I first heard one of Ryan Gustafson’s songs at the Phil Cook & Spirit Family Reunion Newport Aftershow in 2016, one of the most joyful musical experiences of my life. Ryan was playing in The Guitarheels, and played “Graveyard Fields,” one of the songs he’d written under the moniker The Dead Tongues. While playing with Hiss Golden Messenger on the Heart Like a Levee tour, Ryan released Unsung Passage, a truly beautiful record.
This year, he released Dust, and I cannot recommend the album enough. The songs have so much space in them. They are both rich and spare, lyrically, and the band that Ryan assembled is loose and creative.
We got to chat with Ryan ahead of his set at Newport Folk Festival on Friday, July 22. If you’re there, be at The Dead Tongues! And if you’re not, make sure you give Dust spin.