Charlottesville, Virginia based Americana singer/songwriter Maya Lerman has released her debut full-length, Take This Song With You. By day Lerman is an Archivist at the Library of Congress, and spends her time uncovering and archiving traditional American music. So it is no surprise that Lerman’s involvement in the traditional Americana/roots music scene has highly influenced and informed her own contemporary American roots music. Recorded in Lafayette, Louisiana with a great cast of musicians including members of the Red Stick Ramblers/The Revelers, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Lerman pulls together a thoughtfully selected set of songs ranging from Tom Petty to Ola Belle Reed, Grayson and Whitter to Memphis Minnie, Jimmie Rodgers to Elizabeth Cotton, and fills in the rest of the album with her own material. A few standouts among the originals include the title track “Take this Song With You”; the heartfelt love song “Write me a Letter”; and “Like Askin” which marries well with her interpretations of traditional on the album. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Stephanie Coleman, David Egan, Red Stick Ramblers, Uncle Earl