Gilkyson goes "Home"

The song came about after a bad accident Gilkyson suffered at last year's Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas.

"I left my car in gear when I pulled up and got halfway out of the car, which rolled forward and dragged me down a dirt road, over a low rock wall and into a tree," she said. "I don't know why I didn't die, and when I re-live it the math just doesn't add up, like how did I survive that? It felt miraculous, still does."

"Home" reunites Gilkyon with producer/multi-instrumentalist Don Richmond. Cameos include a duet with Robert Earl Keen, "How Deep," and with longtime friend Mary Chapin Carpenter on "Sparrow." "Witness" features Gilkyson's brother, L.A. musician Tony Gilkyson (X, Lone Justice, Chuck E. Weiss) on electric guitar. The epic storytelling ballad "Man in the Bottle" features snippets of her dad's songs — hit songwriter Terry Gilkyson ("Bare Necessities) — played by the Southwest's Western dance band, The Rifters, and longtime family friend Van Dyke Parks, who played in an early incarnation of her dad's band "The Easy Riders" when he was just a teenager.

The album wraps up with the title track "Home." Written by Karla Bonoff, the song reflects on the ways that home can be a sanctuary in the most difficult times.

Gilkyson said, "The pandemic changed our lives and our world forever, illuminating the sanctity of home and hearth, of trusted friendships and family, and a new deeper appreciation for the many little blessings we may have taken for granted before this cataclysmic shift occurred. It has been a time of terrible loss and insecurity about the future, as well as one of newfound resolve, connection and commitment. These songs were born out of all these conflicting forces coming into play while trying to find the balance."

The track listing is:
1. True North
2. World Keeps On Singing
3. How Deep
4. Sunflowers
5. Safety Zone
6. Witness
7. Here Comes the Night
8. Man In the Bottle
9. Sparrow
10. Home