S.G. Goodman is all about celebrating her humble roots. Goodman’s first single, “Way I Talk,” is a menacingly honest declaration of who she is, where she’s from and the music that moves her—all of it summed up nicely in the pivotal line, “Sharecropper daughter, she sings the blues of a coal miner’s son.”
“I grew up in a small town on the Mississippi River, where my family still farms,” says the Kentucky native, whose debut album, Old Time Feeling (Verve Forecast), is out May 29. “Even in my short time on earth, I’ve watched how the business of farming has shifted. I’m very proud of my home and what my family does, and it was a real treat to hang out with my niece in the video. I feel like our experience as farmer’s daughters will be more rare as time passes, so it was important for me to tell our story and capture our way of life.”
Old Time Feeling was produced by My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, who shares Goodman’s Kentucky roots. “He was a very encouraging voice throughout the whole process,” she says. “He helped shine a light on what we were doing well and took a strong stance on things he felt diminished what should be the focus of the record.”
Goodman joins Tyler Childers and Ian Noe on a growing list of promising new talent from Kentucky—and she has a theory as to why her home state has become such a hotbed. “I think people are desperate for genuine voices and stories, and that’s a trait Kentuckians have always been known for,” says Goodman. “It would be hard to put a filter over who we are, because where we come from has left too deep of a mark to hide.”
Goodman is also genuine about her struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, an issue for her, in one form or another, since grade school. “After I moved past my state of denial of having a mental illness, I sought counseling and have undergone cognitive behavioral therapy and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing),” says Goodman. “Even when I’m on the road, I have counseling sessions scheduled. For years, I tried everything I could, aside from medication. Diet, essential oils and exercise didn’t touch the severity of my situation, so I’m happily medicated now.”
When asked how OCD plays into her creativity, Goodman demurs. “That would be a long story to tell,” she says, before expanding on that somewhat. “I think OCD makes it hard to let things be. I’ve been told that I have a tendency to over-edit. I’m also very sensitive to when things aren’t played exactly the same way each time. I always want to start the song over, and it’s made practices hell in the past—and it makes playing live an everlasting cognitive behavioral exercise. At least I’m used to it by now.”
—Hobart Rowland
Tour Dates
3/17- Austin, TX – SXSW
3/18 – Austin TX – Yeti Party @ SXSW
3/18 – Austin, TX – St. David’s Historic Sanctuary @ SXSW
3/19 – Luck, TX – Luck Reunion
3/20 – Nashville, TN – Basement East
3/21 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
3/22 – Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle
3/24 – Saxapahaw, NC – Haw River Ballroom
3/25 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
3/27 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
3/28 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
3/29 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair
3/31 – Montreal, QC – L’Esco
4/1 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern
4/3 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
4/4 – East Moline, IA – The Rust Belt
4/5 – Milwaukee, WI – The Back Room at Colectivo
4/7 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fine Line
4/8 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
4/9 – Wichita, KS – The Wave
4/11 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre
4/24 – Decatur, AL Princess Theatre
4/26 – McMinnville, TN – Cumberland Caverns
4/28 – Louisville, KY – Headliners
4/30 – Macon, GA – Cox Capital Theatre
5/1 – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees
5/3 – Mobile, AL – Callaghan’s
5/8 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
5/12-15 – Philadelphia, PA – NON-COMMvention
5/23 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
5/24 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall
5/26 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
5/27 – Fairfield, CT – The Warehouse
5/28 – Jersey City, NJ – White Eagle Hall
5/29 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Small’s Theatre
5/30 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
6/2 – St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House
6/3 – Maquoketa, IA – Codfish Hollow Barn
6/4 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line $
6/5 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
6/6 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Pyramid Scheme
6/7 – Ferndale, MI – Magic Bag
8/8 – Waynesville, OH – Bellwether Festival
