"Mellow" pedal steel (recent) music recommendations
Posted: 19 Apr 2023 5:51 pm
Hey y'all, I've been reading from the forum for a while but this is my first post - not a pedal steel player (yet), but a huge fan and loving gleaning from the conversations on this forum. Thus, I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but I'm looking for some pedal steel music recommendations for a very certain style/vibe, particularly from (~smaller acts from) the last 10 years or so. I really enjoy Indie folk or chill Americana (or whatever genre-term you want to label it with), along the lines of the songs below:
The is the main group for calm/chill/quiet/mellow/relaxing kind of vibe (hooray for running up search keywords).
Parlor Hawk - Every Bone
South San Gabriel - This Rookie Runs
Red House Painters - Song For A Blue Guitar
Will Johnson - Hatteras
Relic Quarry - Angel Light
The Decemberists - Clementine
Itasca - No Consequences
Sera Cahoone - You're Not Broken
These are a similar vibe but a bit more upbeat:
Mipso - Coming Down the Mountain
Blitzen Trapper - Taking It Easy Too Long
Vetiver - Busted
Watchhouse (aka Mandolin Orange) - Wildfire
First Aid Kit - Emmylou
Son Volt - Anodyne, Creosote
Dylan LeBlanc - LOW
The (~sonic) themes broadly stated are "nostalgic", "wistful" or "lonesome" pedal steel tones in a folk/indie/acoustic context - stuff that probably isn't very challenging to play, but tugs at the heartstrings to hear; really sweeping and melodic.
I'm not per se looking for country or bluegrass (though I am a fan of both, just not on the lookout for that specifically here - maybe if its on the more indie side?), and generally speaking I really like it when the vocals are tucked back a bit and/or reverb'd, such that the pedal steel feels like a co-vocalist, if that makes sense. I'm not pedal-steel restrictive either - lap steel or what-have-you is fine too, so long as it hits that nostalgic tone.
I've done some hunting around by looking for other albums that the pedal steel players from these albums (Ricky Ray Jackson, Matt Stoessel, Dylan Schorer, Paul Brainard, Eric Heywood, Greg Leisz, Russ Pahl, Bog Egan, Melvin Duffy, etc.) have also played on, which has proved fruitful but I'm now scratching the bottom of the barrel and think I need some new leads (which partially why I'm especially wondering about smaller acts from the last ~10 years or so that I probably won't run into myself very easily).
At the very least, maybe there's some good tunes in here for others to see later.
Thanks in advance for your help!
The is the main group for calm/chill/quiet/mellow/relaxing kind of vibe (hooray for running up search keywords).
Parlor Hawk - Every Bone
South San Gabriel - This Rookie Runs
Red House Painters - Song For A Blue Guitar
Will Johnson - Hatteras
Relic Quarry - Angel Light
The Decemberists - Clementine
Itasca - No Consequences
Sera Cahoone - You're Not Broken
These are a similar vibe but a bit more upbeat:
Mipso - Coming Down the Mountain
Blitzen Trapper - Taking It Easy Too Long
Vetiver - Busted
Watchhouse (aka Mandolin Orange) - Wildfire
First Aid Kit - Emmylou
Son Volt - Anodyne, Creosote
Dylan LeBlanc - LOW
The (~sonic) themes broadly stated are "nostalgic", "wistful" or "lonesome" pedal steel tones in a folk/indie/acoustic context - stuff that probably isn't very challenging to play, but tugs at the heartstrings to hear; really sweeping and melodic.
I'm not per se looking for country or bluegrass (though I am a fan of both, just not on the lookout for that specifically here - maybe if its on the more indie side?), and generally speaking I really like it when the vocals are tucked back a bit and/or reverb'd, such that the pedal steel feels like a co-vocalist, if that makes sense. I'm not pedal-steel restrictive either - lap steel or what-have-you is fine too, so long as it hits that nostalgic tone.
I've done some hunting around by looking for other albums that the pedal steel players from these albums (Ricky Ray Jackson, Matt Stoessel, Dylan Schorer, Paul Brainard, Eric Heywood, Greg Leisz, Russ Pahl, Bog Egan, Melvin Duffy, etc.) have also played on, which has proved fruitful but I'm now scratching the bottom of the barrel and think I need some new leads (which partially why I'm especially wondering about smaller acts from the last ~10 years or so that I probably won't run into myself very easily).
At the very least, maybe there's some good tunes in here for others to see later.
Thanks in advance for your help!