S.G. Goodman

S.G. Goodman’s raw, craggy vocal delivery is only the most conspicuous feature of a distinctive musical style that alternates between bluesy roots rock and brittle Americana. Evocative stories of small-town life involving nature, cigarette ash-stained interiors, and visceral emotions are also a focal point of her songwriting. That and more came into play on 2020′s Old Time Feeling, her Jim James-produced debut album, and its follow-up, 2022′s Teeth Marks. Goodman’s third album, Planting by the Signs, arrived mid-2025 and featured a guest appearance from Bonnie “Prince” Billy. A farmer’s daughter raised mostly in Hickman, Kentucky, Goodman had voice lessons only briefly as a child before she was turned off by what was considered proper technique. However, she continued to sing in her town’s small church. After relocating to Murray for college, she fell in with the city’s alternative scene and contributed a song to a local benefit album, Pine Mountain Music Sessions. Its producer, singer/songwriter Daniel Martin Moore, introduced her music to a friend and fellow Kentuckian, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James. James was drawn to Goodman’s talents and produced her full-length debut, Old Time Feeling. It arrived on Verve Forecast in mid-2020. With a title referencing the scars of emotional trauma, her second album, Teeth Marks, followed on the label in June 2022. Just before her 2023 headlining tour, Goodman released “Take it Away,” a two-part single recorded during her previous album’s sessions. She also collaborated with singer/songwriter Amythyst Kiah on the 2024 single “Play God and Destroy the World.” After this she resumed working with Teeth Marks co-producer Drew Vandenberg to record her third album. Released on her own Slough Water Records and distributed by Thirty Tigers, 2025′s Planting by the Signs examined themes of loss and reconciliation and featured guest spots from Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Matthew Rowan. ~ Marcy Donelson