Not surprisingly, Kentucky native Anne Milligan’s “Thoughts of Home: Traditional American Folk Music” is an excellent traditional Appalachian folk album with tracks that span the history of the United States. Milligan’s vocal performance makes this album, as she sings beautifully, heartfelt, and with such purity, reminiscent of folk predecessors such as Joan Baez and Emmylou Harris. Roughly, this is a collection of songs about home, both literally, as she sings about Kentucky and America, and figuratively, about the feeling that home brings. The arrangements are diverse, keeping with the traditional folk sound in some, relying solely on her strong acapella performance for others, and modernizing the sound with piano renditions on still others, such as “My Old Kentucky Home,” the state song of Kentucky, and “Amazing Grace.” “Thoughts of Home” is well-produced though not over-produced, so it maintains that great raw folk sound. “Keep On the Sunny Side” is traditionally done, with a clean and beautiful vocal performance and nice vocal harmonies on the chorus. “Angel Band (3-part Acapella)” is a hauntingly beautiful acapella performance from Milligan of this song modernly popularized by the Sirens in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” where which Milligan sings all three acapella parts. The album closes with “I’d Come Home Today,” a Milligan original that sounds just as timeless as the other songs. Fans of traditional Appalachian folk music and stunning female folk vocalists should definitely look into Anne Milligan.

Not surprisingly, Kentucky native Anne Milligan’s “Thoughts of Home: Traditional American Folk Music” is an excellent traditional Appalachian folk album with tracks that span the history of the United States. Milligan’s vocal performance makes this album, as she sings beautifully, heartfelt, and with such purity, reminiscent of folk predecessors such as Joan Baez and Emmylou Harris. Roughly, this is a collection of songs about home, both literally, as she sings about Kentucky and America, and figuratively, about the feeling that home brings. The arrangements are diverse, keeping with the traditional folk sound in some, relying solely on her strong acapella performance for others, and modernizing the sound with piano renditions on still others, such as “My Old Kentucky Home,” the state song of Kentucky, and “Amazing Grace.” “Thoughts of Home” is well-produced though not over-produced, so it maintains that great raw folk sound. “Keep On the Sunny Side” is traditionally done, with a clean and beautiful vocal performance and nice vocal harmonies on the chorus. “Angel Band (3-part Acapella)” is a hauntingly beautiful acapella performance from Milligan of this song modernly popularized by the Sirens in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” where which Milligan sings all three acapella parts. The album closes with “I’d Come Home Today,” a Milligan original that sounds just as timeless as the other songs. Fans of traditional Appalachian folk music and stunning female folk vocalists should definitely look into Anne Milligan.