Whitney Fenimore - Leaving Ashwood (2022) Hi Res

Leaving small towns to pursue big dreams is one of the central tensions of country music. But what often isn't discussed is how necessary that departure sometimes is. Whitney Fenimore's Leaving Ashwood isn't a coming-of-age tale: the EP is about releasing the toxic beliefs of her upbringing and embracing a life quite different than she thought she'd leave.

Fenimore grew up in Oklahoma, a devoted youth leader in her conservative Christian community which is how she met her first girlfriend. Fast forward a few years, and Fenimore finds herself a semi-finalist on Season 13 of The Voice. During this time, Fenimore grappled with coming out and intense heartbreak romantic and otherwise. Leaving Ashwood, out on Sept. 23, represents Fenimore's latest chapter: settling down in Nashville with her wife Kendall Wessenberg, an Olympic skeleton athlete.

For anyone unaware of the pair's unlikely romance (Kendall liked a cover Whitney posted, and the algorithm kept bringing them together), Leaving Ashwood is still for you it's just a fun detail to know about. Fenimore covers universal themes: the anxieties of a new relationship, amusement at how her hometown has changed and embracing change. So much of that comes from Fenimore's shedding of the shame that characterized her youth.

"Holding Hands," co-written with Marielle Kraft, recounts frustration with the internalized homophobia that prevents the narrator from holding her partner's hand in the airport. Even in a loving and fulfilling relationship, the song suggests, people in same-sex relationships must remain vigilant for their own safety and to keep the walls of shame from pressing in.