(Originally posted May 2019)

Anna Tivel started making music when she was just a kid; it was her grandfather, she says, who first inspired her. He was a violinist and she started out on that instrument, too, playing it all the way through high school and college. It was only then that Tivel switched to the guitar and started thinking about writing songs, something she has been thinking about – and doing – ever since.

During a recent east coast tour, she joined us for a special Folk Alley Session taping at CitySpace in Easthampton, Massachusetts to share some thoughts about, and music from, her 2019 release, The Question. With Dietrich Strause joining her on backing vocals and guitar, Tivel dove into the inspiration behind a few songs on the recording…and explained why the music on this record, music from the guts, she says, feels oh so good.

(Recorded by Jeff Oehler and Sue Bibeau of Beehive Production, April 21, 2019.)