KGNU’s Joseph Nofgizer spoke with Americana duo The Grahams ahead of their upcoming performance at eTown Hall. The husband-and-wife team discussed their Jersey roots, time in Nashville, and eventual move to Boulder, as well as their evolving creative process across concept-driven albums like The Bridge.
The Grahams also performed live in the studio, including songs “I’ve Been Loved by a Good Man” and “The One Who Remembers,” the latter reflecting on their family’s experience with Alzheimer’s. They shared details about new music recorded in France, upcoming UK tour plans, and a forthcoming deluxe release of The Bridge, highlighting their continued focus on storytelling, collaboration, and musical exploration. (Air Date 2/26/26)
Listen to the studio session here:
Transcript:
Joseph Nofgizer: I welcome The Grahams here this evening. We’re going to have a ticket giveaway later in the hour. The Grahams have a show coming up at eTown next Thursday, March 5th, 7:00 PM. That’s an all-ages show, I believe. Doors open at 6:00 PM. You can try to win tickets here on the show or go to etown.org. Alyssa and Doug, welcome.
The Grahams: Thanks for having us. We’re psyched to be here. Hometown.
Joseph Nofgizer: You’ve got connections here, but you’re not originally from here, right?
The Grahams: We’re Jersey kids through and through. We came through Nashville, spent a lot of time there working on our music career, and then moved during the pandemic because our families are here and we love the mountains. Boulder is great.
Joseph Nofgizer: Great to have you here. Do you want to jump in with a song?
The Grahams: Let’s play an old one. One, two, three, four.
Live Performance: “I’ve Been Loved by a Good Man”
Joseph Nofgizer: Beautiful. I was going to ask if there was a good man you had in mind when you wrote that.
The Grahams: That song was written about Doug. There are a lot of songs about bad men out there, so we wanted to write about a good one. Funny enough, the original version had a much darker chorus, but Doug asked me to rewrite it. He preferred something like “a good man.”
Joseph Nofgizer: You’re very engaged with each other when you perform.
The Grahams: We’re basically just very codependent.
Joseph Nofgizer: Your latest album came out in October 2025. There’s a song, “The Best I Ever Had.” It sounds like a new love song.
The Grahams: It does have that feeling. That song was inspired by writers like Carole King and Carly Simon. The original lyric was different, but it evolved through collaboration and compromise. That’s how co-writing works.
Joseph Nofgizer: There are more songs coming, right?
The Grahams: Yes. We held a couple songs off the album initially, but they’ll be released on a deluxe version of The Bridge coming out March 6th, just before our UK tour.
Joseph Nofgizer: You’re going on tour in the UK.
The Grahams: Yes, we love it there, even if it’s cold and rainy.
Joseph Nofgizer: You’re also playing E-Town Hall next week.
The Grahams: We’re very excited. It’s our new hometown venue, and we love the space.
Joseph Nofgizer: I hear influences of Carole King and Laura Nyro in your music. You’ve also traveled along the Mississippi and worked across Americana traditions. How has that shaped your music?
The Grahams: We’ve created concept albums based on journeys—rivers, rails, and roads. Those were more observational. More recently, especially after having a child and going through COVID, our music has become more introspective. The Bridge reflects that shift inward.
We also came from a jazz background, then moved into Americana for more freedom in songwriting. Now we’re experimenting again, both harmonically and structurally, including work we recorded recently in France.
Joseph Nofgizer: You seem to embrace change.
The Grahams: We don’t stay in one sound. We like evolving, even if it makes things less predictable.
Joseph Nofgizer: Let’s hear another song.
The Grahams: This is from The Bridge. It’s called “The One Who Remembers.” It’s a very personal song about Alzheimer’s and family. One, two, three, four, five, six.
Live Performance: “The One Who Remembers”
Joseph Nofgizer: That was beautiful, and heartbreaking.
The Grahams: Yes, it is heartbreaking.
Joseph Nofgizer: You mentioned a new album as well.
The Grahams: Yes, it’s finished. We recorded it last summer in France in an old church in a town called Signes. It’s all new material recorded live. It will be mixed and mastered soon and likely released next fall.
Joseph Nofgizer: We look forward to hearing it. Thank you for being here. Good luck at your E-Town show next week.
The Grahams: Thank you so much.
