Firekid’s ‘Backwoods’ Is a Trippy Blend of Bluegrass, Electronica

Husband and wife Dillon Hodges and Heidi Feek are, together, Firekid. The duo blends bluegrass with indie rock and electronic music to create their newest project, and The Boot’s readers are getting to hear their first single from the release, “Backwoods,” first.

As the title of “Backwoods” suggests, Firekid take plenty of inspiration from the outdoors. The pair, Feek shares, “live on 3.5 acres of oak, dogwood and maple trees in northern Alabama.”

“It only took us six years to finish a record, most of the time spent wandering aimlessly around our property,” she adds. “In the end we identified with the old saying: ‘When I knew nothing, mountains were mountains and waters were waters. When I had studied a great deal, mountains were not mountains and waters were not waters. But when I finally understood the whole thing, mountains were once again mountains and waters were once again waters.'”

A picked guitar and Firekid’s traditional harmonies create the basis of the melody of “Backwoods,” but as chorus begins, a looping, electronic drumbeat. The pair use a simple setup to manipulate sounds and form the song, as a video performance of the new song shows:

Hodges is a Florence, Ala., native who started making music after being gifted a cheap guitar his uncle found at a yard sale and talking a neighbor into teaching him how to play. At the age of 17, he became the second-youngest winner of the National Flat-picking Championships — behind only Mark O’Connor — and the prestigious bluegrass music competition’s first left-handed winner.

Firekid began as a moniker for Hodges to perform under solo; however, it morphed into a duo after Feek and Hodges — who wed in 2019 — met through a mutual friend, who recognized their shared desire to, as Feek says, “modernize traditional music.” Country fans may know Feek, a Nashville-area native, as the daughter of Rory Feek and stepdaughter of the late Joey Feek, both of the duo Joey + Rory.

Firekid worked with award-winning producer Jay Joyce at his Nashville studio on “Backwoods” and the rest of their next album, the details of which are to be announced. They project, they say, was influenced by Feek’s passion for gardening and Hodges’ love of philosophy and mythology.

“[We are] a rural/Appalachian band raised in the acoustic bluegrass/country traditions … [and] we use metropolitan rhythms and electronic instruments,” Hodges explains. “Our music is a cosmopolitan blend of the two.”

“Backwoods” is out now, and fans can visit FirekidMusic.com to keep up with the duo’s plans for more new music.