Compact Disc Softpak

This is Hope Is the Thing with Feathers on compact disc, packaged in a softpak.

Nonesuch counts the record as Giddens' seventh studio album. It was cut live with few overdubs at The Cypress House in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, in sessions fitted between North American tours in 2024 and 2025. Giddens co-produced with her longtime bandmate Dirk Powell, who also engineered and mixed it, and Eric Conn mastered it at Independent Mastering in Nashville.

Giddens has said she cannot play without stomping, and the stomp is audible on the opening track, "Angel Fire Rise." Background noise and the musicians talking to one another before takes were left in on purpose. Of the players she gathered, she said: "Louisiana, the Congo, Italy, the Carolinas - all of these influences and people coming together to make something: that is American music."

The title track takes its name from Emily Dickinson's poem. Giddens has recalled pondering the poem in a hotel room when the tune came to her; she sang it for guitarist Niwel Tsumbu, who finished it with his harmonic movement. Her version of Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train" is pared to her voice and Powell's acoustic guitar, and she described it as "an act of lineage: one North Carolina artist returning to the work of another."

Her 2023 album You're the One, produced by Jack Splash at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, was her first made up entirely of original songs and earned Grammy nominations for Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Performance. They're Calling Me Home, from 2021, won the Grammy for Best Folk Album, and she was a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Tracklist

1. Angel Fire Rise
2. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
3. Step Away Blues
4. Wish in Vain
5. Carolina Rain
6. High on a Mountain
7. Freight Train
8. Walk with Me
9. Cluck Old Hen
10. Going Home

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Evergreen Vinyl ships records with care and attention to detail, using established carriers and packaging practices designed to protect physical media in transit.

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Last updated: 2/6/26

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We accept returns only for items that arrive damaged, defective, or incorrect, or where a return has been approved in advance.

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Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method after inspection (if a return is required).

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Non-Returnable Items

The following items are not eligible for return or refund unless they arrive damaged, defective, or incorrect:

• Merchandise and accessories

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• Used records graded below New or Mint (for condition-related expectations)

Our Approach

Records and audio equipment are physical objects, and small variations can occur. We aim to be transparent, consistent, and reasonable. We take legitimate issues seriously when they arise.

Questions or Return Requests

For return, exchange, or refund questions, please contact us at:

info@evergreenvinyl.com

Including your order number helps us assist you more efficiently.

Last updated: 2/6/26