© 2024 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

On 'Such Ferocious Beauty,' Cowboy Junkies offer a meditation on grief

Cowboy Junkies
Heather Pollock
/
Courtesy of the artist
Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies were ahead of the curve when they released their landmark sophomore album, The Trinity Session. It was recorded in a church around a single microphone back in 1987. Ironically, the Canadian group's combination of alt-country and folk music was an early version of a genre we now commonly refer to as Americana.

For more than 30 years, the band (siblings Michael, Margo and Peter Timmons, along with their childhood friend Alan Anton) has explored countless musical spaces. Their new album explores grief and loss, heavily influenced by the passing of the Timmonses' father, who suffered from dementia. It's called Such Ferocious Beauty.

Principle songwriter Michael and vocalist Margo join us to talk about making the album and the family dynamic that's kept the band together for almost 40 years.

Copyright 2023 XPN

Miguel Perez
Miguel Perez is a radio producer for NPR's World Cafe, based out of WXPN in Philadelphia. Before that, he covered arts, music and culture for KERA in Dallas. He reported on everything from the rise of NFTs in the music industry to the enduring significance of gay and lesbian bars to the LGBTQ community in North Texas.