Willi Carlisle w. Futuretime String Band

Folksinger Willi Carlisle holds tight the conviction that love is bigger than hate, and no-one is expendable. Carlisles music has always been a dance between absurdity, spectacle, and philosophy. On his fourth studio album, Winged Victory, Carlisle returns with his signature blend of traditionally-rooted folk music and kaleidoscope of oddball characters to confer with his core tenets in more overt and provocative ways. Carlisle delivers Victory as the next chapter in his long-running direct address to the hope that by understanding our collective suffering we might be free of it. Hes intent on creating art and a well-rounded life in a broken world. The idea began with 2022s Peculiar, Missouri when Carlisle proclaimed your hearts a big tent, everybody gets in. After gathering together all the worlds weirdos and misfits under the big tent, with 2024s Critterland, Carlisle let them loose into the world. Now, on Winged Victory, they speak for themselves, unencumbered by social expectations. Victory, Carlisles first self-produced album, will be released June 27 via Signature Sounds. It both indulges a few of his wildest dreams (including a version of Richard Thompsons Beeswing, among several traditional folk song covers), and feels like the inevitable sequel to Critterlands charismatic menagerie of chaos. Though occasionally raunchy, and routinely provocative, Victory is not afraid to make a spectacle for the sake of a point. Victory should be understood as a reflection. It revels in the beauty of tiny, monetarily-worthless moments and things, offering with them a consideration of our innate humanity.