Song Premiere: Emmy Woods & The Red Pine Ramblers, “Rodeo Clown”
The first song off the Minnesota alt-country band’s debut EP is a fun and uptempo but rueful ode to relationship red flags and poor judgment. Get an exclusive first listen here!
Emmy Woods & The Red Pine Ramblers. Photo credit: Sarah Steffan.
St. Paul-based Emmy Woods was born in North Dakota, and she’s one of the new standard bearers of a distinctly Midwestern strain of Americana music that’s been emerging from the Dakotas, Minnesota and Illinois for the past few years. Weaving unmistakable country flavors with indie-rock vibes, modern with classic sounds, each artist in this new wave (Midwesticana?) brings their own twist on the style. (Woods refers to hers as “queer farm vibes” in her bio.)
After releasing a couple albums’ worth of solo music, Woods formed a band with Jake Johnson (lead guitar and more), Bob Delage (bass), Brody Kucera (percussion) and Lydia Lecher (keys). Emmy Woods & The Red Pine Ramblers put out a few singles late last year, and now they’re gearing up to present four more on their first EP, volume 1. The record hits the digital platforms on Saturday, August 24, celebrated that same day by a show at Utepils Brewing.
The digital version of the volume 1 EP will comprise four singles, but Woods says the band has plans to print CDs in the future, and those will include their three previously released singles as well. Besides the digital release celebration at Utepils—actually a double-release show, with Minnesota sister act The Penny Peaches celebrating their first full-length album—Woods is also excited to make her 7th Street Entry debut in September, opening for Arkansas country artist Melissa Carper.
Today, we’re honored to exclusively premiere the first song off volume 1, “Rodeo Clown”!
volume 1 EP cover artwork.
Borne by a driving, almost Southern-rock rhythm, the song—which helped Woods win the 2024 Blue Ox Virtual Band Competition—uses rodeo-themed wordplay in the chorus to ruefully own up to poor judgment in relationships and not learning from mistakes: “I got no one to blame, I shoulda seen it all coming / No you ain’t my first rodeo clown.”
Woods says the writing of “Rodeo Clown” followed a different trajectory than her usual process: “A lot of times when I write, I finish it all in one sitting or in a day or two. This one I had half-written for years and just couldn’t come up with the second verse.”
When it did come to her at last, she was inspired in her wordplay by Minneapolis hip hop artist Dessa: “I really like how she takes cliches and turns them around in her lyrics.” In “Rodeo Clown,” relationship red flags are conflated with the cloth rodeo clowns wave to distract bulls. “Someone once said I have a tendency to paint red flags green. I was thinking about that when I wrote it, about how I should let myself see red flags.”
Get an exclusive early listen to “Rodeo Clown”!
Upcoming Shows
Emmy Woods & The Red Pine Ramblers and The Penny Peaches dual album release show takes place Saturday, August 24, at Utepils Brewing in Minneapolis. Tickets are $15. Doors open at 6pm and the music starts at 6:30pm with an opening set by Minneapolis alt-Americana band Yonder.
Emmy Woods will open for Melissa Carper at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on Friday, September 13. Tickets are $20. Doors open at 7:30pm and the music starts at 8:30pm.
volume 1 EP Credits
lyricist/songwriter: emmy woods
arrangements by: emmy woods, jake johnson, lydia lecher, bob delage, & brody kucera
emmy woods: acoustic guitar, lead vocals
jake johnson: acoustic 12 string, pedal steel, electric guitar, violin, banjo, mandolin, supporting vocals
bob delage: bass
lydia lecher: keyboard, supporting vocals
brody kucera: percussion
co-producers: emmy woods & jake johnson
sound engineer: bob delage
mixing engineer: bob delage
mastered by: gage schmitt
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is co-founder, writer, social media manager and podcast producer for Adventures in Americana. By day she’s a marketing writer/brand strategist. In addition to playing guitar and songwriting, she writes self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley.
