New single, Dawning, out now on Nonesuch Records

My new single, Dawning, featuring Aoife O’Donovan, Kafari, and Nic Gareiss, is out NOW on Nonesuch Records. I’m so excited to announce the new song and my new relationship with Nonesuch Records.

Dawning has multiple meanings for me: the dawning of my professional music career and a new love in my personal life, the dawning sky that appeared when I first started writing this song, and me smiling to myself with dawning recognition that I get to create music that I love for a living and share it with the world. This song represents a major shift in how I approach my music and expands the possibilities of what my songs can be. Composing Dawning was a revelation for me in how significantly my life has changed in the last few years, both professionally and personally, and signing with Nonesuch Records exemplifies these changes in the best way possible. I’m super honored to be working with such an outstanding, well respected label and to join their exceptional artist roster. I’m equally grateful to Aoife O’Donovan, Kafari, and Nic Gareiss for contributing their talents to this song. Working with a label and artists of this caliber is extremely exciting and I can’t wait to share more music, and a new record, soon.

Northeast Tour Dates Announced

Here are the dates for my upcoming tour! Check out tickets on Bandsintown or the “TOUR” tab on this website!

3/22 - New York, NY @ Kaufman Music Center with William Tyler & chamber ensemble

3/28 - Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for the Arts

3/29 - Pittsburgh, PA @ The Andy Warhol Museum

3/31 - Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom

4/1 - Fairfield, CT @ StageOne at FTC

4/2 - Northampton, MA @ BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity

4/7 - Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival

25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023

25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023

“With her bittersweet melodies and pop-minded songcraft, she has already developed a style both inviting enough to appeal beyond genre borders, and inventive enough to raise the bar in instrumental guitar music.”

June 2022 Europe Tour

I’m super excited to announce my upcoming June 2022 Europe Tour! I’ll be playing in several festivals including Glastonbury Festival, Best Kept Secret, Primavera Sounds, Elbjazz, Roskilde Festival, and Black Deer Festival, along with headline shows in Berlin, Paris, and London and co-headline shows in the UK with the great guitarist Gwenifer Raymond! Get tickets here or by clicking the “TOUR” tab on my website!

Mini East Coast Tour

Thanks to everyone who came out to my shows in Richmond, VA at the Tin Pan, Wayne, PA at 118 North, and Roanoke, VA and the Jefferson Center! Special hout out to Roanoke for SELLING OUT the Jefferson Center! All of these shows were such a great time and so fun!

Touring with Mike Dawes

I just finished a tour along the east coast with Mike Dawes and had a great time! Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows!

Urban Driftwood 2021 Year End Lists

Urban Driftwood has been named one of the best albums of the year in numerous year end lists, including Pitchfork, NPR, the Guardian, the Washington Post and more! I’m super honored at all the support this album has gotten throughout the year and am so excited to see it on so many year end lists! Here are some of the major publications to include Urban Driftwood on their best of 2021 lists:

How Black women reclaimed country and Americana music in 2021

How Black women reclaimed country and Americana music in 2021

“The folk lane that Yasmin Williams occupies—solo acoustic guitar—is often overlooked in accounts of sexism and racism in roots music, but it too has been dominated by white men for the last half-century. With the compositions on her January album Urban Driftwood, and the ways she performed and talked about them, Williams breezily intervened in those narrow notions of musical lineage.”

Yasmin Williams Crafts Otherworldly Acoustic Soundscapes on ‘Urban Driftwood’

Yasmin Williams Crafts Otherworldly Acoustic Soundscapes on ‘Urban Driftwood’

“Some people need to sit down with an instructor and be forced to learn the fundamentals,” says Williams. “For other people, like me, exploration starts right at the beginning. Otherwise, why bother playing?”