Restless Palmyra Returns to Norfolk with the Virginia Arts Festival on May 27
Palmyra earned their record deal with Oh Boy Records, the label founded by the late John Prine, through the equivalent of winning the lottery -- a cold email.
It’s not that they weren’t acclaimed. They were named one of NPR’s best new artists of 2024. They’d played a pop-up show at the Newport Folk Festival, where label representatives saw them. They’d tracked “Restless,” their now-critically lauded album and sent preliminary mixes around.
Oh Boy called the next day. The label was interested. Up next was a showcase in Nashville to seal the deal. There was just one problem. It was the middle of winter with a big snowstorm forecast. The band arrived days early and got on the phone, begging friends to show up.
But the lounge was nearly empty for the showcase; they started playing to three or four friends. Jody Whelan, the managing partner for the label, hadn’t arrived. About four songs into the set, he showed up. They tried to avoid gauging his reaction following each song. After, he played it cool. “It’s great, I’ll let you know.”
It took another couple of months before they got the news. They had a deal. At their next appearance at Newport in October 2024, Fiona Whelan Prine came on stage and asked if they would like to work with Oh Boy. “It was a beautiful moment,” remembers Mānoa Bell, the band’s bass player. “All of our families were there. We’ll never forget that.”
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