Woodland (album)
2024 studio album by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
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Woodland is the seventh studio album by Gillian Welch, the third studio album by David Rawlings (his fifth including his studio work with Dave Rawlings Machine), and the second studio album to be credited to the pair as a duo. Released by Acony Records on August 23, 2024, it is the first album of original material from Welch since 2011's The Harrow & the Harvest, and from Rawlings since 2017's Poor David's Almanack. Their 2020 album, All the Good Times (Are Past & Gone), consisted entirely of covers of preexisting songs.[2]
| Woodland | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 23, 2024 | |||
| Studios | Woodland (Nashville, Tennessee)[1] | |||
| Length | 40:57 | |||
| Label | Acony | |||
| Producer | David Rawlings | |||
| Gillian Welch chronology | ||||
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| David Rawlings chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Woodland | ||||
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The album is named after Welch and Rawlings' Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, which was destroyed by a tornado in 2020. The artists stated in a press release that the songs on Woodland are "a swirl of contradictions, emptiness, fullness, joy, grief, destruction, [and] permanence."[3]
The album won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.[4]
Singles
Critical reception
Track listing
All tracks are written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Empty Trainload of Sky" | 3:24 |
| 2. | "What We Had" | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Lawman" | 4:31 |
| 4. | "The Bells and the Birds" | 3:13 |
| 5. | "North Country" | 5:12 |
| 6. | "Hashtag" | 3:34 |
| 7. | "The Day the Mississippi Died" | 4:55 |
| 8. | "Turf the Gambler" | 2:49 |
| 9. | "Here Stands a Woman" | 5:17 |
| 10. | "Howdy Howdy" | 4:05 |
| Total length: | 40:57 | |
Personnel
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
- Gillian Welch – vocals (all tracks), guitar (tracks 1–9), bass (2), banjo (10)
- David Rawlings – vocals, guitar (all tracks); organ (tracks 1, 7), string arrangement (2, 6), guitjo (3), harmonica (8)
Additional musicians
- Russ Pahl – pedal steel (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6)
- Chris Powell – drums (tracks 1, 2, 5, 7)
- Brian Allen – bass (tracks 1, 5)
- Kristin Wilkinson – section leader, viola (tracks 2, 6)
- David Davidson – violin (tracks 2, 6)
- Jung-Min Shin – violin (tracks 2, 6)
- Mary Kathryn Van Osdale – violin (tracks 2, 6)
- Jenny Bifano – violin (tracks 2, 6)
- David Angell – violin (tracks 2, 6)
- Wei Tsun Chang – violin (tracks 2, 6)
- Janet Darnell – violin (tracks 2, 6)
- Annaliese Kowert – violin (tracks 2, 6)
- Chris Farrell – viola (tracks 2, 6)
- Monisa Angell – viola (tracks 2, 6)
- Seanad Chang – viola (tracks 2, 6)
- Kevin Bate – cello (tracks 2, 6)
- Austin Hoke – cello (tracks 2, 6)
- Alicia Enstrom – violin (track 6)
- Betsy Lamb – viola (track 6)
- Jennifer Kummer – French horn (track 6)
- Patrick Walle – French horn (track 6)
- Morgan Jahnig – bass (track 7)
- Ketch Secor – fiddle (track 7)
Technical and visuals
- David Rawlings – production, mixing (all tracks); engineering (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8–10); mastering
- Matt Andrews – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 4–10), mixing (2, 4, 8–10)
- Ken Scott – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 5–7)
- Brent Bishop – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, 5–7); additional engineering, technical support
- Barry Wolifson – additional engineering, technical support
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Alysse Gafkjen – photography
- Lawrence Azerrad – graphic design
Charts
| Chart (2024–2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] | 84 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] | 137 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] | 95 |
| Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[12] | 45 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 74 |
| UK Americana Albums (Official Charts)[14] | 2 |
| UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)[15] | 5 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[16] | 36 |