Sarah Jarosz: Polaroid Lovers Tour

The seventh full-length from four-time Grammy Award-winner Sarah Jarosz, Polaroid Lovers is an album-long meditation on those strangely ephemeral moments that indelibly shape our lives. “What I love about a Polaroid is that it's capturing something so fleeting, but at the same time it makes that moment last forever,” says the Texas-born singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. “It made sense as a title for a record where all the songs are snapshots of different love stories, and there's a feeling of time being expansive despite that impermanence.” Thanks to the rarefied alchemy that infuses all of Jarosz's output—her finely wrought lyricism, ravishing vocal work, virtuosic yet unfettered musicality—Polaroid Lovers performs the much-needed magic of leading us toward a heightened sense of presence, all while casting a lovely spell with her timelessly powerful songs.

Produced by Daniel Tashian at the legendary Sound Emporium, Polaroid Lovers took shape as Jarosz recorded live with musicians like guitarist Rob McNelley (Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood), Tom Bukovac (Tom Petty, Vince Gill) on guitar and organ, her husband bassist Jeff Picker (Nickel Creek, Ricky Skaggs), and drummer Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams), carving out a viscerally potent but resplendent brand of folk/rock.

Looking back on the making of Polaroid Lovers, Jarosz notes that shaking up her process ultimately left her eager to further expand her creative horizons. “It was a big step for me to reach out to Daniel, but in the end it showed me how important it is to keep taking thoughtful chances,” she says. “This whole album reminded me that I never want to play it safe—if anything, I want there to always be that element of being a little scared, because that means Iʼm taking a risk. In a way thatʼs whatʼs so wonderful about art: if youʼre lucky, you never reach the finish line. You just keep searching and chiseling away at the stone, and putting everything you can into making something that tells the truth but hopefully leaves space for others to find meaning too.”

Early in 2020, an article was released declaring that the music industry needed more happy songs. As Martin Earley and Calin Peters recall, they laughed while reading it, knowing that their work as The Ballroom Thieves explores the spirit of that paradigm. Well, sort of…they're not interested in easily defined worldviews.

"We read that article and thought, 'how are we supposed to write happy songs right now?'" says Earley. "We don’t write happy songs, but this time we decided to try something new by pairing optimistic sounding music with dark lyrics. If the listener is not a lyrics person, they might not notice."

The Ballroom Thieves' fourth album, Clouds, is a song cycle born of mixed experiences and fueled by the power of imagination. The album is a lush meditation on longing to return to touring - to see different sunsets and cities. But, it's also a reflection of its difficulties, e.g., insomnia brought on by sleeping in different hotel rooms every night. After a major car accident and the departure of a band member, the duo has taken the duality of all these experiences and translated them into song.

"We miss exploring the country," says Peters. "The road offers us structure and it gives us something to write about. These past two years we learned just how much we love and need it.”

As they leaned into their wanderlust, themes became apparent - the idea of a life spent in motion ("Shine"), the power of the storm representing a relationship transformed into heartbreak ("The Lightning"), Man’s ceaseless degradation of resources and Nature’s inevitable fury ("Worldender"), and Harry Styles ("Harry Styles"), who should be considered a force of Nature as far as Peters and Earley are concerned. "We were sitting around our woodstove, and Callie looked over at me and said, 'I think I'm in love with Harry Styles,'" Earley recalls. "And my first thought was, 'wait a minute, I love Harry Styles! You can't have him!’”

Clouds became an opportunity for the band to mine the challenges of the past three years for creative inspiration.

"We were able to step away from a lot of the big three-part harmonies and for the first time we recorded most of the album live," says Earley. “We try to let change inspire us, even when it comes with difficulty.”

It's an artistic statement that doubles as a life mission. The pair both emphasize that they’ve learned to navigate complicated situations, including their struggles with depression, which often colors their songs. If they can impart anything to listeners, it’s that talking about mental health is not a weakness—and that sharing any of life's trials can be a source of strength.

"There’s so much material out there on fighting mental illnesses and keeping our heads up but I think it’s also just important to know that it’s okay to be affected. The human experience can be ugly and difficult and it’s okay to feel things deeply,” says Peters. “Not every day has to be seized.”

“I’m so glad it’s more common for people to talk openly about depression these days, because it can be tough when you think you’re the only one feeling it,” adds Earley. “We figured if it helps us when others are candid about their experiences with mental illness, maybe it’ll help someone else if we do the same.”

Clouds will be released on July 15 via Nettwerk Records.