Profile: Singer-songwriters Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

Three decades ago, singer-songwriters Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings came to Nashville and fleshed out a very modern and influential take on an old-time country music sensibility.

Despite how influential they’ve become, they’ve maintained an insular musical world, evolving in their own way and at their own pace. Today, WPLN senior music writer Jewly Hight sits down with Welch and Rawlings for an intimate conversation about their musical influences, the beauty of embracing imperfection, and the career self-sufficiency they didn’t really want but intentionally cultivated.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are WNXP’s December Artist of the Month.

This episode was produced by Jewly Hight and Mary Mancini.

Guests

• Gillian Welch, Singer-songwriter
• David Rawlings, Singer-songwriter

Further Reading & Listening

• WNXP | The songs of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have added to the shared folk canon, but their career is their own
• Listen to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on NPR’s World Cafe
• Listen to Empty Trainload of Sky from their new album, Woodland.
• The New Yorker | What Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Took from the Tornado