Honesty, confidence, and respect permeate Eilen Jewell’s (pronounced: EE-len) music, dating back to her self-released Boundary County album in 2006. Since then, the Boise native has recorded five studio albums with her road-tested touring band, and two more as a member of the Boston-based gospel-charged Sacred Shakers, which includes that well-oiled band at its core. Her latest, Sundown Over Ghost Town, is a culmination of Jewell’s work to date.

Entranced by the sound of her grandfather’s violin, Anna Tivel started learning in the first grade and never put it down. In 2006, she moved to Portland, muddled through college, and started waiting tables and playing some fiddle on the side. Jeffrey Martin was born in San Antonio, Texas. While he’s been writing songs since he was in high school, he didn’t begin touring until 2010 when a few chance opening gigs fell his way. Before he ever slept out of his car for music, he enjoyed sleeping out

When Indianapolis sisters Lily and Madeleine first started making music together, it didn’t cross their minds that they could make a living at it. Although they now find themselves in an acclaimed full-fledged career, what got them here has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with the spirit.

Mike Edel couldn’t have named his sophomore release more poetically. Even the title, India, Seattle feels like a story on its own. Two polarized locations on opposite ends of the earth, one crawling with colors and noise and the other lying silent and blue in the corner of America. Part of growing a little bit older, a little bit wiser is the awareness that comes inside growing spaces.

Emotions and Math is not simply the name of Margaret Glaspy’s new debut album. That expression drills right to the heart of the New York-based singer-songwriter’s proper introduction, a mission statement both artistic and personal.

While romantic entanglement hasn’t been exactly uncommon when it comes to successful musical duos -- Buckingham and Nicks, Sonny and Cher, Bonnie and Delaney, and Goffin and King simply for starters -- Freddy & Francine, or, as they’re known to family and friends, Lee Ferris and Bianca Caruso, have built a career that’s been intertwined with their feelings for both their music and each other.