Claire Fortney
Contributing Writer
With the recent resurgence of concerts and live music post-COVID, I know I’m not the only one who’s found themselves more and more eager to travel in order to see their favorite bands perform live. More so, I’ve found myself doing a little of the unexpected–going to a concert when I don’t know the band or any of their music.
Luckily enough, I spend a month out of my summer in one of the best places to do so. Every July, my family travels to Snowmass, Colorado and stays there for a month to escape the Texas heat. Among other things, one of the most enjoyable features Snowmass Village has to offer is its Free Summer Concert Series. From June to August, every Thursday night a new band, ranging from rock to reggae, performs on stage at Fanny Hill (yes, it’s actually called that). During the winter, the hill is a ski slope, but during the summer, it’s a free, live music venue right next door to the townhouse my family rents. One of the artists who played on Fanny Hill this year–and one of the artists I enjoyed the most–was Emily Wolfe, a queer, female rock star who recently put out a smashing new album, The Blowback.
When I first heard “Dead End Luck” live in Colorado, I spent at least an hour on Spotify trying to find the song on Wolfe’s discography until I realized that it was probably unreleased. You could imagine my joy, finally listening to her new album last week, when I realized it was the second track! While “Dead End Luck” definitely takes the spot as my favorite song from the record, car sing-a-long bops like “Silencer” and the slow guitar edge of “High Crime” are close seconds.
I was also happy to find that Emily Wolfe hails from two states very familiar among Sewanee’s student population, North Carolina and Texas. Born in Raleigh and now based out of Austin, Wolfe is no new face to the music scene there. She’s been active since 2012 and has collaborated with multiple notable musicians, such as Ben Tanner (from Grammy-award winning band Alabama Shakes), who helped produce her second album.
Although I’ve yet to listen to the rest of Wolfe’s discography, The Blowback is a true testament to her range and talent as a rock artist. Wolfe’s lyrics in each of her songs could resonate with anyone, from breakup ballad “Rock Bottom on a High Wire” to her frustration with 1950’s-old ideologies in “Walk in My Shoes.” While some of her songs are more head-bangers than others, despite being a rock artist Wolfe certainly doesn’t tie herself down to one genre or beat. Every track on The Blowback is unique and enjoyable in its own way, and if you haven’t listened to her yet, I highly recommend doing so.