Our sweet daughter Annabell Jane Overton was born 11 days early, on Dec 22nd at 2:15am. She is such a love. Joe and Annabell and I have been nestled in our little home since Christmas Eve, enjoying getting to know each other. So far she’s shown us a calm and gentle temperament and she eats like a champ, for which I am wildly grateful. It was a challenging birthing, with several twists and turns: 24 hours of unmedicated labor, followed by 18 hours with the relief of an epidural, culminating in an emergency c-section. I’m healing well and loving every minute with our girl and Joe is the most wonderful daddy, as any who’ve met him might guess. We’ve been supported by Joe’s family here in Nashville who brought a full and delightful Christmas to our house (along with a very welcome supply of meals and treats) and my sister who flew out from New York to meet her wee-niece, cook us delicious food, and help us get some extra naps. Joe and I feel beyond fortunate to be able to take the next two months to stay home with Annabell and look forward to the new challenges that our musical ever-touring lifestyle will bring come March. We so look forward to start introducing her to our community but in the mean time, boy-oh-boy does it feel good to be home in these early days as a family of three.
No Depression’s staff curated a list of their favorite albums of the year and we are more than excited to see Champion named as one of them.
“There’s a crystalline beauty to the songs on this album — every one celebrates the pleasures of loving deeply, yet acknowledges the hard edges of living. “Belief,” with Joe Overton’s wall of steel and Joshua Vana’s shimmering leads, channels Jackson Browne’s “Late for the Sky,” and the galloping “Grass” would be right at home on the Outlaws’ eponymous first album. The Party Line — the “Band Family” of one of the songs — plays a tight groove here, but it’s Struthers’ lyrics that gaze, clear-eyed, at the joyous possibilities lying latent in this tired old world. It’s past time now for a major label to sign Struthers; there’s not a better-written roster of songs out there this year. (HC)”
Thank you No Depression for your kind words and support!
We are so honored that Champion was named in NPR’s Top 10 Underheard Albums of the year.
“Struthers uses the sturdiness of her sound to take chances in her stories, and never more so than on this courageous album about the first year of her marriage to bandmate Joe Overton and their struggle to begin a family. The intimacy Struthers achieves in the album’s gently linear narrative — unfolding from the hope of young settled love through self-doubt, communication breakdown, loneliness and, ultimately, acceptance — is remarkable. She speaks of women’s truths rarely addressed in song without making any fuss at all about the courage doing so requires. “I’ve got grit,” she declares in one anthem that’s as powerful as anything Jason Isbell made this year.”
Thank you Ann Powers and NPR for your continued love and support.
Rolling Stone recently included Champion on their list of 12 Great Country, Americana Albums You Probably Didn’t Hear this year. We are so honored and thankful to be a part of this list.
“After documenting the dizzying bliss of falling headfirst in love on 2015’s Awake, Struthers takes on the trials and triumphs of steady partnership on the equally arresting Champion. Recorded with her longtime backing band the Party Line, who provide a gentle mix of alt-country, soulful folk, alt-rock, and banjo-pop, originals like “Each Season,” “Champion,” “Words” and “Just a House” display Struthers’ greatest strength as a songwriter: her ability to take stock of deep-seated contentment while insisting on interrogating the dark doubts that so often follow.”
While on tour in Chicago, we stopped in at Audiotree to record a few of the songs from Champion. We had such a great time, and we’re thrilled with the results of the session! You can download or stream via your preferred site right now. Check it out:
AT Website: http://www.audiotree.tv/session/nora-jane-struthers
Youtube Playlist: http://bit.ly/2yNa8Wc
iTunes: http://apple.co/2zGldZl
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2joURoD
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2htlZyE
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mryxvs
Bandcamp: http://bit.ly/2yBKy33
Topspin: http://bit.ly/2AF4x1x
Vimeo: http://bit.ly/2iBtlUi