Upon finishing college in 1992, Welch moved to Nashville, Tennessee.
She recalled, "I looked at my record collection and saw that all the music I loved had been made in Nashville—Bill Monroe, Dylan, the Stanley Brothers, Neil Young—so I moved there.
Not ever thinking I was thirty years too late."
Rawlings soon followed.
In Nashville, after singing "Long Black Veil," the two first realized that their voices harmonized well and they started to perform as a duo.
They never considered using a working name, so the duo were simply billed as "Gillian Welch."
A year after moving to Nashville, Welch found a manager, Denise Stiff, who already managed Alison Krauss.
Both Welch and Stiff ignored frequent advice that Welch should stop playing with Rawlings and join a band.
They eventually signed a recording contract with Almo Sounds.
Following a performance opening for Peter Rowan at the Station Inn, producer T-Bone Burnett expressed interest in recording an album.
Burnett did not plan to disturb Welch's and Rawlings' preference for minimal instrumentation, and Welch agreed to take him on as a producer.
Upon finishing college in 1992, Welch moved to Nashville, Tennessee. She recalled, "I looked at my record collection and saw that all the music I loved had been made in Nashville—Bill Monroe, Dylan, the Stanley Brothers, Neil Young—so I moved there. Not ever thinking I was thirty years too late." Rawlings soon followed. In Nashville, after singing "Long Black Veil," the two first realized that their voices harmonized well and they started to perform as a duo. They never considered using a working name, so the duo were simply billed as "Gillian Welch." A year after moving to Nashville, Welch found a manager, Denise Stiff, who already managed Alison Krauss. Both Welch and Stiff ignored frequent advice that Welch should stop playing with Rawlings and join a band. They eventually signed a recording contract with Almo Sounds. Following a performance opening for Peter Rowan at the Station Inn, producer T-Bone Burnett expressed interest in recording an album. Burnett did not plan to disturb Welch's and Rawlings' preference for minimal instrumentation, and Welch agreed to take him on as a producer.
Gillian Welch