by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk Alley

Glimmer was Kim Richey’s third album, released in 1999, but it contained so many fan-favorites that it has become one of her most beloved. To celebrate its 20th year, Richey revisited these old songs with new eyes and ears, and the result—Long Way Back—is a stirring emotional tribute to the way songs can grow and evolve over time, right along with their singer.

Indeed, at this year’s 30A Songwriter Festival in Florida, Richey dropped by the Folk Alley house to wrap her smooth vocals around some solo, acoustic versions of these old favorites that never get old. She also talked about the way the songs felt to her then and how they feel now, with 20 more years of life to them.