Megan Burtt

Megan Burtt has returned with Witness, her first solo album since The Bargain. The Colorado-based

performer, a past Kerrville NewFolk Competition winner who also performed with the all-

redhead roots band Gingerbomb, had been working on the project for years, but hit delays with illness and false starts. She really began to unlock new levels in her songwriting when she decided to stop dancing around what she really wanted to say. “I discovered that’s a side of myself I like as a songwriter.,” she says. “It’s become a sensibility that I know how to rest in.”

The results were a long time coming, but they’re worth the wait. With unfailing honesty

and vulnerability, Burtt—who self-produced the project—wrestles with weighty topics like

the burden of her own aspirations (“Drugstore Brand”), generational trauma (“Little

Girls”), and the end of an important relationship (“Unfinished Business,” “Good for You”).

She also does it while mixing in doses of groove and pop smarts that make the lyrics hit

even harder. Ultimately, even though she addresses thorny topics, there’s a sense of hope on Witness. “These songs are more real because hidden in them is the belief that there’s a silver lining,” Burtt says. “I’m not ignorant to the dumpster fire you have to endure to get there. Ultimately, I’m hopeful too. I enjoy the pursuit of it all.”