The New York Times’ Jon Pareles, in his best songs of 2017, describes Joan Shelley’s “If the Storms Never Came” as “intertwined acoustic and electric guitars, harking back to Pentangle, [that] carry a serene modal melody and thoughts about how disruption is essential.” The description aptly captures Shelley’s work and her evocative songwriting as one the strongest voices to emerge from an Appalachian roots folk community that is as deep today as it ever was. Aided by the masterful guitarwork of Nathan Salsburg, Shelley’s sound digs deep into her Kentucky roots, while harkening to the British folk of Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, and West Coast country. Her most recent record, the eponymous JOAN SHELLEY, recorded in Chicago with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, is perhaps her best yet.