Broken Ground

Bluegrass Artist Beth Lee Releases “Broken Ground,” a Song Born from Hurricane Helene and the Resilience of Western North Carolina
Asheville, NC — Bluegrass and Americana songwriter Beth Lee announces the release of her new single, “Broken Ground,” the follow-up to her debut release, “Demons in the Wind,” and “Life Keeps Moving On.” The track was recorded at Shift Studios in Asheville, NC, and is rooted deeply in the landscape and spirit of Western North Carolina. A first-place winner of MerleFest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Competition in 2018, Lee brings decades of performance experience and a gift for lyrical storytelling to this deeply personal new chapter in her recording career.
“Broken Ground” was written in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which swept in from the east in September 2024 and devastated the region, leaving behind destruction that permanently changed the mountains and valleys of Western North Carolina. In the wake of the storm, a fierce resilience rose up when it was needed most. Neighbors helped neighbors — sharing food, water, electricity, and clothing — carried forward not only by outside support but by their own determination and belief in their community’s ability to endure.
“Broken Ground” captures the images of those first few days and weeks: homes shorn from their foundations by rushing water, thousands of landslides (some of them fatal), roads that vanished as if they’d never existed, bridges gone, people stranded, and trees down everywhere.
“The river didn’t care about the things that came unwound,” Beth Lee says, describing the moment the region’s ancient mountains proved no match for the force of the water. “Sides of the mountains literally could not stand the strain. Twisted train tracks, cars so battered they were unrecognizable, roads and bridges that were simply missing, homes that once stood by the riverbank — all gone. But still, we rose. And we will continue to rise, to help each other, and to mourn for those we lost.”
“Broken Ground” is a tribute to that resilience — to the character of the people of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and their capacity to absorb tragedy and turn it into compassion.
Recorded at Shift Studios in Asheville, NC, the track showcases the region’s deep musical well. Lee is joined by a lineup of Western North Carolina musicians: Audie McGinnis on guitar, Zane McGinnis on banjo, Sav Sankaran on bass, Ty Gilpin on mandolin, and Lyndsay Pruitt on violin. Harmony vocals are contributed by Amanda Platt, the widely celebrated Americana and roots-country vocalist, whose voice adds another layer of emotional depth to Lee’s lead.
“Broken Ground” is available now wherever music is streamed and downloaded.

About Beth Lee
For Beth Lee, the path from listener to performer to songwriter has always followed the music — each step a natural arrival, never a detour. Shaped by decades of performance, deep mentorship, and a writing practice that turned passion into calling, she has grown into something rare: an artist who has fully lived the songs before ever recording them. That next step — recording artist — is not a reinvention. It’s the destination she’s been heading toward all along.
Beth Lee is a bluegrass and Americana artist rooted in the traditions of the genre and driven by a deep passion for lyrical storytelling. Raised on the sounds of the Washington, D.C. bluegrass scene — the Country Gentlemen, the Seldom Scene, and the region’s vibrant festival culture — she became a songwriter developing an instinct for writing songs that transport listeners. Inspired by her roots in the Hill Country of Austin, Texas and her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina.
A seasoned rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist, Beth honed her craft on the Southeast festival circuit with the Cracked Wheat Bluegrass Band before turning her focus to original songwriting. That dedication earned her first place in MerleFest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Competition in 2018 — one of the most respected songwriting contests in acoustic music — a testament to her ability to craft songs that are lyrically rich, emotionally resonant, and deeply rooted in place.
Now working alongside master-level bluegrass veterans, Beth is releasing her own music for the first time. Her songs invite the listener on a journey — to be taken away by a story, or simply reminded of the human highway we’re all sharing.