Out from the quiet orchards of rural Michigan with a nomadic itch, Libby DeCamp has spent an adolescence in close companionship with bodies of music and literature of conscious yesteryear, among hinterlands of horses and history. Driven by a will to connect on a raw, human level, Libby makes lyrically-edged folk and roots-steeped music with a bewitching sense of urgency, and delivers with a honeyed vocal closeness that reaches listeners of all kinds. The soundscape is captivating- dark, visceral, and laced with western, blues, ragtime, and early rock and roll muses. Born from fervent ties to both “The Old , Weird America” and perhaps the “New, Weird America” and the collective voices that have sung their truths through the ages, DeCamp’s writing carries an unflinching intention to reflect the times and sing the humanity within them.
Speared by her debut EP titled “Cross Sections,” following a number of years cutting teeth in various folk groups right out of high school) DeCamp has rounded her home state and toured cross-country with no time to waste, taking her show on the road extensively, both solo and with the two-brother rhythm section, Adam and Brandon Schreiber. Grammy award-winning producer Oz Fritz (Tom Waits, John Hammond) praises “DeCamp’s ability as an artist to absorb and express a wide range of diverse influences, to convincingly invoke the struggles of the human condition…” and notes that “The authentic, weathered flavor of the music for each song provides the atmosphere and movement to draw the listener in to the intimacy of the stories.” Her work , finding resonances from the dives and dancehalls of Nashville and New Orleans, to protest and mutual aid shows, to notable spots like Tulsa’s Woody Guthrie Center and The Detroit Institute of Arts, has been spotlighted by TedX, scored multiple placements on MTV hit shows, and continues to peak interest with spacial, provocative recordings and an entrancing live energy.
“Westward and Faster”, the songwriter’s full-length debut (released May, 2021) is a daring, ten-song set of vicissitudes of American life in all its color- charged in times of critical social and political upheaval. The interplay of the plain-sung poetry with sprawling, spaghetti western-like guitar lines, pedal steel, and deep, live-cut grooves with upright bass and vintage drums conjures something entirely new, with homage to the old American musical lexicon. The opening song, “Asked for Water” (the title itself a nod to a traditional blues line) kicks off the tone of the record by laying the metaphor of the real-life unfolding of the Standing Rock and Flint Water crises right into personal perspective, beckoning a closer understanding and sense of connectedness with its verse, “And it all funnels down to just this one thing/ Is my safety what will separate me?” The vantage frequently shifts from worldly to otherworldly throughout the album, from lighthearted grooves to deeply meditative cuts with melodies and licks that linger long after the first listen. “Westward and Faster” is available on all major platforms May, 2021.
