Squirrel Flower – Not Me & Sick Tooth
Squirrel Flower, the project of beloved Chicago-based artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ella Williams, presents two new singles/videos, “Not Me” and “Sick Tooth,” from her fourth studio album, Say a Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going, out August 21st via Polyvinyl Record Co.
Following the “ethereal” (Brooklyn Vegan) lead single, “Reelin,” “Not Me” is an epic heartland rock single emerging from a dream Williams had one night in New Mexico, in which the subtleties and grandeur of her voice demand room to shine. “Sick Tooth,” conversely, is a brief indie-rock song with fuzzed out guitars; the song is coupled with a powerwashing video for all the sickos out there.
Of “Not Me,” Williams explains: “This song came to me upon waking in Silver City, NM. I literally rolled out of bed, having had a dream about somebody, grabbed my guitar and pressed record. I’d been reading ‘Women Who Run with the Wolves,’ my grand handbook for life. I was reading a passage about not compromising. Not ‘taking what you can get,’ but taking all that you wish for. Not in a gluttonous way, rather refusing to deprive yourself of desires and the intuitive flow towards those desires.” She continues: “I’d been listening to so much Linda Ronstadt when I wrote it, and I think that really came through. I wanted to let myself really sing, and produce and arrange the song in a way that allowed that.”
Spanning 2024 and 2025, the writing process for Say A Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going is an account of the locations and the characters Williams encountered as she traveled across vast American biomes. Tracked live at makeshift studio Merry Meadow in Door County, WI with a cast of Chicago music heads including co-producers Seth Engel and Jack Henry, and later painstakingly refined to perfection in Asheville, NC by Alex Farrar (MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, Waxahatchee) at his Drop of Sun studios, Say a Prayer’s production mirrors its songwriting process.
Farrar, a producer known for a prolific indie rock sound, surprised Williams by amplifying the quietest, most delicate aspects of her music. “He was encouraging me to lean into this ethereal, yet grounded, spacious yet textured folk music that’s so true to the early days of Squirrel Flower,” Williams states. The recording captures Williams’ voice with newfound clarity; she has never sounded so much like herself. In addition to Dave Hartley (The War on Drugs) and Seth Kauffman (Angel Olsen), both of whom played on Williams’ 2023 album Tomorrow’s Fire, Williams enlisted a cast of friends including Dimitri Giannopolous (Horse Jumper of Love), Sofia Jensen (Free Range), Clay Frankel (Twin Peaks), Andy Krull (Red PK), Book not Brooke (Babywave), and even family members Jameson, Jesse, and Nate Williams.
In many ways, Say a Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going is about itself, about the process of its creation on the road. That isn’t to say that Say a Prayer is a travelogue. It’s more of a bittersweet testament to exploration and self possession, longing and musing. Vividly personal, it’s like a set of abandoned scrapbooks filled with ephemera, harvested from the side of the dusty freeway by some highway woman over her decades, piled up in a banker’s box in a backyard shed, tenuously protected from a desert monsoon. Past experiences lovingly chronicled, the future remains open for Williams as she hopes for a sign to help her know when to get going and when to stay still.
Squirrel Flower recently announced her first full-band headlining tour in two years, kicking off this fall. In August, she will support Ethel Cain in Chicago.
Squirrel Flower 2026 Tour Dates
Sun. Aug. 2 – Chicago, IL @ Metro ! [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Sept. 23 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop =
Thu. Sept. 24 – Toronto, ON @ Second Summer Festival
Fri. Sept. 25 – Montreal, QC @ La Sotterenea (POP Montreal Festival)
Sat. Sept. 26 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre =
Sun. Sept. 27 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse =
Tue. Sept. 29 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere – Rooftop *
Wed. Sept. 30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
Thu. Oct. 1 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage *
Fri. Oct. 2 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall *
Sat. Oct. 3 – Durham, NC @ Stanczyks *
Tue. Oct. 6 – Asheville, NC @ Revival *
Wed. Oct. 7 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl *
Thu. Oct. 8 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records – Blue Room *
Fri. Oct. 9 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar * [NEW SHOW]
Sat. Oct. 10 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Turntable *
Fri. Oct. 23 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway +
Sat. Oct. 24 – Lawrence, KS @ White Schoolhouse +
Sun. Oct. 25 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge +
Tue. Oct. 27 – Dallas, TX @ Ruins +
Wed. Oct. 28 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger +
Thu. Oct. 29 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Upstairs +
Fri. Oct. 30 – Austin, TX @ 29th Street Ballroom +
Sun. Nov. 1 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar +
Tue. Nov. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Sid the Cat Auditorium +
Wed. Nov. 4 – Ojai, CA @ Ojai Deer Lodge +
Thu. Nov. 5 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel +
Sat. Nov. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern +
Sun. Nov. 8 – Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall +
Mon. Nov. 9 – Olympia, WA @ Wild Child +
Wed. Nov. 11 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater +
Thu. Nov. 12 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux +
Fri. Nov. 13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge +
Sun. Nov. 15 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall +
Tue. Nov. 17 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb +
Wed. Nov. 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe +
Thu. Nov. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club +
Fri. Nov. 20 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall +
! supporting Ethel Cain
= w/ youbet
* w/ Dari Bay
+ w/ Sour Widows
#squirrelflower