Born and raised in Morrison, Colorado (home of Red Rocks Amphitheatre), Riccio is now based in Nashville. Following the release of a well-received EP Strawberry Wine in 2019, she has been winning awards for her songwriting and in 2023 she was awarded the prestigious Newport Folk Festival John Prine Fellowship. ‘Whiplash’ was recorded and engineered in Asheville, North Carolina by Gar Ragland at his Citizen Studios – the reward for winning a NewSong Music Competition in 2019, although the production was delayed by COVID. Ragland and Riccio co-produced, following the guitar parts Riccio laid down.