Lawrence.com

Allison Olassa plays a sort of timeless music that’s as free and loose as Gillian Welch. Her songs are made of the stuff that Walnut Valley Festival regulars adore: earthy melodies, slice-of-life lyrics, plucky instrumentation, and a voice that sticks to your soul. Listen to our podcast interview with Miss Olassa.

Laura Meyer is the sole touring act on tonight's triple bill. The NYC-based folk-rock artist has performed at Telluride and just about every other stage in Americana via constant touring and artistic reinvention. Her sturdy fingerpickin' and strummin' supports deliberately drafted lyrics that paint vivid pictures.

Judging by their song content, you wouldn’t want to let the women of MAW anywhere near your kids, husbands, or liquor cabinet. The local old-timey quintet sings about drug abuse, adultery, murder, hoboing, opium-smoking, Sterno-drinking, sticking their fingers in babies’ eyes, and other unsavory things on their long-in-the-works debut album “Advice for the Young and Foolish.” Some of the members hardly knew more than three chords when they started the band three years ago, but they’ve developed into a slick-pickin’ quintet in the tradition of the Carter Family.