After self-releasing the albums Pretty Magic Spell in 2018 and Washington by the Sea in 2019, she released Long Time Coming in 2021 with Rounder Records, to critical acclaim.

Accompanying videos for singles "The Sea", "In Dreams", and "Bells of Every Chapel" (featuring Billy Strings) were uploaded to her YouTube channel in the weeks and months preceding the Long Time Coming's release.

In her teens, she joined a Grateful Dead cover group as a vocalist, but after feeling constrained creatively, she departed the band to independently pursue her musical aspirations.

[7] In her early twenties, she adopted a nomadic lifestyle, hitch-hiking, freighthopping, and living in her van, with the majority of her time spent busking between Seattle and New Orleans.

[10] Around the same time, she was also frequently performing at "Honky Tonk Tuesday's" hosted at Nashville's American Legion Post 82, eventually capturing the attention of Gary Paczosa, a producer best known for his collaborations with Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton.

[17] Varsity UK said "Long Time Coming will easily be the only album of its type emerging from the music city of Nashville this year", adding that Ferrell "shines brightest when she leans furthest into her own distinctive brand of jazz-inflected bluegrass".