Sometimes you just want to stretch out after a long days work and have a beer and daydream about simpler times. 24-year-old Canadian crooning cowboy Colter Wall writes and performs songs perfectly suited for such an activity. Now more songs of dusty trails and scenic Canadian locals are on the way when Wall releases his third album late this summer. “Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs” is slated for a August 28th release as the follow-up to his 2018 album “Songs of the Plains.”
Wall rounded up his hard-working touring band — Patrick Lyons (pedal steel, dobro, mandolin), Jake Groves (harmonica), Jason Simpson (bass), and Aaron Goodrich (drums); joined by Emily Gimble on piano and Doug Moreland on fiddle — and recorded and self-produced “Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs” at Adam Odor and David Percefull’s Yellow Dog Studio in Wimberley, Texas.
Ahead of the album’s release, Wall has shared a new song “Western Swing & Waltzes,†a more relatively upbeat offering than his past faire.
“Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs” Track listing:
1. Western Swing & Waltzes
2. I Ride An Old Paint/Leavin’ Cheyenne
3. Big Iron
4. Henry and Sam
5. Diamond Joe
6. High and Mighty
7. Talkin’ Prairie Boy
8. Cowpoke
9. Rocky Mountain Rangers
10. Houlihans at the Holiday Inn
How do you follow up o the biggest album of 1967? If you’re Bobbie Gentry you don’t sit on the impressive laurels born of her best-selling debut “Ode to Billie Joe”, which displaced the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from its 15-week reign at the top of the US Billboard Top LP’s chart. You release ‘The Delta Sweete,’ a concept album based on life in contemporary Deep South.
Released in February 1968, barely six months after Gentry’s debut LP, ‘The Delta Sweete’ may not have contained anything as career-defining as the song “Ode to Billie Joe,†but it represented a definite step forward in its musical ambition: A multi-faceted album, where each track blurred, dreamlike, into the next, the songs evoked the melancholy adolescent world of Gentry’s childhood in Chickasaw County while further deepening her fascination with loss, illusion and the often comic absurdity of the conventions of everyday life. Even the album’s name was pure Gentry, the “Sweete†in the title punning on both Gentry’s southern belle good looks (a pretty girl in the South might be referred to as a sweete) and the album’s musical song structure. The artwork also poetically evoked the music it contained, featuring a double exposure of a contemplative black and white image of Gentry in tight close-up, superimposed onto a color photo of a run-down shack taken on her grandparents’ farm where she grew up.
On July 31, Capitol/UMe will release an expanded edition of The ‘Delta Sweete’ on 2CD and deluxe 2LP vinyl. The expanded CD edition features a new stereo mix of the album (sourced directly from the original four-track and eight-track tapes) by Andrew Batt, the GRAMMY®-nominated producer/compiler behind The Girl From Chickasaw County, alongside the original mono mix making its debut on CD. There are a total of 10 bonus tracks to treasure, including a previously unreleased original demo, “The Way I Do,†and a special instrumental version of “Okolona River Bottom Band†featuring the great Shorty Rogers on bass trumpet. The deluxe vinyl is the first official repress of the album since 1972 and features the new stereo mix on LP1 and the 10 bonus tracks on LP2.
Listen to the unreleased “The Way I Do†below,
Austin, Texas, the self-professed “lLive Music Capital of the World” has announced “A Night For Austin,†a television and streaming event to raise money for the community of Austin in reaction to the closures and loss due to COVID-19 shutdowns. Produced by Luck Productions. “A Night For Austin†is the brainchild of Grammy legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the two hour, commercial-free telethon-style broadcast will start at 8 pm Central on June 10th at anightforaustin.com and twitch.tv/luckreunion. The program will also air locally on CBS Austin (KEYE). A Night For Austin will be powered by Brightcove, the world’s leading video technology platform.
“The coronavirus has completely upended live music in Austin, which is why we must come together to support the industry that makes our city special. Austin Community Foundation is honored to work with Paul Simon to bring much-needed relief to those who rely on the music scene for their livelihood. The funds raised through A Night For Austin will go to nonprofit organizations equipped to help musicians, producers, venue owners, and others persevere through these difficult times,†said Mike Nellis, CEO of Austin Community Foundation.
Sturgill Simpson announced a free livestream concert in conjunction with nugs.tv that will take place fro an audience-less Ryman Auditorium inNashville. The show will take place this Friday, June 5 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Simpson will be “playing with a host of friends and musicians†at the famed venue including fiddler Stuart Duncan, bassist Mike Bub, mandolinist Sierra Hull, banjo player Scott Vestal, guitarists Tim O’Brien and Mark Howard and drummer Miles Miller. While livestream will be free, viewers are asked to donate to one of three charities picked by Sturgill. Those charities are the Special Forces Foundation, The Equity Alliance and Musicares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Neo-trad Texas troubadour Charley Crockett just gave us another reason to look forward to summer. He’s just announced his next studio album, “Welcome To Hard Times,” will be released July 31st on Thirty Tigers.
“Welcome To Hard Times” is produced by Mark Neill (The Black Keys, Old 97s) with songwriting contributions from Pat McLaughlin (Steve Wariner, Tanya Tucker, Delbert McClinton) and Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), “Welcome To Hard Times” is described as a “genre-bending mix of classic country, psychedelic spaghetti western and rhythm & blues. It may draw on heritage sounds, but this aptly-named collection perfectly fits these troubled times.”
Crockett’s vision for the record seems fatalistic if hopeful, “This record is for the folks who feel like everything’s fixed. If you think you’re playing a rigged game, you’re right. If it seems like all the cards are marked in advance, they are. But you still gotta roll the dice, even when you know they’re loaded.“
Crockett released the album title track, and it’s accompanying video, co-directed by Crockett and Bobby Cochran, which premiered today with American Songwriter Magazine.(watch below) Shot on location in the Sierra Nevadas, it will feature as part of a series of videos Crockett is shooting and directing over the next month, where he will play the same character walking alone through isolated landscapes in the American wilderness. Discussing the video concept, Crockett stated, “Whether it’s out of admiration or fear, the whole world contemplates what the west means. When folks ask me what I’m really after, I guess that’s it. Just to drift through it all my days. I’m making films that visually represent this land just as my music describes it in sound.â€
Crockett is no stranger to hard times. In early January 2019, while at a routine doctor’s checkup. Crockett was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a congenital heart condition, as well as Aortic Valve disease, and he had to immediately undergo life-saving heart surgery. Crockett believes that this experience inspired him to make the record that he truly wanted.
Crockett stated, “I look at that scar and all I can think about is the limited amount of time I’ve got left, I wanted to make an album that would try to reclaim the conversation about country music.†Crockett added, “My entering country music has been controversial, to say the least but I believe country fans have more eclectic tastes than they are given credit for. My country music is inspired by what I played in the subway car so I could eat, in the French Quarter in ragtag bands. I sat in pastures on farms across this country putting it all together into my own sound. I don’t like labels but if that ain’t country I don’t know what is.â€
Crockett grew up in poverty and spent time living homeless and busking making his way from New Orleans to the subway platforms of New York City. Crockett also lost his sister to addiction and he is a twice-convicted felon and was falsely implicated in his own brother’s crimes, “I’ve gotten more than my fair share of raw deals in my thirty-six years. But I don’t let hard-luck own me.†Crockett stated, adding, “I’ve been fortunate enough to see things that a person from my background is never meant to see, and that’s worth something. It turns out that a wandering boy can learn a whole lot out there getting in trouble. Especially if he learns from his mistakes. I wouldn’t take anything back that’s happened to me. I’m not the best and I damn sure ain’t the first. But I’m different, and in music, that’s everything.â€
In spite of these challenges, Crockett has remained steadfast and persistent in his music career, releasing a catalog of critically respected self-released albums including “The Valley” and “Lil G.L.’s Blue Bonanza”, which garnered critical acclaim.
Without the support of a major record label deal, Crockett has established himself as a breakthrough independent artist and the master of his own success. Generating over 36 million total streams across his song catalog, growing a grassroots following from his sold-out shows across America and Europe and making debuts at Stagecoach Festival, the Grand Ole Opry, and Newport Folk Festival.
Welcome To Hard Times was recorded in Valdosta, Georgia at Mark Neil’s studio. Mark shared Charley’s vision to make “a dark gothic country record.†Neil stated, “It was a pleasure to have been involved in what I believe to be the best gulf and western country record ever made.†The album was recorded with a studio band consisting of Kullen Fox, Colin Colby, Alexis Sanchez, Mario Valdez, Nathan Fleming, Billy Horton and Mackenzie Rosser.
Welcome To Hard Times tracklist:
Welcome To Hard Times
Run Horse Run
Don’t Cry
Tennessee Special
Fool Somebody Else
Lily My Dear
Wreck Me
Heads You Win
Rainin’ In My Heart
Paint It Blue
Black Jack County Crain
The Man That Time Forgot
The Poplar Tree
On June 11th the John Prine’s family will celebrate the late beloved singer-songwriter’s legacy with the Picture Show a livestream tribute.
Produced by the Prine family and Oh Boy Records, the event will feature “musicians, actors, and friends sharing memories and songs.†The names of those participants, which will stream via Prine’s YouTube and Facebook pages — have, so far, not yet been revealed.
The event will also raise money for several charities including NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) and Alive, whose Grief Center is providing free counseling sessions to anyone in Middle Tennessee who has had a family member die of COVID-19.
With less than 3 weeks until ‘World On The Ground’ is released Sarah Jarosz has been busy on her social platforms offering fans 3 songs from the album and some media interviews including her tips on making sourdough bread.
So here’s everything I know about the new release from Sarah Jarosz.
The Title:
Sarah Jarosz’s new album is titled “World On The Ground.” It’s her first new album in four years.
Record Label:
Jarosz’s new album is on Rounder Records. This is her first release for the label.
Producer:
Jarosz worked with John Leventhal (Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello,) and the album was recorded in his Manhattan home studio. Jarosz credits Leventhal with helping inspire her new songwriting direction toward more storytelling.
The Album Cover: Sarah Jarosz – “World On The Ground”
Released Songs:
Jarosz has released three songs in the runup to the “World On The Ground” release. “Johnny,” “Orange and Blue,” and “Maggie” (hear them below.)
The Songs
“World On The Ground” will contain 10 songs. The songs released so far, and in as covered in interviews, take on more of a protagonist narrative form, Of the song “Maggie” Jarosz recalls it coming to her soon after attending her 10-year high school reunion in Wimberley, Texas,
“It’s is the only one that’s actually based on a real friend I’ve lost touch with…” Jarosz explains. “I was probably complaining about never being in one place, but she said, ‘That’s all I want.’ So the song is about her, but it’s also about the greater thing: it’s about having compassion for someone who doesn’t have the means to get out of their circumstances but still has the dreams.”
World On The Ground Tracklist:
Eve
Pay It No Mind
Hometown
Johnny
Orange and Blue
I’ll Be Gone
Maggie
What Do I Do
Empty Square
Little Satchel
It is an unfortunate and unforeseen turn of events that one of the most anticipated albums of the year would be released during a worldwide pandemic that has put the entire music industry on its heels.
B.J. Barham, principal songwriter, frontman and the last original member of North Carolina’s American Aquarium,
has been tilling the thematic fields of adversity and resilience over the band’s 15-year existence. Historical hardships of beleaguered farmers at the mercy of king tobacco, disappearing jobs, and a flood of opioids used to chemically salve the indignity. Demons of doubt, drink and destruction have yielded a bitter fruit who’s popularity with fans proves a trope of country music. Misery loves company.
But for many (most?) of the fans, this has been misery by proxy. But no more.
We now find ourselves in strange, troubled, and tribal times. Politicians exploit our fears and confusion for personal agendas, the media baits us to rage click-and-shares in a culturally corrosive model that, while momentarily lucrative, undermines the very foundation of a free press. Then there’s big tech holding the puppet stings of both.
In all this ‘Lamentations’ is delivered. The quasi-title track opener “Me + Mine (Lamentations)” is a bleak recap of Barham’s aforementioned themes. Had times, harder people, and the hollow futility of looking to God or the American Dream for remedy.
There is a momentary ray of hope in the blue-collar romance of “Before the Dogwood Blooms” and the boot-stomping bootstrapped “The Luckier You Get” celebrating self-reliance and grit resulting in a better day.
But the clouds return on “Six Years Come September” with its pedal-steel yearn telling of a family tragedy. “The Day I Learned to Lie to You” is a piano-led lament of regret that marches toward a horn and organ swell like
a Crescent City funeral.
Unfortunately, all that populist goodwill get’s pissed away with one song. “A Better South,” the most politically charged track on the album takes aim at the very same people the other cuts other songs empathize with by rendering then into one-dimensional caricatures.
“Down here we’re still fighting for all the wrong reasons
Old men still defend these monuments to treason
To the right side of history, we’re always late
Still arguing the difference between heritage and hate”
Where the earlier songs set up a context why a proud people being stripped of their dignity might reflexively cling to heritage as a weapon against cultural elimination, “A Better South” ditches all that goodwill and takes up an adolescent’s “okay boomer” argument.
“I’m sick and tired of listening to Daddy’s generation
The byproduct of war and segregation
Still thinking they can tell us of what to do
Who can live where and who can love who”
Sure it’s not easy to plumb the depths of humanity and tell it in a song, but Barham has shown on many occasions that he could be just the man to do it. Instead, he gets caught in what Patterson Hood coined as “The Southern Thing,†the existential friction of confronting the past and excusing or even justifying the darker elements by wholesale that an, in this case, surrender to the contemporary mobs that would be just fine erasing the Mason-Dixon blemish as longs the gourmet BBQ trucks stay open.
Gillian Welch debuts the song “Happy Mother’s Day†in celebration of the holiday. This release is on Acony Records, the independent record label she and partner David Rawlings founded in 2001, and comes from a newly rediscovered cache of demos and home recordings from the early 2000s. “We can’t always be with the ones we love, but that can’t stop us from saying ‘I love you,’†Gillian says. “I wrote this song one May when I was far away and couldn’t be with my mom on Mother’s Day. Then I called and sang it into her answering machine when I knew everybody’d be sitting down to eat.
Here is the original home demo for the song, recorded on a portable reel to reel.â€
Today the honorable Texas Yoda turns 87. This is no small feat for anyone let alone a musician that has spent most of his working life on the road. In fact, he’s so indelibly tied to life on the road that one of his best known and most popular songs tells the tales of those asphalt escapades.
When the unthinkable (by most of us) happened and COVID-19 resulted in a nationwide lockdown impacting small businesses, in general, and specifically, the music industry – musicians, venues, and associated staff, for the first time in recent memory (not involving illness) Willie was off the road.
This worried me. COVID-19 has been documented a higher mortality rate in older folks, especially those with pre-existing conditions. Add to that being denied the opportunity to indulge in a profession you love (touring), and the passing of John Prine (and diagnosis of many others) and my worried mind goes to Willie.
Seeing Willie and his son Lukas MCing the recent 4/20 showcase brought me a lot of relief. Aside from some of the usual characteristics you’d expect of a Willie 87 year-old man he appeared happy and engaged as the artists lined up to sing his praises as well as some of their very fine tunes.
One of those artists was Nathaniel Ratelif who did a wonderful solo acoustic version of a new song created just for the occasion “Willie’s Birthday Song.â€
Now the cut has been formally released and it sounds even better. Done in a time signature that will be familiar to any Willie fan. The video was shot in isolation, the video features performances and as it moves along stars move in and out o feature impressive array support from of long-time of Willie’s family sister Bobbie Nelson on piano, and famed harmonica player Mickey Raphael to some of the next generation Lukas and Micah Nelson, Matthew Logan Vasquez, Nikki Lane, and Courtney Marie Andrews
Rateliff finished the song on March 12th when he arrived home in Denver after postponing the And It’s Still Alright tour. Following social distancing guidelines, Rateliff assembled a talented group of family and friends for the song who filmed their performances for the Rett Rogers.
The song was clearly one done out of love and appreciation from all those involved. It ends joyously with a snippet of Willie being served a chocolate birthday cake and grinning from ear-to-ear.
“Willie’s Birthday Song†will appear on the B-side of a limited edition 7†that will be released this summer exclusively at online merch shop. The A-side will be a duet by Rateliff and Willie, which will at that time be available digitally. Proceeds will support Farm Aid, whose mission is to keep family farmers on their land, and StrongHearts Native Helpline, which confronts issues of domestic violence in the Native American community.
