Gillian Welch and David Rawlings play a three-song set in The Current studio for Radio Heartland

Watch Gillian Welch and David Rawlings perform three songs from "Woodland" Support The Current: https://support.mpr.org/youtube or hit the Thanks button On Friday, Nov. 8, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ 10th studio album, Woodland, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Folk Album, and the lead track, “Empty Trainload of Sky,” received a nomination for Best Americana Performance. Woodland marks the 10th full-length studio album for the duo, who have been releasing their albums using alternating names based on “whoever was singing lead,” as Rawlings explains. With Woodland, Welch and Rawlings put both their names on it — along with the name of the studio where they not only record, but also the space they saved after it was struck by a tornado in 2020. While in St. Paul for two nights of concerts at the Fitzgerald Theater, Welch and Rawlings walked over to The Current where Radio Heartland host and producer Mike Pengra welcomed them, along with bassist Paul Kowert, for a studio session. After playing a selection of songs from Woodland, Welch and Rawlings stuck around for a conversation with Mike Pengra. Watch the performances above. Songs Performed 00:00:00 Hashtag 00:03:43 Empty Trainload of Sky 00:07:10 Howdy Howdy 00:11:10 Interview with host Mike Pengra All songs from Gillian Welch & David Rawlings’ 2024 album, Woodland, available on @aconyrecords. Musicians Gillian Welch – guitar, vocals David Rawlings – guitar, vocals Paul Kowert – bass Credits Guests – @gillianwelch and @davidrawlings Host/Producer – Mike Pengra Video – Josh Sauvageau Audio – Eric Xu Romani Camera Operators – Josh Sauvageau, Evan Clark, D'vir Rudin Graphics – Natalia Toledo Digital Producer – Luke Taylor Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RadioHeartland?sub_confirmation=1 Like/Follow: https://www.facebook.com/RadioHeartlandMPR/ https://www.instagram.com/thecurrent/ https://www.threads.net/@thecurrent https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurrent.org #studio #acoustic #americanamusic

Added 18 May 2026