Amazon Studios to Create Merle Haggard Biopic

Sam Rockwell, Merle Haggard
Courtesy of Michael Schwartz; AP

deadline.com reports that Amazon Studios has acquired the rights to create a Merle Haggard biopic. Top of the list to play The Hag s Oscar-winning actor Sam Rockwell (The Green Mile, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Blaze) and that he will do his own singing of Haggard’s perennial standards

Robin Bissell will direct the film and will write the script with Merle’s widow, Theresa Haggard, based on the Haggard memoir Sing Me Back Home. Bissell and Haggard will produce the film jointly.

The film covers Haggard’s subsequent struggle to escape his hard past to become a better man and legendary artist. Ashamed of his past, Haggard hid his ex-con status from all but those closest to him until finally coming clean on Johnny Cash’s TV show in 1969. The story also focuses heavily on Merle’s complicated love affair, which played out on-stage and off, with singer Bonnie Owens – his singing partner and eventual wife.

Once Haggard figured it all out, he became a symbol of the power of rehabilitation: from 1966-1970, Merle had 9 number one hits, and would record 38 number one tunes overall and 71 in the top ten. His biggest hits included Okie From Muskogee, The Fightin’ Side Of Me, Sing Me Back Home, The Fugitive, Workin’ Man Blues, Mama Tried and Today I Started Loving You Again, to name only a few. He won seven CMA awards including Entertainer of The Year in 1970. Haggard in 1972 was pardoned by Governor Ronald Reagan, and astronaut Charlie Duke took his Merle Haggard tape to the moon on Apollo 16.

Sturgill Simpson’s Keeps His Bluegrass Promise This Friday

 Photo via Sturgill Simpson Instagram
Photo via Sturgill Simpson Instagram

In the worst kept secret in current days Sturgill Simpson is set to release his first solo bluegrass album, titled ‘Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions,’ on Friday, October 16th.

The album of 20 reworked songs from his back catalog was recorded at The Butcher Shoppe recording studio in Nashville after the ongoing pandemic skuttled his arena tour with fellow Kentuckian Tyler Childers.
Sturgill’s ace band for the project is fiddler Stuart Duncan, guitarist Tim O’Brien, mandolinist Sierra Hull, drummer Miles Miller, bassist Mike Bub and Scott Vestal and Mark Howard on banjo. David Ferguson produced the album.

The project is Simpson keeping his promise to record an album if fans raised money for Nashville tornado relief, the Special Forces Foundation, the Equity Alliance and MusiCares’ COVID-19 fund.

During his livestream concert at the Ryman Auditorium earlier this year, Simpson confirmed his listeners raised nearly $250,000 in a week.

The LP — which follows Simpson’s 2019 album Sound and Fury — was meant to be a surprise release this coming Thursday before fans caught wind of ‘Cuttin’ Grass’’ early listing on an online streaming site.

Welp,..was hoping to surprise everybody on Thursday but somebody somewhere (Germany) got all excited and just couldn’t hold their horses,” Simpson wrote on Instagram. “These are how these songs were originally written and I decided — after climbing the ropes of country music stardom and completely destroying that career to make a rock ‘n’ roll record — I have great ambitions of a life of gravel lots and Porta Potties. I’m gonna be a bluegrass musician,” Sturgill proclaimed during a livestream originating from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in June featuring bluegrass renditions of his tunes as per The Tennessean.

The cat was let out of the bag by HighResAudio.comb that “got all excited and just couldn’t hold their horses,” per Simpson.

The cover art for the LP (no, really):

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGTGYnCF53t/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 – The Butcher Shoppe Sessions Tracklist
All Around You
All the Pretty Colors
Breakers Roar
I Don’t Mind
I Wonder
Just Let Go
Life Ain’t Fair
A Little Light
Life of Sin
Long White Line
Living the Dream
Old King Coal
Railroad of Sin
Sitting Here Without You
Sometimes Wine
The Storm
Time After All
Turtles All the Way Down
Voices
Water in a Well

Listen Up! Exclusive Feature: Kyle LaLone – ‘Honky Tonk Stage’

Kyle LaLone

Remember the sound of live music in a packed bar? As a fan during these COVID times we get wistful for those moments, but performers experience a deeper longing as well as the joy. And those feelings shine through in the twang-drenched ‘Honky Tonk Stage’ cut by Kyle LaLone.

Of the cut LaLone says – “I have performed, toured, and recorded with dozens of artists of nearly every style in just about every setting you could imagine,” he points out. “From dive bars and clubs across the country to large outdoor festivals in the UK and Canada.” LaLone has toured the US several times, had residencies with different bands in both NYC and Los Angeles and has even toured Alaska. “It’s been a struggle to stay afloat at times but I am proud and grateful to be making a living as a musician.”

Kyle LaLone’s new single ‘Honky Tonk Stage,’ co-written with good friend and fellow country singer-songwriter Elijah Ocean, is a depiction of a weekend night playing a 4 hour bar gig at a honky tonk. Both LaLone and Ocean have spent hundreds of hours performing on various honky tonk stages over the last few years. The song is meant to convey the joy, pride, and hard work put in by working country musicians.

We are proud to feature the wonderful throwback tune ‘Honky Tonk Stage’ below.

Buy now

Written by Kyle LaLone and Elijah Ocean

Kyle LaLone- lead vocals, electric guitar
Elijah Ocean- background vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, drum programming, percussion
Jeremy Long- piano and organ
Dave Bernal- harmonica

Produced, mixed, and mastered by Elijah Ocean
Photo and design by Elijah Ocean

William Elliott Whitmore New Album Coming This Fall

William Elliott Whitmore

Long-time roots-revivalist William Elliott Whitmore is set to release his eighth studio full-length album ‘I’m With You’ on October 16. ‘I’m With You.’ on Bloodshot Records. This will be his first release of original material since 2015’s ‘Radium Death.’

The first single “My Mind Can Be Cruel to Me,” the video is below

Whitmore said of “My Mind Can Be Cruel to Me:”
“The song “My Mind is Cruel to Me” is about perception. Our memories and thoughts can be torturous at times. Mark Twain called it the “devil’s race track”, when a line of thought and worry goes around and around in a circle inside our brains. Is the mind a separate entity from the body? At what point does it feel as though our brains are actually betraying us?”

“Human beings are a complicated animal, and with that comes complicated emotions, fears, and habits. This video is meant to show that. Are the other band members real or not? It’s hard to remember, but I swear they were breathing and talking when we filmed it. The bass player, my friend Wolfina, kept messing up takes. I’m pretty sure I’m recalling that correctly. The guitar player, Patsy Decline, was trying to mimic the pedal steel part on her semi-hollow body electric. She did a great job I thought, really captured the spirit. I’ll never forget the time we had, it’s good to be around friends.”

Sounds like just the song for these socially isolated times.

William Elliott Whitmore

Pre-order on digital, CD, or vinyl LP. Deluxe LP is limited edition opaque green.

“I’m With You” track listing:
Put It to Use
Solar Flare
My Mind Can Be Cruel to Me
MK Ultra Blues
History
Everything We Need
Save Ourselves
I’m Here
Black Iowa Dirt

Americana Music Association Announces Streaming ‘Thriving Roots’ Conference

Thriving Roots

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has rolled the music industry keeping musicians from coming together together to create music and keeping musicians off the road and deriving them of a much-needed revenue source. Many have tackled the technical hurdles to stream performances to connect with fans and collect online tips and perhaps move a t-shirt or a slab of vinyl.

It follows that music festivals would follow much the same path. Americana Music Association’s AmericanaFest as a face-to-face event has been scrapped for their charitable and educational branch, the Americana Music Association Foundation, will hold a ‘Thriving Roots,’ a virtual festival complete with industry-focused panels and live-streamed performances.

Set for September 16th-18th the event will include guest speakers Jackson Browne, Mavis Staples,Brandi Carlile, Yola, Emmylou Harris, Ken Burns, Taj Mahal, Mary Gauthier, Rhiannon Giddens, T Bone Burnett, Rosanne Cash, and Black Pumas. Topics slated to be covered are representation, advocacy and staying true to your art, the healing qualities of music, and the business challenges and decisions faced by a developing artist.

The full agenda for ‘Thriving Roots’ will be announced in late August.

Early bird passes for conference registration are $99 and available now.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Announces Streaming Festival “Let the Music Play On…”

Some of my fondest memories of my 5 years in San Francisco was attending the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass roots music festival. The first weekend in October would roll around and me, my daughter and friends would pack blankets, food and plenty of water and head our to Golden Gate Park to witness some of American’s greatest legends and boldest newcomers perform under the Blue Gum Eucalyptus during a brief Indian Summer. And I could hardly believe the entire event was free! (Thank you, Warren Hellman!)

But times have changed and so must HSB.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is launching its new global and community-driven initiative “Let the Music Play On…” to bring the spirit of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to backyards and living rooms all over the world with a global broadcast taking place the weekend of October 2nd. In compliance with safety concerns and California’s statewide mandate against large public gatherings, the festival will not be taking place in its traditional setting of Golden Gate Park.

The festival, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, was founded by Warren Hellman on ten pillars: community, joy, creativity, collaboration, freedom, peace, love, respect, gratitude, and spirituality. It was Hellman’s gift to the City of San Francisco, offering a free outdoor festival in the historic Golden Gate Park that is a celebration of American roots music.

The October broadcast will feature new performances from the expansive range of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass artists that include first-time performers to legends of American Roots music, along with archival footage from the festival’s past two decades and memories from fans, performers, and staff and priceless gems from the festival’s rich history. The HSB community is what gives the festival life, so fans are encouraged to send their favorite memories via stories, videos, and photos to memories@hardlystrictlybluegrass.org. All contributions are welcome and appreciated, and will be considered for the broadcast in October.

“While we know we can’t replace the feeling of being together physically, the safety of our attendees, artists, volunteers, and staff are our highest priority and our team has been hard at work creating a vibrant broadcast in line with what attendees have come to expect from HSB: community, discovery, and the all-time best in roots music, ” says festival advisor Mick Hellman. “We’re excited to share parts of HSB that aren’t feasible in a festival environment such as screening archival footage, sharing memories, and shining a spotlight on our non-profit partners.”

This year the festival has launched Hardly Strictly Music Relief Fund: Bay Area, a $1.5M charitable initiative to support the local music community during the COVID-19 pandemic. American roots musicians living in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, and Sonoma Counties are invited to apply for one-time, unrestricted support grants up to $2,000. The fund is also open to Bay Area music venues with a track record of presenting and supporting roots music of all kinds. Venues are encouraged to nominate themselves for the grant opportunity. From those nominations, a select number of venues will be invited to submit a formal application for up to $200,000 in grant funding for operating expenses, capacity building, or planning related to reopening, and must include funds dedicated to front-of-house and back-of-house staff.

For more information on the grant opportunities visit hardlystrictlybluegrass.com

Bloodshot Records Artists Rocked By Sale & Accounting Issues

On Monday, July 20th, a form letter was sent out to all artists currently signed to the independent Chicago-based music label Bloodshot Records that the the label is currently up for sale due to ongoing conflict with co-owners Nan Washaw and Rob Miller. This conflict has spilled over into artists and songwriters reimbursement.

Bloodshot artist Jason Hawk Harris posted today on his Facebook page some behind the scenes details:

‘Hey folks. Nan Warshaw is forcing the sale of Bloodshot Records and withholding money owed to artists. Sharing this is my decision in full and I was not prompted to do so by anyone in the Bloodshot camp.

The statement below (scroll down to read the internal statement)h was sent to all current roster artists yesterday by the non-ownership staff at Bloodshot. PLEASE read the letter below for full context before commenting.

I want to be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR and say that my problem is NOT with bloodshot. It is with the other part-owner (Warshaw), holding the company hostage after she was rightfully forced-out for choosing to protect a sexual predator over the artist he preyed on.

Rob and the staff at bloodshot have done nothing but fight for me, tooth and nail, since I signed with them a year and a half ago. I thought hard about sharing this, but ultimately decided I was not okay with Nan not having to face this publicly.

This is the crop reaped from the seeds sown by sexual assault. Take it very seriously, and please hold the right people accountable. And do whatever you can to put a stop to this kind of bullshit in your own industry/workplace.”

Last year Bloodshot Records co-founder Nan Warshaw resigned from her position at the label following allegations of sexual misconduct made Bloodshot recording artist Lydia Loveless against Warshaw’s domestic partner, Mark Panick. Warshaw’s resignation was announced in a statement from the label, which reads, “co-founder Nan Warshaw is resigning from Bloodshot. Remaining co-founder Rob Miller, along with the entire highly dedicated staff, will continue the work of Bloodshot, while ensuring that the core values of the company are consistently represented by all associated w/ the label.”(see tweet)

Bloodshot Records was founded by Rob Miller and Nan Warshaw in 1993 as an “insurgent country” record label catering to the coutry roots loving younger fans that grew up on punk and looked for a fusion of the sounds. Bloodshot was home to many of the genre’s pioneers like Ryan Adams, Neko Case, The Waco Brothers, Scott H. Biram, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, The Old 97’s, The Meat Purveyors, Robbie Fulks and Justin Townes Earle, and currently has on it’s roster Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Jason Hawk Harris, Ruby Boots, The Vandoliers, and others.

Remembering Charlie Daniels – Americana Pioneer

Charlie Daniels

Charlie Daniels singer, songwriter, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, philanthropist and Country Music Hall of Fame member died Monday from hemorrhagic stroke in Nashville. He was 83 years old.

We all know about Daniels’ most famous for Grammy-winning cross-genre hit song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” from the 1979 Charlie Daniels Band album “Million Mile Reflections.” The song became even bigger with its inclusion on the soundtrack for the hit movie ‘Urban Cowboy,’ in which Daniels makes an onscreen appearance with his band playing along with the recorded song during the film’s dance contest scene.

Before making the leap into stardom Daniels was a Music Row session musician playing guitar, bass, mandolin and fiddle as needed for the session. often working for his friend, producer Bob Johnston whom he had befriended after meeting on the Ft. Worth club scene . Several of these Johnston-led sessions were for Bob Dylan albums during 1969 and 1970, most notably playing guitar and bass guitar on on Bob Dylan’s 1969 LP ‘Nashville Skyline’ which Danials told Billboard he almost wan’t included.

“They had built the nucleus of that studio band around him with the other two albums he had done in town, ‘Blonde On Blonde’ and ‘John Wesley Harding.’ But the guitarist they wanted [Wayne Moss] could not make the first session because he was already booked elsewhere. So Bob Johnston called me and got me to fill in for him, and Dylan liked what I was doing. I was getting ready to leave but he didn’t want me to leave and asked me to stick around and I wound up doing two more records with him in ‘Self Portrait’ and ‘New Morning.’ But it was happenstance that I was on those initial sessions for Nashville Skyline.”

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Daniels inclusion in these sessions provided other opportunities outside of Country Music.

Producer Pete Drake convinced Ringo Starr to move his ‘Beaucoups of Blues’ sessions from the U.K. to Nashville by telling Starr that within a week Drake’s musician friends could produce more than an albums worth of material. Perhaps recalling those later Beatles recording sessions Ringo reportedly thought this was an ‘impossible’ feat and might have been swayed by witnessing the quickness of the sessions, which had been common for Nashville Country music sessions for years.

Daniels recalled the sessions as “pretty typical Nashville sessions. You know, three songs in three hours. It was go in, sit down and work. Here’s the songs, here’s the chords, let’s get it done. It was not a Beatles-type leisurely session. It was work.”

Starr, apparently convinced, said of the sessions, “We did the album in two nights. … I was only there three days recording. I’d learn five songs in the morning and I’d go and record five songs that night. It was really good.”

This led to the most unlikely gig in Daniels’ career, playing with Leonard Cohen.

Daniels recalled in his biography ‘Never Look At The Empty Seats.’ “When Bob Johnston brought Leonard Cohen to Nashville to record an album, I have to admit that I knew very little about him and was completely unfamiliar with his music.Leonard was a totally different kind of artist than any I had ever worked with. His music was sensitive and haunting, and the imagery of his lyrics was abstract and poetic, like a Georgia O’Keeffe painting. … When I first heard ‘Bird on the Wire,’ I didn’t know what to think. Here was a truly unique artist, and his songs were so delicate that one out-of-place guitar lick could bend it out of shape. When you worked with Leonard, you had to listen closely and get in sync with what he was trying to convey. You had to interpret it in the same musical frame he was operating in. Sometimes it only called for a well-placed note or two, sparse but meaningful. I know that sounds philosophical and stilted, but so was Leonard’s music. You needed to be in a certain frame of mind, and it was a challenging but satisfying experience.”

Daniels / Leonard

Following the release of the album, ‘Songs From A Room’ (1969), Cohen invited Daniels to join him on tour. “I was asked to be part of the backup band that would be called The Army. It was a different kind of band, mostly acoustical instruments with no drums. We needed to surround Leonard with delicate, genteel sounds. For a bang, slam, redline graduate of thirteen years of honky-tonk and rock and roll, it would be a learning experience.”

Daniels went on to help found the Southern Rock sound that then influenced bands like The Drive-By Truckers and Blackberry Smoke

Though the Americana and roots music community never really warmed up to Daniels, mainly due to his outspoken conservatism and the communities general liberal slant, in 2006 Charlie Daniels received the First Amendment Center / Americana Music Association “Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award” at the 5th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at the Ryman Auditorium ceremony.

Old 97s New Album “Twelfth” Out This Summer

Remember alt.country? The Old 97’s and their legions of fans worldwide haven’t. And those fans will be rewarded when the Dallas’ stalwarts deliver their 12th album, ‘Twelfth,’ on August 21st.

To drive home the title even further the cover features the most famous #12 of them all, the legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach airborne and in fine form.

The band began recording ‘Twelfth’ in Nashville’s Sputnik Sound Studio last spring, just as tornadoes ripped through the city as they watched from their rented condo.

Though The Old 97’s records and live performances are rollicking fun with a debauchery chaser, the new release will reflect singer and principal songwriter Rhett Miller’s newfound sobriety (five years this summer.) Though the topics might be more clear-eyed and focused if the newly releaseD cut ‘Turn Off The TV’ (see the Liam Lynch directed video below) is representative of the rest of the album, it’s still sure to be lots of fun.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9j4UewhtgN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Pre-order’Twelfth’

‘Twelfth’ track list:
– Confessional Boxing
– Diamonds On Neptune
– I Like You Better
– Happy Hour
– Absence (What We’ve Got)
– Turn Off The TV
– This House Got Ghosts
– Why Don’t We Ever Say We’re Sorry
– Belmont Hotel
– Bottle Rocket Baby
– Our Year
– The Dropouts

“A Night For Austin” Fundraiser Featuring Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett and More

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.

Performances from Simon, Nelson, James Taylor, and more will intertwine with appearances from the likes of Ethan Hawke, Renée Zellweger, Woody Harrelson, and Owen Wilson; all Texans with a strong love for the city and its people. 100% of the money raised will go to a fund managed by the Austin Community Foundation to be distributed directly to MusiCares Austin, HAMM, Central Texas Food Bank, Six Square, Southern Smoke Foundation, Red River Cultural District, and People Fund. Locals will be able to watch “A Night For Austin” on CBS Austin (KEYE). Worldwide, “A Night For Austin” will be streamed on anightforaustin.com and at Luck Reunion’s Twitch channel, complete with a “virtual tip jar”—a direct link to donate throughout the evening. A full, ever-growing list of performers can be found below.

“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.

What: “A Night For Austin” a two hour, commercial-free telethon-style fundraiser
When: June 10th at 8 pm Central
Where: anightforaustin.com/donate, twitch.tv, or locally on CBS Austin (KEYE)
Appearances by: Paul Simon, Edie Brickell, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, John Hiatt, Jerry Douglas, Bonnie Raitt and Boz Scaggs, Ryan Bingham, Black Pumas, Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, Augie Meyers with Los Texmaniacs, Flaco Jiménez with Los Texmaniacs, Patty Griffin, Alejandro Escovedo, Willie Nelson, Lukus Nelson, Gary Clark Jr., Britt Daniel (Spoon), Jimmie Vaughan and The Tilt-a-Whirl Band, David Ramirez, Charlie Sexton with Doyle Bramhall II, Terry Allen, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Ethan Hawke, Renée Zellweger, Woody Harrelson, and Owen Wilson.