Inspired by her Southern upbringing and her
home in rural Georgia, Ray once again displays her knack for
straddling the line between the personal and the political on these
songs. Ray says, “The album is inspired by traditional
country, Southern rock, mountain music, gospel and bluegrass. The
songs tell stories of late nights, love, addiction, immigration,
despair, honky-tonks, growing up in the South, touring for decades,
being born in the midst of the civil rights movement, and the
constant struggle to find balance in the life of a left-wing
Southerner who loves Jesus, her homeland and its peoples."

She says was partially inspired by Jim
Ford’s 1969 cult-classic country album, Harlan County. “I had that album in my mind, musically. I
knew I wanted horns and strings to bump it up to that level, to get
that swagger into it.” 

To achieve this she’s called upon the
masterful slide guitar of Derek Trucks (Tedeschi Trucks Band, the Allman Brothers), the
banjo and guitar work of Alison Brown, and vocal harmonies from Vince Gill, Brandi
Carlile, the Wood Brothers, Lucy Wainwright-Roche, Phil Cook, and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. These guests illustrate notably how
broad Amy’s musical tastes are but how widely she’s respected among
her musical peers.

HOLLER also reunites Ray with the band she put
together for her first Americana album, 2014’s GOODNIGHT TENDER, which includes shape-shifting
multi-instrumentalist Jeff
Fielder on guitars, dobro,
bass, and mandolin, Matt Smith on pedal steel, dobro, and guitar, Adrian Carter on fiddle and guitar, Kerry Brooks on upright bass and mandolin, Jim Brock on drums and percussion, and special guest Kofi Burbridge of Tedeschi Trucks Band on keys. After four years
together, this group has fused into a level of cohesion more
typical of a family band and there’s a loose, live feel to the
recordings with Ray still finding new ways to use her incredible,
iconic voice.

All of Ray's musical interests blend
beautifully on HOLLER, from the emotionally gripping title track, which
she finished writing during the week of recording in Asheville,
North Carolina, to the edgy, guitar-driven frenzy and brass-section
blast of “Sparrow’s Boogie,” and beyond. Fans of GOODNIGHT TENDER will love Brown’s banjo on “Dadgum Down,” the pep
talk to indie artists on “Tonight I’m Paying the Rent,” and the
Elizabeth Cotten-influenced “Fine with the Dark.”

Thoughtful and musically fluid, Ray, like
many Southern artists, grapples with love for her heritage — both
musical and personal — and her own, more inclusive values. It’s
that drive and artistic commitment that has made Ray’s career
so full of unforgettable songs, and HOLLER feels like a culmination. We can only hope
for more.