Deciduous

Bay Area born and raised, Megan has now gone out on a limb. She spent this winter in Nashville Tennessee, creating her second CD in collaboration with some of the finest musicians of her generation. The resulting 'Deciduous' is spectacular, from the first plucked fiddle riff to the last, exhausted sigh. Megan's path to Deciduous - a word that means 'dropping leaves at maturity' - started comparatively late in life: she didn't pick up an instrument until she went off to Cornell University to study Landscape Architecture. But those childhood years she spent on the road with her dad's psychedelic rock band must have given her roots: by 2008 she and her brother Brandon had started recording collaborations in his Manhattan apartment, and by 2010 she had written the collection of songs that became 'Acorn Collection' - the CD that earned her a spot on KFOG's Local Scene Sampler and an invitation by T Bone Burnett to submit songs for potential inclusion in the blockbuster Hunger Games soundtrack. 'Rules', the song she and Brandon recorded for that release with the lovely Jayme Dee on vocals, also appears on Deciduous with Megan's own voice lamenting post apocalyptic love in a dazzling arrangement. All of the songs on Deciduous grew magically as Megan and Brandon collaborated in studio with their musical heroes including Brittany Haas (Crooked Still, Steve Martin), Kai Welch (Abigail Washburn, The Greencards), and Nathaniel Smith (Yo-Yo Ma, Bela Fleck, Sarah Jarosz, Chris Thile). The songs go in many different directions, from cinematic to R&B to contemporary folk to late-night bar room to old-time ballad. And yet they weave together beautifully, with key changes and tempos and instrumentation that keep the focus on Megan's heartfelt songwriting and delicate, honey-coated vocals. If you've not wanted to take Acorn Collection out of your CD player, you now have a reason to do so: lean forward with your eyes closed and Deciduous will set your head spinning.