Album Review – Margo Cilker’s “Little White Cross”
Singer/Songwriter Americana (#570.15) and Western (#512) on the Country DDS.
Steel your heart for an experience that only the best of songwriting-based music can afford, stirring those thick emotions inside your rib cage like the ingredients of mama’s drop biscuits in the batter bowl, reminding you that you’re very much alive and feeling. Margo Cilker is the one churning the whisk in this instance, and she won’t be an entirely unfamiliar name for those with their ear to the ground, and their nose in catalogs looking for only the best and most potent stuff in rural American music.
Originally from an agricultural portion of Northern California, Margo Cilker now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, cattle ranger, and fellow songwriter Forrest VanTuyl. From the hints dropped on this new album, perhaps they homestead near the Washington/Oregon border that’s divided by the broad and mighty Columbia River. It’s in this setting where Cilker mines much of the inspiration for this new selection of songs presented under the title Little White Cross.
Instead of heading to Portland or Seattle for the sessions though, Margo Cilker shipped herself and steel guitar player Eric Heywood to Lockhart, TX, and the audio lair of Texas songwriting royal family member Bruce Robison to capture that live-to-tape feel with some of Texas music’s finest. This includes Lisa Pankratz on drums, Beth Chrisman on fiddle, and Scott Davis on bass among others. Sister Sarah Cilker also showed up because nobody’s better for harmonizing with Margo, and not an insignificant amount of studio magic was made.
Margo Cilker calls Little White Cross a concept album, even if that conceptualization is somewhat undefined. What’s for sure is that Cilker goes to work on your guts in the first few songs mercilessly, starting with a three song salvo that centers the severe impact of death. The little white crosses on the side of the road are now such an indelible symbol of American iconography, reminding us all that the end can come anywhere, and instantaneously.
“Ladybug” leaves the cause of death more ambiguous, though you fear the worse. This leads you to “Molly and Me,” which Cilker has revealed is about the teenage sister of the perpetrator of a mass shooting, told from the perspective of the sister’s best friend. This is the kind of songwriting and tragic storytelling that has made Margo Cilker like the Lucinda Williams of the West.
But just when you think this album’s concept will be exploring the different contours around death and tragedy, it turns much more hopeful with “The Border,” which one could infer is about Margo’s courtship with her husband, or is at least a love story of some specific origin. Even at this early stage of the album, you appreciate the opportunity to come up for air, though the early songs are so rewarding in that sad song way. The intermission from tragedy is then elongated by an impassioned cover of Tom Petty’s “Walls.”
One surprising aspect to Little White Cross is how much Margo Cilker relies on outside material for the album. Singer/songwriter Cristy Hays is responsible for the title track. Long-time Pacific Northwest drummer and songwriter Sera Cahoone wrote “Ladybug.” “Road to Las Cruces” is an old Ian Tyson song.
“The Money” was written by California songwriter Kevin Carducci, and just like Margo Cilker’s “Pauline,” perhaps suffers a little from the song’s lyrical repetitiveness. But hey, Willie’s Red Headed Stranger was also filled with a lot of older songs and standards. And even though you’re a bit surprised Cilker didn’t pen more of these songs herself since songwriting is her thing, it’s hard to argue with the results.
Little White Cross starts off very strong, and that’s also how it ends. “The Money” is one of those “lived” songs that anyone that’s worked their bones into the dirt out west, and then felt the satisfaction of heading back to civilization with a pocket full of green can relate to. “Maryhill Peaches, Goodnoe Pairs” feels like a continuation of the Margo Cilker love story with geography playing an important role, co-written with Forrest VanTuyl. And “Wolves” written by Stephanie Davis is the perfect epitaph to this album with the way it leaves you with chills.
What Margo Cilker assembles through Little White Cross is a beautiful collection of Western stories backed by country and Americana music that allows you to explore a host of strong emotional experiences imbued with meaningful connections. The timbre of Cilker’s voice paired with her sister, and the way the band is captured live and allowed to play too long on certain tracks, it all makes for a a rich and vibrant album that might be too involved for the masses, but feel just right for those that want to immerse themselves in musical story.
8.3/10
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Stream Little White Cross // Purchase on Bandcamp
October 9, 2026 @ 7:55 am
Holy shit holy shit holy shit. I was literally just last night looking through her previous albums and wondering when the next one is coming. My streaming algorithm somehow dropped her apparently (sigh… Queue a rant here)
October 15, 2026 @ 5:48 am
Yes I too want to explore a host of strong emotional experiences imbued with meaningful connections.
I also feel that the last performer I relied upon to provide those needs was not as strong and meaningful as they should have been.
So that’s that. Does this site have prizes for best opinion?
October 9, 2026 @ 8:55 am
This is brilliant. Molly and Me just gutted me.
October 9, 2026 @ 10:04 am
“We gonna do an Ian Tyson song… oh, and Tom Petty… and hey yanno that Wolves song Garth Brooks did? Yeah that too”
Fearlessness is just magnetic she’s one of one.
October 9, 2026 @ 1:22 pm
That album artwork is gorgeous.
October 9, 2026 @ 3:14 pm
Love seeing Margo Cilker here. I’ve been a fan since she name-dropped Tehachapi, where the folks live.
Fair warning: Californian gripe incoming. Trig, this aint aimed at you. I figure “the agricultural part of Northern California” is in there because most people outside the state don’t believe we have one. Ya dont want to say Northern California and be lumped in with the Bay. I totally get.
Buuuut, I grew up in the high desert down south and now live up north in the Sierra Nevadas, and the qualifier is getting old. Jon Pardi has to be from “inland of the Bay Area.” Jesse Daniel has to be from Camarillo, the farm town, because Ventura County is a coastal county. (I may have his hometown wrong, but I swear I read that somewhere.) Never mind that Camarillo’s farms are monoculture operations, more a view from the highway than a farming culture. It still sounds more country than the coast.
Take Montana. An artist from there is just from Montana. They could be from Bozeman, an actual city, and nobody asks them to clarify.
I’ve lived in Wyoming, Florida, and Texas, and I get it: people hear “California” and picture LA or San Francisco. Maybe I’m just worn out from explaining otherwise. But it’s a double standard. Come from a city in a rural state and nobody asks questions. Come from a small town in California and it needs a footnote.
I digress.
October 9, 2026 @ 6:50 pm
Your “Kern county Sierras” are all flatland to any buckeroo having worked the real northern California around Ravendale at an elevation of one-mile on the Madeline plains from which the Sierras then start winding upwards.
October 10, 2026 @ 3:16 pm
I think one of the best things to come out of the California countryside, places not named LA, San Francisco or San Diego, were the ‘Sons of the San Joaquin’. There was a lot of fun in their music. I enjoyed the heck out of it.
October 12, 2026 @ 9:44 pm
Been through Madeline plains quite a bit, it looks quite similar to my old grounds down south. Proud mojave desert flatlander here. But if we’re talking about Northern California and the real sierras, I live in Nevada County.
October 9, 2026 @ 3:39 pm
With all due respect to Margo Cliker and the seeming lack of engagement, I wanted to ask if Jess Williamson’s album “A Mile South of Heaven” was on your radar. I imagine it is since Shooter Jennings produced the album, but I had no idea about it until Paste Magazine randomly published a review praising it, so I wanted to make sure you knew about it.
Again, sorry about using an album review to bring up another album, but given how busy the comments section is, I don’t think I’m distracting from much by putting this here.
October 9, 2026 @ 3:42 pm
All the albums on my radar are listed here for anyone to see:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/release-radar-most-anticipated-new-albums-for-final-portion-of-2026/
To answer your question, yes, The Jess Williamson album is on it.
October 9, 2026 @ 3:55 pm
Ah, that’s what I get for not reading the fine print. I stopped backchecking at the September 25th release guide, so sorry about that.
Best of luck to Margo Cliker though; it seems like she needs it.
October 9, 2026 @ 8:54 pm
“Best of luck to Margo Cliker though; it seems like she needs it.”
What is that supposed to mean? Since the trolls have chased away most of the commenters that this means nobody cares about Margo Cilker? I’ve never understand why some people think comments = interest. Sometimes they do. Many times they don’t., especially on album reviews. It just means trolls have train wrecked the discussions here. Hence, my sensitivity about off-topic comments on album reviews.
October 9, 2026 @ 10:56 pm
“Best of luck to Margo Cilker though; it seems like she needs it.”
What is that supposed to mean?
I only read it to be referencing your review, which says this…
“The timbre of Cilker’s voice paired with her sister, and the way the band is captured live and allowed to play too long on certain tracks, it all makes for a a rich and vibrant album that might be too involved for the masses, but feel just right for those that want to immerse themselves in musical story.”
You said the album may be too involved for the masses…some might read that to imply she’ll need some luck.
Anyway, so far so good on my listen to the album. I’ll give anything you recommend a honest whirl. I can’t say I’m loving it…yet…but I can hear what your review is saying.
October 10, 2026 @ 4:28 am
@ TeleCountry
I said “best of luck” because this is the type of album that people are prone to ignore, regardless of what the review says. I have my own theories for why that is, but when even the readers here at SCM are strained to give something a shot, that likely doesn’t bode well for sales prospects. Hence, I wished Margo Cliker luck in that regard and wasn’t trying to imply that she’s in a bad way personally.
Sorry about the confusion.
October 10, 2026 @ 11:14 am
If you’re in the Americana scene you know Cilker. BJ Barham had her on his top albums list a couple times. He’s usually spot on with his discoveries. Margo is a gem.
October 10, 2026 @ 12:45 pm
This feels very similar to when earlier in the week I wrote about Flatland Cavalry, and the first few comments were about how people had never heard of them, like they were an obscure band or something. I honestly don’t know what’s going on anymore in these comments sections. Like Flatland Cavalry, I’ve been talking about Margo Cilker for years. She’s an established songwriter. Yet for some reason I need to justify why I’m covering her. The entire point of Saving Country Music is to talk about independent artists, up-and-coming artists, performers who don’t get enough press or notoriety to begin with, to be a discovery mechanism for music. Not only do people not seem to understand that. Some seem outright offended by that.
I’m honestly just befuddled of how we got here.
October 12, 2026 @ 2:15 pm
@ Trigger
For what it’s worth, I was the only idiot in this case. After doing some research on her it really is sad that I wasn’t familiar with Margo Cilker, but that’s not your fault. For instance, around Lexington, Kentucky, there is a roots/independent country radio station that’ll play a wide variety of music, much of which you’ve covered in some capacity. For whatever reason though, they’ll play Molly Tuttle’s music a fair bit, but never anything by Margo Cilker. I don’t know why this is the case, but that’s just how it is.
Take or leave what you will, but this discussion is happening at the same time that Sturgill Simpson (I swear I’m bringing him up for a good reason) is being name-dropped in the CBS Sports morning newsletter. Obviously, he’s been around more than a decade longer than Cilker, so the comparison is pretty unfair on her end, but the point is that talent and artistic quality can only get an artist so far. It’s the same type of thing you’ve mentioned with Zach Top compared to other neo-traditionalists; he’s very talented, but he’s also incredibly lucky — unlike the many “another new neo-traditionalist” artists who have popped up the last year or so.
I guess what I’m saying is that coverage, kind of like a gateway drug, only does so much unless there’s something beyond the initial hit, so it’s not really your fault if the high doesn’t stick, metaphorically speaking anyway.
https://www.houndfm.com/
October 10, 2026 @ 1:21 am
Hmm real country or americana isnt made for the masses anyway, its made for people who like authentic country that speaks too them so I doubt Margo is interested too much in sales or having a very huge fanbase. I probably wouldnt be listening to it if it was made for the masses. And because its not music for the masses it will require more than a few listens too appreciate.
October 10, 2026 @ 1:09 pm
Enjoying this album. Kind of lost touch with her music the last couple of years, but this has got me thinking about seeing her and Lily Hiatt next Friday in Troy.
October 12, 2026 @ 11:19 am
Well this is fantastic
October 13, 2026 @ 4:55 am
Always liked her and this new one is no different. Bruce Robinson producing is a super plus, the sound is crisp and “alive” like in his “next waltz” productions
October 13, 2026 @ 7:40 am
Beatiful album and beautiful voice. I didn’t know her. Sounds a lot like Noeline Hofmann
October 13, 2026 @ 10:22 am
Wow. Love Margo Cilker and had no idea she had a new one coming out. This is why we check SCM.
October 13, 2026 @ 2:30 pm
This is sounding pretty fantastic on first and second listen.
October 13, 2026 @ 4:54 pm
I cannot wait to listen to this. I loved Valley Of Heart’s Delight and have been wondering when she would release something new. My expectations are high and if Trig’s review is any indication, they will be met.
October 16, 2026 @ 5:42 pm
For the record, I think Margo Cilker is one of the absolute best writers and performers of the last couple years and I deeply respect any artist’s right and judgement to do whatever they choose with their material and work, but I have to be honest in saying I found the album to be something of a disappointment. Having seen her live 2-3 times this past year, it is confusing to hear six covers and only four original songs, after having heard some incredible originals live. A couple of the covers, especially Ian Tyon’s stand out, but the others don’t really stand up, except to continue the theme of “sad songs”, her curious implied intent ot the release. But the brilliance is there to enjoy, but again, much of it is weighed down by the thick over-production of the songs. There has always been something endearing and enduring about the immediacy and intimacy of her songs and it is difficult to the point of annoying to hear this unique voice weighed down in Bruce Robison’s heavy hand of wayyyy too much reverb. Still think she is one of the best in the game, but feel she didn’t get much help from her collaboration this time around.