April Verch Gets Swingy on Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough” (premiere)

Fiddler and singer-songwriter, April Verch has been blending Canadian and American roots music forms for over 20 years, and now she’s paying tribute to her many country music heroes through a new covers album, Once a Day, releasing 12 April via Slabtown Records. The new record features songs from the 1950s and 1960s and instrumental backing from a host of Nashville veteran country musicians. Verch‘s passion for music comes alive in every one of her performances as she displays evident delight in her work. That makes for lively and infectious music that wins you over every time.

On the track “You Ain’t Woman Enough”, Verch channels her inner Loretta Lynn for a take on the classic tune from the Coal Miner’s Daughter. Verch’s version is jauntier, still a honky-tonk number, but with a swingy to brighten things up.

Verch tells PopMatters, “I know I’m not the only woman who grew up feeling like Loretta Lynn was singing their own anthems. Her singing and the honesty and strength in her songs made her an early favorite of mine. ‘You Ain’t Woman Enough; was actually the first country song I ever sang in public. I had a sassy choreography that went along with it and I can remember practicing, imitating Loretta the very best I could with the cassette player just blasting. Country music from the 1950s and ’60s speaks to me on the deepest level, partly because I was raised around it and musicians who played it, but also because it’s sincere, seldom over-produced, and timeless.

“This song is a perfect example of that. Has there ever been a time in this life when a woman or a man felt like they had to protect the one the loved and tell someone else to back the hell off? It was a challenge for me to pay tribute to this era of music in just one album’s worth of songs. I chose things that spoke the loudest to me, or that I had a personal connection to, or that I wanted my listeners to hear because they might not otherwise come across them (like some of the Ottawa Valley country gems.) Everyone on the album played and sang with such heart and respect. It was such an honor to portray these songs with an amazing team around me and I’m so proud to put them out into the world so they can speak their truths once again.

TOUR DATES

March 14, 2019 Oxford, OH @ Big Song Music House

March 15, 2019 Delphi, IN @ Delphi Opera House

March 16, 2019 Peninsula, OH @ G.A.R. Hall

March 17, 2019 Peninsula, OH @ G.A.R. Hall – Fiddle Workshop

April 10, 2019 Nashville, TN @ Station Inn – SPECIAL CD RELEASE CONCERT!

April 18-22, 2019 Canberra, ACT (Australia) @ National Folk Festival

May 3-5, 2019 Brownville, NE @ Brownville Concert Series

May 10-12, 2019 Nashville, TN @ FiddleStar Adult Camp

May 16, 2019 Glens Falls, NY @ Live! Folklife Concert: The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library

May 17, 2019 Lebanon, NH @ Lebanon Opera House – On Location Series

May 17, 2019 Lebanon, NH @ Upper Valley Music Center – Fiddle Workshop

May 18, 2019 Mansfield, MA @ Rose Garden Coffeehouse – Congregational Church

May 24-26, 2019 Huntingdon, PA @ Folk College (Huntingdon County Arts Council)

June 7, 2019 Buxton, ME @ Saco River Theatre

June 8, 2019 Portland, ME @ Little Sea Folk Festival

June 18-21, 2019 Stillwater, MN @ Fiddle Pal Camp: Minnesota

June 25-28, 2019 Madison, WI @ Fiddle Pal Camp: Wicsonsin

July 11-14, 2019 Kaustinen (Finland) @ Heritage Projekt Kaustinen Folk Music Festival

July 17, 2019 Tartumaa (Estonia) @ Heritage Projekt Luke Mõis

July 20, 2019 Kassari (Estonia) @ Heritage Projekt Hiiu Folk Festival

July 21, 2019 Pärnumaa (Estonia) @ Heritage Projekt Kirsi Talu Summer Concerts

July 23, 2019 Võrumaa (Estonia) @ Heritage Projekt Treski Küün Summer Events

July 24, 2019 Padise (Estonia) @ Heritage Projekt Kalju-lava Summer Series

July 26-28, 2019 Viljandi (Estonia) @ Heritage Projekt Viljandi Folk Music Festival

September 4, 2019 Acworth, GA @ Workshops & Performance for AHS

September 5, 2019 Auburn, AL @ Sundilla Acoustic Concert

September 6, 2019 Savannah, GA @ Folk at the Landings

October 9-11, 2019 Branson, MO @ Silver Dollar City

October 12, 2019 North Andover, MA @ Crossroads Music Series

January 19, 2020 Wooster, OH @ Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio

April 10, 2020 Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Folk Society