Jobi Riccio Face the Feeling
For her new album, Face the Feeling (released May 15 on Yep Roc Records), singer-songwriter Jobi Riccio, originally from Colorado and now based in Nashville, confronts her anxieties and inner struggles head-on. Rather than running from them, she transforms rage, grief, and existential doubt into a source of strength. That emotional tension is deeply palpable throughout the record, which blends country-folk rooted in the Nashville tradition with the restless pulse of ’90s indie rock.
This tension between light and darkness resonates throughout the album’s eleven songs. The opening track, “A Little at a Time,” evokes the anguish of a long-distance relationship over a laid-back rhythm, enveloped by a superb string section—Adrianna Mateo on violin, Carolina Díaz Chan on viola, and Sean Brennan on cello—arranged by producer Jesse Timm.
On “The Ridge,” the ’90s indie-rock influence becomes more apparent, at times even recalling the recent work of Cat Clyde. The song explores self-awareness and emotional grounding through nature. “When I play the song, I picture a very specific ridge I used to go walking on in fall growing up—the crows and magpies, scrub oak and deer, communing with them always helped me figure out how I was feeling,” explains Jobi Riccio. “It fell into place very naturally in the studio, tracked mainly live as a power trio of myself on electric guitar, and my friends Dom Billet on drums, and Paul DeFiglia on bass. Organ and an actual harpsichord were overdubbed by my co-producer Jesse Timm to add warm witchy textures throughout the latter half of the song.”
On “Pilar, NM,” Jobi Riccio reflects on how life on the road can become a way for musicians to escape their problems—though, sooner or later, one must confront them and be honest with oneself. “After a lifelong kinship with New Mexico, I started this song while there on tour and finished it back in Nashville after being on the road for a really long stretch. Like many musicians, the road has been a place to run to avoid dealing with deeper issues—both for better and for worse.”
The track also features remarkable pedal steel playing by Mike Robinson and nylon-string guitar work from co-producer Isaiah Beard, elements that evoke both escape and introspection against the vast desert landscapes of New Mexico.
One of the highlights of Face the Feeling, and a track that perfectly encapsulates the album’s central themes, is the punk-leaning “Buzzkill.” It may initially bring Courtney Barnett to mind; yet make no mistake: Jobi Riccio possesses a distinct voice and identity of her own, requiring no comparison to carry this anthem about lingering adolescence and the anxieties of adulthood.
The finale, “Doesn’t Matter,” closes the opus on a striking musical contrast, balancing atmospheric passages with walls of saturated guitar. “The song is a reminder that life doesn’t just happen in our heads. It can be really empowering to tell the intrusive thoughts and stories that they don’t matter, and quiet the voices that say you’re not good enough,” Jobi Riccio explains.
Find more details here: https://www.jobiriccio.com/
Jobi Riccio 2026 North American Tour Dates
April 16 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen*
April 17 – Santa Fe, NM – Lensic PAC*
April 20 – Tucson, AZ – La Rosa*
April 21 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Music Hall*
April 22 – Menlo Park, CA – The Guild*
April 23 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Casino, Crown Room*
April 24 – Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades*
April 25 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club Ballroom*
April 26 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club Ballroom*
June 9 – Vienna, VA – Songwriters Celebrate John Prine @ Wolf Trap
July 2 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest 2026
July 9 – Oakbank, MB, Canada – Winnipeg Folk Fest