Every month our editors curate a playlist of new music, mainly focusing on independent artists from the South. In March we’re highlighting new tunes from Fruit Bats, Leon III, and Buck Meek, plus an experimental banjo track from Chris Pandolfi of the Infamous Stringdusters. To hear these songs and more, follow the Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Trail Mix playlist on Spotify.

Buck Meek
“Candle”

Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek embraces a laid-back country vibe on his new solo album, “Two Saviors.” Analog warmth radiates throughout the effort, which was recorded in an old Victorian house in New Orleans, as Meek ruminates on heartbreak in his reserved vocal style. In “Candle,” a song co-written with his Big Thief bandmate and ex-wife Adrianne Lenker, he recalls hazy memories of an old flame, while somber pedal steel perfectly accentuates the melancholic longing in his lyrics. —J.F

Fruit Bats
“Holy Rose”

Fruit Bats leader Eric D. Johnson