At each stage of Carrie Rodriguez’s career-as a fiddler, singer, and songwriter-the Austin, Texas, native has learned the importance of letting go. That was certainly true when it came to recording her fifth solo album, Give Me All You Got, her first of largely original tunes in several years. ‘In the making of Love and Circumstance in 2008, I chose to sing other people’s songs,’ Rodriguez explains. ‘I needed to take a step back from songwriting and think about the kinds of songs that feel important to sing. Doing that inspired me to write again.’ Rodriguez, who came to attention a decade ago performing with singer-songwriter Chip Taylor, has established an impressive roster of touring, recording, and co-writing affiliations-with Lucinda Williams, Rickie Lee Jones, John Prine, Mary Gauthier, Alejandro Escovedo, guitarist Bill Frisell, and others. Although she has issued three albums under her own name and enjoyed major label support for 2008’s She Ain’t Me, the release of Give Me All You Got marks a giant step for Rodriguez. The album was recorded with her own band and produced by the renowned Lee Townsend, with whom she has worked closely in the past. And the songs-which she wrote, co-wrote, or handpicked from the repertoire of longtime collaborators-establish her musical identity more powerfully than ever before.