Folksinger Willi Carlisle holds tight the conviction that love is bigger than hate, and no-one is expendable. Carlisle’s music has always been a dance between absurdity, spectacle, and philosophy. On his fourth studio album, Winged Victory, Carlisle returns with his signature blend of traditionally-rooted folk music and kaleidoscope of oddball characters to confer with his core tenets in more overt and provocative ways.  Carlisle delivers Victory as the next chapter in his long-running direct address to the hope that by understanding our collective suffering we might be free of it. He’s intent on creating art and a well-rounded life in a broken world. The idea began with 2022’s Peculiar, Missouri when Carlisle proclaimed “your heart’s a big tent, everybody gets in.” After gathering together all the world’s weirdos and misfits under the big tent, with 2024’s Critterland, Carlisle let them loose into the world. Now, on Winged Victory, they speak for themselves, unencumbered by social expectations.   Victory, Carlisle’s first self-produced album, will be released June 27 via Signature Sounds. It both indulges a few of his wildest dreams (including a version of Richard Thompson’s “Beeswing,” among several traditional folk song covers), and feels like the inevitable sequel to Critterland’s charismatic menagerie of chaos. Though occasionally raunchy, and routinely provocative, Victory is not afraid to make a spectacle for the sake of a point. Victory should be understood as a reflection. It revels in the beauty of tiny, monetarily-worthless moments and things, offering with them a consideration of our innate humanity. 

Clover County grew up under the sweet orange blossoms and the spiky palms of sunny Central Florida. She began songwriting at the age of 13, teaching herself to play from her dad’s collection of 1980’s songbooks. She drew inspiration from documentaries and interviews with influential women in music, such as Stevie Nicks, Carol King, Taylor Swift, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dolly Parton. The name “Clover County”, is a tribute to all the places she's called home. After moving from Orlando to Denver, Atlanta to Birmingham, to Athens, Clover grew tired of seeking a sense of home and relying on the next city to be the “lucky one” where things would fall into place. “Clover County'' represents a state of mind, no matter where you’re planted you have the choice to grow. With every open mic and backyard show, the Clover County following rapidly expanded, despite no official music releases or means to afford recording. Clover turned this to her advantage, performing weekly in Athens, building her audience the old-fashioned way.