Ephemera Ballads (Releasing November 27, 2026)

“Heaven holds a softer song, that also should be heard…”

For their sixth album, fivebyfive and Emily Pinkerton join forces to bring ghost tales of New York’s Hudson Valley to life. Inspired by the rhythms of early American broadside ballads, Emily’s folk compositions trace the lives of two women, Ann Eliza Smith and Anna Dorothea Swarts. Sparkling banjo, shimmering textures, and soulful vocals reimagine the stories these women might tell if given the chance to speak.

Ephemera: Artifacts not intended to hold lasting significance.

Broadside ballads: Songs and poems printed on large sheets of paper alongside a woodblock print or engraving. Popular in America from the 18th through the 19th century, they shared news, social commentary and more. 

Listen on Spotify (coming Nov 27)
​​Listen on Apple Music (coming Nov 27)
Buy on Bandcamp (coming Nov 27)

Ephemera Ballads
Music and lyrics by Emily Pinkerton
commissioned by fivebyfive

Emily Pinkerton: voice, banjo
Laura Lentz: flutes
Marcy Bacon: clarinets
Ken Luk: electric guitar
Eric J. Polenik: bass
Haeyeun Jeun: piano
Marc Webster: recording engineer

Track list:

  1. Ann Eliza 6:35

  2. Wild Horses at Stony Point 4:12

  3. Anna Dorothea 5:51

PROGRAM NOTES

Emily Pinkerton, Folk Songwriter

Stark melodies over banjo and piano. Candid stories about stretching your limits. Intimate folk songs that ask the listener to hear the past as part of the present.

Emily is a solo artist and a founding member of The Early Mays: an old-time, vocal harmony trio that topped the National Folk-DJ charts, won the Clifftop Neo-Traditional Band competition, and performed on NPR’s Mountain Stage.

About the work:

Chamber-folk piece that gives shape to ghosts of the Hudson Valley. For voice, banjo, flute, clarinet, electric guitar, piano and bass. Commissioned by fivebyfive of Rochester, NY, and premiered in March of 2025. 3 movements, 15 minutes.

Ephemera: artifacts–typically written or printed–which were not intended to have lasting significance at their time of creation.

Broadside ballads: songs and poems printed on large, thin sheets of paper, often accompanied by a wood block print or engraving, relating news and social commentary, or exploring themes of love, family, race, gender, and more.

See more from Emily about the Story of Ephemera Ballads at Emily’s album page

Recording notes

Tracks for the Ephemera Ballads album were recorded at Blue on Blue Recording Studio in Rochester, New York. Blue on Blue Recording Studio was designed by award-winning architect Fran Manzella and is owned and operated by fivebyfive recording engineer Marc Webster.

 

The “Ephemera Ballads” commission was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.