Pacific Northwest old time string band The Onlies have announced the release of their fourth album “You Climb the Mountain“ on 19th September 2025. The band are multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Sami Braman, Riley Calcagno, and Leo Shannon plus guitarist/singer Vivian Leva. Braman, Calcagno and Shannon formed The Onlies in Seattle as young children while Leva joined several years later.
The band members have worked with other artists including Willie Watson and Bonnie Prince Billy while Leva and Calcagno are well known as Viv and Riley and, more recently, for their kissing other ppl project with Rachel Baiman.
“You Climb The Mountain” was recorded largely with Grammy-winning producer Joel Savoy at his Studio Savoy Faire in Eunice, Louisiana. The album’s rhythm is powered by the bass groove of Nokosee Fields. It also features a cameo vocal from bluegrass legend, Alice Gerrard.
It builds off the energy of their eponymous 2020 release, this long-awaited offering takes listeners on a climb up no ordinary mountain with fiddles, banjos, guitars, bass, autoharp, harmonium, electric guitar, and two- to four-part vocal harmonies. The record comprises 15 tracks, the majority of which are traditional a band at the peak of its musicianship.
You can pre-order “You Climb the Mountain” here. The album includes instrumental ‘Spectacle Lake’ which you can listen to below.
