About Beki
“superb vocals, confident stage presence and impressive song writing.”
-Lonesome Highway (Dublin, IE)
EARTH & ASPHALT
The tall tales and small stories captured on Beki Hemingway’s new album Earth & Asphalt suggest that much has happened since the release of 2017’s Whins and Weather, a collection that also marked seismic shifts in Hemingway’s personal foundation. The singer and her musical partner Randy Kerkman had fearlessly pulled up roots in Denver, Colorado and emigrated to Ireland during the fall of 2016 in order to undertake musical adventures, travel, and public service. The pair are now settled halfway between Dublin and Belfast in the town of Dundalk.
With ample time steeped in everyday Irish life, longtime listeners might expect Earth & Asphalt to reveal traces of regional music. “.,,but it turns out that being here has only made us sound more American,” says Hemingway.
Various songs reveal fondness for roots, rock, cowpunk and country torchbearers including Lone Justice, the Blasters, Emmylou Harris, Julie Miller, Neko Case, John Mellencamp and Hank Williams. Many of the songs on Earth and Asphalt were written prior to pandemic isolation, but the struggles and loneliness of vividly drawn characters in songs like “Lay Your Burdens Down” can still ring true to the lockdown experience. The veteran singer and keen observer has reached a plateau where the arc of time is becoming more clearly defined, with songs like “The Shape of My Face” describing growing older and accepting the changes as they come. The joyful “Cinderella Twin” recalls the youthful memories of earlier slice-of-life favorites like “Ft. Bragg.”
Ultimately, the miles traveled across Earth and Asphalt reflect an inward journey. “Despite having more geographical song titles than usual, the album is more about a place in my soul than any points on the map,” says Hemingway. “What is the balance between being somewhere different each night to sing, and being grounded in a community where I can invest in people as a consistent and reliable friend? I have really come to value the people who love me no matter what, and I’m trying to figure out where I belong.”
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Bio
Based in County Louth, Ireland, with stops in Chicago, Nashville, and Denver along the way, it has been said that Beki writes and sings some of the “best songs you’ve never heard.”
Her long and varied career has found her singing in several bands, including comical punk-rockers This Train, as well as singing live and studio backup vocals on everything from industrial to inspirational music.
Things really clicked when she started collaborating with Randy Kerkman in the late 1990’s, releasing 5 CDs on the Minneapolis-based indie Salt Lady Records, performing up to 150 shows per year, and sharing the stage with nationally and internationally acclaimed singer/songwriters such as Aimee Mann, Shawn Colvin, and Duke Special.
“Hemingway and Kerkman make a potent team on this blend of power pop and Americana.” –Broken Hearted Toy
After several years on hiatus living a “normal life” as a tour guide and Deputy Sheriff in Denver, Beki and Randy released a 6-song ep entitled I have big plans for the world and followed up with 2017’s Whins and Weather, having made the decision to embark on a “year of yes” and return to music in 2016. They have taken their songs to Poland, Czechia, Turkey, and Romania as well as playing in Ireland, UK, & USA regularly.
“Hemingway and Kerkman make a potent team on this blend of power pop and Americana.” –Broken Hearted Toy
“An artist to look out for.”
-Chicago Tribune
“Songs of relentless faith and charming insight.”
Prism Magazine
“their last record Whins and Weather was a songwriting triumph but for me this one is a life work.”
–Steve Stockman, Soul Surmise
