Turn Turn Turn on new album, “All Hat No Cattle” [INTERVIEW]

Interview Contributed to by Krista Vilinskis of Elephants and Flowers Media. 

Inspired by years of touring and a love for country and folk traditions, Turn Turn Turn is releasing its third album: “All Hat No Cattle,” a genre-spanning journey through American roots music. The album fuses folk ballads, honky tonk, norteño, Western gothic, bluegrass, and a dash of 1960s pop. “We wanted the music from our third album to feel like a road trip across time and place in America,” says band member Barb Brynstad. “Expect echoes of Dylan, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, George Jones, The Louvins, Emmylou Harris, and Gram Parsons—but with a fresh, original twist.”

Turn Turn Turn is an Americana trio of singer-songwriters based in Minneapolis, MN, and Eau Claire, WI, featuring Savannah Smith (vocals, guitar), Barb Brynstad (vocals, bass), and Adam Levy (vocals, guitar). Known for their close harmonies and inventive interpretations of American roots traditions, the band has been performing together since 2019. If their first two records leaned toward psychedelic country-rock, this album feels more acoustic and bucolic, featuring banjos, mandolins, pedal steel, twangy guitars, and back-porch rhythms.

On the Album’s Vision & Evolution:

1. All Hat No Cattle feels like both a love letter to American roots music and a playful critique of it. How did you balance reverence for tradition with your instinct to subvert or reinterpret it?

(Adam) Country music has, since its early origins, had to walk this thin line of upholding tradition while innovating. People look to the styles associated with “Country” music because they are fundamentally nostalgic, and link folks to both a real and imagined past… And this music was a mixture of African American sounds and British Isles forms. People have always seen these styles as “authentic” or “pure” but they’ve always involved blending and crossing cultural boundaries. Even though it’s contemporary, I feel zero connection to bro-country or most country pop of the last half century. I fell In love with 40’s-60’s honky tonk bluegrass, country blues and soul forty years ago…and I started out studying guitar styles of those genres and blended them with the rock music I loved, as I began writing music—Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, The Clash, Elvis Costello. Those artists were all huge music archeologists, sifting through old American music to create something new. And they were all Brits. I fell in love with traditional American music that was introduced to me by people from across the Atlantic. That is why I love country, because of its durability and adaptability. It is a connection to the past and a path to the future. I think nostalgia can be politically dangerous, as we’re seeing now. But I also think this music that embodies all of these diverse origins and routes has the ability to connect folks, especially when we are aware and give credit to those diverse innovators and cultural-historic forces. I’m not a cowboy, I didn’t grow up in rural America but I love the music and the history and I feel like it is there for the world to enjoy.

2. Barb, you described the album as “a road trip across time and place in America.” If this record were mapped geographically, where does it begin and end—and what emotional terrain does it cross along the way?

(Barb) The journey begins on a battlefield in Maryland, winds its way down to a honky-tonk in Nashville, and dips briefly across the border before returning to the Great Plains and Upper Midwest. Like many captivating stories, it takes a moment to linger in Texas before concluding somewhere along California’s Gold Coast. Throughout this voyage, it delves into a myriad of emotions, touching on themes of hope, loss, love, and curiosity.

3. Your first two albums leaned more psychedelic country-rock, while this one feels stripped back and bucolic. What prompted the move toward a more acoustic, “back-porch” sensibility?

(Adam) I love this group because I feel like we can go in multiple directions. We’d been talking for a few years about making a more “country” record. We’d been listening to a lot of older country and folk music as we were touring, and it just sort of stuck. We’re already talking about what the next record will be.

4. The title All Hat No Cattle suggests performance, persona, and perhaps illusion. In what ways does the album explore authenticity—musical or otherwise?

(Barb) More than any other album we’ve put out, this one feels the most authentic to me. It’s a little less polished and feels a lot more raw and honest. Plus, the songs touch on issues we’ve faced in the past/present, how we view the world, and our hopes and dreams for the future. After listening to the whole album, I think our listeners may come away with a better sense of who we are.

On Songwriting & Storytelling:

1. The record opens with “Antietam,” a Civil War ballad—an unusually weighty way to begin. What made that story feel urgent now, and how does it set the tone for what follows?

(Adam) The present has felt like a fragile point in the history of the US for the better part of the last decade. Lots of folks throw the “civil war” around when they are discussing this moment in American political and cultural disunity. The Civil War is a cautionary tale about what happens when we can’t agree on fundamentals. We’re at the precipice. Preaching in a song never works as well as telling a personal story. And in this case, I wrote a story about a nurse and a boy who died on one of the bloodiest days. I don’t think it is the best song on the record, but it is a little bit of a statement of intent: this ain’t your typical subject matter for a country record.

2. Savannah, “Magnolia Tree” centers on a woman breaking free of tradition. Was that character drawn from history, observation, or something more personal?

Oh, that would be me! This was my way of lovingly explaining that although I’m in my 30s, childless and unmarried I am very fulfilled in life. I spent of lot of my 20s on the road touring with my ukulele, completely untethered and living some of the best days of my life. I was truly chasing my dreams and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. Now that I’m older, I’m still figuring out what the “American Dream” looks like to me. I know I want a big yard and a magnolia tree. It’s been amazing to see how many people can relate to this sentiment.

3. Barb, “Trouble” offers a feminist twist on the murder ballad. Murder ballads often mythologize violence—what did you want to reclaim or reframe within that tradition?

(Barb) The song was intended to be an extremely light-hearted tale about all the different ways a woman can get into trouble, from falling head-over-heels in love, to getting knocked up, to (oops!) killing her cheating husband in a fit of passion. She does not go gently into that good night.

4. Adam, “Last Drink” feels like a classic honky-tonk confessional. What draws you to that narrative voice, and how do you keep it from slipping into nostalgia or parody?

(Adam) Good Country lyrics play with metaphor and always start with a good punchline. I’m treating alcoholism like an abusive partner in this song. Addiction always feels like a “being” to me—something that is willfully trying to destroy you by claiming to balm your ills or make you feel better. But it often ruins you.

5. “Hungry Ghosts” and “Solid State” seem to exist in very different emotional universes—one haunted and intimate, the other sharp and contemporary. How do you decide when a song belongs in the past sonically, and when it should feel rooted in the present?

(Barb) These two songs were written years apart. Hungry Ghosts was meant to have a more 70s alt-country feel. Solid State was one of the last songs written, after we were certain we wanted the record to lean heavily “Country.” Timing, as they say, is everything.

6. Across the album, there’s a strong thread of resilience and cultural identity. Were these themes intentional from the outset, or did they reveal themselves as the songs accumulated?

(Adam) I would say most of the songs I have written throughout my thirty-year songwriting history are about struggle and resilience and are explorations of identity. I don’t always set out with that intention, but I think they seep into most of my writing.

On Influences & Interpretation:

1. You cite echoes of artists like Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, George Jones, The Louvin Brothers, Emmylou Harris, and Gram Parsons. When you’re channeling such towering figures, how do you ensure the result feels like dialogue rather than imitation?

(Adam) All of the great artists imitate their idols. Whether consciously or unconsciously…Ray Charles wanted to be Nat King Cole,Merle Haggard wanted to be Jimmie Rodgers, The Beatles wanted to be Elvis and Little Richard. You imitate until you eventually create something more unique. Certainly, there are some artists who never graduate from this state…but I’ve always tried to put my own imprint on any genre I try to tackle. I hope I’ve succeeded.

2. Adam, you’ve described the album as “a guitar fest.” Which specific country guitar traditions or players were guiding your hands in the studio?

(Adam) It is a mix of instruments and styles: Roy Nichols, who played with Merle, is in there on a song like “Last Drink.” Grady Martin on the south-of-the-border licks on “Hand-Me-Down Sadness. James Burton on “Trouble.” I wanted the acoustic guitars to drive most of the rhythms, like in these 60s country records, where drums are not front and center like they are in rock records. I love old analog pedals and sounds. Small tweed amps—Gretsches & fender guitars for the twang. I’ve been exploring these players and sounds for almost a half century.

3. Your harmonies are central to the band’s identity. How do you approach vocal arrangement—do you build around a lead voice, or do you conceive of harmony as the starting point?

(Barb) Adam tends to have all the harmonies fleshed out when he creates his demos for us. So Savannah and I can either sing the harmonies he provided, or we can make a case for a different harmony. When Savannah and I write our songs, we start with melodies and don’t have preconceived notions of what the harmonies should be, so we’re open to whatever the other two want to contribute.

On Sound, Production & Process:

1. The record was produced in your home studio and intentionally left “au naturel.” What imperfections were you most tempted to smooth out—and why did you ultimately leave them in?

(Adam) I think sometimes you finish a record and you feel like it’s perfect. This isn’t one of those records for me. We could’ve taken more time to do that. Barb and Savannah needed to carve time from their busy schedules to show up and track so we laid things down quickly in little bites over a few years. As time went on, I started to feel like there was an older-sounding charm to everything. We’re not gonna do pitch correction or a bunch of editing of performances.

2. There’s a tactile quality to the instrumentation—banjo, mandolin, pedal steel, twangy guitars. How did you decide which songs called for which textures?

(Adam) it felt like the songs determined the instrumentation. We might have tried a few things and changed them—or layered in some things that didn’t make the final cut.

3. How did contributions from players like Joe Savage on pedal steel or Josh Kaplan on drums expand the emotional palette of the record?

(Adam) Joe is the best pedal steel player in the Twin Cities and maybe one of the best in the country. We are very lucky. Everything he plays is soulful and complements the song setting, whether it’s the dobro in “Magnolia Tree” or the steel on “Hand-Me-Down Sadness.” Peter J Sands added one great keyboard texture—I never have to make suggestions, he always comes up with tasteful stuff on Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, or straight piano. Josh Kaplan gives a little backbone and swing to everything he adds. He’s very studious and always wants to match what the songwriter wants.

4. What did Chris Furst bring to the mix that helped unify such a genre-spanning collection of songs?

(Adam) I’m a hack in the studio. I experiment and throw stuff at the wall…I need someone who can help bring the disparate parts together and help solve the tracking issues I might overlook to make things sound smoother and more unified.

On Place & Identity:

1. As a trio rooted in Minneapolis and Eau Claire, how does the Upper Midwest shape your interpretation of traditionally Southern genres like honky tonk and bluegrass?

(Adam) Country music has always had a big impact on music in the Twin Cities. In my case, Dylan really introduced me to country music—he was a folk and rock guy who loved country, and it made me go down the rabbit hole. The Twin Cities are a little oasis surrounded by small towns and rolling prairies. Once you leave the cities country music dominates. So many great country rock/alt-country acts keep coming out of our region.

2. The album conjures desert highways and ghostly industrial towns. Are these imagined landscapes, or drawn from specific places you’ve traveled?

(Barb) We’ve all traversed the U.S. extensively a lot throughout our lives (together as a band and also individually), so although these places are imagined, we can also visualize what they may look like in our mind’s eye.

3. Touring often changes a band’s chemistry. How did years on the road together influence the confidence or risks taken on this third record?

(Barb) The soundtrack of our journey over the past couple of years has consisted of old country playlists and history-themed country podcasts, accompanied by plenty of discussion. If we hadn’t spent so much time in the car together during this time, I’m not sure we would have reached an agreement on what our third album should be.

On Aesthetics & Cultural Commentary:

1. The title gently pokes fun at “weekend cowboys” and rodeo-costumed city folk. How do you see fashion, nostalgia, and performance intersecting in modern Americana culture?

(Barb) We take great pride in the time and effort we’ve dedicated to being songwriters and musicians. However, at the end of the day, our main role is to perform. Thankfully, we have never lost our love for playing dress-up. For many performers, the visual elements of our performance complement the auditory experience beautifully.

2. Savannah, your love of vintage Western style feeds into the band’s aesthetic. How do visuals inform your songwriting—or vice versa?

I’m a very visual person and I’ve always loved songs that paint a picture. I strive to do that with my songwriting. When I was writing Magnolia Tree I kept envisioning this dusty fork in the road and because of that, it just made sense sonically to go in more of a bluegrass-y direction. I think that visual shows up in the lyrics throughout the song, as well.

3. Is All Hat No Cattle ultimately a critique of empty posturing, or is it more about embracing the joy of playing dress-up in American myth?

(Barb) I think we’re mostly making fun of ourselves. We’re city slickers who have never been on a cattle drive but love the genre.

Looking Ahead:

1. With a national release set for March 6, 2026, what conversations do you hope this album sparks—particularly in a cultural moment where ideas of heritage and identity feel so charged?

(Barb) Minneapolis has been in the spotlight for the past couple of months. One of the songs on the album, titled “Cities,” addresses the turmoil our nation is experiencing. Our hope is that this album resonates with people who may not be familiar with the genre, or rekindles the love for it among those who already appreciate it.

2. If listeners walk away from All Hat No Cattle with one lingering feeling, what do you hope it is?
(Barb) Joy.

WEBSITE – SOCIALS – CONNECT:
Website: turnturnturnmpls.com
Bandcamp: turnturnturn.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @turnturnturnmpls
Facebook: facebook.com/turnturnturnmpls