# 5 Indie Folk Rock Albums You’ve Gotta Hear – Roadkill Ghost Choir, Miner, Honey Locust, Born Standing Up, Waterwells

- Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2017/01/5-diy-indie-folk-bands-to-watch-honey-locust-miner/
- Published: 2017-01-11T13:49:01-05:00
- Author: Max Hammer

When indie folk and folk rock gained popularity more than a decade ago, bands like
Band of Horses, The Avett Brothers, The Decemberists, The Tallest Man In The World,
Bon Iver, Bright Eyes, and many others benefited from that rise in the genre. And
while the indie folk scene may have suffered a downturn in recent years, it’s refreshing
to know that it’ll always exist, and we’ll always be here to deliver the artists,
songs, and albums that we feel need to be heard.

For this particular post, we’re highlighting five predominantly indie folk releases
dropped during the past couple to few years that you’ve probably never heard, but
that we strongly recommend, especially if you’re a fan of indie DIY, under-the-radar
damn good folk music – with rich and subtle infusions of bluegrass, rock, pop and
country. These are albums that we did not hear at the time of their original release
date, but should be part of the indie folk rock archives – and so here they are.

This post is also meant to bring your attention to the artists and bands themselves,
and the songs and releases that first endeared us to them – not their most recent
releases. None of these artists have been published on IRC before but they live 
on in our playlists forever. Enjoy.

_In This Installment: _

**Roadkill Ghost Choir** – Jacksonville, Florida
 **Miner** – Los Angeles, California**
Honey Locust** – Nashville, Tennessee **Born Standing Up** – Oxford, Mississippi**
Waterwells** – Birmingham, Alabama

 1. [Beggars' Guild](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Beggars-Guild_100514734_soundcloud.mp3)
 2. [Bird in My Window](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Bird-in-My-Window_100515089_soundcloud.mp3)
 3. [Carousel](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Carousel_133081290_soundcloud.mp3)
 4. [Blue Rooms](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Blue-Rooms_115839551_soundcloud.mp3)
 5. [Ol' Pine Bluff](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Ol-Pine-Bluff_206106005_Bandcamp.mp3)
 6. [Morning Light](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Waterwells-Morning-Light_2199524705_Bandcamp.mp3)

##### Roadkill Ghost Choir – _ Quiet Light_

_Original release: July 2013_

From the **Florida** swamp lands of gators and cypress trees covered with Spanish
moss, comes the absolutely phenomenal ambient folk rock band **Roadkill Ghost Choir**.
In recent years, they have enjoyed the kind of attention a talented DIY band deserves.
To truly appreciate RKGC, we strongly recommend listening to the band’s releases
from oldest to most recent.

The ball got rolling for RKGC in 2012 when ** Andy Shepard** (vocals, guitar) was
invited to perform a gig at a local club. Not wanting to perform solo because he
feared it would bore the patrons, Shepard recruited his brothers – **Maxx Shepard**(
drums) and **Zach Shepard** (bass) to join him on stage.

And that was the planting of the seed that eventually spawned spectacular songs 
like bluegrass tinged folk rock track, “Beggar’s Guild”; the heartbreakingly beautiful
acoustic ballad, “Bird in the Window,” and the less folk-influenced, more rock-driven,“
Devout,” from the band’s fantastic 2013 debut EP, _ Quiet Light _. The original 
three-track EP received over 150,000 plays and more than 1,200 Likes on Soundcloud.

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Jordan Hart, Shane Lentz

**MP3:** [“Beggar’s Guild”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Roadkill%20Ghost%20Choir%20-%20Beggars%20Guild1.mp3)–**
Roadkill Ghost Choir** from _ Quiet Light _ EP

Not long after playing live together, the three brothers realized, and based on 
the response they received from the audience, that they had something special. Wasting
no time, the Shepards drafted musicians **Kiffy Meyers** (pedal steel, banjo, guitar),**
Joey Davoli** (keys, trumpet) and **Stephen Garza** (lead guitar) to create a fuller,
bigger sound.

**Bonus MP3:** [“Bird in the Window”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/birdinthewindow-rkgc1.mp3)–**
Roadkill Ghost Choir** from _ Quiet Light _

The re-released expanded version of the EP, released later on, includes songs like
the jammin’ folk rocker, “Drifter,” and the dreamy, melodic hooks of “Tarot Youth.”

Jumping ahead to more recently, the band’s follow-up debut 2014 album, _In Tongues_,
won huge praise and online love, propelling the band into a new realm of popularity.
It’s not hard to believe at all, when we first listened to _ Quiet Light_ a few 
years ago, that RKGC came back the next year with a stellar debut album.

[Roadkill Ghost Choir on Facebook](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/roadkillghostchoir)

##### Miner – _Into The Morning_

_Original release: February 2014_

**Los Angeles** husband and wife songwriting duo, **Justin** and **Kate Miner**,
who release indie folk rock under the likely moniker, **Miner**, began making some
waves in the LA folk revivalist scene in 2012.

Miner’s debut LP, _Into The Morning_, was released in February of 2014, featuring
standout singles like “Carousel” and “Hey Love,” that collectively amassed over 
380,000 plays and more than 2,000 Likes on Soundcloud. That’s significant for any
band. The band’s intricate vocal harmonies and sing-along melodies have made them
a crowd favorite in LA, throughout the west coast and increasingly across the nation.

**MP3:** [“Carousel”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Carousel_133081290_soundcloud.mp3)–**
Miner** from _Into The Morning_

In 2015, the duo expanded into a full band, welcoming other family members into 
the fold, including ** Jeremy Miner**, and his cousin, **Amanda Koosed**, while 
long-time friends, **Justin Krook** and **David Schechtman**, comprised the rhythm
section.

Interestingly enough, Miner was originally a Kickstarter-funded, bedroom-studio 
project inspired by an extended trip through central and South America during which
time the duo wrote and recorded the songs from their debut.

In fact, in 2013 and 2014, Miner shared the stage with indie giants like **Lord 
Huron, Cayucas, Typhoon** and **White Demin**. The band lists their top musical 
influences as Fleet Foxes, Wilco, Beck, Arcade Fire, and the Tallest Man On Earth.

 **
 [Miner’s Official Website](https://indierockcafe.com/2017/01/5-diy-indie-folk-bands-to-watch-honey-locust-miner/ thisisminer.com)

Related Post:  New indie folk songs from Phillip Jonathan, Michael Witt, Chris Ho&
more

![honeylocust-greatsouthernbrooding](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/
2013/09/honeylocust-greatsouthernbrooding-584x584.jpg "honeylocust-greatsouthernbrooding")

##### Honey Locust – _The Great Southern Brood_

_Original release: February 2014_

After making **Nashville** indie folk band **Honey Locust**‘s single, “Blue Rooms,”
a DIY Song of the Day last year, we were even more impressed the more we listened
to their meticulously arranged 2014 debut concept LP, _The Great Southern Brood_–
a reference to 2011’s ‘Brood XIX,’ a cyclical 17-year invasion of cicadas in the
southeastern United States.

Honey Locust is the duo of 20-somethings **Jacob Davis** (vocals, guitar, banjo)
and **Patrick Howell** (piano, violin), who began recording when they were still
teenagers.

They spent most of 2013 in isolation, writing and recording the album with friends
and “world class string players.” The result is a thoughtful and dense concept album
with poignant instrumentation and heartfelt lyrics and vocals.

 **MP3:** [“Blue Rooms“](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Blue-Rooms_115839551_soundcloud.mp3)–**
Honey Locust** from _The Great Southern Brood_

The album, the band contends, is an introverted and ‘earnestly somber’ form of “
southern Gothic chamber music” that explores “the boundaries of contemporary folk
music while maintaining connection with their traditional roots,” relying heavily
on orchestral strings and horns.

The duo’s debut EP, _Fear Is A Feeling_, received accolades in the Nashville indie
scene and led to bookings with accomplished local bands such as **[Saintseneca](https://indierockcafe.com/2014/05/best-new-indie-songs-albums-april-2014-vol-i-cloud-nothings-small-black-band-of-skulls-sweet-apple-de-lux-mary-onettes/),
Frontier Ruckus, River City Extension, Josephine Foster**, and **The Lonely Wild**.

Honey Locust’s top musical influences include Andrew Bird, Timber Timbre, The National,
Balmorhea, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Califone. We also really liked Davis’ answer 
to the question ‘what is indie rock’: It’s “music that is what it wants to be, not
what anyone else wants it to be.” Nicely put.

**[Honey Locust on Facebook](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/HoneyLocust)**

![bornstandingup](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/bornstandingup.
jpeg)

##### Born Standing Up – _Born Standing Up_

_Original release: January 2014_

 From the time **Patton Ford**, chief songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for the
band, **Born Standing Up**, heard the likes of **Otis Redding** and **Uncle Dave
Macon** while in the passenger’s seat of his father’s truck as a youngster growing
up in **Oxford**, Mississippi, he knew he had to “respond to these legends, talk
back and share his stories, the same way they had done before him.”

Ford began writing songs at a family friend’s cabin in the spring of 2011. With 
just a guitar and his voice, he began constructing what would eventually become 
the songs for Born Standing Up’s eponymous debut.

**MP3:** [“No. 9“](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/No.-9_3222377102_Bandcamp.mp3)–**
Born Standing Up** from _Born Standing Up_

After drummer **Logan Little** suggested his vocally-trained girlfriend, **Allison
Quick**, sing along with Ford on the songs, the three joined forces and performed
their first show in Oxford early in 2012.

Related Post:  New indie folk songs from Phillip Jonathan, Michael Witt, Chris Ho&
more

Because of the grand reception they received, the trio realized they needed a bass
player and a second guitarist, and ended up recruiting musician **Knowlton Bourne**
into the band. Soon after, the band dropped their indie folk mixed with alternative
country infused debut, featuring remarkable songs like “No. 9” and “Cane Break.”

 1. [Ol' Pine Bluff](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Ol-Pine-Bluff_206106005_Bandcamp.mp3)

“Indie rock is anyone with a guitar, laptop, microphone or a melody stuck in their
head,” Bourne wrote in response to a question ‘what is indie rock?’ He continued:“
It is anyone who can’t go a day without tapping their foot to the sound of music
or humming a few words under their breath. Indie music is the future of music. It
is something that does not reside in arenas or stadiums…[it] is humble, raw and 
real.”

Not surprisingly, the band’s musical inspirations include artists such as The Lumineers,
Old Crow Medicine Show, Shovels & Rope, The Decemberists, Todd Snyder, Townes Van
Zandt, and Steve Earle.
 ** Born Standing Up on Facebook

![waterwellsband](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/waterwels.
jpg "waterwellsband")

##### Waterwells – _Waterwells_

_Original release: March 2015_

And lastly, we are happy to present the unsigned alternative folk rock trio **Waterwells**
from **Birmingham**, Alabama, who dropped a terrific self-titled debut EP in March
of 2015 that we’ve spun a number of times in the cafe.

Early in 2014, after a year and a half of performing and recording together under
the founder and singer/songwriter’s name, **Chris K. Davidson**, the trio of Davidson,**
Jeremy Allinder** on bass, and **Josh Argo** on guitar, morphed into Waterwells.

The guys got to work instantly – writing, recording, mixing and mastering songs 
DIY-style at **Les Nuby**‘s (**Verbena**, **Vulture Whale**) **Homewood**, Alabama
recording studio. For the final recording, the band needed a drummer – that’s when
they found **Jacob Freeman**.

[“By My Side“](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2096/09/Waterwells-By-My-Side_1610626118_Bandcamp.mp3)–**
Waterwells** from _Waterwells_

Waterwells delivers an authentic, rich, mellow folk rock sound drenched in reverb
and acoustics, communicating “tales of failure, hope, and reconciliation,” Davidson
writes, adding that Waterwells is “determined to make its mark on the ever-changing
sonic landscape.”

After listening to songs like “Morning Light” and “By My Side” many times, Waterwells
debut EP is certainly on our list of DIY indie folk releases worth a listen. Fans
of Wilco, Conor Oberst and Deer Tick are the most likely to be receptive to Waterwells.

The band has opened for artists like Joel Madison Blount, Early Americans, Oh Jeremiah,
The Heavy Hearts, and Tangible Green. Among their musical influences are John Mark
McMillan, Ryan Adams, Nada Surf, and Judah & The Lion.

** [Waterwells on Facebook](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/waterwellsmusic)**