With a piercing, honest voice and a penchant for telling gorgeous, heartbreaking stories, Bella White is showing the world just how well a Canadian does “high and lonesome” on her debut album, Just Like Leaving, available everywhere as of Friday, Sept. 25.

Born in Calgary, Alberta, to a family with deep roots in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, 20-year old White is no newcomer to bluegrass or American roots music, having been raised by the sounds of Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys and Doc Watson from before she could walk. At 18 years of age, White took her childhood bluegrass education to Boston’s ever-burgeoning acoustic and roots music scene and began crafting her coming-of-age debut; a nine-song collection exploring the angst of a modern teenager with timeless and universally relatable language.

Rolling Stone praised White’s songwriting on the album’s second single, “Hand Of Your Raising,” calling the track “Sublime Appalachian heartbreak,” and Glide noted her “Fresh approach to tradition” on the bluegrass-tinged “Not To Blame.” Just Like Leaving can be streamed in entirety here.

With Just Like Leaving, White is emerging as not only the newest star student of the bluegrass genre but a poignant songsmith, gentle and wise beyond her years. White’s ability to translate a modern experience to an old sound is seamless and compelling and on full display on her stunning debut album. More information can be found at bellawhitemusic.com.