Interview with Kingston-based musician Ginger Winn

Ginger Winn is having a moment.

Her first album, released just last year, was produced by Diamond Award-winning musician David Baron (The Lumineers, Noah Kahan, Shawn Mendes) and debuted at the first-ever waterfall concert at the luxe Woodstock Way Hotel.

Since then, she’s moved full-time to the Hudson Valley and continued honing her craft, performing at events and venues throughout the the region and beyond, including at the record-breaking ConnectHV May Meetup at the Senate Garage in Kingston.

Now, almost 12 months to the day since her first album was released, her sophomore album Freeze Frame is getting ready to debut. Once again, the album release will take place in front of the waterfall at the Woodstock Way hotel, this time co-presented by indie-music tastemaker Atwood Magazine.

I spoke to Ginger about her upcoming album, how music can be a channel for processing grief, and her life in the Hudson Valley.

How did the Hudson Valley get on your radar?

I’m originally from South Carolina, but in 2020 I moved to Cape Town, South Africa — a long way away!

I was freelancing online, and I met some people in the New York area who became my co-writers. The producer for my first album, David Baron, is in Boiceville, so I spent some time in the Hudson Valley recording, and over a few months it organically happened.

What made you decide to stay here, rather than just visit?

I’m from the South, and I spent a lot of my life on a farm.

I’m looking out the window of my apartment in Kingston and I can see trees and hear birds. I think I saw a beaver outside my window right before you called. Everything is beautiful up here!

I’d thought about moving to Manhattan, but it’s loud and smelly and I’m just not used to that.

Not only is the Hudson Valley beautiful, but there are so many great people here that I’ve made friends with. It’s been the perfect place to move.

How has living here influenced your music?

I’m a lot happier. I’ve been able to set up my studio and produce and focus.

I think the fact that I’m a lot happier and more grounded has allowed me to actually make music. Before I was settled here, a lot of the music I was making reflected some internal turmoil, but being settled here feels a lot better.

How does the sound of your second album, Freeze Frame, compare to your first album?

My first album was produced by David Baron. He has an incredible collection of vintage synthesizers, and you hear that throughout the album. It has a very folk-pop sound.

For my second album, my producer is AJ Yorio, an electric guitar player from Cincinnati. He has a huge collection of guitar pedals and like 15 guitars. The second album has a lot more of that sound.

Freeze Frame has a more indie sound, not only because of the producer, but also because I feel like my own mind is reverting back to my original sound — more dark and mysterious and eerie.

What kind of themes and stories does your second album explore?

My dad passed in November, and we recorded the album in January when that was still very raw. The singing and the music captures all the emotions I was feeling at that moment, and that’s definitely a huge change between the first and second album.

Music helps me process emotions. A few days after my dad passed, I wrote a song, and I ended up recording it in my sister’s house in South Carolina. Her kids are screaming on the other side of the door and it was complete chaos, and in that moment, I was experiencing all the emotions.

But once I wrote it, I didn’t exactly feel better, but I felt like I’d processed all the emotions I needed to process. I put it all into the song.

That song is called To Dad, and it’s released now. I like to play it at my shows, even though it’s sort of a downer, because it reminds everyone to cherish the people in your life while you have them.

I see you have a banner on your wall that says “Ginger’s Bakery.” Can you tell us more about that?

When I moved to the US, I didn’t have a studio. In the last few years, I’ve been gathering equipment and getting stuff set up for myself. And now that I’m in the Hudson Valley and have met lots of other musicians, recording others has become a passion of mine.

“Ginger’s Bakery” is its own studio. My goal is to work with as many people as I can in the indie, indie-rock, indie-folk field. My long-term goal as a musician isn’t to be the artist but to be behind-the-scenes. I don’t need to be the Taylor Swift; I want to write songs and produce.

How did you get connected with the folks at your record label, Matt and Tina Baione?

I grew up in South Carolina, but in 2020 I’d moved to Cape Town, South Africa because I’d met a boy.

When I first moved there, I needed a way to make a living, and I decided to sell my services as a musician on Upwork. One of my first clients was this woman in the New York area named Tina Baione who wanted me to turn some of her husband’s poetry into a song for their anniversary.

The reference song she gave me was Fade Into You by Mazzy Starr, a song that I’ve loved my entire life, and it’s very much my sound.

She loved the result, and I guess her husband Matt loved it too, because he reached out via email. Next thing you know, we’ve written like 30 songs together. And he says, “we should make an album together!”

Next thing you know, we’re on a video call with the producer David Baron and I’m flying to New York.

I’ve never really been to New York before, and suddenly I’m filming a music video and meeting Matt and Tina’s big Italian family (while jetlagged!) and exploring New York with their photographer, Brooklyn.

They got me an Airbnb in Boiceville and we spent 18 days recording the album with David Baron. There were moments where I thought, I don’t know who these people are and there’s no phone service here, is this a good idea? But something told me I could trust them.

The first song we released was Super Eight, which was the very first song that Tina commissioned. It was a song about their love story.

None of this feels real. It feels like a movie.

Join us at the release of Ginger's new album Freeze Frame on June 13th at the Woodstock Way hotel. Use the code CONNECTHV10 for a discount!