Rodney Rice knows just how to capture the fleeting glimmers of an emotional moment in life and turn them into songs that evoke our own feelings of despair and hope, loss and love. Rice delivers his lyrics with a knowing nod and wink and a twinkle of the eye to the difficulties we encounter in our daily lives, and creates memorable characters in his songs whose foibles remind us of folks we know. As he says, “Music is a common language that reaches all and brings people from worlds apart together.” Rice cannily matches music with lyrics, pairing a glimpse of a world turned upside down with a jaunty New Orleans jazz swing melody or an ode to young love with a lively country shuffle.

The Starlight Darlins are a queer Appalachian folk band featuring Emily Johnson-Erday (she/her) on banjo, Gray Buchanan (they/them) on fiddle, Sage Christie (they/he) on guitar, and Lauren Oxford (she/her) on bodhrán. All four Darlins are award-winning songwriters with their own distinct influences, but their collective sound is one that blurs the borders of genres while still remaining rooted in traditional music. Known for their trademark four-part harmonies, powerful original songs, and intricate arrangements, the Darlins have left audiences spellbound from coast to coast.

Skyline, their first studio EP, is available everywhere you listen to music.