Joan Shelley

Joan Shelley has long factored place into her recordings. For her self-titled album (2017) she landed in Chicago, at The Loft with Jeff Tweedy producing. In 2019 she went to Iceland, bringing along collaborators Nathan Salsburg and James Elkington to make Like The River Loves The Sea. The pandemic kept her close to home in Kentucky for The Spur (2022), but as a new batch of songs began to take shape in late 2024—and as Shelley and her family began settling into their new home in Michigan—she began searching for a place where she could record in the company of talented friends. Joan, with husband Nathan Salsburg and their 4-year-old, traveled to snowy Toronto, ON in the winter of 2025 to make a record with Ben Whiteley, friend and bassist for The Weather Station. Ben tapped his rich community musicians for the session, including drummer Philippe Melanson, saxophonist Karen Ng, singer/songwriters Doug Paisley and Tamara Lindeman, Matt Kelley, and Ken Whiteley. Joan’s partner, guitarist Nathan Salsburg, also appears. Toronto artist Heather Goodchild designed and painted the cover and inner sleeve.

Real Warmth is the follow-up to Shelley’s acclaimed 2022 album The Spur, a record praised by The New York Times, Pitchfork and The Guardian. It was deemed the #2 album of that year by Uncut Magazine and prompted MOJO to ask:” “Is Joan Shelley America’s most consistently exceptional songwriter? Right now, that does not seem like too much praise”.”

Shelley has toured and performed with the likes of Richard Thompson, Wilco, Patty Griffin, Michael Hurley and Bonnie “Prince” Billy. She has been featured on the covers of Fretboard Journal and Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and has appeared as a guest on WTF with Marc Maron, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and Later… with Jools Holland.