Top 5 Billy Joe Shaver Songs

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Baron Lane — No Comments ↓

Few people alive have the amazing life thatÂ Billy Joe Shaver has had. With staggeringÂ highs and bleakest ofÂ lows it reads like a passage from the Old Testament.Along with doling out some near smiting outside a bar inÂ Lorena, TX

Billy Joe Took some time a few years ago recall some of it for me.

In celebration of Mr. Shaverplaying the beautiful Great American Music Hall tonight I’ve put together videos of what I consider his top 5 songs.

One or two featuring his talented son Eddie, who left us too soon, on guitar.

These are in no certain order and hardly close to being complete list of this legendary man’s best. Please share your favorites in the comments section.

Honky Tonk Heroes

Old Five And Dimers Like Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoiuwUa9oZs

Georgia on a Fast Train

I’m Gonna Live Forever

I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal

Billy Joe Shaver – Georgia on a Fast Train

Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss Perform “Make the World Go Away” [Video]

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Baron Lane — 3 Comments ↓

David Letterman continues to champion great Country and Americana music by inviting Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss to appear on the Late Show. The duo perform a breathtaking rendition of the classic “Make the World Go Away,” from Johnson’s tribute to his friend, the just-released “Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran.”

Don Imus also showed his love for great Country music by featuring Johnson earlier in the week. He did â€œLove Makes A Fool Of Us Allâ€ and â€œI Fall To Piecesâ€ from “Living for a Song…”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eW0o7-2Ffk

Amy LaVere and Shannon McNally to Release Chasing The Ghost

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Baron Lane — No Comments ↓

Amy LaVere and Shannon McNally were initially brought together by North Mississippi Allstars’ lead guitarist and vocalist Jim Dickinson as part of the roots/jazz/soul collective The Wandering. The two Americana singer/songwriters bonded over similarities, one of which was a their mutual predilection for bourbon neat, and the collaboration turned fruitful one. On October 13th the duo will release their EP, Chasing The Ghost — “Rehearsal Sessions,”

Armed with a set of songs the ladies headed to the Music+Arts Studio in Memphis, TN, for rehearsals a few days before getting into the van to start touring with The Wandering. With LaVere on stand up bass and vocals, McNally on acoustic guitar and vocals the tape-recorded session was rounded out with Robert Mache on guitar, mandolin and Shawn Zorn on drums.

These two songs from the EPÂ promise good things. LaVere’s jazzy influence is heard in the bittersweet lament of “Never Been Sadder” and McNally’sÂ laid-back style is stamped all over the jaunty ramble of “If It Were Mine to Keep,” The similarities and differences of both artists complement and contrast each other beautifully.

Take a listen and let me know what you think.

Look for LaVere and McNally on tour for Chasing The Ghost in October

Stagecoach 2013 Lineup Announced

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Baron Lane — 5 Comments ↓

If somebody said that Justin Townes Earle and Lady Antebellum would be appearing on the same bill you would not be remiss in thinking “You’re nuts.”

Then you haven’t been to Stagecoach.

The above is indeed correct. The Goldenvoice-produced festival, now in it’s seventh year, takes a broad, historical view of country music. Contemporary country staples Toby Keith and Trace Adkins withÂ country legends Charley Pride andÂ Don Williams and Americana music favorites Old Crow Medicine Show andÂ Hayes Carll are all included.

I’m a fan of this cross-influence dynamic. That a Toby Keith fan could check out Hayes Carll is good for both fan bases that tend to be a bit musically and culturally insular. Americana acts in front of these huge audiences gives them a big opportunity to grow their audience.

And if Keith and Carll break into a rendition of “Beer for my Horses” I’ll be the first to applaud.

The festival place the weekend of April 26-28 in Indio California. Tickets go on sale Oct. 20 at 10 a.m. via the official Stagecoach site. A new pricing structure is in place for 2013, and a three-day festival pass will cost $239.

Friday, April 26:
Toby Keith, Hank Williams Jr., Trace Adkins, Jeff Bridges & the Abiders, Roger McGuinn, Old Crow Medicine Show, Joe Nichols, Connie Smith, Maggie Rose, Hayes Carll, Wylie and the Wild West, Commander Cody, the Steel Wheels, Haunted Windchimes, Alissa Griffith

Saturday, April 27:
Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Rodney Atkins, Dwight Yoakam, Phil Vassar, Nick 13, John Anderson, Marty Stuart, Jana Krama, Justin Townes Earle, Suzy Bogguss, the Honky Tonk Angels Band, Sons and Brothers, the Westbound Rangers, Robert Ellis

Sunday, April 28:
Zac Brown Band, Darius Rucker, Thompson Square, Lonestar, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charley Pride, Don Williams, Tanya Tucker, Blue Sky Riders, John Reilly and Friends, Riders in the Sky, Waddie Mitchell, Florida Georgia Line, Brown Bird, Becky Stark, Gabriel Kelley

ABC’s “Nashville” – The Newest Source for Americana Music?

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Baron Lane — 5 Comments ↓

I’m intrigued by the ABC’s new dramaticÂ series “Nashville,” not because a soap opera set in Music City is in any way compelling to be (it ain’t) but because said dramatic series has tapped one of the Godfathers of Americana, Grammy winner and Oscar nominee T-Bone Burnett , to be executive music producer for the show.

Isn’t this like the chicken being put in charge of the fox’s den?

Burnett’s stewardship is made even more perplexing when you consider the show also has ties to the Nashville big label system. Big Machine records (Taylor Swift, The Band Perry) will be releasing music featured on the program. First up is the single “If I Didn’t Know Better” co-written by the Civil Wars’ John Paul White (video below)

I imagined Burnett to be the ultimate Nashville outsider. Musician,Â producer and guiding hand of the neo-rusticity movement stemming from movies (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain, Walk the Line, Crazy Heart)Â rock crossovers (Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, Jakob Dylan ) to full on champion of Americana ( Alison Krauss, Â Gillian Welch, etc., etc. etc.)

Apparently Burnett has ties to the show that begins at home. He’s married to â€œNashvilleâ€ executive producer Callie Khouri ( who won an OscarÂ forÂ penning the â€œThelma & Louiseâ€ script. There is also the link from Taylor Swift to the Civil Wars (who she championed early on) to Burnett, who produced the recent Hunger Games soundtrack, which featured both Swift and the Wars. What the hell is gong on here?

Burnett says of music being chosen for the show:Â â€œI hope that we become the platform for the people who are writing from their whole hearts.â€

Isn’t this exactly what’s wrong with current commercial pop radio? it’s not written from the heart, it’s written from the wallet.

So we have a story about Music City that is given musical dimension by the the more dynamic and emotional genre of Americana. Part of me thinks that the show should be stuffed to the gills with whatever stupid truck song is currently cluttering the airwaves and dare the audience the endure it. Aren’t there any compelling stories of talented musicians struggling to make great music without cuttingÂ each others throats to fill arenas that can better fit the greatness of this music?

In the end it’s about artists getting expose and building a fan base to make enough money to focus in their craft. No one has done more for exposing Americana to the broader public AND commercial interests that Burnett,Â (except perhaps NPR) so there’s no doubt he’s the man for the job. Hell he’s even got Lucinda Williams to contribute songs to the show

And , truthÂ be told, I deeply enjoy the irony of a Music City soap opera being a powerful format for discovering great Americana and roots music. I look forward to hearing Jason Isbell during a love scene and Hellbound Glory during a road race or bar fight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAI_1FsJ8rE

â€˜Love for Levon,â€™ Tribute to Levon Helm at Izod Center [VIDEOS]

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Baron Lane — No Comments ↓

After attending hundreds of concerts there are very few shows occurringÂ these days that I wish I had attended. This is one of them.

Gregg Allman, Jakob Dylan, Bruce Hornsby, Mavis Staples, John Prine, Joan Osborne, John Hiatt, Jorma Kaukonen,Â Roger Waters, Ray La Montagne and other Rock and Americana music greats all paid tribute to the great Levon Helm who passed away last April.Â The performers were backed by the tremendous Levon Helm Band featuring Amy Helm and now led by the guitarist and fiddler Larry Campbell.Â The concert will eventually be shown on AXS TV and released as a DVD.

Here are some of the best videos I could find from this once in a lifetime event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkUCu3Si5OI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUFQeZDy3eQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dBJpRTSuLg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfRGU9aMjWc

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival 12 Full Schedule / Picks / Spotify Playlist

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Baron Lane — No Comments ↓

The 12th year of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival shows the premier showcase for great (and FREE!) Americana and roots music is showing no signs of slowing down. This year might prove to be the best yet as old friends like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Ralph Stanley are joined by event newcomers like punk-turned-folkie Chuck Ragan, Texas sweethearts The Trishas and Americana darlings The Civil Wars, who pulled out of last year’s HSB.

Have fun, and remember to wear layers and stay hydrated out there (and upwind.)Â Below find the schedule with my picks in bold.

Friday Oct 5 (10:00am – 7:00pm)

Star Stage
10:00am Poor Man’s Whiskey and Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Banjo Stage
12:00pm John Reilly and Friends (featuring Becky Stark and Tom Brosseau)
Â Â Â 1:15pm Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys
Â Â Â 2:40pm The Jerry Douglas Band
Â Â Â 4:15pm The Time Jumpers (Vince Gill, Dennis Crouch, Paul Franklin, Larry Franklin, Andy Reiss, Dawn Sears, Kenneth Sears, Joe Spivey, Jeff Taylor & Billy Thomas)
Â Â Â 5:45pm Elvis Costello Solo

Arrow Stage
12:00pm Chuck Ragan
1:00pm Pickwick
2:10pm Chris Carrabba
3:20pm Patterson Hood & the Downtown Rumblers
Â Â Â 4:45pm Jon Langford & His Sadies feat. Sally Timms
6:15pm ReignwÃ¶lf

Rooster Stage
12:00pm Simone Felice
Â Â Â 1:00pm Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express
2:20pm Beachwood Sparks
3:25pm Ben Kweller
4:25pm Jenny Lewis
5:45pm Conor Oberst

Saturday Oct 6 (11:00am – 7:00pm)

Banjo Stage
11:00am World Famous Headliners (Big Al Anderson, Shawn Camp, Pat McLaughlin, Michael Rhodes & Greg Morrow)
12:10pm Alison Brown Quartet with Stuart Duncan
1:25pm Buddy Miller
2:45pm Tribute to the Founding Fathers: Warren Hellman, Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson featuring Alison Brown, Stuart Duncan, Tim O’Brien and Bryan Sutton, with special guests Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris with Heidi Clare & Colleen Browne (from the Wronglers), Peter Rowan, Nick Lowe & more!
4:15pm The Chieftains
5:45pm Steve Earle & the Dukes (& Duchesses)

Rooster Stage
11:00am The Go to Hell Man Clan with Special Guests the Wronglers featuring Jimmie Dale Gilmore
12:00pm Lloyd Cole
1:10pm Guy Clark & Verlon Thompson
2:30pm The Lumineers
Â 3:50pm Patty Griffin
Â Â Â 5:30pm Robert Earl Keen

Star Stage
Â Â Â 11:00am Roger Knox and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Â Â Â 12:30pm Dirty Three
Â Â Â 2:10pm Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones
3:45pm Cowboy Junkies
5:45pm Chris Robinson Brotherhood

Towers Of Gold Stage
11:40am Red Baraat
1:20pm Justin Townes Earle
3:00pm Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang
4:45pm The Head & the Heart

Arrow Stage
11:00am The Trishas
Â Â Â 12:05pm Reckless Kelly
1:30pm Bill Kirchen & The Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods
2:45pm Heartless Bastards
4:05pm Jerry Jeff Walker
Â Â Â 5:35pm The Flatlanders feat. Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock

Porch Stage
11:00am Joe Pug
12:10pm Sara Watkins
1:25pm Little Green Cars
2:40pm Allison Moorer
3:50pm Robyn Hitchcock
4:50pm Sierra Hull
6:05pm Seasick Steve

Sunday Oct 7 (11:00am – 7:00pm)
Banjo Stage
11:00am Dry Branch Fire Squad
12:05pm Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands
1:20pm Peter Rowan
2:45pm Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
4:15pm Tim O’Brien Party of 7
5:45pm Emmylou Harris

Rooster Stage
11:00am Jim Lauderdale
Â Â Â 12:05pm Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin
1:10pm Jesse Winchester
2:20pm Glen Hansard
3:35pm Nick Lowe
4:50pm Todd Snider
6:10pm The Civil Wars

Star Stage
11:00am Giant Giant Sand
12:40pm The Knitters
2:15pm DOUG SAHM’S PHANTOM PLAYBOYS featuring: dave ALVIN, steve EARLE, delbert McCLINTON, boz SCAGGS, jimmie VAUGHAN… and whoever the cat drags in…
4:05pm The Del McCoury Band
6:00pm Keller Williams, Steve Kimock & Kyle Hollingsworth featuring Bernie Worrell, Wally Ingram & Andy Hess

Towers of Gold Stage
12:00pm The Milk Carton Kids
1:30pm Soul Rebels
3:10pm Dwight Yoakam
5:00pm Patti Smith and her band

Arrow Stage
11:00am Lucero
12:05pm Moonalice
1:25pm Rubblebucket
2:45pm Son Volt
4:10pm Luther Dickinson & the Wandering
5:45pm ALO

Porch Stage
11:00am The New Orleans Bingo! Show
12:10pm Tiny Television
1:25pm The Barr Brothers
2:40pm Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys
3:55pm The White Buffalo
5:10pm Walter Salas-Humara
6:20pm Jonny Two Bags & Salvation Town

Music Review: Malcolm Holcombe – Down The River [Gyspy Eyes Music]

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Baron Lane — No Comments ↓

Malcolm Holcombe should be huge. Perhaps the lack of acclaim for the North Carolina native are theÂ boyish looks thatÂ have long faded from his Music City days due in large part to years of substance abuse.Â Maybe it’s the baked gravel voice, or the enigmatic themes that wind you in circles. Maybe it’s the raw, human heart that beats in every word delivered like emotional shrapnel. maybe Holcomb is too real, too lacking in veiled irony. This is not the lily-livered , Fedora-wearing, twee folk music that’s permeated the music culture over the last decade.Â I can imagine Malcolm Holcolmb acoustic guitar emblazoned with “This Machine Kills Hipsters.”

Holcomb’s ninth album, Down The River, bursts to life with “Butcher In Town” featuring Darrell Scott’s dobro acreens off Ken Coomer’s kick drum and Tammy Rogers-King’s jumping mandolin. “You a’int from here,Â When the shit hits the fan, There’s more meat on a pencil, From the butcher in town.” reels the chorus warning us of “All black and white, From the wars of the souls, Too much whiskey, Money and gold.” Abuse of power is a theme throughout Down The River. Whether the personal delusions of a man bilking a woman from her earnings and blowing it up into a greater vision of grandeur in “I Call The Shots” or the mass manipulation of world corruption in the frenzied “Twisted Arms.” The palpable indignation of “Whitewash Job” recounts recent topics of disasters and federal incompetence buttressed belied by a jaunty breakdown of Holcombe masterful picking.

Corruption is also represented,Â on “Trail O’ Money” guest vocalist Steve Earle, who once stated that Holcombe is ..”the best songwriter I ever threw out of my recording studio,â€ sounds comfortable with proletariat lines like “My instincts are wounded,Â My schools bleed with guns, My children are recklessly, Lost in the sun”Â He and Holcolmb join in the rallying chorus “Gangway i’m comin’ with a trail o’ money, Gangway stay outta my way, Gangway i’m comin’ with a trail o’ money, No room for the poor to stay.” No simple election sloganeering here.

Love songs fare little better in this hard soul’s terrain. “Gone Away At Last” brings along the river bank drums, stippling banjo and a fiddle dervish into a funnel cloud of a love song Cormac McCarthy could love.”The search lights beg to dim, In the blood of nightimes cover, No human sounds within, The lonely thoughts of lovers.” “the routine hammers solid, in the heads of spit and spoiled, (only) broken from contentions, Of the jealous snake’s recoil.” This is a long journey into the heart.Â “In Your Mercy” is a lament of a widow living in dire situation which is lightened briefly by the lovely lilt of Emmylou Harris.

These are not spoon-fed narratives guiding you gently through linear slices of life.Â Soapboxes are splintered for bonfire kindling and flags are shred and made into rags to dab tears or blot up blood. This is the human parade in all it’s violent and glory.

Buy | Official Site

Mumford & Sons On ‘SNL’: ‘I Will Wait’ & ‘Below My Feet’ (VIDEO)

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Baron Lane — No Comments ↓

The mainstreaming ofÂ Americana music moves into hyper-speed with the upcoming sophomore release of Mumford & Sons’ “Babel.”

There are few mainstream milestones then playing SNL. Beside showing up in some sketches to parody themselves as teh “Poor man’s Beatles,” including Lead singer Marcus Mumford complete with a mop-top wig and turtleneck. At the end of the sketch host Joseph Gordon-Levitt and cast members helped Mumford & Sons led the crowd and cast in a singalong of The Beatles’Â “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.”

In addition to the comedy, Mumford & Sons also performed “I Will Wait” and “Below My Feet,” (below)Â Babel is out on Sept. 24.

[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1418225″ frameborder=”0″]

Americana Music Conference Video Round-Up

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Baron Lane — 2 Comments ↓

I’ve starting posting the few videos from the 2012 Americana MusicÂ ConferenceÂ showcases and it’s awards event atÂ theÂ Twang NationÂ Twitter and FacebookÂ Â accounts. Here is a round up of the ones I’ve found so far. Look for more as I find them. Now take some time to run through all these fineÂ performancesÂ and tell me this isn’t the greatest music on the planet.

Zoe Muth: “If I Can’t Trust You with a Quarter”