Margo Price drops unexpected protest mixtape “Days Of Unrest” featuring Joan Baez and more
Collaborator Matt Ross-Spang, a longtime partner, has produced the latest record in various locations such as Nashville, Memphis, and San Francisco. The album kicks off with the instrumental suite “San Marcos,” a creation involving Price’s spouse Jeremy Ivey and the Price Tags band. The standout moment is a collaboration with Baez on Guthrie’s “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos),” supported by Memphis Mariachi.
This particular track gained attention after Price’s impactful performance at last year’s Newport Folk Festival, where she initiated a controversial chant against ICE before introducing the song. A recent video highlights ongoing challenges faced by migrant laborers. Price commented on her cover of “Deportee” stating, “I’ve been performing this song for many years now, and it just felt right to include it in Days Of Unrest. The first time I heard it was during Joan Baez and Bob Dylan’s rendition on The Rolling Thunder Review. Joan Baez has been a tremendous source of inspiration for me, so having her vocals on this track is truly surreal. I have drawn inspiration from her musical journey as well as her role as a cultural influencer.”
In another moment of the album, Price adapts Blaze Foley’s “Oval Room,” originally a critique of Ronald Reagan in 1984, for the current era of Donald Trump. The accompanying video establishes a direct connection with the current administration. Price explained her approach, “Although the song was written about another actor-turned-politician – President Ronald Reagan – in 1984, it resonates with any president, particularly Trump. The system has always favored the wealthy and aimed to divide the populace. Through covering this track and others on Days Of Unrest, I am expressing my dissent.”
Noteworthy for her advocacy for prison reform, cannabis legalization, and farmers’ rights, Price delves into other tracks like the traditional Spanish farm labor anthem “De Colores” (featuring Memphis Mariachi again), Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm,” and a rendition of Charlie Daniels’ “Long Haired Country Girl” with Billy Swan. The only original vocal piece on the album, “Can’t Stand Still,” reminisces about her earlier days leading the Nashville rock and soul group Buffalo Clover. The “San Marcos” suite serves as a unifying element throughout the tracklist, bookending the record.
A portion of the vinyl sales of the album will be directed towards supporting the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. This mixtape follows Price’s Grammy-nominated 2025 album Hard Headed Woman and precedes her performance at Farm Aid in September, where she will introduce songs from her latest release. Notably, Price holds the distinction of being the first female artist on Farm Aid’s board of directors and is currently contending for Artist of the Year and Album of the Year at the forthcoming Americana Honors & Awards.