This stunning oil painting by Laura Radwell instantly caught my eye as the perfect cover art for Going Going Gone, released June 20, 2024. It’s a ballad, written on the summer solstice of 2023, about creating space for new beginnings and following instincts. It begins with a stripped-down acoustic sound that blooms into cinematic strings and drums. Canadian multi-instrumentalist Quinn Bachand produced, engineered and mixed, mastering by Trevor Buckingham. It’s a bit different from my other releases, I love how this one turned out, hope you enjoy!
Montana Wildflower is my third album of original folk music, it’s an instrumental celtic fiddle album with a touch of oldtime. Each original tune was named after a wildflower found in Montana (where I’m from!). Released March 2023, recorded in Victor, ID, engineered and mixed by Quinn Bachand, mastered by Charles-Émile Beaudin, photo and artwork by Catherine Young.
Reviews for Montana Wildflower
“…it was her album of fiddle compositions, Montana Wildflower, that I kept coming back to again and again this year. Beautifully recorded, she fiddles with an intensity that belies how carefully each note is laid on the neck of the instrument. But she’s also a great tune composer. Instrumental dance tunes are usually learned and taught by ear, passed down from olden times, and though many young players compose their own tunes, it’s not as common that these tunes are as captivating as Padilla’s. As a fiddler myself, I wanted to jump to my fiddle to learn each one! The reason she can compose tunes so ably is because she’s taken the time to learn multiple traditions of fiddling inside and out. There’s a great respect I can hear in these new compositions of hers.” - Devon Léger (Folk Alley Favorites:Best Trad of 2023)
“Listening to Montana Wildflower it's easy to think that most of these tunes have been arund for generations: the slipjig on Lady Slipper could come from an Altan album, the delightfully crooked oldtime reel Bittercress could be a version of Sally Ann. The waltz Forget-Me-Not is in classic country style, reminding me of compositions by Frankie Rodgers, Andy Dejarlis, Reg Bouvette and others. Prairie Flax starts with one of many O'Keeffe slides, an old tune indeed, given a treatment somewhere between Sliabh Luachra and Cecil Sharp House. A simple banjo melody and a sweet Celtic air bring us to a traditional oldtime reel and the final hard-hitting Americana medley of two contemporary tunes, dark and earthy, underpinning the wildflowers and ending this album on solid rock. Natalie Padilla's fiddle music fits right in, and takes these traditions to new and interesting places.” - Alex Monaghan (FolkWorld)
“…All in all, Montana Wildflower is a tour-de-force, a great shop-window for Natalie Padilla's strong compositional abilities and the masterful playing and strong musical rapport shared by herself and Quinn Bachand.” - Bob Leslie (Fatea UK)
“Forget Me Not” feature in Strings Magazine, July-August 2023 issue
Bluegrass Country Radio interview with Brad Kolodner, March 2023
Americana UK feature, March 2023
Bluegrass Today feature, March 2023
Bluegrass Situation feature, March 2023