Twang Nation – The Best In Americana Music
Americana & Roots Music & Culture
Margo Price performs a beautiful rendition of her hard luck lament “Hands Of Time.” Check the wonderful performance below with Ms. Price and her cracker-jack band completee with string section. The vintage mic is also a fine touch.
“Hands Of Time” is from Margo Price’s new album ‘Midwest Farmers Daughter.’
No one should be surprised by Sturgill Simpson moody ode to Nirvana. Similar to his take on the 80s pop band cut “When In Rome’s ‘The Promise’ off ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music” Simpson turns the Grunge master’s ode to artistic misunderstanding into something wholly his own while giving due respect to the original.
There’s much here to divide critics, like your truly. “Sugar Daddy,” is title track for HBO’s ‘Vinyl’ and the crunchy first cut released “Brace for Impact (Live a Little)” from the upcoming “A Sailor’s Guide To Earth’ (April 15th) seems like pedestrian rock band fodder in relation to his honky-tonk mastery.
But there’s something fully realized about his cover of “In Bloom.†True to it’s predecessor’s aesthetic it’s stripped down to the essence letting his signature baritone hang the lyrics on the bones of the familiar melody. There’s a shade of twang in the cry of the pedal steel and features a Motown horn section that elevates the familiar cut into into something etherial. As a fan of Sturgill Simpson and the psychologically dark imagery of illustrator/director Matt Mahurin the video is a special treat.
Of Nirvana’s pivotal Grunge masterpiece Simpson says “I remember in seventh or eighth grade, when that album dropped, it was like a bomb went off in my bedroom. For me, that song has always summed up what it means to be a teenager, and I think it tells a young boy that he can be sensitive and compassionate—he doesn’t have to be tough or cold to be a man. So I wanted to make a very beautiful and pure homage to Kurt.â€
What more could you expect from an ‘outlaw’ than someone not willing to follow the conventional career path?
“In Bloom†for his highly-anticipated forthcoming album, ‘A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.’
Americana and country music aren’t know for providing the world with the the lightest subjects in the music universe (Roger Miller and Todd Snider excluded). The Late Show With Stephen Colbert has underlined this truth by creating this fantastic infomercial with “alt.country troubadour” Jason Isbell, you know, from “music.”
Its a send up of common roots topes of “break-ups, addiction, fatal diseases” as Isbell, who’s currently experiencing one of the happiest periods of his like with career success, a happy marriage and a new baby, pitches “The Saddest Song Ever†— a list song of country clichés like “unemployment, the troops, reliable trucks done gone breakin’ down” and more tears-in-your-beer favorites.
But wait! That’s not all! “My new 180-minute, four-chord song also covers new cartoonishly tragic down-home scenarios that my fellow singer-songwriters are much too cowardly to tackle. Covering universal topics like “ailing family dogs†to “dying family dogs†to “a tragic cannon accident” to “Frankenstein attacks a preschool.†It gets worse as as Isbell informs us that the song is “available on triple-cassette and Tidal, the two saddest music formats known to mankind.â€
The skit was most likely filmed when Isbell was the musical guest on the show a few weeks back.
Check out the clip below and have a laugh. And for any Music City A&R people that wonder by, yes this song is a joke and not a Blake Shelton pitch.
Record Store Day, the annual celebration of limited runs of the antiquated data storage device known as vinyl and once the scene of hipsters when it started in 2007, has helped fuel a surprising resurgence in sales and pushing the remaining pressing plant capacity to the hilt. As is tradition the event will be taking place on the third Saturday in April. For 2016 that means Saturday, April 16th.
At a time when music sales continue a decaded long dizzying slide vinyl sales not only rivaled CD sales, revenues have surpassed streaming services like Spotify and Pandora.
As vinyl grows in popularity there’s is pressure on the remaining vinyl manufacturers, who like us all were caught off-guard by the resurgence. The demand for vinyl is partially due to its described ‘warmer’ sound (plus cooler gatefold covers!) But the real drive behind Record Store Day is uniqueness and scarcity of offerings. Many releases come on colored vinyl or as picture discs and many of the releases are produced in very limited runs, some totaling no more than a few hundred total.
This stands in direct contrast to digital music’s hemogeny of sound and structure. an MP3 might be convenient, but it’s never scarce or unique.
Check out the Americana and roots selections below and take a look at the full list. Get to your favorite indy record early on April 16th (I’ll be at Good Records in Dallas) and share those great finds with me on Instagram and Twitter.
Blitzen Trapper – Field Rexx
Format: LP
More Info: A classic DIY release, Field Rexx was made in the sweltering summer of 2004 with no budget amidst the hiss of flies and tape. “Recorded,†according to the liner notes, “at the carny shack, fer shook n timsel on Duke’s shoot-o-matic for tisks & soda & that ol’ broke 4-track that 3-fingred mike poured Old English on and lit on fire,†Rexx’s warped eclectic pop Americana proves that great songs and performances can transcend squalor and bad album art. Features archival material of the original Trapper, James Earley, performing snippets of traditional hillbilly tunes. Field Rexx is Blitzen Trapper’s self-released sophomore album originally released in 2005. It was remastered at the tail end of 2015 and is available on Record Store Day for the first time on vinyl. A free download code including 3 previously unreleased bonus tracks is included.
Brandi Carlile – ‘Live At KCRW ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’
Format: 12″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: Brandi Carlile – Live At KCRW ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’: Brandi Carlile is a long time favorite of record store owners and she is one of the most celebrated names in modern alternative country/folk rock.This very special Record Store Day Exclusive release features six session tracks recorded live at KCRW as part of their “Morning Becomes Eclectic†sessions and includes the smash radio hits “The Eye†and “Wherever Is Your Heart†on White Colored 12 inch vinyl. Limited to 2500 copies.
Johnny Cash – ‘All Aboard the Blue Train with Johnny Cash’
Format: 12″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: All Aboard the Blue Train with Johnny Cash was originally released on Sun Records in 1962. The album features prime selections of the Man In Black’s recordings between 1955 and 1958, including classic songs “Hey Porter” and “Folsom Prison Blues”. Previously out of press, it’s coming back on appropriate blue vinyl for Record Store Day 2016.
Brandy Clark – “”Girl Next Door”/”Homecoming Queen”
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: Side A features Clark’s new hit single “Girl Next Door.” Side B features the track “Homecoming Queen,” plus the same song covered by Sheryl Crow. Pressed on random mixed blue, yellow and red vinyl.
Bob Dylan – “Melancholy Mood”
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: This limited edition 7†vinyl EP was originally created for Bob Dylan’s recent Japanese tour. We were able to secure a limited quantity for Record Store Day. The EP includes 4 songs from Bob Dylan’s upcoming album, Fallen Angels, pressed on 7†red vinyl.
Alejandro Escovedo – ‘Gravity’ and ‘Thirteen Years’
Format: 2 x LP
More Info: Austin TX’s Watermelon Records was founded in 1989 and released nearly 100 records in its short life. Its catalog lay dormant until 2010 when New West Records picked it up and chose Record Store Day 2016 to relaunch Watermelon Records with two beautiful remastered classic from Alejandro Escovedo. Gravity is a 2LP set pressed on 180g vinyl and packaed in a one of a kind die-cut linen jacket along with a foldable insert and download card.
Jay Farrar – Sebastopol/thirdshiftgrottoslack
Format: 2 x LP
More Info: For Record Store Day 2016, Jay Farrar’s (Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo) Sebastopol is available for the first time on vinyl. This very limited, hand-numbered release comes on white vinyl featuring Gillian Welch and members of the Flaming Lips and Superchunk. The double LP also features the 5-track EP never before released on vinyl, thirdshiftgrottoslack.
Emmylou Harris – ‘Wrecking Ball’
Format: 3 x 12″ Vinyl
More Info: The long awaited audiophile-quality vinyl reissue of Emmylou Harris’ 1995 Grammy winning masterpiece Wrecking Ball, produced by Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson) and featuring appearances by Brian Blade, Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, among others. Includes original album sequence as well as outtakes and alternate versions from the original recording sessions. This Record Store Day release features three 180 gram LPs remastered with bonus tracks, and 4 page lyric insert. Limited to 5,000 copies.
Johnny Cash – ‘The Best of The Johnny Cash Show’
Format: 12″ LP
More Info: From the summer of 1969 to the final show in march of 1971 (58 episodes in all), The Johnny Cash TV Show not only exposed an American audience to an eclectic array of musical talent, but also helped establish Johnny Cash as a true artist, humanitarian, and a larger-than-life legend. The 16 performances contained on this new Best-Of LP, made especially for Record Store Day, and for the first time on vinyl, showcase the spectrum of incredible performers that Johnny hand-picked to be on his show, many for their first network appearance. So, “come along and ride this train” – the train that Cash envisioned for us all – every week on The Johnny Cash TV Show, and now, for generations to come. Limited to 5,000 copies.
Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear – ‘Live At Grimey’s‘
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: This Record Store Day six track EP was recorded live at Grimey’s in Nashville, Tennessee by one of our favorite new artists on the music scene, in June 2015 as part of the celebration of Americana Music Month. Limited to 1500 copies.
Jason Molina – ‘The Townes Van Zandt Covers‘
Format: 7″ Vinyl
More Info: At a Songs:Ohia show in the early ’00s, Jason Molina said to the artist William Schaff that he would love to see himself depicted as one of Schaff’s signature, skull-headed creatures. The two struck up a pen-pal friendship and Schaff sent Jason his picture. In return, he asked for a recording of the Townes Van Zandt covers Jason had performed that night. The pair of Van Zandt covers included here, recorded at Molina’s home on the north side of Chicago, symbolize not only the creative turn Molina’s songwriting had taken (seen in his forthcoming Magnolia Electric Co. release) from sparse and jagged indie rock to rootsy folk rock, but also a sonic bond between two friends who loved each other’s work very deeply. After learning of Molina’s death in 2013, Schaff spent days pouring over his lengthy correspondence with his friend, with Molina’s oeuvre on repeat. He created the painting that graces the cover of this release in the process: Apropos of everything, a skull-headed creature in flight. This special 7″ release is limited to 3500 copies worldwide.
Mumford & Sons + Baaba Maal – “There Will Be Time”
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: Mumford & Sons’ RSC exclusive 7″ single features a brand new song called “There Will Be Time” (previously only available in South Africa). The track features Baaba Maal, and was produced alongside Johan Hugo from The Very Best. Limited to 6000 copies.
Graham Nash – ‘This Path Tonight’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: A special version of the new album from legendary musician Graham Nash. Includes a bonus 7″ with the classic tracks “Our House” and “Teach Your Children”
Elvis Presley – ‘I’m Leaving’: Elvis Folk- Country’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: The very best of Elvis Folk-Country 1966-1973. This special Record Store Day release includes masters from Elvis’ sessions at RCA Victor’s Studio B in Nashville in May 1971, a period in which several folk writers’ material surfaced spontaneously amid gospel and holiday recordings, plus others with similar provenance: from Dylan¹s “Tomorrow Is A Long Time†in 1966, to then-contemporary pop-folk such as “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues†in 1973, this is Elvis in an introspective mood, masterfully creating definitive versions of iconic compositions that resonated with him for his friends in the studio – and for us. Limited to 5,000 copies.
John Renbourn – ‘The Attic Tapes’
Format: 2 x LP
More Info: Lovingly mastered from old tapes found in a friend’s attic, this is a vintage collection of previously unreleased rarities and early works by one of the guitar’s truly great innovators. The Record Store Day edition features five vinyl-only tracks and sleeve notes written by John shortly before his death in March 2015.
The Rough Guide To Unsung Heroes of Country Blues
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: This album brings to the fore classic early blues masterpieces that deserve to be heard and allows the limelight to fall on some of the lesser-known country blues masters. Essential listening for any blues connoisseur, this is an adventure into some of the more hidden recesses of country blues. The Rough Guide To Unsung Heroes of Country Blues is released on vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day 2016. Includes a download card.
Billy Joe Shaver- “Wacko From Waco”/”When Fallen Angels Fly”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
More Info: This Record Store Day 7″ features two songs – “When Fallen Angels Fly,” an unreleased version of his classic hymn, a tune from the Robert Duvall film, “Wild Horses.” “Wacko From Waco” is Shaver’s account of a 2007 shooting in a bar outside his hometown of Waco. Both tracks are pressed on vinyl for the first time. Limited to 1700 copies.
Shawn Colvin & Steve Earle – “Wake Up Little Susie” / “Baby’s In Black”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
More Info: The world-class singer- songwriters Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle make their duet debut with a delightful Record Store Day 7″ splash: spirited re-castings of the Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Baby’s in Black” by the Beatles. They’ll be singing together again on their first duet project, a full length of co-written originals later this summer.
Son Volt – ‘Live At The Bottom Line’
Format: 2 x colored LP
More Info: This Record Store Day two LP set features the live content from the Trace deluxe CD. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl, limited to 3500 copies.
Allen Toussaint – ‘Live in Philadelphia 1975’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: Record Store Day honors the passing of one of America’s greatest musicians, performers and artists with an offering of Rhino’s 2003 Handmade title. This live album features bonus material and liner notes by Billy Vera. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl, it is limited to 5000 copies.
Lucinda Williams – ‘Just A Little More Faith And Grace’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: Lucinda celebrates Record Store Day by offering exclusive remixes from her new THE GHOSTS OF HIGHWAY 20 album, including Faith and Grace in it’s truest form, and as it was intended, a full 18 minutes long! Limited to 3000 copies.
Blaze Foley – Duct Tape Messiah (Original Soundtrack)
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: This Record Store Day release is limited to 1000 copies pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl, and includes full documentary film on DVD. This Record Store Day Elite Eecords releases Duct Tape Messiah by exceptional Texan Folk artist Blaze Foley for the first time ever on vinyl. The soundtrack to the 2011 documentary film about the turbulent life of Townes Van Zandt’s companion and close friend literally spans Blaze’s whole musical life. It includes rare archival tracks never released on vinyl before as well as tracks from posthumously released Blaze albums. The limited RSD edition comes with a DVD including the full documentary film. The film beautifully draws the picture of Blaze’s life and times and his extraordinary character. Born in Arkansas, Foley was shot to death way before his time, under circumstances still to be fully clarified. As a homeless, he traveled the streets of the Texan cities to share his music with people in nightclubs and bars. Foley always stood up for the weak, which eventually cost his life. Finally, after a life of rejections and blown opportunities, his work is now gaining recognition. In 2008 his biography Living In The Woods In A Tree was published, followed by the acclaimed documentary about Foley!s underdog life: Duct Tape Messiah. The film’s soundtrack comprises of 14 carefully selected songs from all stations in Blaze’s life and gives an insight into his straight and genuine songwriting. Blaze!s musical heritage was close to being forgotten and much material used on the record are chance discoveries from record shops and old master tapes.
Left Lane Cruiser- ‘Beck In Black’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: Retrospective of early Left Lane Cruiser material with drummer Brenn Beck, re-mastered and with three previously unreleased tracks (“Chicken”, “Bloodhound” and “Maybe”). Limited edition of 1000 on metalic gold vinyl for Record Store Day.
Charlie Parr – ‘I Ain’t Dead Yet’
Format: 10″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: A brand new 5 song 10†EP pressed on Green Vinyl. Minnesotan Country Blues guitarist Charlie Parr has been building an audience among roots music aficionados for over a decade. I Ain’t Dead Yet features four new original tunes and Charlie’s take on the traditional tune, Old Dog Blues. All songs previously unreleased!
Heartworn Highways – 40th Anniversary Edition Box Set
Format: Vinyl Box Set
More Info: This Record Store Day Exclusive release is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide and consists of a two LP set pressed on whiskey colored wax and much more in a hand crafted custom wood box by Boles Studio, Bronx, NY including an LP-sized 80-page book with exhaustive 20,000 word essay by Sam Sweet interviewing artists, documentary creators and crew, over 100 unseen photos taken during the making of the film, a cast of characters drawn by legendary Austin illustrator Kerry Awn, a reproduction of the original film poster (24â€x36â€), a region free DVD of the original 1976 film with restored image and sound plus 45 mins of bonus features, including performances by Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and others, and download card for full soundtrack.
The Weepies – ‘Say I Am You’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this release, a Record Store Day exclusive edition has been put together with orange vinyl, new liner notes, exclusive new photos and a poster of album cover, autographed by the band.
Billy Don Burns- A Night in Room 8
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: Billy Don Burns is considered a friend to the greats of country music and has collaborated with artists such as Harlan Howard, Willie Nelson, Wanda Jackson, Connie Smith and others. A Night in Room 8 was recorded at the Joshua Tree Inn hotel room where Gram Parsons was found dead in 1973. Recorded on a Tascam Portastudio (the same model on which Bruce Springsteen recorded Nebraska). This is an eerie yet extremely vulnerable album of new, brilliant material from such a relic of country music
Sturgill Simpson , the reluctant outlaw country music hero appears to be moving further and further way from that designation. Simpson took to Apple Music’s Beats 1 with host Zane Lowe to preview his brutally gritty new single “Brace for Impact,†The singer/songwriter also let it be known his new album’s title, ‘A Sailor’s Guide To Earth.’
Simpson tells Lowe he made A Sailor’s Guide to Earth for his son, and it represents the next steps in his own personal musical evolution.
Never afraid to take a risk Simpson says “If you take a chance and try to progress a little bit, which for me is what it’s all about — I already made Metamodern, so I didn’t want to make another psychedelic country record,” he says. “But as soon as I open my mouth, it’s always going to be a country record. You’re always a little nervous because people might expect more of the same or they might not be as willing to take the journey with you, but I think any of the true fans probably wouldn’t expect anything less.”
On March 2, Simpson shared on social media an intriguing illustration that may well be the cover his upcoming album. Nope, actual cover updated:
A SAILOR’S GUIDE TO EARTH TRACK-LISTING:
1. Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)
2. Breakers Roar
3. Keep It Between The Lines
4. Sea Stories
5. In Bloom
6. Brace For Impact (Live A Little)
7. All Around You
8. Oh Sarah
9. Call To Arms
“Brace for Impact,†moved more the the garage rock direction of “Sugar Daddy,” Simpson’s theme for HBO’s Vinyl, rather that the Bakersfield sound on peyote of Metamodern. Funked up splashes of Hammond organ, Simpson delivers a carpe diem message of kindness with swelling guitars and synth bass crashing around.
Still no word on a release day. Release date in April 15th.
STURGILL SIMPSON TOUR DATES
May 5—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater
May 6—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater
May 7—Dallas, TX—The Bomb Factory
May 10—Houston, TX—White Oak Music Hall
May 11—Oklahoma City, OK—Criterion Theater
May 16—Lexington, KY—Lexington Opera House
May 17—Lexington, KY— Lexington Opera House
May 18—Chattanooga, TN—Tivoli Theater
May 20—Knoxville, TN—Tennessee Theater
May 21—Indianapolis, IN—Egyptian Room – Old National Centre
May 22—Louisville, KY—Louisville Palace
June 2—Royal Oak, MI—Royal Oak Theatre
June 3—Chicago, IL—Riviera Theatre
June 4—Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theater
June 5—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue
Listen to the song and Simpson’s interview with Lowe below.
Berklee College of Music will present American Master Awards to legendary record producer, songwriter and recording artist T Bone Burnett, as well as the acclaimed roots duo of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on a special Tuesday night edition of Music City Roots, the variety weekly music broadcast from the Factory in Franklin, TN. The show, set for March 15, 2016, will feature performances by outstanding all-star Berklee alums Sierra Hull (’11), Liz Longley (’10) and Maureen Murphy (’99). Berklee alumni Welch and Rawlings will perform as well, closing the show following presentation of the awards.
Berklee at Music City Roots, Live at the Factory is open to the public and tickets will be available at musiccityroots.com. The show will air on participating public radio affiliates around the country on a future date.
The American Master Award is presented by Berklee to industry leaders whose openness, generosity and deep commitment to music education have made a positive impact on the lives of young musicians, providing them opportunities to grow as artists and leaders. Past recipients of the award include Grand Ole Opry Manager Pete Fisher, drummer Eddie Bayers and recording executive Jim Ed Norman.
“We’ve enjoyed the music of quite a few Berklee graduates and students on Music City Roots over the years, and we know what an important role the college has played in supporting roots and Americana artists to develop fresh and original takes on tradition, so this special show means a lot to us,†says the show’s journalist and artist interviewing co-host Craig Havighurst.
Gillian Welch, along with her singing, guitar playing partner David Rawlings, both Berklee class of 1992, made an immediate impact on American music with the release of their 1996 album Revival. Since then, they’ve released a string of acclaimed albums that update the atmosphere of Appalachian folk music and participated in key milestones of Americana, including the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack of 2001. T Bone Burnett produced Welch and Rawlings’ first album and the O Brother soundtrack, plus dozens of other recordings by artists as varied as Los Lobos, Ralph Stanley, Elton John and Diana Krall. He has been a member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, a Grammy-nominated recording artist and an enabler of numerous careers.
The March 15 show and award ceremony coincides with and celebrates Berklee’s Nashville trip, now an honored annual tradition. For 31 years, a group of Berklee students has spent its spring break in Nashville, getting deep music industry insight through clinics and workshops with accomplished alumni artists, songwriters, producers and engineers. The trip, which began with five students, has grown to more than 100 students per year and is led by Pat Pattison, professor of songwriting, and Stephen Webber, program director for the Music Production, Technology and Innovation Program at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain. More than 3,000 students have attended the program since its inception. Longley and Hull participated in the Nashville trip as Berklee students. Welch and Rawlings first connected and started playing together as a result of the trip.
“This feels like a homecoming and a new beginning at the same time,†said Berklee President Roger Brown. “We’re thrilled to recognize T Bone, Gillian and David for their immeasurable contributions to music here in Nashville where so many Berklee alumni have become integral to the music community, and to forge a partnership with Music City Roots, a show that is so important to the tradition of live radio.â€
The show will be webcast free via Livestream at 7:00 p.m. central at www.musiccityroots.com.
“The Reddest Rose†is a dobro-dusted cut that has Caudle’s country heroes’ influences branded all over it. A little Gram Parsons melancholy, a shade Merle Haggard roughness with an ear for melody reminiscent of Lyle Lovett.
There’s a river I see that runs beside me, and I long to feel it’s water start to cool. Seems like what I run to the quickest, only leaves me blue.” Caudle sings in his road weary baritone in a away you know there’s truth in it.
“The Reddest Rose†is from the album ‘Carolina Ghost’, out Feb. 26 on This Is American Music label. Pre-order here.
Caudle says of ‘Carolina Ghost’:
â€This record is all about making life changes and coming home,†says Caudle, who co-produced Carolina Ghost with longtime collaborator Jon Ashley (Avett Brothers, Dawes, Band of Horses). “I kicked booze about a year and a half ago and moved back to North Carolina and fell in love. So it all feels like a new start, really.â€
Upcoming Caleb Caudle Tour Dates
Feb 24 The Cave Chapel Hill, NC
Feb 25 The Garage – Winston-Salem, NC (*Carolina Ghost Release Party*)
Feb 26 Slim’s – Raleigh, NC
Feb 27 The Evening Muse – Charlotte, NC
Mar 02 House Show – Richmond, VA
Mar 03 Club 603 – Baltimore, MD
Mar 04 Rockwood Music Hall – New York, NY
Mar 05 Maybelle’s – Washington, D.C.
Mar 10 Venkman’s – Atlanta, GA
Mar 12 Standard Deluxe – Waverly, AL
Mar 13 Callaghan’s – Mobile, AL
Mar 14 House Show – Baton Rouge, LA
Mar 15 The Mucky Duck – Houston, TX
Mar 20 The Basement – Nashville, TN
Apr 1 Jammin’ Java – Washington, DC
Apr 9 The V club – Huntington, WV (*W.B. Walker’s Old Soul Radio Show: 3 Year Anniversary*)
Grit, heart and soul found it’s way between the sequins and glitter of the 58th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Folks that have been bustin Asa’s for years, and sometimes decades, get recognition (and hopefully a bump in music and ticket sales) and a chance to stand toe-to-toe with ther accomplished msusiaans and remind the sometimes jaded industry audience why music will always tie us into a shared human condition.
Here are some highlights:
After four nominations The SteelDrivers proved the fifth time is the charm. The Nashville-based bluegrass badasses won thier first Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album for their fifth realese ‘The Muscle Shoals Recordings.’
The critically-acclaimed album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart and achieved the highest first-week sales in the band’s history.
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn’s eponymous album picks up the well-deserved Best Folk Album Grammy.
http://youtu.be/WV-Z1cfcVl8
The excellent documentary ‘Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” wins Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media.
Chris Stapleton, Gary Clark Jr., and Bonnie Raitt play steal the show with this BB King tribute.
http://youtu.be/soijapAt6no
Aside from being part of the great tribute Chris Stapleton snagged 2 statues
Best Country Album (for Traveller) and Best Country Solo Performance (for the album’s title track). He shared the spotlight with producer Dave Cobb. He even called Taylor Swift out for “glitter bombing” him.
Jason Isbell made up for the snub of his 2013 ‘Southeastern’ by winning 2 Grasmmys during the event’s pre-telecast. Best Americana Album for ‘Somethng More Than Free’ and Best Americana Roots Song for ’24 Frames.”
Isbell thanked his wife, singer, songwriter Amanda Shires, who provides harmonies on the track; his manager Traci Thomas, his long-time band, the 400 Unit; producer Dave Cobb and those who voted mentioning humbly “It’s a real honor†to accept the award. At the end of his speech, Isbell also thanked Muscle Shoals, Ala., for “teaching me how to play music.â€
Well done sir, no one deserves it more.
Aubrie Sellers makes her television debut in fine fashion. She and her band look like old pros at the Late Night game with a rendition of her album debut’s title song ‘Light of Day’ . The performance gathers like thunderheads in the distance. As Sellers honey-twang warns about caution the music ebbs and builds a feeling of foreboding, then the band breaks hell and, just at the edge, careens back in the groove.
See this fantastic performance below.
“Light Of Day” is available digitally and on vinyl today. Het it here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5-mMs2TyTA
Hayes Carll fans have been waiting 5 long years for a new album. Well, the wait is over!
Over four albums Carll has carried in a Tecas songwriting tradition of heart-on-sleeve and sung with a wry smile also reflected in the works of Guy Clark , Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett and Kelly Willis. His newest release ‘Lovers and Leavers,’ (April 8th through Thirty Tigers) was recorded late last year in Los Angeles with producer Joe Henry, appears to have a darker edge.
From the press release “I’m a singer-songwriter, [and] I think Lovers and Leavers comes closer to reflecting that than any other record I’ve made.â€
“I didn’t have one song that I knew would be a sing along or would make people dance,†Carll reflects. “I felt vulnerable in a way that I hadn’t in a long time. But I got what I wanted — a record with space, nuance, and room to breathe. It felt right for my art. It felt right for my life.
“Lovers and Leavers isn’t funny or raucous,†he continues. “There are very few hoots and almost no hollers. But it’s joyous, and it makes me smile. No, it’s not my Blood on the Tracks, nor is it any kind of opus. It’s my fifth record — a reflection of a specific time and place. It is quiet, like I wanted it to be.â€
Hear the song, “The Love That We Need†below. The song is co-written by Carll, Jack Ingram, and Allison Moorer.
Hayes Carll’s song “Chances Are†is nominated for the “Best Country Song†Grammy. The song is an outstanding cut from Lee Ann Womack’s latest ‘The Way I’m Livin’.
Lovers and Leavers track list:
“Driveâ€
“Sake of the Songâ€
“Good While It Lastedâ€
“You Leave Aloneâ€
“My Friendsâ€
“The Love That We Needâ€
“Love Don’t Let Me Downâ€
“The Magic Kidâ€
“Love Is So Easyâ€
“Jealousâ€