How Did Farewell Angelina Get Their Name?
Bob Dylan has been inspiring musicians of all genres for decades. In the case of rising country quartet Farewell Angelina, the folk-rock icon's impact is in their name.
Dylan wrote his song "Farewell Angelina" in the mid-1960s. Only one recording of the song, as sung by Dylan, was ever made, during the first session for 1965's Bringing It All Back Home; however, Joan Baez recorded the tune and made it the title track of her own 1965 album. The song became a live staple for Baez, and appears on her Live Europe '83 album.
"He wrote it when he was in the transformational period of his career, switching from folk music to more of a pop sound, and Joan Baez covered it and made it famous [while] undergoing that same transformation," Andrea Young tells Taste of Country during Farewell Angelina's RISERS interview, "so it seemed like it was fitting for us."
Young, Lisa Torres, Nicole Witt and Lauren Lucas make up Farewell Angelina; they're signed to Dreamlined Entertainment and earned their spot on ToC's RISERS list through fan votes. The group recalls that learning of their win -- specifically, the wide margin by which they won -- was an emotional moment.
"So when we found out that we won, we did this wonderful Facebook Live event with Taste of Country, and we’re crouched down below the camera’s view, and [Taste of Country News host] Ania [Hammar] is announcing that we won," Young tells The Boot. "She says we won by more than 20,000 votes. So most of us are crying. We had no idea; we had no clue that we won by a landslide."
Farewell Angelina will be spending 2017 working on new music; in June, they'll be playing Country Jam 2017 in Grand Junction, Colo.
Watch Farewell Angelina Perform "If It Ain't With You" in Nashville
New Artists to Watch in 2017