Michele Gedney’s voice is an instrument of astonishing beauty, with its subtle vibrato, its mere hint of a rasp, and its considerable range, all of which combine to convey a seemingly contradictory sense of vulnerability and assured confidence. This comes to the fore on Gedney’s first solo album since her musical and life partner Rick Gedney passed away in 2023 (the Beacon couple performed and recorded as the duo Open Book), featuring seven songs exploring loss, grief, resilience, and the love that lingers beyond this earthly domain. Gedney’s musical terrain recalls Shawn Colvin’s rootsy country folk and the sophisticated folk-pop melodicism of Suzanne Vega, whose longtime bassist, Michael Visceglia, holds up the bottom end of these tracks lovingly produced by Austin’s Billy Masters. Gedney shines as an acoustic guitarist, too, and on “Still,” she makes her octave mandolin sound like a sitar, lending the effort a befittingly cosmic touch.
This article appears in November 2026.
