Late last October, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee and indie folk singer Jess Williamson were on stage at Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser tour stop in San Francisco, acting as an all-star cast of backing vocalists for Morby’s closing song, “Beautiful Strangers.” There was such a palpable connection from all of the artists, and Crutchfield and Williamson sang so naturally together that perhaps the most trained of ears could’ve seen this coming: Today, Crutchfield and Williamson have announced their collaboration group, Plains, and also outlined plans for the release of their album, I Walked With You A Ways.
The album is a true one-off for the pair, as they’ve indicated that Plains is a one-time album collab, like the contents of a time capsule (or a Snapchat video). An accompanying Plains tour has also been announced and their first single, “Problem With It,” is gosh-darn gorgeous. It’s a bluesy folk yarn that has a sweet banjo and coyly flexing lead guitar for Crutchfield and Williamson to sing over. The guitar is in fact played by Megafaun’s Phil Cook and the drums are from Spencer Tweedy (son of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy), who are both part of the album’s core band. Phil’s brother Brad (also of Megafaun) produced the album that was recorded in Durham, North Carolina.
It’s the symbiotic delivery from the vocalists that jumps out right away as as special one. “I’ve felt a connection to Jess’s songwriting and a kinship with her since we met years ago,” Crutchfield said in a statement. Meanwhile, Williamson added, “We gave ourselves permission to lean into the music that raised us and write the kind of classic timeless songs that we both grew up singing along to… My hope with Plains was to tap into something Universal. I love the album we made, and I’m so excited to play it live.”
Watch the video for “Problem With It” above. Check out the I Walked With You A Ways album artwork and tracklist below, along with Plains’ upcoming tour dates for 2022.
1. “Summer Sun”
2. “Problem With It”
3. “Line Of Sight”
4. “Abeline”
5. “Hurricane”
6. “Bellafatima”
7. “Last 2 On Earth”
8. “Easy”
9. “No Record Of Wrongs”
10. “I Walked With You A Ways”
10/21 — Seattle WA @ The Neptune Theatre
10/22 — Portland OR @ Revolution Hall
10/24 — Sonoma CA @ Gundlach Bundschu Winery
10/25 — San Francisco CA @ The Regency Ballroom
10/26 — Los Angeles CA @ Belasco Theater
10/28 — Pioneertown CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
10/29 — Phoenix AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
10/31 — Dallas TX @ Studio at The Factory
11/01 — Austin TX @ Scoot Inn
11/03 — New Orleans LA @ Tipitina’s
11/04 — Birmingham AL @ Saturn
11/05 — Nashville TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
11/06 — Atlanta GA @ Variety Playhouse
11/07 — Saxapahaw NC @ Haw River Ballroom
11/09 — Washington DC @ The Howard Theatre
11/10 — Philadelphia PA @ Union Transfer
11/11 — New York NY @ Webster Hall
11/12 — Jersey City NJ @ White Eagle Hall
11/13 — Boston MA @ Royale
11/15 — Toronto ON @ Danforth Music Hall
11/16 — Detroit MI @ Majestic Theatre
11/17 — Chicago IL @ Vic Theatre
11/18 — Minneapolis MN @ First Avenue
11/19 — Kansas City MO @ Uptown Theater
I Walked With You A Ways is out 10/14 via Anti-. Pre-order it here.