The multiple Grammy Award winning fiddler, banjo player and singer's first studio album since 2020. Dirk Powell is a multiple Grammy Award winning fiddler, banjo player and singer, admired by his peers and those who engage him for his expertise in the roots of American music. Dirk's 2026 album "Wake" brings us evocative and emotional music that explores several meanings of that word - the wake we all leave behind in life, like that of a ship, which tells our story and marks our path even as it quickly fades back into stillness; the wake we share as we celebrate the life of a loved one who has gone on, like a rowdy New Orleans second line; and the waking we all must do to presence, this simple verb that finds us opening our eyes again to the truth of the sun that animates us. The project rings with human and natural sounds, from homemade banjos and fiddles to shimmering electric guitars to soft French horns to the raw sounds of Louisiana swamps, trains, and street fairs. It is both intimate and expansive, from full drums to cascading harmonies to the softest, closest whispers and takes the listener on a journey through emotional seas, bayous, and mountains leaving them back where they started in a different state of mind