Chelle Rose - Blue Ridge Blood (2016) FLAC

On the proudly defiant "Blue Ridge Blood," singer-songwriter Chelle Rose puts her tough Appalachian roots on full display and even slyly acknowledges the dark artistic persona she has cultivated on her albums. "Couldn't get away from it if I tried, Blue Ridge blood," she shrugs.

In-demand producer-songwriter Buddy Miller joins Rose on the song, adding low harmonies to Rose's throaty growl over austere percussion and Sergio Webb's lyrical dobro flourishes. "Blue Ridge Blood" is the title track from the East Tennessee native's forthcoming new album, which — like 2012's acclaimed The Ghosts of Browder Holler — will feature Rose exploring the troubled branches of her family and home region, but never apologizing for her upbringing.

"I wrote the first line of 'Blue Ridge Blood' after an interviewer jokingly mentioned that my personality didn’t match my dark writing and my images looked kind of mean," says Rose. "The second verse was inspired from a well-meaning letter mailed from Los Angeles to East Tennessee from my biological mother when I was a child. She said if I didn’t change the way I talk, I’d never make it in this world. This song pays tribute to my heritage and staying true to one's self.”