Rayland Baxter has spent much of his career chasing clarity, but his newest record, True Violet, feels like the first time he's truly found it. His 2022 album If I Were A Butterfly evoked transformation, but in Baxter's own view, True Violet is the record where the true metamorphosis has unfolded. Catalyzed less by a sudden realization than by hard-earned understanding, True Violet is a record about the slow, steady process of becoming someone new. It's about looking in the mirror, taking responsibility for your own life, and sitting with difficult emotions instead of trying to outrun them. "I sat in my chair alone for a year and wrote a bunch of songs, and what started off as an attempt to write a record got sideswiped by mediocre attempts I wouldn't even sing to my dog," Baxter recalls. "Then, like many times over the last three years, I called my sister. We talked about life and family and love and heartache, and our individual experiences with all of that. She simply encouraged me to write about what I was feeling, something I was avoiding in the early stages of writing.” Rayland took his sister's advice and began writing with a newfound vulnerability. He'd sit alone each evening with his guitar for hours, excavating experiences and emotions. If a lyric or melody didn't click, he'd stop, walk around, dig up an old tour voice memo, and return to the guitar. Movies like Dances With Wolves and The Sandlot played in the background, their colors and landscapes bleeding into his creative psyche. By the time he entered the studio, he'd amassed nearly seventy songs. True Violet is the first Rayland Baxter record made without the presence of his father, Bucky Baxter, a multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with Bob Dylan and as a member of Steve Earle and The Dukes, whose musicianship and encouragement had shaped every previous chapter of his career. "He used to be my phone call, my confidant, my teacher, and my musical guide," Baxter says. "He still is today, but he exists more in the invisible realm now, where feeling and intuition are how I experience his wisdom." In the wake of that loss, Baxter's sister became an essential presence in both his life and creative process. "Honestly, it was her encouragement that brought these songs to life," he says. "She was actually bringing me back to life." These days, Baxter has a steadier hand on the sails of his life, and you can hear it in his voice as he sings about living inside a feeling for too long and the hard-won relief of finally moving beyond it. "I was just letting it go," Baxter says. "The right people were in the room bringing the songs to life. I was observing. Feeling for the first time really steady in the process." True Violet is about what remains after the storm passes: the lessons, the scars, the gratitude, and the possibility of beginning again. The medicine of the record lies in the contrast between the hardship that inspired it and the clarity, patience, and community that finally brought it into focus.

You can't fully appreciate the long history of recorded music without taking the time to look at the breakups. Whether it's for good or for the season, Okey Dokey is the product of that natural reformation that occurs when musicians part ways. Fronted by visual artist Aaron Martin and The Weeks' guitarist Johny Fisher, these two former band mates made the rare decision to revisit creating music together in Fisher's small cabin about 20 miles outside of Nashville, TN. What they created was a well blended mix of everything they loved about classic Motown combined with a dash of their psychedelic storytelling roots. With the record and touring band including a revolving group of musicians from bands such as Wild Child, The Weeks, Rayland Baxter, Desert Noises, Sol Cat, Ron Gallo, Diane Coffee and Warren Givens, their upcoming debut album 'Love You, Mean It' has a little bit of treasure for every type of listener. Okey Dokey’s premier album “Love You, Mean It” will be released in Europe on February 27th via EXAG’ Records. The group will be touring regionally in support of new album, as well as appearances at SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX and a European tour starting in September.