Bella White

Made when she was still a teenager, Bella White’s debut album Just Like Leaving introduced the world to a truly one-of-a-kind musical talent: a finespun breed of country/folk both fresh in perspective and wholly steeped in bluegrass tradition, despite her upbringing in the Canadian city of Calgary. As she began sketching songs for her sophomore full-length, the 22-year-old singer/songwriter followed her instincts toward an even more daring and singular form of self-expression, allowing herself a newly heightened sense of musical freedom. “Even though I’m still so in love with bluegrass and that whole world, I wanted to figure out who these new songs were without trying to fit them into a particular style,” says White, a British Columbia-based musician who took up guitar at age eight and later learned to play banjo. “Once I started stepping outside those margins, it really opened the doors for me. I felt completely free to explore and experiment, without being held back by any preconceived ideas of what my music is supposed to be.”