Richmond, Virginia, Oct. 16, 2025 – Richmond-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tristan Dougherty digitally released his second full-length album, “A Flicker, a Flame,” on Oct. 1. Containing seven original folk songs and one Bob Dylan cover, the album is a 35-minute exploration of growth and change that features poetic imagery, layered harmonies and soaring musical arrangements.

New listeners may detect subtle parallels to musical inspirations Nick Drake, Radical Face and The Tallest Man on Earth. Fans of Dougherty will recognize many of the songs, which he wrote and began performing live around 2018 when he was part of the duo Flicker & Flame, for which the album is named. The other half of that collaboration, singer-songwriter Psalm Swarr, accompanies him on the album and has lyric credits on Track 2 (“Into the Sound”).

“I wrote many of the songs on this album during a time when I was experiencing a lot of change,” Dougherty recalls. “I had just ended a long relationship, spent a summer living in a friend’s camper trailer, and had met and started dating my future wife. So this album is about transitions, the passing of seasons, the fading away of old friends and old perspectives, and knowing when to move on. It’s also about falling in love, both the simple parts (‘Red Chimneys’) and the hard ones, like wondering whether you fall in love too easily, and the feeling of panic that comes with that (‘Fall’).”

Maritime themes of battle, loss and being adrift are woven throughout the album, bringing turbulence and tension to a reflective, introspective journey. “Sinking Ships,” for example, describes the chaos of a rocky upbringing crashing in on the imaginary world of childhood. Bob Dylan’s masterpiece love-lost ballad “Boots of Spanish Leather” depicts a lover’s seafaring voyage that forces the narrator to accept reality and let go.

Life changes led Flicker & Flame to stage their last show under that name in 2019, when their debut album was still being mixed. Many of those tracks now appear on “A Flicker, a Flame.” Following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, Dougherty shifted to performing his songs solo, releasing a self-recorded album, “Roaring & Wild,” in 2023. In time, he began incorporating classic country and Appalachian influences into his sound and assembled a backing string band, The Heart Pines, with Swarr continuing to perform vocals on select songs.

“A lot of the magic of making music is the connections you make, and the creativity that comes out of those,” says Dougherty. “That’s also what makes music so ephemeral. Bands are always changing, styles evolving, and you find a way to adapt and push on and keep what worked and take it with you.”

“A Flicker, a Flame” was produced by Tristan Dougherty and recorded, mixed and mastered by Lance Koehler at Minimum Wage Recording. It features guitar, piano, accordion and vocals by Tristan Dougherty; vocals by Psalm Swarr; violin by Marissa Resmini; bass by Drew Brunson and Zach Hudgins; and percussion by Lance Koehler. Track titles include: “Red Chimneys,” “Into the Sound,” “Weeping Willow Fans,” “Periscopes,” “Fall,” “Sinking Ships,” “Boots of Spanish Leather,” and “The Road, the Stone.” The cover was illustrated by Tamurlaine Melby, Dougherty’s wife.

The album is available for streaming now on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and other platforms. It will be accompanied by a CD and vinyl release this winter. Physical release show to be announced.

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About the Artist

Tristan Dougherty is a folk musician and songwriter based in Richmond, Virginia. By combining meditative, finger-style guitar playing with warm, illuminative lyrics and innovative arrangements, he’s developed a refreshingly original sound that draws on indie, classic country and Appalachian music traditions. Whether performing solo or with his string band, The Heart Pines, his work reflects a deep reverence for the craft, rooted in the belief that live music is essential to keeping our souls awake and our communities connected.