Austin Public Library Electric Lady Bird
Our music is now streaming on Austin Public Library’s Electric Lady Bird! Electric Lady Bird delivers commercial-free, curated music from Central Texas artists. Check it out HERE!
FAI Folk DJ Chart
Hold the Line was #3 Album and we were the #5 Artist on the FAI Folk DJ Chart for the month of January!
The Bluegrass Situation 5 + 5
Excellence in Communications Award
2020 University Excellence in Communications Award
“Songs for the Soul: A Call and Response During COVID-19 for Graduating Nurses” wins a 2020 Excellence in Communications Award from The University of Texas at Austin.
“Songs for the Soul: A Call and Response During COVID-19 for Graduating Nurses” is a musical presentation made for the [University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing] Virtual Commencement Ceremony. The beautifully moving song [Who Else But You, written by Kristin Davidson and Carolyn Phillips] celebrates UT School of Nursing students and faculty while acknowledging the uncertainty of our current reality and identifying the strength students will carry forward into their careers.”
In March 2020, Songs for the Soul coordinated with the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing to implement the program, which began with two assumptions: first, that the graduating nursing students may feel very unsettled without having the typical closure ceremonies with their professors, classmates, and school work, and second, that there were additional fears or concerns about starting their first job during a pandemic and health crisis. Online interviews with graduating nursing students captured the “call” of the students, who expressed their emotions and concerns related to starting their nursing careers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the “response” from their faculty and other experienced nurses across the country who could share reflection and words of wisdom. After the interviews, Kristin Davidson and Carolyn Phillips discussed the main themes from the interviews, which could be included in the song. The aim was to create a song that celebrates UT School of Nursing students and faculty, acknowledges the uncertainty of our current reality, and identifies the strength students will carry forward into their careers. The hope was that the song could foster community, connection, and, possibly, closure for the students and faculty. The song, “Who Else But You,” was included in the School of Nursing’s online commencement ceremony in May 2020. Listen below:
Hold the Line
Hold the Line - Coming early 2021
We spent two days in the studio with Lloyd Maines and Pat Manske laying down the rough tracks for our new album, Hold the Line. We were met with a rainbow on the drive home, and it just felt right.
Soul-a-Grams
Soul-a-Grams
As the COVID-19 pandemic begins its bloom, Kristin and Carolyn are channeling their efforts into Songs for the Soul’s Soul-a-Gram program. A Soul-a-Gram is a short video of a song written and performed by a songwriter. Its purpose is to send a message of strength, support, love, and gratitude directly to the front-line healthcare workers and their teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consistent with the organization’s mission that music serves as a connecting (but socially distant!) force that promotes well-being, Songs for the Soul works with songwriters to channel the energy of the community’s support through song. This effort is inspired by the quarantined public cheering from their windows for medical teams at change-of-shift, and calls from health care leaders for messages to help uplift the morale of their staff. Paying the songwriters for their contributions, consistent with Songs for the Soul’s leading principles, also benefits the artists whose livelihoods have been hurt during the pandemic.
Austin Acoustical Cafe - February 2020
Austin Acoustical Cafe - Feb. 2020
We had the best time opening for our friend, Susan Gibson, at the Austin Acoustical Cafe!
That's a wrap, 2019!
We wrapped up the year with a couple of great shows at The Saxon Pub, joined by our friend, Jana Pochop, so Kristin could play the pedal steel. We rounded out the year recording some songs for the non-profit, Songs for the Soul. Lots to look forward to in the new year and new decade!
Summer Tour 2019
New single: released!
In the studio
2019 is off to a great start! Our goal this year is to release several singles (meanwhile, Kristin is writing official album no. 2). We’ve wrapped on the first single, which we will release in February, and we recorded a commissioned song, written by Kristin and Jane Gillman.
Songs for the Soul
Last year, Carolyn launched a fundraising effort for Songs for the Soul, a non-profit organization located in Austin, Texas dedicated to offering programs, information, and support for caregivers of society. So far, S4S has raised over $43,500!
This fall, Carolyn is now conducting four programs for her dissertation research study, “A Feasibility Study to Evaluate Storytelling Through Music to Improve Well-Being in Oncology Nurses,” Study Number 2018-05-0061, at the University of Texas-Austin. To fund her research, Phillips has raised an additional $43,000 in grant awards from the American Cancer Society, the Gordon and Mary Cain Excellence Fund for Nursing Research, the Central Oncology Nursing Society, and the Mary Walker Dissertation Award! Two programs have been completed, and two more are in progress!
For more information about Songs for the Soul, or to consider making a donation, please visit www.song-soul.org
Thank you, Nebraska!
Thank you to all of our friends, new and old, who supported us in Nebraska! We had a fantastic time, and can't wait until we return. Special thanks to Tree with Roots on KZUM, Crescent Moon, SchillingBridge Cork and Tap House, NET Radio and Genevieve Randall on Friday Live, Julia and Jason, hosts of the Eastman House Concert in Omaha, and the Red Cloud Opera House. We raised over $500 for the Red Cloud Community Foundation Fund's Legacy Endowment campaign, which will be eligible for the matching gift! We love that we can give back to the town that has given us so much!
On the Road to Nebraska
Regional Finalists at Kerrville Folk Festival!
Excited to be one of 10 regional finalists at Kerrville Folk Festival! We will perform on Friday, May 25. We'd love to see you there!
Hardened and Tempered at the National Academy of Medicine
"Song for my Soul," written by Kristin and Carolyn, was one of 30 artistic expressions selected by the National Academy of Medicine's pop-up gallery, showcasing expressions of clinician well-being, on May 2, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
Over Easy with Coach on KWVH, Wimberley Valley Radio
We had a great morning with Coach! You can check out the live recordings of Path Already Paved, Heart Rubbed Raw, Hard Winds, and My Wildest Ride on our FACEBOOK page
"Phillips and Davidson balance each other perfectly . . ."
Favorite Releases of 2017 - Random Routes, KEOS 89.1 FM
Thank you, Joe Angel, for including The Trailer Sessions among your favorites for 2017!
Top 25 Albums of 2017
We are honored that The Trailer Sessions was selected by Norm Mast and Al Kniola to be on The Back Porch's (WVPE) Top 25 Albums of 2017 list!