And they say city folk don’t know country music! Upcoming shows to the Big Apple.  

Due to shear dumb luck I was able to attend an invitation only taping of Country Music Television’s “Crossroads” programs featuring, get this, Rosanne Cash and Steve Earle. I know, holy shit!

Crossroads is toutied as bridging country music and rock music. Past duets have been more like the meeting of both genres most bland, like the pairing of Bon Jovi and Sugarland. And some pair one great (Hank Williams Jr / ZZ Top) with a dud (Kid Rock / Brooks & Dunn). But sometimes they do it right like with their partnership of Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello, Ryan Adams and Elton John (!) and with this show.
I’ve been a fan of Earle’s since the mid-80’s when he was riding high on his first three releases and I’ve seen him once since being in New York. Rosanne Cash I’ve wanted to see mostly out of curiosity – how does the offspring of a legend stack up?
The filming was done in the 100 year-old, Mason-built Manhattan Grand Center Ballroom off 34^th near Madison Square Garden. The Ballroom is now owned by the Unification Church which is led by Rev. Sun Myung Moon (I wonder if the Earle, a celebrated Left-winger, knew he was performing in a hall owned by a  Right-wing wacko)
The program director came out and had the audience run through a litany of laughter, appease and standing applause shots for the cameras and then the show was on.
The show started with Earle’s “Guitar Town” which also ended the show. Because of the magic of television if a performer, or typically the director, doesn’t care for a performance it’s simply done again. Real concerts don’t get “do overs” but the songs were so great I didn’t mind.
Other song covered were Earls “Devil’s Right Hand” and Cash’s “Burn Down This Town” and “House On The Lake” from her newest release “Black Cadillac.” The two also did a nice cover Rosanne’s Daddy’s “Big River.”
I left buzzed by being a part of Country-Rock history and taking some small comfort that Country Music Television doesn’t completely suck.

Pitchfork has a dandy review of the new Sadies live release “In Concert Volume 1.” I was lucky enough to see the Sadies at Irving Plaza last year opening up, and then playing backing band, for Ms. Neko Case. Good stuff!

From Billboard.com :Singer/songwriter Steve Earle has signed a new deal with New West Records. His as-yet-untitled label debut will be released in the first half of next year, according to the company.

It will be the follow-up to Earle’s final album for Artemis, “The Revolution Starts … Now,” which debuted in 2004 at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart and No. 12 on the Top Country Albums tally.

from Billboard.com: Seventy-three-year-old music icon Willie Nelson collaborates with 31-year-old singer/songwriter Ryan Adams on his new album, “Songbird.” Due Oct. 31 via Lost Highway, the 11-track set was produced by Adams, whose band the Cardinals back Nelson throughout. Veteran harmonica player Mickey Raphael also appears.

The track list features covers of Gram Parson’s “$1000 Wedding,” Christine McVie’s “Songbird,” the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter favorite “Stella Blue” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

In addition, Nelson reworks his own “Rainy Day Blues” (which opens the album), “Sad Songs & Waltzes” and “We Don’t Run,” as well as tackling the traditional “Amazing Grace.”

Nelson is in the midst of a tour with John Fogerty and also has headlining dates on tap through a Sept. 15 appearance at the Austin City Limits festival. On Sept. 30 in Camden, N.J., he will join Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews and Jerry Lee Lewis for Farm Aid in Camden, N.J.

Here is the track list for “Songbird”:

“Rainy Day Blues”
“Songbird”
“Blue Hotel”
“Back to Earth”
“Stella Blue”
“Hallelujah”
“$1000 Wedding”
‘We Don’t Run”
“Yours Love”
“Sad Songs & Waltzes”
“Amazing Grace”

ZZ Top has been named the recipient of a lifetime achievement honor from a concert industry trade group. The International Entertainment Buyer’s Association (IEBA) will give ZZ Top the Living Legend Award at the organization’s annual conference in Nashville in October.

From Pitchfork -Remember January, when the weather was cold and Jenny Lewis brought the country rockin’ heat with the Watson Twins on her solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat? Even if you forgot, Lewis and the Watsons are back with a reminder in the form of a tour. They’ll begin in Denver at the end of September and cruise east until they hit Washington, DC in the middle of October.

You are where you tour:

09-30 Denver, CO - The Fillmore
10-01 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
10-03 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
10-04 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
10-05 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
10-06 Detroit, MI - St. Andrews
10-07 Toronto, Ontario - Trinity St. Paul Church
10-08 Buffalo, NY - Center for the Arts
10-09 Boston, MA - Berklee Performance Center
10-10 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
10-12 New York, NY - Town Hall
10-13 New York, NY - Town Hall
10-14 Northampton, MA - Academy of Music
10-15 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Video: Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins: Rise Up With Fists