“I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun with the evolution of a song,” the bluegrass star told Rolling Stone
Sierra Ferrell has delivered an “ode to hunters” with her latest single, “Fox Hunt.” The West Virginia native premiered the visual for the new track — which offers an early glimpse into her forthcoming, untitled followup to 2021’s Long Time Coming — with Rolling Stone on Thursday.
The scorching string accompaniment sees Ferrell unravel a fantastic tale as she conjures images of a wild chase into the forest. Released with Rounder Records, the song was unveiled alongside a far-out animated video filled with pipe-smoking toads and fiddle-playing foxes. “Take the path down to the river, it is hunting time/Clothe the kids and feed the children, oh the meat is fine,” sings the artist in the heart-thumping verse. “Don’t let them dogs out of your sight, don’t let them slip through your hands/Just chase that fox down through the pine, through the cold river bend.”
When reflecting on the single’s debut, Ferrell tells Rolling Stone: “I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun with the evolution of a song, from where ‘Fox Hunt’ began to the final recording, but I knew there was something magical about this song the first time I played it to an audience.” She adds, “The lyrics may be straight old time, but the music is pure adrenaline… and maybe that’s what I’m here for.”
Last year the singer-songwriter took home Emerging Act of the Year at the Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville. In March, Margo Price praised Ferrell as one of her favorite new talents on “Change of Heart” redux. “Sierra is one of my favorite new voices in music and I loved getting to work with her on this acoustic version of the song,” said Price. “I love to lift up other women in the genre when I see somebody putting out great art. In an industry that tries to drive us apart, it’s freeing to break down those barriers and say, ‘There is room for everyone.’”