NEW SINGLE, "ROAM, LITTLE GYPSY, ROAM"

SHOWS

Born and raised surrounded by cornfields in southern Indiana, COYOTE’s songwriter and rhythm guitarist, Jessi Williams, is no stranger to country and bluegrass music as evident in their debut single “Roam, Little Gypsy” (out June 1). Set to a lulling piano and twangy guitar, the moody waltz–penned by Williams for her fellow country songstress, and friend, Margo Price–exudes biting lyrics examining the pressures and expectations faced when transitioning from a young, free-spirited woman to a wife and mother. 

At 14, Williams hid in her bedroom studying the Neil Young guitar songbook, while her parents hosted regular “pickin’ parties” in her old farmhouse kitchen. While, at the time, her interest in the bluegrass genre may have taken a backseat to her love of 60's, 70's rock and Motown, it has always been a prominent style in her songwriting. 

In 2008 Jessi moved to Los Angeles with her two-year-old daughter while her, now ex, husband was fighting in the Iraq war. As an outlet for her frustrations as a military wife and single mom, Jessi flooded her notebooks with stories of personal woe and folkloric interpretations of the world. She brought forth imagery where words seemed to fall short. Guitar in hand, she took to the stages of dive bars and coffee shops where she met Chris Sousa (bass), Robin Harris (guitar), former member Adrian Prohaska (mandolin), and Conan Skyrme (drums). Through their mutual adoration of folk music, the 5-piece folk rock band known as “Coyote” (pronounced Kye-Oat) was born.

Eventually, Coyote found themselves in the live room of the historic East West Studios- home of The Beach Boys Pet Sounds. There, they laid down eight tracks and prepared for their first release. However, around the same time, Jessi was touring with spaghetti-western influenced folk rock band, The Lonely Wild. Balancing a demanding tour schedule, a day job, motherhood, spread her too thin and she was forced to put Coyote on a hiatus.

All the while the songs still came….

Now reemerging in 2018 as Jessi Williams and Coyote, the group, with The Lonely Wild member Ryan Ross joining, have new songs in the works and are blowing the dust off of tunes that, like a bottle of wine–and all good old country songs–have ripened beautifully with age.