Kentucky singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman returns to Lexington with newest album

It might be an exaggeration to say S.G. Goodman was at a crossroads when work began on what was only her third album. But after a run of relentless touring that left her wondering whether or not to even continue her career, the Western Kentucky (specifically, Hickman) native and one of the most enlightening national songwriter discoveries realized a change was in order. You could say she received a sign.

“I was so stuck in tour survival mode, which I’m proud of. And believe me, I’m not saying that as if anybody held a gun to my head. I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to saying yes and pushing myself to the extremes. But in 2023, I definitely found my limit. I was struggling with writing on the road. I had very few long stretches at home.

“When I came off the road in the middle of December of 2023, I asked to have a couple of months without any music obligations. I had two little shows in that time, but for the most part, I was just at home and, honestly, completely burned out and exhausted and questioning whether I even wanted to put out another album. Was this the right life choice for me? I’m very appreciative of what I do, the experiences I get to have. But there’s a lot of different tiers of touring. I’m not in a bus. I don’t have a crew. It’s me and my bandmates and we’re driving every mile, setting up our own things. When I got off the road, my biggest focus was trying to reconnect with health and my body and also mental health. I think that sent me off into some pretty deep places while writing.”

It was here that Goodman embraced a practice called Planting by the Signs. In some areas of rural Appalachia, the belief system is called moon gardening, the practice of planting crops by the phases of the moon. It can extend, however, into other areas of daily life, from activities as essential as weaning a child to as dismissively routine as getting a haircut. Thus, the impetus was born for Goodman’s third and finest album, a record that arrived after a period of loss and reconciliation. Fittingly, its titled “Planting by the Signs.”

From Kroger Field with Tyler Childers to The Burl

Last seen in Lexington as a show-opener for friend and fellow Kentucky songsmith Tyler Childers’ massive Kroger Field stadium concert in April, Goodman will celebrate the release of “Planting by the Signs” with a two-night return engagement at The Burl prefaced by an in-store appearance at CD Central.

“I feel like I desperately needed to look at this album as a completely new beast, but also keep in mind that I don’t consider myself a singer-songwriter for the machine,” Goodman said “I think all artists right now are having to ask themselves a question on what it is you want to accomplish with your work. For me, I’m pretty old school in that I want to continue my own story and my work and not just put out albums because of pressure to create more content. I want to go about them with a question in mind of, ‘What story am I telling?’ In a hundred years, will the story I’ve told mean anything?

“One major thing around Planting by the Signs is that the whole concept maps out a season in your life — multiple seasons, really — and it talks about different things that are appropriate to do in those seasons as well as things we’re likely to experience in those seasons.”

One of the new album’s most moving songs, “Michael Told Me,” parallels two intensely personal experiences. Following the sudden death of close friend and father figure Mike Harmon, Goodman reconnected with guitarist and bandmate Matthew Rowan, who she had become estranged from.

“A true friend, they would hold the needle; a true friend, they would set the bone,” Goodman sings. “Hold your legs and let you scream if they knew where your pain was coming from.”

“I feel like the theme of ‘Planting by the Signs’ just naturally evolved through that song. It’s a really universal experience for people that there are times when we have to trim back certain aspects of our life. We have to maybe reshape our friendships and relationships with others. That is something where we can look to nature and see its analogy every single year if we choose to. Like, if we’ve ever trimmed back a branch, there are times when you can harm the tree. But there are also times when you can do it properly at the right time where it actually grows back stronger. That’s a perfect example of how the imagery that’s found in the belief system of Planting by the Signs actually showcases a very universal experience in our relationships with others.”

The potency of “Planting by the Signs” is not limited by Goodman’s lyrics. On “Snapping Turtle,” perhaps the new album’s most commanding work, the sonics surrounding the verses summon a kind of scorched ambiance. It’s a smalltown tale with larger than life implications, centered around a meditative guitar melody and Goodman’s ghostly singing before the music melts into a torrent of electric reckoning.

Returning to touring

“When I knew I was going to make another album, I knew that I didn’t want to lose parts of the human element, but then I also wanted a little bigger sound. I wanted to try things differently with the drums. I wanted to get in a roster of people that I knew would push me sonically and get me out of my comfort zone, instead of me walking into a room and knowing exactly how a player would interpret what I’m telling them. It was a real-life moment of me having to trust the process and know myself.”

So now the big work begins. Following an initial set of May and June dates (which included more shows with Childers), Goodman will conclude the summer with a European tour. Then comes a two-month stateside run that will last through November. After the sense of depletion that set in after her last extended round of touring, how does she feel about spending the rest of 2025 on the road?

“I would say you should call me back in December.”

S.G. Goodman

When: June 27 & 27, 8 p.m.

Where: The Burl, 375 Thompson Rd.

Tickets: $22 for the June 27 show. The performance on June 28 is sold out.

Opening acts: Secular Pets (June 27), Nick Harley (June 28)

Online: theburlky.com/shows.

Goodman will also present a free in-store performance and album signing at CD Central, 377 S. Limestone at 6 p.m. June 26. cdcentral.com.