Caleb Caudle with Beti Masenqo

Caleb Caudle with Beti Masenqo at Sweetwater Music Hall
* Saturday, May 27, 9:00 pm show

Forsythia, the latest studio LP offering from Caleb Caudle out now via Soundly Music, is a portrait of his truest self, of the artist at his most solitary and reflective. Thematically, it meets anticipation for the unknown future with nostalgia for the past, and reconciles both with meditation in the present.

The album was recorded at the legendary Cash Cabin during the pandemic, and inspired by the solitude and symbols Caudle found in nature during that time. It’s produced by John Carter Cash, and features veteran session players Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Dennis Crouch and Fred Eltringham, and the vocal talents of Carlene Carter, Elizabeth Cook and Sarah Peasall McGuffey.

Simplistic arrangements– in which Caudle was the only guitarist– built a framework for space that is filled intentionally so that the songs themselves can be heard and appreciated without an overcrowding of instrumentation.

On this record, outsider influences come into play nearly as much as his foundational knowledge of traditional Appalachian folk and other music history. This collection of 10 songs serves as a manifesto of Caudle’s beliefs and simplest desires. Forsythia sees Caudle as a master of his craft as a songwriter and musician.

Beti Masenqo was born in Ethiopia and grew up in Northern California. She first started playing classical violin in her public school orchestra and in her Ethiopian church community, where people recognized her as the masenqo player (due to the similarity between the Ethiopian masenqo and western violin).

Since then, she has written and performed indie folk music throughout California. Her music is inspired by what she listened to in her childhood and adolescence, which includes Ethiopian music, indie folk music, and classical music. Her songs reflect on her search for meaning and purpose as she navigates adulthood as an Ethiopian American and she hopes they provide comfort and an opportunity for reflection for all who listen.