The Tree by Lori McKenna

The Tree, Lori McKenna's tenth studio album, came out on CN Records on July 20, 2018, after NPR Music streamed it in full a week earlier as part of its First Listen series. By then McKenna had already won Grammys for Best Country Song for "Girl Crush", sung by Little Big Town, and "Humble and Kind", sung by Tim McGraw.

Here she keeps the good songs for herself. It's plainspoken folk and Americana, sparse and unhurried, with her voice front and center and every word given room to land. "People Get Old" is the one that has found its way onto the countdowns. Following The Bird and the Rifle, it's the work of a writer who doesn't need to raise her voice to be heard.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.