Growing up as country and metal as my primary cultural staple I never caed for The Smiths (too whiney, though “How Soon Is Now’ is badass) and was never a Moz solo fan (too mopey and pseudo clever) But I do have to give the man credit for pulling off a damn fine rendition of ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?’
Last Saturday from the stage of the The Visalia Fox Theatre Morrissey, dressed like a paunchy X Men, and his cracker-jack band gave his all to Waylon Jennings’ first single from the album Dreaming My Dreams’ album. A not too subtle middle finger to Music Row that was released 40 years to the month and Jennings’ fourth number one on the country chart as a solo artist.
I do like the idea of a crowd of Morrissey fans largely wondering what the hell they were listening to.
Brothers Connor and Shane Noetzel put their experience playing in bands together through high school and college to great use. While in college, Connor befriended Brian Gallio , bonding over kindred love of music. After graduation the three burgeoning troubadours moved in together – with Connor as lead vocalist and main songwriter, Shane on lead guitar, and Brian on banjo, acoustic guitar, and piano – to focus on cultivating their craft.
After releasing their debut EP “No One Will Know” in May of 2013 the trio went on to perform those new songs at iconic New York spots like The Bitter End, The Living Room, Pianos, and Rockwood Music Hall.
The result is The Afternoon Edition. The New York based roots trio echo their shared heroes throughout the 10 cuts on their full-length debut “Fallow.” Shades of The Band, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, The Byrds, even contemporaries like Beck, The Avett Brothers and My Morning Jacket are heard throughout. From the yearning, Sea Change-esque opener “Let You In” to the sunny ease of the album closer ‘The World Will Beat A Path,’ on display is a passion for great 60’s and 70’s folk and country songwriting backed by spirited musicianship.
On the new album the band says “As far back as we can remember, the sounds of the 60’s and 70’s were hitting our eardrums and churning up emotion and fascination before we were even aware. The most captivating part of this music for us is the influence and history it contributed to in our own backyard, The Hudson Valley. Stemming from Westchester, and gathering inspiration from the natural beauty the Hudson Valley provides, it’s hard not to feel the same influence this area had on our heroes in the Folk/Americana scene years ago. We’ve set out to continue that tradition, and to use the same tools these artist had to create music that comes from the same rivers, hills and valleys that used to inspire them, and in turn now inspires us. It was only natural for us to wrap them in the Americana and Country aesthetic, which have always provided us with the comfort of wearing our hearts on our sleeves.”
While I oh-so-paiently await that long overdo Uncle Tupelo reunion (come on already, we ain’t getting any younger!) I will find solace in the upcoming release of the 20th anniversary version of Son Volt’s spectacular acclaimed debut album, ‘Trace.’
This fall, Jay Farrar will celebrate the anniversary by putting out a deluxe version digitally remastered from the original analog masters. Farrar was heavily involved in the remastering process and contributes highlighted track commentary to the liner notes, which also feature a contribution from No Depression magazine founder Peter Blackstock.
In addition to every song from the 1995 original album, the first disc also features previously unreleased demos for eight album tracks, including “Drown,” “Live Free,” “Windfall,” and an acoustic version of the rocker “Route.” The two-disc version of ‘Trace’ features newly remastered sound and more than two dozen unreleased bonus tracks will be available October 30, 2015, for a suggested retail price of $24.98. The original album will also be re-issued on 180-gram vinyl for $24.98.
Son Volt will also hit the road with original pedal steel player, Eric Heywood, along with multi-instrumentalist, Gary Hunt. The tour is billed as “Jay Farrar Performs Songs Of Trace” and tickets for the tour will go on-sale Friday, August 14. For more information please go to www.sonvolt.net.
The dates will begin with a special AmericanaFest performance at 3rd & Lindsley on September 20. Farrar will also bring the tour to New York City on October 30, and on the same day, Rhino will release a two-disc version of Trace that features newly remastered sound and more than two dozen unreleased bonus tracks.
The second disc contains an unreleased live performance recorded at The Bottom Line in New York’s Greenwich Village on February 12, 1996. At the show, the band played nearly every song from Trace , covered Del Reeves’ “Looking At The World Through A Windshield,” and performed “Cemetery Savior,” a tune that wouldn’t surface until the following year on Son Volt’s sophomore release, Straightaways.
The show also features songs originally recorded by Uncle Tupelo, the vastly influential alt-country band that Farrar started with Jeff Tweedy in the Eighties. Among the standouts are: “Slate,” “True to Life” and the title track from the band’s final album Anodyne (1993).
Disc Two: Live from Bottom Line 2/12/96
1. “Route”*
2. “Loose String”*
3. “Catching On”*
4. “Live Free”*
5. “Anodyne”*
6. “Windfall”*
7. “Slate”*
8. “Out of the Picture”*
9. “Tear Stained Eye”*
10. “True to Life”*
11. “Cemetery Savior”*
12. “Ten Second News”*
13. “Fifteen Keys”*
14. “Drown”*
15. “Looking For a Way Out”*
16. “Chickamauga”*
17. “Too Early”*
18. “Looking at the World Through a Windshield” – Del Reeves cover*
*previously unreleased
JAY FARRAR PERFOMS SONGS OF TRACE – 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
SEPTEMBER
20 3rd & Lindsley (AmericanaFest) Nashville, TN
OCTOBER
28 The Birchmere
29 Ardmore Music Hall
30 City Winery Alexandria, VA
Ardmore, PA
New York, NY
DECEMBER
2 The Troubadour
3 Slim’s
5 Aladdin Theatre
6 Tractor Tavern
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
2015 Americana releases are about to get much, much better.
Dave Rawlings Machine has announced the release of their second album, ‘Nashville Obsolete,’ on Acony Records on September 18. ‘Nashville Obsolete,’ is the follow-up to the 2009 debut ‘A Friend of a Friend.’
‘Nashville Obsolete’ was recorded on analog tape at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN, whose client list includes Willie Nelson, Bob Seger, Neal Diamond, Emmylou Harris, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dusty Springfield, Alabama and many, many others.
‘Nashville Obsolete’ features seven original compositions written by Rawlings and longtime collaborator Gillian Welch and produced by Rawlings. This will be the seventh studio album the duo have appeared together on.
Along with vocals and guitar byRawlings and Welch, other contributors included Willie Watson on vocals and guitar, Punch Brothers Paul Kowert of on bass, and guest appearances from Brittany Haas on fiddle and Jordan Tice on mandolin. A tour in support of the album is forthcoming.
Welch and Rawlings, along with Buffy Sainte-Marie, Don Henley, Ricky Skaggs & Los Lobos, will also be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from the Americana Music Association during the 2015 Honors & Awards ceremony held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The award will be presented to the two days before the album is released on September 16.
1. The Weekend
2. Short Haired Woman Blues
3. The Trip
4. Bodysnatchers
5. The Last Pharaoh
6. Candy
7. Pilgrim (You Can’t Go Home)
Pre-orders of ‘Nashville Obsolete’ are currently available from iTunes and physically and Amazon
Here’s Welch and Rawlings’ opening number of “65 Revisited,” the Bob Dylan 50th anniversary tribute of his electric performance at Newport Folk Festival.
Musgraves, like Taylor Swift before her, has a way uncannily bringing people that wouldn’t be caught dead listening to a George Jones record into the dusty fold.
But unlike Swift’s winsome fairytale strewn path to a pure-pop exodus Musgraves shows on ‘Pageant Material,’ that she’s content to stick around Music Row for a while, and use her wit, charm and a stiff shot of deft songcraft to draw in the twang wary and change things from the inside.
Musgraves’ pop comes in the form of populism that is less soapbox serenades than barstool banter. Songs like “Biscuits” and the excellent title song speak in appealing, self-depreciating southern grammar to draw you into ideas of non-conformity and acceptance while bringing the highfalutin down to earth.
Musgraves also takes time to have fun. “High Time” is a perfect Summer song that moseys along in Ronnie Milsap pop-country accentuated by a carefree whistling , well-timed hand claps and a sweep 50’s era Nashville Sound stings.
“Family is Family” is a fun jaunt in praise of blood lines that would give John Prine and chuckle. “Late To The Party” is a cuddly soft folk ballad that has Musgraves letting out her inner James Taylor. “Dimestore Cowgirl,†allows us to travel along with on her exceptional journey. “I’ve had my picture made with Willie Nelson/Stayed in a hotel with a pool†“Slept in a room with the ghost of Gram Parsons/ Drank some wine I can’t afford.†While reminding us she’s not getting above her raising and celebrates home in a way that feels real. Cause I’m still the girl from Golden, Had to get away so I could grow / But it don’t matter where I’m goin’, I’ll still call my hometown home.”
“This Town” is a personal favorite. With reverbed guitars, tambourine and eerie ‘Ode To Billy Joe’ – style strings Musgraves does her best Nancy Sinatra in this study on small town grapevine with it’s gossip and legit news puts Twitter to shame.
Musgraves worked behind the scenes foy years in Texas and Music Row before signing to Mercury Nashville and releasing “Same Trailer, Different Park.” Her chops shine in this excellent clutch of songs crafted with some of the friends – Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark, Luke Laird, Ashley Arrison, Josh Osborne, and Natalie Hemby – she’s made along the way.
Musgraves has much in common with one of her heroes, Willie Nelson. Both are adroit at the game and genre boundaries and are able to push the them to make room for a larger community. They affect change through the ver Southern qualities of quiet strength of example and likeability. They both stand as examples to an an industry, already excluding the female and alternative voice, that change is good.
‘Pageant Material’ is a subtle hillbilly Buddhist bomb of a record that will challenge attitudes. biases and business while being bracingly real.
The simple power is summed up nicely in a line in “The Good Ol’ Boys Club.” “It shouldn’t be about who it is you know / but about how good you are.”
Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis are often described as one of the finest roots male/female couples working today. Starting in July the husband and wife duo will bring that considerable talent to a mostly-Texas classic country duets tour they’ve labeled the “Key of Strife” tour.
The single released in May, ‘Storms Never Last’ originally performed by Jessi Colter & Waylon Jennings, is an perfect example of the caliber of performances to be expected.
“My favorite part about country music is how someone can talk about such a broad idea like that, like how life is hard, and say it so succinctly and with such grace. I think this concept is a great way to pay homage to all of the past great country couples.†– Bruce Robison
The logo and tour name “Key of Strife” is a play on Stevie Wonder’s famous album, ‘Songs in the Key of Life.’ The title’s inclusion of ‘strife” pokes fun at the popularity of somber country tunes while also honoring country’s greatest couples, such as George & Tammy, Johnny & June, Dolly & Kenny.
Hear ‘Storms Never Last’ and see tour dates below.
6/27/15 Black Marlin Bar & Grill – Port Aransas, Texas
7/03/15 The Kessler Theater – Dallas, TX
7/11/15 the Broken Spoke – Austin, Texas
7/17/15 Gruene Hall – Gruene TX
7/18/15 Mucky Duck – Houston
7/26/15 Red Ants Pants Festival – White Sulphur Springs, Montana
8/05/15 Main Street Crossing – Tomball TX
Building on an already stellar first-round lineup The Americana Music Association announced an additional 70 artists to perform at the 16th annual Americana Music Festival & Conference, which takes place in Nashville and runs September 15-20, 2015.
The six-day, city-wide festival fills Music City with fans, legends, newcomers, and tilts the quest for glitz into the early direction of a quest for a great song. With over 150 artists and bands scheduled, the event continues to dominate as the premier showcase for roots music and culture.
In addition to previously announced acts such as Los Lobos, Patty Griffin, and Lee Ann Womack, AmericanaFest will feature Ry Cooder, performing with Sharon White and Ricky Skaggs, Donnie Fritts performing with former Civil War John Paul White, former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson, current member of Old Crow Medicine Show Gill Landry supporting his solo effort.
Also included are Cale Tyson, Lindi Ortega, Luther Dickinson, Kelsey Waldon, Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, Gretchen Peters, American Aquarium, Legendary Shack Shakers and Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear who held a mesmerizing performance last year at Jack White’s Third Man performance space.
The list of the second round announcements is below, and a complete list can be found here.
Showcase wristbands ($50, increasing to $60 on August 15) allow admission into all showcase venues, some sanctioned parties and special events, and can be purchased here. Festival and Conference registrations ($365 for members/$465 for non-members) offer priority admission into all showcase venues, sanctioned parties and events, daytime educational panels, come with one ticket to the critically acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards show at the historic Ryman Auditorium, and can be purchased here.
List of Artists Added to AmericanaFest 2015:
Adam Faucett
American Aquarium
Amy LaVere
Andrew Leahey & The Homestead
Band of Heathens
Buddy Miller
Buxton
Cale Tyson
The Carmonas
Daniel Romano
Darrell Scott
David Wax Museum
Dirty River Boys
Donnie Fritts & John Paul White
Doug Seegers
Dreaming Spires
Dustbowl Revival
Eddie Berman
Eilen Jewell
The Fairfield Four
Gill Landry
The Good Lovelies
Great Peacock
Gretchen Peters
The Hillbenders
The Honeycutters
Humming House
JD & The Straight Shot
JD Souther
Jeffrey Foucault
Jim Lauderdale
Jonathan Tyler
Josh Rouse
JP Harris
Kacy & Clayton
Kelsey Waldon
Legendary Shack Shakers
Lewis and Leigh
Lindi Ortega
Los Colognes
Low Cut Connie
Luther Dickinson
Margo Price
The Mavericks
McCrary Sisters
Michaela Anne
Miss Tess & The Talkbacks
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Paper Bird
Pine Hill Project (featuring Richard Shindell & Lucy Kaplansky)
Pony Boy
Porter
Possessed By Paul James
Raised By Eagles
Ron Pope & The Nighthawks
Ry Cooder/Sharon White/Ricky Skaggs
Ryan Culwell
Sam Outlaw
Spirit Family Reunion
The Suffers
T. Hardy Morris
T Sisters
Taarka
Those Pretty Wrongs
Town Mountain
Uncle Lucius
Whitney Rose
Willie Watson
The Wood Brothers
The Rolling Stones are about half-way through their American “Zip Code” tour, but they waited until last night at Nashville’s LP Field to break out the classic cowboy junky track “Dead Flowers.”
Mick and the boys had vocal and guitar help from opener, and fanboy, Brad Paisley, who is donning his own classic lips and tongue logo shirt for the occasion.
On July 6th at Austin’s Moody Theater some of country and roots music’s most independent spirits will convene to pay tribute to a musical and cultural pioneer that helped blaze a trail they all travel, Waylon Jennings.
Two days after Willie Nelson’s Picnic many in Austin for Willie’s already fantastic event will gather with others to pay tribute to Jennings who died in his sleep in 2002 of diabetic complications.
The level of talent makes the ticket prices easier to swallow, $150 to $400, which go on sale at acl-live.com at 10 a.m. on Waylon’s birthday, Monday, June 15.
Ticket buyers also have an opportunity to purchase tickets to an exclusive after-party, proceeds which benefit “the United Way and earmarked to help Central Texas residents most affected by the recent Memorial Day floods,†according to a statement on the ACL Live website.
The lineup of “Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jenningsâ€:
• Willie Nelson • Kris Kristofferson • Sturgill Simpson • Jamey Johnson • Kacey Musgraves • Toby Keith • Lee Ann Womack • Ryan Bingham • Eric Church • Chris Stapleton • Billy Joe Shaver • Jessi Colter • Shooter Jennings
Kacey Musgraves is hitting the late night circuit ahead of her much-anticipated release ‘Pageant Material’ to be released later this month.
Musgraves treated fans to her steaming hot latest single “Biscuits.†The song reflects Kacey’s own no nonsense spunk and charm, and she and the band sported their cosmic country and western finery as they always do on her road performances.
‘Pageant Material’ is the follow-up to 2013’s 2-time Grammy-winning ‘Same Trailer Different Park’ and is sure to top the country and Americana charts.
In a separate video Musgraves reveals the song’s writing session with Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark and how “Biscuits,†how the recording session took advantage of some authentic bakeware as instrumentation and why the song wasn’t included on ‘Same Trailer Different Park’
Catch the replay and song background below.
Musgraves also gave some background on how she, Brandy Clark and
