This year, well-known roots and folk label Dualtone Records is celebrating two decades on this planet. Dualtone was founded in 2001 by Scott Robinson, Dan Herrington, and later with Paul Roper. “From the very start, we’ve tried to build this safe, encouraging space for artists to experiment and create,” said Robinson, “and it’s just so cool to see how deeply these bands have connected with each other and to hear the influences and friendships that stretch across the whole history of the label.”
In celebration of their 20th anniversary, the label has put together a covers album with artists reimagining cuts from their label mates titled Amerikinda: 20 Years of Dualtone. Today, artists Angie McMahon shares her cover of Oh Pep’s “Tea Milk & Honey” and the Wild Reeds’ take on Mt. Joy’s “Younger Days.”
Angie McMahon says of her label home, “Dualtone are my treasured American family. They took us under their roof, out for dinner, out to karaoke, wore my merch, gave us hugs and stories of Nashville, the warmest and most beautiful welcome to the US music industry. It was such an instinctive decision to sign a record deal with these beautiful people. They have supported my music from the day they heard it. I love all their faces. With precious people from this label, I have shared a karaoke stage to sing 9 minutes of Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell, I have eaten huge pizza slices and pasta bowls everywhere from Nashville to New York to San Francisco to Austin, I have buzzed backstage at festivals and theatres and dirty bandrooms, I have experienced America through the lens of a warm and loving family, and I have felt so supported to sing my songs.
“Oh Pep! are one of my biggest songwriting inspirations, as well as being beautiful friends of mine. I used to sit in the car outside my house after working long late night shifts, processing another day by listening to the magical words of ‘Tea, Milk and Honey.’ This song is like medicine to me.”
The Wild Reeds added, “Dualtone creates a familial environment for the artists they work with. They’re hands on and make sure their artists feel attended to while pushing for their success. We have always been fans of the DT artist family. Some of them have taken us on tour, became our friends, confidants, collaborators, and teammates. We got to watch Mt. Joy rise in their successes and were honored to play a couple shows together pre-pandemic. ‘Younger Days’ feels like the perfect choice for a future on-stage song-along when we meet again. Xoxo.”
Listen to both Angie McMahon and the Wild Reeds’ covers below.
