The Mastersons

The Mastersons constitute a melodic alt-country ensemble anchored by the husband-and-wife partnership of Chris Masterson on guitar and vocals and Eleanor Whitmore on violin and vocals. Texas natives who had each already assembled substantial independent careers, the pair first aligned while serving as core players in Steve Earle's touring unit. They inaugurated their joint venture in 2012 by tracking original material under the Mastersons banner. Even while sustaining their roles behind Earle and assorted other artists, they cultivated a loyal listenership with songs that chronicled constant travel, first on the widely admired Transient Lullaby of 2017 and later on the Shooter Jennings-produced fourth album No Time for Love Songs, issued in 2020.

Masterson and Whitmore already possessed extensive touring and studio credentials—Whitmore alongside Regina Spektor, Bruce Robison, and Kelly Willis, and Masterson with Son Volt and Jack Ingram—when they met at a festival in Colorado. That encounter sparked both a personal relationship and a creative alliance, soon placing them together inside Steve Earle's band the Dukes and Duchesses. Earle spotlighted them regularly on the road, generating sufficient acclaim to land a deal with New West Records. Their debut, Birds Fly South, surfaced in 2012 and paired the duo's buoyant yet shadowed alt-country approach with a veteran rhythm section. The 2014 follow-up Good Luck Charm, produced by Jim Scott, introduced sharper political content alongside more intimate songs. Transient Lullaby appeared three years later on Red House Records, again shaped by the couple's frequent relocations. For the fourth album they chose Shooter Jennings as producer; the duo had already contributed to two of his records and reunited with him in 2019 to back Tanya Tucker on her Grammy-winning While I'm Livin'. Sessions unfolded at the landmark Sunset Sound studio in Los Angeles, and No Time for Love Songs reached stores in early 2020.