri Undlin (aka Humbird) describes it as a “wistful experiment,” an 11-song album clocking in at under 16 minutes. "Sometimes the best poems are just 4 lines long," says Undlin, "so I thought, why can't a song be like that too?" She shared over half the album with us during this No Depression Session, wrapping with the gorgeous acapella “Forgiveness.”

Please enjoy this performance, and stay tuned for more No Depression x MerleFest '25 sessions in the pipeline. Special thanks to everybody who made this series happen: MerleFest director Wes Whitson and his team of aces including artist relations manager Lindsay Craven, production managers Jim and Katherine, Carrie and Lauren for keeping us fat and happy, Danielle and the Victory Lap family for bringing us together in the first place, and of course to the team at Window World for making it all possible!

Setlist:
“Astrovan”
“Radiator”
“Rosemary”
“Loons”
“Stranger”
“Forgiveness”

Personnel:

Siri Undlin - Vocals, guitar
Pat Keen - Bass, synth, vocals
Nate LeBrun - Drums