Friday morning found us on the highway heading to Greensboro for a lunch with friends—a 70-minute ride, give or take. Smokey’s Soul Town on SiriusXM is one of our go-to soundtracks for such rides despite its occasional repetitive nature, but after a half hour Diane decided she was in the mood for something else. I believe her exact words were, “Anything but Mikaela.” (Let’s just say Graceland Way has been in near-constant rotation for me since last Tuesday.) No worries! I fired up CarPlay and clicked on Carter Faith’s new Cherry Valley Forever, the “deluxe version” of her Cherry Valley album that was released last October.
If you haven’t heard of Faith before now, that’s okay. A month ago, I hadn’t. Originally from my adopted home state of North Carolina, the country singer-songwriter moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University in 2018, and earned a rep as an up-and-comer due to a succession of well-received indie singles and EPs before, in 2024, signing with MCA Nashville. Her debut album, Cherry Valley, cut through the sludge to earn plaudits from critics and fans alike—and earned an Academy of Country Music nomination for Album of the Year. I stumbled upon her not from country radio or the ACMs, however, but—of all things—an Instagram ad. I gave the album a figurative spin and liked what I heard; I ordered the Forever set that same afternoon. She reminded me, that first listen, of the Castellows sans the heavenly harmonies, with some songs possessing a sheen that reflected Maggie Antone one moment and Kaitlin Butts the next.
The original Cherry Valley album, which clocks in at 15 tracks and 54 minutes, is a sonic suite that conjures a slew of additional influences, too. Her website bio, for instance, reads in part: Cherry Valley looks back to some of Faith’s formative influences — Tammy Wynette, Nancy Sinatra, iconic ‘60s classic rock albums like Pet Sounds and Revolver — to realize the “cowgirl hippie and sometimes a bit trippy” aesthetic Faith’s been chasing all along.
The comical “Sex, Drugs & Cowboy Music,” for example, weaves together threads of Gram Parsons, Lowell George, and other bygone greats while celebrating weed, whites, and wine, plus the Highwaymen, Adderall, and bathroom stalls. The stanza that leapt out and grabbed me, however, was this one: “When I first heard pedal steel/I knew that God was real/And when you sing to me/It brings me to my knees.” That sums up the fan experience in a nutshell, doesn’t it? Some songs win us over in seconds, not minutes. Another high from the original set: “Six String,” which pits Faith as a spurned lover-turned-stalker.
Back to Friday: We liked what we heard, with every song seemingly shaving minutes from the ride—and I mean that literally. We pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot less than an hour after leaving home. Then: Good lunch. Sparkling conversation. Attentive waitstaff. Talk of this, that, dogs, cats, boats, and concerts. (We’re a well-rounded bunch.) When we parted ways two-plus hours later, Faith picked up where she left off.
The thing about “deluxe” versions of albums: They run long. In this case, Cherry Valley Forever adds five songs and 16 minutes, turning the album into a 70-minute behemoth—aka, as Diane termed it on the ride home, “the album that never ends.” The original LP has many highlights, from the title track to the tunes I singled out above, but “So I Sing” is positively spine-tingling; it starts like a Shelby Lynne song written to comfort her little sis before expanding into an ode to songs, singers and how music provides us escape from life’s emotional upheavals.
The five new tracks are as strong as the older cuts. “Dead Horse,” about giving a new relationship a chance, trots along at a comfortable tempo, while a duet with Wyatt Flores, “Nothin’ Better to Do,” maintains a similar vibe. “Pearl Handed Pistol” finds Faith joining forces with Baby Nova and Laci Kaye Booth for a rollicking track that will have some comparing them to the Pistol Annies and others to the Highwomen. “If a Man’s From Texas” is another comical cut, while “Ain’t Over Me Yet” ends things on a yearning note.
All in all, Cherry Valley Forever transcends the “cowgirl hippie and sometimes a bit trippy” vibe mentioned in her bio; I still hear the Castellows, Antone and Butts, as I did at the get-go, while others have mentioned Kacey Musgraves and—as my wife observed—Taylor Swift, but there’s a distinct echo of Shelby Lynne, too. It’s well worth the purchase. (FYI, the LP or CD comes with a signed placard when purchased through her website.)
The Old Grey Cat 