Gillian Welch never grew up in Appalachia. She grew up in California. Although she spent a little bit of time in Nashville, her southern drawl is feigned. But the funny thing is that nobody seems to care about any of this because her music sounds so pastoral and authentic. When she and David Rawlings are playing live, time stands still, and then begins to reverse a little. Welch's songs are haunting and romantic musings that seem to use the tempo of a dying heartbeat for a metronome. Her study and deliverance (no pun intended) of old timey Americana and Bluegrass music are a large influence in her sound, but she maintains her own subtly soulful (and sometimes sultry) voice to birth new ideas and phrasings within her appreciation of America's musical history.
