Spotlight On: JOBI RICCIO

ABOUT this week’s podcast guest + radio hour featured interview:

I became an instant fan of this week’s guest last year at Newport Folk Festival, where she had been awarded with their 2023 John Prine Fellowship. A few months later, I was smitten again when her extraordinary debut album Whiplash came out. And I wasn't alone. Whiplash earned raves from the New York Times, Billboard, and NPR, and author and journalist, and SHEROES alum, Marissa R. Moss named Whiplash her number one country album of 2023 for Stereogum. AT just 25 years old, the Colorado native Jobi Riccio’s well-deserved critical acclaim has already been years in the making, and it is her undeniable talent that has been opening doors to each step along the way, including a scholarship at Berklee College of Music, and in 2019 she won the NewSong Music Competition. The prize was studio time with industry vet and co-producer Gar Ragland in his |Asheville, North Carolina studios. The result of these sessions was a record deal with Yep Roc Records, and the aforementioned debut album, Whiplash. Jobi was passing through on a tour opening for another SHEROES alum, Brandy Clark, and the morning after seeing her set at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York, I sat down with Jobi at the Radio Kingston studios to talk about her journey thus far, the new album, and so much more. Now Jobi Riccio has been nominated for her first Americana Music Award in the category of Emerging Artist of the Year. It’s an exciting moment to welcome Jobi Riccio as this week’s SHERO in the Spotlight..