The 2019 Academy Awards held very little appeal for me (how was Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat and Charlie Sexton’s performances in ‘Blaze’ overlooked?!) but a break in the tedium came when Kacey Musgraves introduced Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. The Americana legends bedecked in matching nudie-esque suit finery performed “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings.” The song was a contender in this year’s race for best original song from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” Welch and Rawlings wrote the track, which was performed on the Coen Brothers’ series and soundtrack by actor Tim Blake Nelson and singer-songwriter Willie Watson.
The Coen Brothers also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings wrote “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings†for the recent six-part Coen brothers anthology, The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs. If you watched the show you know the original song was sung by Tim Blake Nelson as Buster Scruggs alongside Willie Watson as “The Kid.†Today, Welch and Rawlings share a new version that they will perform at the 91st Academy Awards on 2/24.
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings recently garnered a nomination for “Best Original Song†at the 2019 Academy Awards, for “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings.†their version of the song on Acony Records, which they sing in their own lonesome and timeless
style, invoking both the absurd fatalism of the show and their own penchant for a good yodel.
Welch and Rawlings said about their nomination: “We are eternally grateful to Ethan and Joel Coen for giving us the opportunity to write a cowboy duet between the living and the dead, and to Willie Watson and Tim Blake Nelson for bringing it to life.â€
The pair confirmed they will perform the song on The Grand Ole Opry on February 16th as well as at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24, 2019.
Welch revealed the story behind the song and working with the Coen Brothers in a recent Rolling Stone interview:
“They [The Coen Brothers] gave David and I the script, and they gave us the script of maybe two other of the shorts in the collection so we could gauge the darkness [laughs]… And then there was just a really basic conversation [with Joel Coen]. He was like, “Look, there’s the singing cowboy — he’s been around for a while. Now here comes the new guy. He’s cuter, he’s faster and he sings better. He’s just better. It’s the new model. He’s coming for him.â€â€¦ Joel just said, “Here’s the specifics of it. They have to be able to sing it together. They have to be able to sing it once Tim has been shot and is dead and is floating up to heaven.â€
Gillian also spoke to Variety about her and Rawlings’ process writing the song:
“It was a pretty straightforward thing: ‘Well, we need a song for when two singing cowboys gun it out, and then they have to do a duet with one of ‘em dead. You think you can do that?’ ‘Yeah, I think we can do that’â€â€¦ “The more peculiar restraints you put upon a song, the more fun it is, so this was kind of a dream assignment,†Welch says. “And they didn’t tell us to do this, but if you’re writing a gunfight song between two singing cowboys, who wouldn’t love the opportunity to put some yodeling in?â€
**PRE-SALE BEGINS TOMORROW (2/13) AT 10AM LOCAL.**
PASSWORD: FJMISBELL
GENERAL ON-SALE STARTS FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15 10AM LOCAL^
June 6 – San Diego – Cal Coast Open Air Theatre $ +
June 7 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl $ +
June 8 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre At UC Berkeley $ +
June 9 – Bend, OR – Les Schwab Amphitheater $ +
June 11 – Redmond, WA – Marymoor Park $ +
June 14 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory $ +
June 15 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion $ +
June 16 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Pavilion $ +
June 17 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre $ +
June 19 – Brooklyn, NY – BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival $ +
June 20 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC $ +
June 21– Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion $ +
June 22 – Philadelphia, PA – Metropolitan Opera House $ +
June 24 – Richmond, VA – Altria Theater $ +
June 25 – Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheater $ *
June 27 – Irving, TX – Pavilion At Toyota Music Factory $ +
June 28 – Houston, TX – White Oak Lawn $ +
June 29 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center $ +
$ – Father John Misty
* – Jade Bird
+ – Erin Rae
^Unless otherwise specified.
Few contemporary bands embody what Greil Marcus coined as “Old. weird America” as well as The Felice Brothers and a new release by this Upstate New York rustic-core collective is always welcome news.
The new album, “Undress,” the follow-up to 2016’s “Life in rhe Dark,” will be released on May 3rd from Yep Roc Records.
Cut live to tape with very little overdubbing, Undress was recorded in the late summer of 2018 in Germantown, New York. Band members Ian Felice, James Felice, Will Lawrence (drums) and Jesske Hume (bass) teamed up with producer Jeremy Backofen to record their most personal and reflective album to date.
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“Many of the songs on the new album are motivated by a shift from private to public concerns,†says songwriter Ian Felice. “It isn’t hard to find worthwhile things to write about these days, there are a lot of storms blooming on the horizon and a lot of chaos that permeates our lives. The hard part is finding simple and direct ways to address them.â€
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Since the band’s last 2016 album release the group in a very different place. Between personnel changes, families growing and the political landscape, the result is a tighter, more-paired down release. “Every song is a story,†said James Felice. “On this album everything was a bit more thoughtful, including the arrangements, the sonic quality and the harmonies.â€
Listen to title cut “Undress”
Pre-order “Undress” Here
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Ian and James Felice grew up in the Hudson valley of upstate NY. Self taught musicians, inspired as much by Hart Crane and Whitman as by Guthrie and Chuck Berry, they began in 2006 by playing subway platforms and sidewalks in NYC and have gone on to release nine albums of original songs and to tour extensively throughout the world. Following the release of Life in the Dark, The Felice Brothers served as the backing band for Conor Oberst’s 2017 release Salutations and the subsequent tour.Â
The band kicks off a US tour starting on April 27 in Albany. Tickets go on sale on February 12 at www.thefelicebrothers.com.
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Tour Dates:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
4/27: Albany, NY – TBAÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
4/28: Syracuse, NY – The Westcott Theater           Â
4/29: Buffalo, NY – The 9th Ward at Babeville          Â
4/30: Toronto, ON – Legendary Horseshoe Tavern          Â
5/2: Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village                     Â
5/3: Lexington, KY – On The Rail Roots Festival                     Â
5/4: Columbus, OH – Rumba Cafe                                Â
5/6: Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe                                Â
5/7: Lancaster, PA – Tellus 360Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
5/9: Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s                     Â
5/10: Brooklyn, NY – The Bell House                     Â
5/12: Hopewell, NJ – Hopewell Theater                     Â
5/15: Portsmouth, NH – 3S Artspace                                Â
5/16: Providence, RI – Columbus Theatre                     Â
5/18: Cambridge, MA – The SinclairÂ
5/23: Virginia Beach, VA – Elevation 27Â
5/24: Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall               Â
5/25: Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap – with The Avett Brothers               Â
6/6: Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle Tavern                     Â
6/7: Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic                                Â
6/8: Nashville, TN – Exit/In
6/9: Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewery
6/10: New Orleans -Gasa Gasa
6/12: Austin, TX – Barracuda
6/14: Santa Fe, NM – Tumbleroot
6/15: Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole
6/16: San Diego, CA – The Casbah
6/17: Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Theater
6/19: San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
6/21: Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
6/22: Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
6/24: Garden City, ID – Visual Arts Collective
6/25: Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
6/27: Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
There are many ways to describe the work of master singer-songwriter John Paul White. If forced to distill to a single word to describe his aesthetic it would be bittersweet.
So, to learn that White’s upcoming third solo release is entitled “The Hurting Kind” made perfect sense. The king of melancholy is back in the saddle.
Then you hear the single ‘The Long Way Home’ (listen below) from the album and, damn if it isn’t jaunty, defiant even. The cover displays White in his usual dark suit casual dapper persona and tassel of hair, his briskly strummed acoustic guitar strides right into a backbeat and, what’s that, pedal steel! But just behind the sonic rhinestones are weary miles of separation from loved ones, and hope and longing intertwin to lead him back to hearth and home. I’ve read that this song brought White’s youngest child to tears. That’s the power and humility of art.
I have no inside knowledge of this, but it’s been a theory of mine that the isolation of the road was once os the main reasons the Civil Wars called it a day at the height of their popularity. We all see the glamour of the working musician with no thought to the grind that it can be,
But this is no woe-is-me lament. This is a song with a higher intention. To celebrate and focus, on the big portrait of the loved ones that make the cookie-cutter hotels and stale-beer bars tolerable.
‘The Hurting Kind’ is out April 12 on Single Lock Records. Pre-order it here.
The Hurting Kind Tracklist:
01. The Good Old Days
02. I Wish I Could Write You a Song
03. Heart Like a Kite
04. Yesterday’s Love
05. The Long Way Home
06. The Hurting Kind
07. This Isn’t Gonna End Well (featuring Lee Ann Womack)
08. You Lost Me
09. James
10. My Dreams Have All Come True
Texas Roots Artist Charley Crocket took to his Instgram account to share that his recovery from open heart surgery is going well. The surgery was to address a heart condition called Wolf Parkinson’s White Syndrome, a condition Crocket was born with.  Wolf Parkinson’s White Syndrome is when there is an extra electrical pathway between the heart’s upper and lower chambers causing rapid heartbeat. The extra pathway is present at birth and fairly rare.
After seeing a specialist to address a long-existing hernia Crocket was referred to a heart specialist where tests proved that he would need to address his heart condition, as a missing valve in his Aorta was causing blood to leak into his heart, before getting surgery for his hernia. Crocket wrote that this condition would “…lead to a heart attack at anytime. (sic)”
Crocket also recounts “…dizzyness, shortness of breath and blackouts were something I thought came with playing 200 shows a year and living on the highway.” Talk about a road warrior!
Many refer to musicians as “artists.” Few deserve the designation as much as Townes Van Zandt does. In his brief and troubled time on this planet, Van Zandt spun dark beauty from tragedy and addiction. “Though he did briefly flirt with mainstream success with Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covering his outlaw ballad “Pancho And Lefty,†at the time of his death in the early hours of New Years day 1997, at the age of 52, Van Zandt was relatively unknown.
But artists as renowned as Bob Dylan and Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley were aware of his genius and wanted to work with him. Over the years his name has come to stand for the craft and authenticity so many Americana and roots artist strive to achieve.
New music by Townes Van Zandt is a rare find. So I’m thrilled that on March 7, 2019—which would have been his 75th birthday, TVZ Records and Fat Possum Records will release “Sky Blue,” eleven unreleased Van Zandt recordings made in early 1973 with the late Bill Hedgepeth, a journalist, musician, and most crucially a close friend of Townes. This forty-six year-old time capsule is a rare glimpse of the artist working out some of his most iconic songs in an intimate, comfortable setting with one of his lifelong confidantes.
Hear the new unreleased song “All I Need” below.
During this period of his life Van Zandt was splitting his time between Texas, Colorado, and a shack outside Franklin, Tennessee: an itinerant life that suited and informed many of his most famous and beloved tunes. Throughout his life he would often return to Hedgepeth’s home studio in Atlanta, later with family in tow, to record, re-work, and experiment with new songs as well as old favorites.
From the PR sheet: “These versions of “Pancho & Lefty†and “Rex’s Blues†show these songs as early drafts: raw, sorrowful, and as stunningly moving as he ever was, full of clean flat-picking and adept flourishes in just the right places. He emerges as a master of economic songwriting and playing, providing all that’s needed and nothing more, confident that his ideas and emotions would come through more clearly for being so judiciously understated.
In addition to a handful of old favorites, “Sky Blue” also includes two new songs that have never been heard before—”All I Need†and “Sky Blueâ€â€”as well as covers of songs by Richard Dobson and Tom Paxton. There is a smoky version of “Blue Ridge Mountain Blues†and a scarred and scarring interpretation of “Hills of Roane County,†an East Tennessee murder ballad from the 1880s that was popularized by Tony Rice. Van Zandt performs them deftly, sings them intuitively, and displays his delightfully twisted sense of humor on the devious “Snake Song†and the vicious “Dream Spider.â€
Conceived by Townes’ surviving family—his wife and literary executor Jeanene, along with his children, J.T., Will, and Katie Bell— “Sky Blue” sounds like an entirely new album rather than a reissue of old recordings. That’s how urgent and invigorated these performances sound, offering a revealing glimpse into Townes’ process, the evolution of his songs as well as the myriad versions he had in his head.”
Ryan Adams has revealed that he plans to release three albums in 2019. First up will be “Big Colors” out April 19. Produced by Adams, Beatriz Artola, and Don Was, and features contributions from Benmont Tench of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and fellow alt.darling Bob Mould. (Big Colors tracklist below)
Hear “Doylestown Girl,” the first single from ‘Big Colors.’
Next will be “Wednesdays” which has been verified to feature contributions from Emmylou Harris, Jason Isbell, and Tench. Adams co-produces with Artola. (Wednesdays tracklist below)
The album release information became public in a way that, if you follow his Twitter feed, displays his political slant. News of “Big Colors” coming from MSNBC anchor Katy Tur and the Washington Post’s “Power Up” news feed.
. @TheRyanAdams is releasing three new albums this year (3!). The first is called BIG COLORS. Here’s the cover. Can’t wait to dive in. pic.twitter.com/pKsZd4jYu9
Adams is no stranger to prolific output as these three albums slated for 2019 will match his output from 2005. In that year Adams released “Cold Roses” (with The Cardinals) on May 3, “Jacksonville City Nights” (with The Cardinals) on September 27, and “29” on December 19, 2005.
Big Colorsfollows 2017’sPrisoner.
Big Colors track list:
1. Big Colors 2. Do Not Disturb 3. It’s So Quiet, It’s Loud 4. (Expletive) the Rain 5. Doylestown Girl 6. Dreaming You Backwards 7. I Surrender 8. What Am I 9. Power 10. Showtime 11. In It for the Pleasure 12. Middle of the Line 13. I’m Sorry and I Love You 14. Manchester 15. Summer Rain
Wednesdays track list:
1. Walk in the Dark 2. Who Is Gonna Love Me Now, If Not You 3. So Anyways 4. Wednesdays 5. Lost in Time 6. It’s Not That Kind of Night 7. Somewhere It Is Spring 8. Poison & Pain 9. Nobody Wins 10. Momma 11. When You Cross Over 12. Birmingham 13. Like a Heatwave 14. Red & Orange Special 15. Magic Trick 16. Pennsylvania Moon 17. Take Me Home
2018 is now in the pages of history and as America shifts (lurches?) into an uncertain future. Americana and roots music, unlike many other genres, continues to be true to its legacy and addresses our times with art that refuses to chase the charts and churn out reflexively commercial product and, lucky for us, refuses to treat the audience as mindless consumers.
That’s not to say that Americana and roots music is merely a barometer for political and social conditions and change. No sane person wants their favorite artists to be righteous yet starve. As the music industry continues to reflect changing consumer demands artists are also finding opportunities to reach audiences and generate revenue in movies and video games.
Some albums I’m personally looking forward to because I’ve heard some cuts, or on my faith in the artist, are Hayes Carll’s “What It Is,†Feb. 15: Dale Watson’s Call Me Lucky and Ryan Bingham – “American Love Song†, all on February 15th, Mandolin Orange’s “Tides of a Teardrop” on February 1st, and Joshua Ray Walker’s “Wish You Were Here” on January 25th as well as Son Volt’s “Union’ on March 29th.
As more dates come throughout the year I will be updating the list. If you know of an actual release not listed yet please leave it in the comments.
As always I appreciate your visiting the site and hope you join me in another great year for Americana and roots music.
January: Jan. 18th: Danny Burns – “North Country” Jan. 25th: Lula Wiles – ‘What Will We Do’ Jan. 4th: Balsam Range – “Aeonic†Jan. 18th: Alice Wallace – “ Into the Blue†Jan. 18th: Ronnie Milsap – “Ronnie Milsap: The Duets†Jan. 18th: Greensky Bluegrass – “All for Money†Jan. 18th: The Steel Woods – “Old News†Jan. 18th: Whitehorse – “The Northern South Vol. 2†Feb. 22: Vandoliers – “Forever”
February: Feb. 1st: Mandolin Orange – “Tides of a Teardrop†Feb. 1st: Abigail Lapelle – “Getaway” Feb. 8th: Gurf Morlix – ‘Impossible Blue’ Feb. 15th: Hayes Carll – “What It Is†Feb. 15th: Dale Watson – “Call Me Lucky†Feb. 15th: Ryan Bingham – “American Love Song†Feb. 15th: Joey McGee – “El Camino Real” Feb. 15th: Kalyn Fay – “Good Company” Feb. 22nd: Dearling – “Silver and Gold” (EP)
Feb. 22nd Vandoliers – “Foreverâ€
Feb. 22nd – Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell – ‘Songs of Our Native Daughters’
March:
March 1st: Mary Bragg – “Diamonds as Camouflageâ€
March 1st: The Cactus Blossoms – “Easy Wayâ€
March 1st: Dave Ernst – “Hickory Switchâ€
March 2nd: The Honey Dewdrops – “Anyone Can See”
March 7th: Townes Van Zandt – “Sky Blue”
March 8th: Patty Griffin – “Patty Griffin”
March 8th: Clara Baker – “Things To Burn”
March 22nd: Allison de Groot & Tatiana
March 22nd: Orville Peck – “Pony”
March 22nd: Luther Dickinson and Sisters of the Strawberry Moon – “Solstice”
March 29th: Son Volt – “Unionâ€
April:
April 2nd: John Paul White – ‘The Hurting Kind”
April 5th: Molly Tuttle – “When You’re Ready.”
April 5th: Megg Farrell -“Megg Farrell”
April 12th: Shovels & Rope – “By Blood”
April 12th: Taylor Alexander – “Good Old Fashioned Pain”
April 19th: Daniel Norgren – “Wooh Dang”
May:
May 3rd: Pete Seeger – ‘The Smithsonian Folkways Collection’
May 3rd: Caroline Spence – “Mint Condition”
May 10th: The Shootouts – “Quick Draw”
May 24th: Willard Gayheart – “At Home in the Blue Ridge”
June:
June 14th: Hank Williams – ‘Health & Happiness Show’
June 21st: Buddy and Julie Miller -‘Breakdown on 20th Ave. South’
June 28th: Chuck Mead – “Close To Home”
August 16th
The Messenger: A Tribute to Ray Wylie Hubbard
August 23rd
Esther Rose – ‘You Made It This Far’
Erin Enderlin – ‘Chapter Three: Whatever Gets You Through The Night’
Tanya Tucker – ‘While I’m Livin’ ‘
Vince Gill – ‘Okie’
Dalton Domino – ‘Songs From the Exile’
Jason Hawk Harris – Love & the Dark
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys – ‘Toil, Tears & Trouble’
Leslie Stevens – ‘Sinner’
Croy and the Boys – ‘Howdy High-Rise’
Seth James –
Midland – ‘Let It Roll’
September 7th
The Highwomen – Self-Titled’
Terri Hendrix – ‘Talk To A Human’
Jason Tyler Burton – ‘Kentuckian’
Paul Cauthen – ‘Room 41’
Cut Throat Francis – ‘This Garden’s Never Gonna Grow’
Ana Egge – ‘Is It the Kiss’
NRBQ – ‘Turn On, Tune In’
Amy Speace – ‘Me and the Ghosts of Charlemagne’
These Wild Plains – ‘Thrilled To Be Here’
Trailerpark Idlers – ‘Ghost Town Nights
September 13th
Jeremy Ivey – ‘The Dream And The Dreamer’
September 27th
Hot Club of Cowtown – ‘Wild Kingdom’
October 4th
The North Mississippi Allstars – “Up and Rollingâ€
October 13th
Cody Jinks – ‘After The Fire’
North Mississippi Allstars – ‘Up and Rolling’
Corb Lund – ‘Cover Your Tracks’
Jonah Tolchin – ‘Fires for the Cold’
Marti Brom – ‘Midnight Bus’
Ted Drozdowski – ‘Learn To Love The Moon’
Jeremy Ivey – ‘The Dream And The Dreamer;
Janiva Magness – ‘Change In The Weather: Janiva Magness Sings John Fogerty’
October 18th
The Milk Carton Kids – ‘The Only Ones’
Darin Aldridge & Brooke Aldridge – ‘Inner Journey’
Driftwood Soldier – ‘Stay Ahead Of The Wolf’
The Drunken Hearts – ‘Wheels of the City’
Rory Ellis – ‘Inner Outlaw’
EmiSunshine and The Rain – ‘Family Wars’
Jimmy “Duck†Holmes – ‘Cypress Grove’
Jake La Botz – ‘They’re Coming For Me’
New Copasetics – ‘Twang-Ucopia’
David Newbould – ‘Sin & Redemption’
Karen & the Sorrows – ‘Guaranteed Broken Heart’
Zachary Lucky – ‘Midwestern’
October 25th
Allison Moorer – ‘Blood’
Neil Young & Crazy Horse – ‘Colorado’
Craig Cummings – ‘Absolute Surprise’
Karen & the Sorrows – ‘Guaranteed Broken Heart’
Van Morrison – ‘Three Chords and the Truth’
Jackson Stokes – ‘Jackson Stokes’
Zack Walther Band – ‘The Westerner’
November 20th
Bill Scorzari – ‘Now I’m Free’
January 31st
Dustbowl Revival – ‘Is It You, Is It Me?’
Truth be told I’ve been distracted by much unpleasantness in 2018. So much so as many of these outstanding selections moved past my attention when they were first released. Luckily I keep a list of yearly releases and was able to rewind and catch them before they slipped away as 2019 dawned.
Criteria – Calendar year 2018. No EPs, live, covers or re-release albums no matter how awesome. Don’t see your favorite represented? Leave it in the comments, and here’s to a new year of Twang.
Jamie Lin Wilson – Jumping Over Rocks – On her sophomore outing, Wilson has created a lean melancholy masterpiece. The pull of the road and the fray on family ties, and the resulting loneliness and regret are just some of the universal themes running through these unvarnished jewels traveling on that dusky trill. It’s a testament to the skill of craft that created these songs that Guy Clark’s “Instant Coffee Blues” sits so easily within Wilson’s originals.
2. John Prine – ‘The Tree of Forgiveness’ – 13 years in the making Prine lends his wry eye to the everyday glory and mundane divinity that has become Prine’s calling card in his 71 years. His ruminations of birth, death and the the pageant of absurdity connecting the two could be chalked up to the interests of an older man (especially one that’s beat 2 cancer prognosis,) but Prine has always been an artist that’s interested in exploring our shared experiences in whimsical ways.
3. J.P. Harris – ‘Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing,’ – Harris belies his 30 year travels around the sun by penning songs that channels Mickey Newbury (‘Lady in the Spotlight’) or Blaze Foley (the title cut) to create a calico quilt of country and roots best bits that hangs together and serves a fitting flag to stake out his own territory of sonic discovery.
4. Dillon Carmichael – ‘Hell on an Angel“ – The story goes that Dillon Carmichael has country music in his DNA and he was destined to mine for country gold. I’ve known a lot of decedents of music greats that didn’t have a lick of destiny in them. Hell on an Angel“ is a project that has me reevaluating that conclusion. Hillbilly Whisperer Dave Cobb has again found himself alongside an artist that can be described as the future of country music by reminding us all that its beauty lies in its past.
5. Colter Wall – “Songs of the Plain†– That voice. Those songs. “Songs of the Plain†mines much of the history that made country music relatable and beloved by folks the world over. A cowboy longing for home while on a long trail ride is not just a reflection on the cost of a particular profession as much as it is a dusty sketch of a common longing we can all share.
6. Lori McKenna – ‘The Tree†– McKenna’s collection of family-album folk songs shows haw a master of songcraft finds depth in the ordinary moments of everyday life. McKenna’s ability to write of the profound in relatable, and often commercially successful, ways make her one of the few that can traverse mainstream country and Americana territories with aplomb.
7. Mike and the Moonpies – ‘Steak Night at the Prairie Rose’ – Everyone has come across some asshole willing to sound the death knell for country music. Next time that happens drop this album on them like a 9lb. hammer. Barroom confessionals and boot-scootin‘ crowd pleasers reflects the spirit of those thousands of stages Mike and the Moonpies has had to own on any given night. It doesn’t get more real.
8. Ruston Kelly – ‘Dying Star’ – Kelly is another country music vet not content to keep working behind the stage grinding out hits for the likes of the Josh Abbott Band and Tim McGraw. Those skills allow Kelly to craft lean songs that carry just the right amount of studio sheen as not to choke the life from these back-alley confessionals of failing faith and dime-store salvation.
9. Charley Crockett – ‘Lonesome As a Shadow’ – Crockett’s working-class upbringing in rural border town Texas and years of busking on the streets of New Orleans and New York City is steeped bone deep in these cuts. To find a melange of Redneck-Cajun gumbo this satisfying outside of this release you’d have to dig deep into the 70’s Leon Russell / Willie Nelson collaborations.
10. Sarah Shook & the Disarmers – ‘Years’ – Hearing Sarah Shook for the first time transported me back to Dallas jn the early 90s when I first heard the Old 97s. The country music I had grown up with on my parent’s stereo was all hopped up on trucker speed and bucking bronco beats. Shook embodies the golden years of alt.country but brews up her own brand of fresh blood with razor sharp wit and a heavy dose of ‘I don’t give as fuck.’
