Easterling sings on the classic country-styled title track, joyfully explaining the relationship she
now has with her longtime musical collaborator Brandon Turner.
Recorded with Joe Pisapia (Guster, k.d. lang, Drew Holcomb) at his Middletree Studios in
Nashville, “Common Law Wife” – in addition to sparkling multi-instrumental performances by
Turner – features some of Music City’s finest musicians, including Will Kimbrough, Fats
Kaplin, Dave Jacques and Paul Griffith.
In her typical straightforward fashion, Easterling further reveals how she and Turner arrived at
their “common law” arrangement with such lines as “You’d think I’d learned my lesson ‘bout
those birds and those bees/Well, imagine my surprise then, when the stork came to my door.”
Easterling lives with her partner and their toddler son on the Greer, S.C., farm that has been in
her family since 1791, specifically in the house that her World War II veteran grandfather built
on the property several decades ago.
Motherhood, Easterling says, “is definitely the biggest inspiration for songwriting I’ve ever had,”
a statement that’s evident throughout “Common Law Wife,” which collectively offers quite a
few lyrics that celebrate the arrival of her first child, and explore the complexities, struggles and
joys of her experience.
But don’t think for a moment that becoming a mother has softened Easterling’s musical
perspective. “Common Law Wife” is also loaded with songs that tackle plenty of non-gentle
subjects ranging from murder to civil rights.
Among the album’s highlights is “Isaac Woodard’s Eyes,” which Easterling was inspired to
write after learning about the real life story of an African-American World War II veteran who
was savagely beaten and blinded by police officers in South Carolina just hours after being
honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1946.
“Civil rights history is something that’s always touched my heart and hit home for me,”
Easterling says. “That story, which happened in my home state, is something that seems
unimaginable, yet I believe it’s still relevant in our modern life.”
And then there’s the leadoff track, “Hammer,” the writing of which was completed on the day
that folk music icon Pete Seeger died and was inspired by the work ethic of both him and
Easterling’s aforementioned grandfather, Harold Hammett.
“It’s really hard to sit around and binge-watch Netflix when you’re living in a house that Harold
Hammett built!” Easterling says. “Whenever I’m here, I feel like I need to get up and do
something, to get to work.”
“And I found Pete Seeger, who was someone I looked up to as a hero, to have a similar spirit to
my grandfather in that he was always out there working for the things he believed in.”
“Common Law Wife” also features Easterling singing a duet with Will Kimbrough, who
produced two of her previous albums. The song, “Aching Heart,” by the way, is her young son’s
favorite. Another sweet spot is “Table Rock”, a joyful celebration of life only getting better as
one gets older.
In “Throwing Strikes,” Easterling, a diehard Boston Red Sox fan, uses baseball imagery to help
paint a picture of the despair felt in communities where once-thriving mills have been
abandoned. The baseball concept, she says, was inspired by a lyric (“a vandal’s smile, a baseball
in his right hand”) in Jason Isbell’s song, “Relatively Easy.” She calls her own song, which has
an early Steve Earle/Bruce Springsteen vibe, a “David and Goliath story.”
“Goliath isn’t necessarily the mill but the powers-that-be that move these jobs overseas, and also
the workings of the universe that lead some people to be successful and some not to be
successful,” she says. “It’s that helpless feeling, like you’re up against a brick wall, and you’re
trying your best and not getting anywhere.”
Throughout her career, beginning with her 2007 debut album, “Earning Her Wings,” which was
chosen as “Americana Pick of the Year” by Smart Choice Music,” Easterling has embraced her
heritage in a big way as a writer and an artist.
Her second album, 2009’s “BlackTop Road,” debuted on the Americana Top 40 chart, where it
remained for seven weeks, and it was chosen as a top pick in both Oxford American and Country
Weekly. One of its songs, “The Picture,” was named the year’s “best political country song” by
the Boston Herald.
Easterling’s other albums include 2011’s “Beguiler,” which featured special guest Byron House
(Robert Plant’s Band of Joy), and 2012’s “Mon Secret,” which is notable for being sung entirely
in French with original songs by Easterling and her co-writer, Marianne Bessy.
Recognized as a top-notch songwriter in roots music circles, Easterling was selected for an
official Americana Convention Showcase and is also a three-time Kerrville New Folk Finalist
(2009, 2010, 2015), a Telluride Troubadour (2011) and a two-time Wildflower Performing
Songwriter Finalist (2012, 2015).
Easterling was invited to appear on the WSM-hosted stage at CMA Music Festival/Fan Fair,
where her entire set was broadcast live, and she has appeared on the nationally broadcast public
radio program, “Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know,” the popular ETV show, “Making It
Grow,” and has been interviewed by noted NPR journalist Bob Edwards.
Over the years, Easterling has opened for or appeared on stage with the Carolina Chocolate
Drops, Sarah Jarosz, Lucinda Williams, Charlie Louvin, Elizabeth Cook, Robbie Fulks, Mary
Gauthier, Ray Price, Suzy Bogguss, Ellis Paul, Radney Foster, the Oak Ridge Boys and Lori
McKenna.
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