An email discussion list about critically-acclaimed singer/songwriters Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Discussion of related artists in the bluegrass and alt-country styles is permitted.

New album, Soul Journey, out now.

Biography: b. California, USA. Welch's debut album drew strong acclaim for its revival of Appalachian musical styles and the lyrical evocation of Depression-era rural America. The daughter of Hollywood television composers, Welch attended the Berklee College Of Music in Boston, where she met her musical and songwriting partner David Rawlings. They began playing bluegrass clubs as a duo, gradually incorporating original material into a set consisting of traditional country songs. Moving to Nashville in 1993, they gained a writing contract at Almo-Irving, before Welch signed as a solo artist to Almo Sounds (the new label started by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss after they sold A&M Records). Produced by T-Bone Burnett, Revival (marketed under Welch's name, but essentially a duo album with Rawlings) featured a stellar list of session men including James Burton, Roy Huskey Jnr., Buddy Harmon and Jim Keltner. Beautifully melodic and brutally moral, the songs ranged from the dirty, rockabilly groove of 'Pass You By' to the sparse gospel of 'By The Mark', a surprise favourite on American alternative radio. Though often seen as part of the 'alternative country' scene, Welch and Rawlings have supported more mainstream artists such as Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. The latter had provided Welch with her first success when she covered 'Orphan Girl' on her acclaimed Wrecking Ball. Burnett was again hired to record 1998's critically acclaimed Hell Among The Yearlings, which featured just Welch and Rawlings on a collection of songs marked by their melancholic beauty.