In late 2012, Mitchell completed recording seven songs from the collection of Child Ballads, compiled by Francis James Child, with fellow musician Jefferson Hamer. The album, produced by Gary Paczosa, was released in February 2013, winning a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Traditional Song. This was followed in 2014 by "xoa," for which Mitchell re-recorded a number of her older songs using only guitar and vocals. This stripped back album included some songs from "Hadestown" which were recorded for the first time in Mitchell's own voice, as well as three brand new songs.