Music is often a family affair in the Appalachians; Singer-Songwriter Dori Freeman will be joined by her father, Scott Freeman on mandolin, and her grandfather, Willard Gayheart on guitar. When asked about their music, Willard and Dori talk mainly about each other.
“Dori is in charge, I think,” Willard said. “The last time we played together, they used my name upfront, but she’s the one who puts it all together.”
“I get to sing behind my grandfather and that’s a real honor,” Dori said. “He plays the guitar and sings and he wrote most of the songs. He’s a great musician.”
Dori Freeman has sharpened her vision of Appalachian Americana over five studio albums. From the country traditionalism of her self-titled debut to the amplified folk of Ten Thousand Roses, it’s a sound that nods to her mountain-town roots even as it reaches beyond them. Freeman continues creating her own musical geography with Do You Recall, the songwriter’s most eclectic — and electric — record yet.
Like a counterpart to Ten Thousand Roses — the 2021 release that found Freeman trading the acoustic textures of her earlier work for a more expansive, electrified version of American roots music — Do You Recall nods to the full range of Freeman’s influences and abilities. She still sings with the unforced vibrato of a classic folksinger, but she’s more of a modern trailblazer than a throwback traditionalist, funneling her Blue Ridge roots into a contemporary sound that’s both broad and bold