Born and raised in Nashville and long based in New York, Cantrell has slowly and confidently built a career grounded in classic country music, but one that rises above that foundation, into the terrain of pop, rock and singer-songwriter folk. Her debut album "Not the Trembling Kind" (2000) has been widely hailed as a masterpiece, a kind of archetype of all that's best in the Americana genre. Since then she has released four records, including last year's concise, elegant tribute to Kitty Wells.
For this live at KDHX session -- recorded the day before Wells' passing at the age of 92 -- Cantrell is joined by longtime friend and session guitarist Mark Spencer (Son Volt, the Blood Oranges), and the duo gives impassioned takes on two Cantrell originals -- "Kitty Wells Dresses" and the thus-far-unreleased "Letter She Sent" -- as well as a pitch-perfect version of Wells' song "I Don't Claim to Be an Angel" (written by Kitty's husband Johnny Wright), featuring gorgeous slide work by Spencer on a Weissenborn guitar.
Download and listen to Roy Kasten's interview with Laura Cantrell from the session.
