What’s Cooking with Farmer's Wife

Austin's favorite ghoulish shoegaze band chatted with assistant editor Rachel Joy Thomas while on a mini creative retreat. The goal? Write more music for their upcoming debut album.

Photo by Judo Visuals. Pictured (left to right): Jacob Masson, Eric Limon, Molly Masson, Derek Ivy, Jaelyn Valero.

Farmer’s Wife is, to many, Southern Gothic, ghoulish grunge, a twinge of polishy shoegaze and a pinch of lively, punkish brooding. Arriving on the scene in 2021, their EP “There’s A Monster” soon introduced Austinites to their delightfully murky sound.

Band members Molly Masson (vocals), Jacob Masson (bass), Jaelyn Valero (drums), Derek Ivy (guitar) and recently added member Eric Limon, who previously played with Cloud Nothings, have been friends (or related!) for years. Before Farmer's Wife, there was a band called Sludge. And with Sludge, there were countless performances in the heart of the city's DIY scene.

When we interviewed the band for our book on Austin's music scene, the group was between two impressive feats. In May 2025, the band released its second EP, "Faint Illusions." In the fall of that year, the band had its very first performance at Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Since then, though, the band has only continued to tour, from Canada to California, all the way to Greece. We caught up with them in the midst of a Texas tour as they took a creative break in Corpus Christi. Their goal? Write more music to get ready for their debut album.

Eric, you’re the newest member of the band. How did you find your way into Farmer's Wife?

Eric: It was pretty organic. I had subbed for Derek a while ago, when they'd done a tour with the band Cloud Nothings, and that was a super fun experience. And then I subbed in for Jacob, playing bass for the most recent tour, last October, with Bass Drum of Death, and that was also super fun. So at that point, I had a pretty good understanding of the music.

Molly: Yeah, we were like, he needs to...

Eric: Definitely. I mean, I love the music, and beyond even just subbing for Derek, I've known these people for years. We've all been close friends outside of Farmer's Wife. I used to play in other bands, and we’d all hang out. Went to high school together.

Molly: We're neighbors.

Eric: Yeah. It was all just community, really, I suppose.

And regarding the Austin scene, what were some of the first things you noticed about it, and how did it play a role in forming Farmer's Wife?

Eric: I'm from Austin. So watching people come up, all types of people, young and old, the people I've met more recently in life – like Molly, Jaelyn, Jacob – it's been awesome to see these people. God, there's just so much talent that comes here that isn't necessarily from Austin. As opposed to Derek. Derek and I have grown up playing together, so I've seen our styles change, our songwriting go from, ‘We're jamming in front of your dad's house on his porch,’ to ‘Now we're writing music that moves me more than stuff I've been listening to forever.’ It's really cool. Everyone in this town is so nice, so collaborative, so chill. It's an honor to be a part of this place.

Molly: I remember really vividly, it was one of our first shows we ever played, when we were called Sludge, but we played the show at French House Co-op, and that was where I met Eric. I just remember feeling like Eric was the first person in the music scene to be really nice and welcoming, and that's always been my impression of him, and I feel like that's held true. He's just the kindest, coolest guy, and so welcoming and down for anything.

Eric: I did not pay her to say that.

I know the band mentioned a couple of spots that hold a special place in your heart, like Barracuda, Mohawk, Waterloo Records. As a whole, what venues have been shaping your direction lately?

Eric: Mohawk outdoors is always so fun.

Jaelyn: Yeah, we base our songwriting and the dynamics of our music on how we want to move people in the audience. So when we're thinking about shows that way, we're thinking about the spaces that really allow for that connection to happen, shows where it's like, oh, this venue really allows Molly to jump off the stage and immediately be in the crowd, or crowd surf. I feel like doing the residency at Ballroom was… It was great. It was like weekly validation that we're so lucky, so blessed, to have such an amazing and supportive community that just loves live music and is so excited to celebrate it. Getting to watch everyone have so much fun on stage in response to that energy from the audience, we're super lucky we got to experience that. How many times, like three times in one month? That was really, really awesome. And also, some of the best sound you'll get in Austin is in that room. Shout out Dan Richardson. He needs an entry in the book.

And y'all have been performing all over the place, as I recall. You've performed in California, done multiple different runs through Texas, opened for a variety of different acts. Before I interviewed y'all last time, you were about to perform at ACL, and now you have. So I wanted to know, how has the pacing, the dynamics of where you want people to start and end with a show, changed or shifted as you've been performing across the country?

Molly: That's a good question.

Jaelyn: I think, one, because we love connecting with people so much, it's such an amazing privilege to have had almost an entire year and a half filled with traveling the country, even going to Canada, and we've been to Greece. That's just life-changing experiences. But it's taught us, at the same time, that it needs to be balanced out with quality time spent on songwriting. That's been a really cool lesson to learn. You're getting to catch us at a cool moment where we're very intentionally dedicating three whole days just to songwriting, deserting ourselves in a bay town, and...

Eric: Yeah, we're not even in Corpus.

Jaelyn: We're learning how to be really intentional with how we spend our time together as a band. What's getting put into shows, what's getting put into songwriting, quality time, business time, you know.

I know you have some wellness practices, like unplugging, earplugs on the road, things like that we've previously chatted about. But what does wellness on the road look like for you, and how do you specifically create opportunities for songwriting when you have such an active schedule?

Molly: We're trying to figure that out. This is the first time we've really built a songwriting session into a tour run, because we had a couple days off before playing in Houston. We were like, ‘Well, we can all go home and go back to our jobs and routines, or we can try to carve out some time.’ So I think what we're doing now, and trying to build, is unplugging, getting together, forcing ourselves to be in a room with all our gear, going to the grocery store, buying healthy food, spending time outside, taking breaks, really digesting what we're writing and taking time with it.

Jaelyn: I feel like we're figuring it out. I feel like we're pretty good with our diet, grocery shopping, making dinner, or when we do have to eat fast food, still choosing wisely. We like to go outside, run around, do stretches. Some of my favorite moments on tour are when we'll try to find a park, do some nature time.

Molly: We go to a lot of museums, too. A lot of cities will have free museums, and we'll go look at art, and that's inspiring in a whole other way.

Jacob: You just have to play a trick on yourself, like, okay, this is time outside the van, so how can we make it whimsical and fun? You're outside.

Molly: A lot of times we'll all get out of the van at a gas station, we go, ‘Okay, Zoomies,’ and then we just run around the parking lot, and everyone looks at us like we're crazy. But it's really fun, and it really changes your whole mental space. It's really good.

Jaelyn: What is it, like somatic healing? Yeah.

I wanted to ask a bit about that in terms of songwriting. I know "Faint Illusions" had a very gritty, claustrophobic feel. It’s also gothic and ethereal at the same time. Are there any future releases planned, and how have they shifted from a songwriting perspective compared to "Faint Illusions"?

Molly: We have two songs that we've recorded, and we've got about four down from being here [in Corpus Christi], and we're trying to plan out doing a debut album, because we've only done EPs so far. So our broad goal is to release the album next summer and do some singles until then. I think the songs we're writing right now, some of them are just very beautiful, and I feel like we'd strayed away from making beautiful music, because Austin is such a rock town, you know?...

Jaelyn: I like that you said claustrophobic because it made me realize this music we're making now has so much space in it. It's really allowing for, like, Derek and I were talking about this yesterday, the music is really getting to breathe now. I think the music we were making before was beautiful, but it was intentionally uncomfortable and beautiful in that way. Now this is beautiful, and you're getting to process everything and really sit in the music.

Derek: And I think we're trying to allow the songwriting to express itself without, I don't know, unnecessary noise, if that makes sense.

Jacob: Scale feels bigger. Yeah, larger scale.

Would you say airier, more leaning into ethereal, or is it more of a longevity approach, where the way you're approaching the music is just more spacious in general?

Jaelyn: I think we're trying to find a way, because we love noisy guitar music that's really huge and loud. So finding a way, because I think that's a skill this band has, to use that to create something that is really beautiful and spacious and airy.

Molly: But there's still going to be rock, noise, grunge and moshing within the dynamics of all of that. I think we're just really excited about laying all our cards out and showing all the different sides of us that aren't limited to just a four- or five-song EP, being able to tell a broader story and go on a bigger journey with the audience, the listener.

Photo by Judo Visuals. Pictured (left to right): Eric Limon, Derek Ivy, Jaelyn Valero (top), Molly Masson (bottom), Jacob Masson. 

I know you mentioned that Austin is a very rock town, and that generally holds true. How would you say Austin specifically has affected the approach you're taking with songwriting, and how does it compare to other spaces you've explored while navigating the country? Has Austin negatively or positively impacted that, or has it not had much of an impact because you're learning from other spaces?

Molly: I think it's inspiring to live in Austin and be part of the community, because yes, there's so much rock music, so many up-and-coming bands, but there's also a much broader community of country music, jazz, electronic music. So I think, living in Austin and being a viewer at shows, it's inspiring to see all the different things within the realm of possibility. And then, sometimes when we go out of Austin, I'm like, oh wow, we're so lucky. We're so lucky to live somewhere where that's just a regular Tuesday night, and everyone you meet is the kindest person in the world.

Derek: I would say Austin has maybe the most musically diverse scene in the world. So I think that influences a lot of musicians here to write music from many different perspectives.

Jacob: It's also a double-edged sword, because it's amazing being in Austin, but if you have a bad habit of comparing yourself, it's easy to feel like a big nothing burger comparing yourself to all the cool stuff going on.

Y’all are coming off a variety of performances. I want to touch on what you just mentioned about audiences being excited. How do you manage the nerves, or the growing popularity of Farmer's Wife, and how popular you've become specifically within the Austin community at large? You've become known as an established rock act within Austin.

Molly: I don't think we necessarily view ourselves that way, but it does get very nerve-wracking playing big shows like ACL. Lately we've just been huddling before our shows, putting our hands in, and kind of grounding ourselves with each other. Especially while the show's happening, sometimes I'll get nervous, and in my head I think I'm really mysterious, but then I start talking, and, um, they see right through me. But then playing with Eric and Derek and Jacob, everyone's energy collectively getting together, it's a lot easier to connect, to connect to my boys. But I don't know. I think because we travel and open for other bands, most of the time we're hearing people be like, "Oh wow, I've never heard of you before," and we're fans now, so it's always cool to convert people. But I don't think of us as big cheese.

Eric: Yeah, especially in this town, because if people are like, oh, y'all are established, it's like, well, the people that are comparing us to that, those are just my homies. Most of the people in the other really great bands that I would consider big cheese in this town. But also, there's just so much music to see in Austin that, unless you're like Gary Clark Jr. or something, unless people are stopping you in H-E-B [grocery store], I really don't see it, I don't know. I do see it though, because it is that kind of thing. I'm new to Farmer's Wife, so this whole being-on-the-road thing, I played in other bands in Austin previously that had the opportunity to go on tour, and when we did, nobody knew us. But being in Farmer's Wife, it's cool that there are people in, like, Des Moines, Iowa, who are like, "I was so excited, I drove two hours to see Farmer's Wife play here." It's nice, because it's not like the same people in Austin who'd probably be like, oh well, they're big cheese, whatever, I'm not gonna go to that show, I'm gonna go see someone who's less discovered. As opposed to these other people being like, oh, there's nothing like this in Des Moines, so anytime it's here, I'll drive two hours to see it. I don't know. It's humbling, and it's also cool.

Jaelyn: Yeah, I think where we're at right now is we get to play these support tours where we're playing in really big rooms with lots of people, but then maybe a week later we're doing a headline show somewhere else in a smaller room. It doesn't change the fact that we're very lucky to be playing such a large amount of shows all the time, which is really awesome. But because of that, it almost becomes routine, and physically, your body gets really used to the routine of, okay, we're driving to this place to load in and sound check, then play the show, then the next place. So because of the frequency we're at now with playing shows so often, it's important to remember to be present and soak in every moment. Even, like, we got to one of our shows recently and were like, I forgot, I don't even feel like I'm at a show right now. Sometimes it takes a second for your body to process everything.

I know previously the band mentioned Sweet Spirit and TC Superstar as some of the groups that made this journey feel possible. On the flip side, are there any young Austin bands you'd want to give a shout-out to, or that you've noticed coming up on the scene? Anyone you're seeing emerge that you've developed an appreciation for?

Molly: I do, so many. I'm really into B. Blackwell right now, and she just got this awesome support tour. She's so cool, she's really nice, her music is awesome, and we practiced at Noiseland at the same time, and we were both like, oh my god, she's so awesome. And she just did, or she might be in the middle of, a 13th Floor residency. She's so cool.

Derek: My favorite Austin band right now is probably Amelia's Best Friend. Also, friends of ours.

Eric: Yeah, dear friends of ours. I could pull out a scroll.

Jaelyn: You could say, like, Blue Ribbon, or Mid-Range Jumper.

Derek: Uh, Touch Girl Apple Blossom…

Jacob: I think they're my friends are changing their band's name, but they were Woodward and Parker. I think they're changing their name to Stilter now. Love those guys.

Jaelyn: French Film. Also friends of ours.

Eric: They've been a band in Austin way longer than I've even been playing. Probably longer than I've been alive. 8-1/2 Souvenirs, they don't play much anymore, but that's a phenomenal Gypsy jazz swing band that used to play at C-Boys. Really influential to my guitar playing.

Derek: Also, a band that I don't know if I've mentioned, that's definitely influenced basically everything musically, is Ringo Deathstarr.

Eric: Oh yeah, totally.

Derek: Just growing up watching them has pretty much informed my taste in playing.

Eric: I don't know if Hey Cowboy still plays, but I loved Hey Cowboy.

Molly: I remember when I found out that Hey Cowboy lived in Austin, it blew my mind. I thought they were this mega-famous, amazing band, and they are amazing, but I was like, ‘they're here?’ I saw them at the 13th Floor, and I was like, ‘what? y'all are here? That was crazy.’

Molly: Oh, oh, Team Trust.

Jaelyn: Team Trust! One of my favorite bands in Austin, for sure.

What do emerging bands here need that you may not notice they're getting, and what has improved, if anything, in the Austin community?

Jaelyn: I think maybe access to affordable rehearsal spaces. Sometimes that can be pretty difficult, and we're very lucky to have Noiseland, but it's only one, it's just one place in the city. So I think it'd be cool if we had some more businesses that offered the same resources, with similar pricing, or even cheaper.

Jacob: All musicians need access to ear protection.

Molly: We've also talked about access to parking in the city, because a lot of times, especially starting out, you go play a show for like $100 among five people, and then you miss your parking by 10 minutes, and you have a $300 boot on your car. So access to parking, especially downtown, can be really tricky when the city's constantly trying to find more ways to make money off of parking.

Eric: By the end of it, you've probably even paid to play, which is super lame for any musician. Getting time on a stage is so important for getting better, because that's just where you're going to get it. It's like driving a race car, you're not going to get good reading about it, you're going to have to get behind the wheel. So when you end up having to really pay out of pocket just to even get to do that, and same thing with the practice space, it all just comes back to affordable housing, and just having enough money to even be a musician in town.

And has there been anything in the Austin scene specifically that you feel has updated, adapted, or changed for the better in recent history? Any community updates, anything like that?

Jaelyn: The Live Music Fund in Austin is really great. It's awesome that they have money allotted for local bands. HAAM is amazing [the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, providing access to affordable care].

Eric: Totally. I also think the DIY scene right now is looking really good. Lockett is looking really good, and all the events they throw. When I think of my favorite shows I've ever played in town, period, with Farmer's Wife but also other acts, the ones that feel the best are the ones that people put together with intention. Not that playing a show at a venue isn't a put-together thing, but when you really see lots of art from your town come together in one place, it's a grand affair. That's the kind of thing that really gets put together by people who are passionate about something, as opposed to just booking a Saturday night at your favorite bar. That stuff lately, compared to how it looked in 2016, or 2020, or even 2023, just a few years ago, right now it's healthy and it looks really good. Because when I think of some of the most accessible shows for people, it's the DIY shows, where a $23 ticket gets you a three-band lineup, and then you go buy drinks, which is going to be expensive, but you really want to see those bands. Whereas otherwise, there's fashion, vendors, pop-ups, and then there's music, and all this stuff, and the ticket's about the same money. That's the stuff that's super sick. And there's been a lot of that because of people like Jaelyn, and many other people. Blaze is another thing that's been doing that in town. It's been happening, but right now it feels healthy, it feels manageable, and people obviously really love it.

Is there anything else you'd want people to know about the direction of Farmer's Wife right now?

Eric: We're grateful.

Jaelyn: Definitely, definitely. It may seem like right now it's a quiet period. A lot of people are like, when are you gonna play in Austin next, when are we gonna expect something? But we're cooking. So we're being really intentional and working really hard internally, because what's to come is going to be really, really special, and we're really excited about it.

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