“Each year unearths previously unknown exceptional artists to us all at Lonesome Highway. For this writer, Florence Dore is most certainly one of the discoveries of 2022.”

--Declan Culliton, Lonesome Highway

“Reflective and funny and semi-biographical, while still finding room for a little acid.”

–Jordan Mainzer, Since I Left You

“Wise and tender.”

--Brian Howe, INDYWEEK

"with smart lyrics and instantly appealing tunes... Florence Dore's melodies go straight to the heart."
-The Big Takeover

Nashville-born, Chapel Hill-based Florence Dore has just finished making her third record, Hold the Spark. It’s a gem. With a narrative bent that ranks her with the likes of James McMurtry and an ear for melody that has earned her comparisons with Lucinda Williams, Florence delivers rich storytelling with plenty of wit. Served up in rich, emotional vocals and backed by a killer rock band, the songs on Hold the Spark span the spectrum—ranging from a tear-jerking tender love song about Florence’s daughter to a hilarious Stooges-like rocker about the stupidity of meetings (academic and otherwise); and from a sweet, wise reflection about a yearslong missed romantic opportunity to an Aimee Mann-like reflection on love and mortality. Hold the Spark, undoubtedly Florence’s strongest offering yet, features an all-star cast of Americana greats, including Jason Wilber (John Prine) and Chris Masterson (The Wallflowers, Steve Earle & the Dukes) on guitars and husband Will Rigby (Steve Earle & the Dukes, The dB’s) on drums. Mark Spencer (Son Volt) and Gene Holder (the dB’s) make appearances as well. Don Dixon (REM) produced Hold the Spark; Paul Voran (Bon Iver, Nathaniel Rateliff, Waxahachie) mixed. Hold the Spark features cameos by the great Mitch Easter, Libby Rodenbough (Mipso), Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five), Kelly Pratt (Father John Misty), and Bonnie & Eleanor Whitmore (the latter with Elvis Costello, Steve Earle & the Dukes).

The road from her first record Perfect City (Slewfoot Records 2001) to Hold the Spark has been anything but straight. As the so-called “rocking professor” at UNC Chapel Hill, Dore teaches songwriting and literature plenty. But she has also spent a lot of time riding around on Steve Earle’s bus catching up with her Dukes husband Will Rigby, writing books, putting on conferences—including one at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—and raising their daughter. Back in 1994 the Posies covered Florence’s holiday heartbreaker “Christmas” for the Geffen release, Just Say Noel, and over the first pandemic months, she co-created Cover Charge, the charting compilation of NC artists to benefit Cat’s Cradle. Florence’s second album, Highways & Rocketships (Propeller Sound Recordings 2022) won Best Americana Album of the Year at Lonesome Highway Magazine in 2022, and Florence toured extensively behind that album, selling out New York’s Rockwood Music Hall and packing clubs from Cleveland and Boston to Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans. She landed opening slots with Steve Earle, Southern Culture on the Skids, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and Dash Rip Rock. Mojo Nixon (RIP) was a fan and gave her records generous spins; Steve Earle and others at Sirius XM continue to play several tracks from Highways and Rocketships.