Established in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Palmyra explores the fusion of traditional folk string instruments, lush harmony, and earnest songwriting. The trio, now based in Richmond, captures the collective spirit of three Virginia natives: Teddy Chipouras, Mānoa Bell, and Sasha Landon. Often described as a distant cousin to The Avett Brothers and The Wood Brothers, Palmyra nods toward Appalachian and Midwestern Americana, with intricate arrangements that create the illusion of a full, larger-than-three ensemble.
The breakout folk trio has worked diligently to cement themselves as an unmistakable force in the Americana music landscape at large. Their forward momentum is propelled by their craftsmanship and dedication to an intimate performance experience; at the heart of the Palmyra is the evident love and regard that the three musicians share for each other and their craft.
Palmyra has directly supported Watchhouse, Mipso, and Illiterate Light, and has won honors and recognition from institutions including the historic Newport Folk Festival, American Songwriter, The Boston Globe, Under The Radar Magazine, Americanafest, and NPR, who named the band one of “Public Radio’s Favorite New Artist(s) of 2024”. Their debut full-length album will be released via Oh Boy Records in 2025.
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"With comparisons to groups like The Avett Brothers and The Wood Brothers, the Virginia trio fuses elements of string-band and Appalachian music to generate a roots sound all their own."
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I love this new song, “Speak My Mind.” It’s a little spooky, almost ballad-like. It feels different than the most recent album, Shenandoah. It still has y’all’s staple sound of the memorable melody and harmonies, but this single feels like an internal reckoning, especially compared to “Happy Pills” and “Microwave Dinner.” Kinda like you left the mountains and went into the city. I’m curious, is that something y’all are moving towards in terms of like, a louder, fuller noise with the percussion and electric guitar present in this song?
Yeah, it is super different from our first record, Shenandoah, which we recorded when we were living in Floyd, Virginia, in a little house in the middle of nowhere. We had some time off and just recorded it in our living room in Floyd and kind of just kept it really bare bones and wanted it to represent our sound at that time, basically stripped down. But then as we played a lot more shows, we really enjoyed playing more high-energy songs for crowds and it was just a lot of fun for us—not to say that the softer stuff isn’t, we love that stuff too. But this record, we kind of wanted to lean more into that edgy, electric guitar sound. So almost all of the tunes that are gonna be released on this six-song EP are kind of leading into that.
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It’s sunny side up at Newport Folk Festival
“With five stages, two of which were little more than tents covering the bare ground (and one of which was powered by bicycles pedaled by eager audience members), there were always options and always hard choices to make; committing to Aimee Mann meant forgoing Jason Isbell and vice versa. The smaller, grassier stages tended to hew more closely to the traditional understanding of folk, like earnest but not saccharine Virginia trio Palmyra, 2023 John Prine Songwriter Fellowship winner Jobi Riccio (who recalled early Shawn Colvin mixed with a little classic country heartache), and Odie Leigh, who was Joni Mitchell by way of Ani DiFranco.”
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I loved this conversation. Teddy, Manoa, and Sasha demonstrate a level of care and respect for the music and each other that feels rare, and important. This conversation also touches on many things close to my own heart: concepts of home, what it means to call a place home, finding your own unique sound, and sharing who you are with the world, a feat that can be both the most freeing and terrifying thing in the world. There is something in the music of Palmyra that speaks to all of these things, and does so in a way that is rooted in tradition while also creating an entirely new sound.
As most great musicians do, they create music that I, as the listener, didn’t know I needed until I heard it. Touching on queerness, rurality, and mental health, while also playing with classic folk instruments, melodies, and rhythms, there truly is something special at work here. Just take a look at the video above for Medicine, the band’s newest song, dropping this Friday, December 2nd. I can’t wait to continue to follow their journey, and I hope you enjoy this conversation.
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“Nothing Sticks” is a quiet and confessional folk ballad, finding the band reflecting on the hardships of life on the road. The track begins stark and road-worn, traced only by intimate strums of acoustic guitar and solitary melodies. As the song builds, the band’s trademark three-part harmonies give it a growing resonant presence, bolstered by swelling upright bass and chiming mandolin. Like the best folk often does, the resulting track balances melancholic yearning with intimate beauty, crafting a dance of lovely harmony and unadorned instrumentation.
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VIRGINIA’S BREAKOUT ACOUSTIC TRIO PALMYRA SHARE MUSIC VIDEO FOR “MEDICINE” AHEAD OF DECEMBER 2, 2022 SINGLE RELEASE
Richmond-based folk trio and recently-crowned FloydFest “On the Rise” winners Palmyra have shared the music video for their new single “Medicine,” arriving to digital streaming platforms on Friday, December 2nd. Recorded in a one-room Blue Ridge cabin in Mt. Solon, VA overlooking the Shenandoah Valley, the video is available to view here.
The video for “Medicine” was brought to life just days after the group’s groundbreaking debut at Newport Folk Festival. Having recently achieved widespread recognition for their FloydFest “On the Rise” annual band competition performance, the budding outfit have quickly solidified themselves as a force of nature in the alternative/folk sphere…
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cutNscratch: 2 Southwest Va. acts sweep FloydFest On the Rise contest
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“‘Park Bench’ paints a very vulnerable picture of the person I see in the mirror every morning, and it can be overwhelming to think about its public release. My biggest comfort for this release is the fact that the three of us are doing it together. Often when we sit down to write and arrange together, we run into the same issue; when one person brings a song to the group, what can Palmyra do to better the tune without losing the intentions that the song grew from? I’m really proud of how we went about it with ‘Park Bench,’ and I am so grateful to Teddy and Mānoa for breathing more life into the tune and for always having my back. Even though ‘Park Bench’ started as something that I wrote to give voice to my own experience and anxieties, we collectively were able to turn it into a celebration of marginalized voices and queer identity by putting it out into the world together.” — Sasha Landon, Palmyra
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Appalachian folk trio from Floyd, VA perform new music
Palmyra, recorded live in the WVTF studio, performing songs from their new EP Shenandoah, available now on Bandcamp for pre-order.
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“Park Bench,” Palmyra
Palmyra’s music explores the fusion of traditional folk string instruments and three-part harmonies. This live outdoor take of “Park Bench,” brought to you from Floyd County, Virginia, is breathtaking. The lyrics are carefully crafted with lines like “Flip a coin with your strange hands / Not quite women / Not quite man / It might land somewhere in the middle / Or somewhere out of reach.” Sasha in the band shared with us, “the song is an honest and vulnerable reflection of how far I’ve come and how much further I have to go until I feel safe and secure in my own skin.”
