Becky Buller Turns It Around on "Songs That Sing To Me"

A native of St. James, Minnesota, who proudly settled in the Tennessee town of Manchester, Becky Buller has been stacking up accolades for years. She’s the first woman to win IBMA’s Fiddler of the Year, and the only artist to take home both Female Vocalist and Fiddler in the same year. Her songs have been recorded on three Grammy-winning bluegrass albums, including Laws of Gravity by The Infamous Stringdusters, The Travelin’ McCourys, and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree. And in 2023, she was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. But Becky Buller isn’t chasing acclaim. She’s chasing the truth.

Her latest release, Songs That Sing To Me, arrives on the heels of Jubilee, a soul-baring song cycle tracing her experience with depression and anxiety during the pandemic years. That project was raw and revelatory. This one glows with perspective.

“Sharing my story, baring my soul to the world by way of Jubilee was very liberating,” she said. “It literally parted the waters of the musical pool that was coalescing into Songs, leading me to a place of greater peace and abundance.”

The roots of this new album go back to 2022, when Buller first began production—only to hit pause when the FreshGrass Foundation offered her a commission. That commission bloomed into Jubilee, and once finished, she returned to the Songs That Sing To Me sessions with renewed energy.

“I hear a clear delineation between the two halves of this new album. Once on the far side bank of Jubilee, I dug down deeper, exploring my voice, fiddle, and arrangements in ways I had previously thought beyond my reach.”

And unlike her past solo records—almost entirely filled with original songs—she inhabits someone else’s creations.

“Songs That Sing to Me is my first all-covers project,” she explained. “The title actually comes from 'The Magician’s Nephew,' the creation allegory in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. In it, the great lion Aslan is literally singing the land of Narnia into being. That’s what these songs are doing for me; they continue to inspire and inform my own creativity.”

She and longtime producer Stephen “Mojo” Mougin cooked the soup from a large pot, letting the music shape the sound and the theme.

“Stephen and I always start a new album with a mile-high stack of songs,” she said. “The song choices inform our creative direction—traditional versus progressive bluegrass; old-time; major, minor, modal; to banjo or not to banjo… I love to present a variety of keys, grooves, and subject matter, all in hopes of capturing the listeners’ imagination for the entirety of the album and beyond.”

She didn’t stop at interpreting these songs—she embedded them with the voices and hands of her friends, mentors, and family.

“I absolutely LOVE to collaborate in the studio with my friends and heroes,” Buller said. “The old-timey camp meeting song ‘Camel Train’ screamed The Whites and Ricky Skaggs. Lonesome Jim Lauderdale just about made me weep as we sang ‘Wall Around Your Heart’ together.”

She brought in her daughter Romy for a track alongside Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn, and their sons Juno and Theo. Her “Muddy Waters” version featured two sons of The Seldom Scene. And “You Can’t Roll A Seven Every Time” turned into a family affair with her husband Jeff Haley, brother-in-law Timmy George, Mickey Harris (of Rhonda Vincent & The Rage), and Ned Luberecki.

“My fantastic band members, past and present, are all over this record,” she said. “Jake Eddy and Jacob Groupman, guitar; Daniel ‘The Hulk’ Hardin, bass; Wes Lee, mandolin; and Banjo Hall Of Famer Ned Luberecki.”

Inquiring minds can check out the album for a complete list of special guests. And for Buller, who’s spent over two decades teaching fiddle, singing, and songwriting in workshops around the globe—and now serves on the board of the IBMA Foundation—learning never stops. While making this record, she enthusiastically returned to the role of the student.

“Through the course of creating this album, I actually ‘went back to school’ for some fiddle and vocal coaching,” she said. “Thanks to Jason Carter, Michael Cleveland and Aynsley Porchak for added inspiration and taking the time to fiddle ‘nerd out’ with me. Thanks also to my opera-singing cousin, Samantha Friedman, who teaches at Wesleyan College in Macon, GA., for encouraging me to explore and expand my vocal capabilities.”

Songs That Sing To Me may celebrate the music that shaped her, but it’s also a declaration of where she’s standing now: a veteran artist still hungry for challenge, collaboration, and connection. Make no mistake, Becky Buller still has plenty to say.