Editor's Note: Sera Cahoone, whose new LP titled I've Missed You All These Years is due out August 28 via SubPop Records, is No Depression's Spotlight Artist for August 2026. Read on to learn more about the percussionist and singer-songwriter and stay tuned for more from her all month long.
For the last several years, Seattle-based Sera Cahoone had put a two-decades-long solo career on the back burner. She has hardly been idle, though, playing drums and producing for musical compadres in the Pacific Northwest folk scene that is both bustling, yet still something of a secret to the rest of the world. As of late, Cahoone’s focus has been on producing and drumming for the late-blooming, soft-spoken troubadour Dean Johnson and alt-country singer-songwriter Margo Cilker. So Cahoone has been here this whole time, remaining a vibrant artistic voice both locally and on the road with Cilker, Johnson, and others.
Still, Cahoone has missed sharing her own music with the world. Even though she had no clear plan for putting out another solo effort after 2018’s lush and orchestral EP The Flora String Sessions, she never retired the idea of stepping back into the spotlight. A combination of life’s milestones, both happy and sad, led her on a circuitous journey through new creative pastures before returning to herself.
“I've been doing this quite a long time, and I think after my last record, I just kind of went through some personal stuff, like my best friend died, my dog died, my dad died. I just needed that time to grieve,” says Cahoone on a recent call the day after celebrating her 51st birthday. ”I think I just needed to go back to the basics. Drums are my first instrument, and I feel more myself sometimes [being] in the background.”
Time out of the spotlight helped develop and refine Cahoone’s sense of rhythm, her approach to collaborating with other artists, and ability to home in on the exact sound she wants in the studio. These profound breakthroughs are noticeable throughout her new solo album, the aptly titled I’ve Missed You All These Years, which is quite possibly her strongest and most realized collection of music to date. Esteemed Seattle indie label Sub Pop Records was so enthused by the record that they opted to bring Cahoone back onto their roster for the first time since 2012’s Deer Creek Canyon.
“During [the last eight years], I was still slowly writing songs. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to make another record. I just was kind of mulling around on some of these songs for quite a while. I think I just got kind of over being the front person. I just needed to fall back in love with my songs and playing, but I definitely never stopped doing music and I kind of immersed myself in these different projects that I think really inspired me to kind of get back into it again,” she says.
