Category Archives: Folk

2016 Grammy Awards Nominees : Sturgill Simpson , Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn – Margo Price Snubbed

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Nominations for the 2016 Grammy Awards have wee announced with the usual fanfare and one big surprise. let’s get the big one out of the way first, Reluctant outlaw country revisionist Sturgill Simpson might very well be on his way to achieving ‘the biggest country star on this planet‘ status by joining the glitterati ranks shared with Beyoncé, Drake, Justin Bieber, and Adele as nominees for the Album of the Year. there hasn’t been this much attention on the Grammy nominee announcements since Chorney-gate. This would seem improbable except that so many extraordinary things have happened since Simpson’s psychedelic-roots-soul epic ‘A Sailor’s Guide to Earth’ that it’s hard not to believe that it’s not all part of some master plan.

If Sturgill wins I dare Kanye to climb the stage to contest the decision.

Then there was the nomination of Simpson’s least country album for Best Country Album. But I’ve given on trying to read the recording academy mind a long time ago.

Other surprising nominations include Bob Dylan’s ‘Fallen Angels’ for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Robbie Fulks’s ‘Upland Stories’ and Sierra Hull’s ‘Weighted Mind’ for Best Folk Album, and Loretta Lynn’s ‘Full Circle’ for Best County Album.

Lori McKenna is up for 4 Grammys including Tim McGraw’s ‘Humble And Kind’ for Best Country Song and Best American Roots Performance, Best American Roots Song and Best Americana Album and for her latest solo Dave Cobb – produced effort ‘The Bird & The Rifle.’

The biggest snub was against the only other person to garner almost as much ink as Sturgill Simpson. Margo Price was criminally overlooked by the recording academy for her splendid debut ‘ Midwest Farmer’s Daughter.’
And no love was shown for multiple Grammy-winning ex-Civil War John Paul White for his excellent solo offering ‘Beulah.’

And no Wheeler Walker Jr for best comedy Album? C’mon now!

What are your thoughts on the Grammy noms this year? What did they miss? Let me in know the comments.

The 59th Annual Grammy Awards air Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, on CBS.

See the full list of nominees at Grammy.com

Best Country Solo Performance:
Brandy Clark — “Love Can Go to Hell”
Miranda Lambert — “Vice”
Maren Morris — “My Church”
Carrie Underwood — “Church Bells”
Keith Urban — “Blue Ain’t Your Color”

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:
Andrea Bocelli — ‘Cinema’
Bob Dylan — ‘Fallen Angels’
Josh Groban — ‘Stages Live’
Willie Nelson — ‘Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin’
Barbra Streisand — ‘Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway’

Best Roots Gospel Album:
Gaither Vocal Band — ‘Better Together’
The Isaacs — ‘Nature’s Symphony In 432’
Joey+Rory — ‘Hymns’
Gordon Mote — ‘Hymns and Songs of Inspiration’
Various Artists — ‘God Don’t Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson’

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:
Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King — “Different for Girls”
Brothers Osborne — “21 Summer”
Kenny Chesney & P!nk – “Setting The World On Fire”
Pentatonix Featuring Dolly Parton — “Jolene”
Chris Young With Cassadee Pope — “Think Of You”

Best Country Song: (awarded to songwriters)
Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey & Steven Lee Olsen, songwriters (Keith Urban) — “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
Sean Douglas, Thomas Rhett & Joe Spargur, songwriters (Thomas Rhett) — “Die A Happy Man”
Lori McKenna, songwriter (Tim McGraw) — “Humble and Kind”
busbee & Maren Morris, songwriters (Maren Morris) — “My Church”
Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Miranda Lambert) — “Vice”

Best Country Album:
Brandy Clark — ‘Big Day In A Small Town’
Loretta Lynn — ‘Full Circle’
Maren Morris — ‘Hero’
Sturgill Simpson — ‘A Sailor’s Guide To Earth’
Keith Urban — ‘Ripcord’

Best American Roots Performance:
The Avett Brothers — “Ain’t No Man”
Blind Boys Of Alabama — “Mother’s Children Have A Hard Time”
Rhiannon Giddens — “Factory Girl”
Sarah Jarosz — “House Of Mercy”
Lori McKenna — “Wreck You”

Best American Roots Song: (awarded to songwriters)
Robbie Fulks, songwriter (Robbie Fulks) — “Alabama At Night”
Jack White, songwriter (Jack White) — “City Lights”
Eric Adcock & Roddie Romero, songwriters (Roddie Romero And The Hub City All-Stars) — “Gulfstream”
Vince Gill, songwriter (The Time Jumpers) — “Kid Sister”
Lori McKenna & Felix McTeigue, songwriters (Lori McKenna) — “Wreck You”

Best Americana Album:
The Avett Brothers — ‘True Sadness’
William Bell — ‘This Is Where I Live’
Kris Kristofferson — ‘The Cedar Creek Sessions’
Lori McKenna — ‘The Bird & The Rifle’
The Time Jumpers — ‘Kid Sister’

Best Bluegrass Album:
Blue Highway — ‘Original Traditional’
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver — Burden Bearer
Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands — ‘The Hazel Sessions’
Claire Lynch — ‘North And South’
O’Connor Band With Mark O’Connor — ‘Coming Home’

Best Folk Album:
Judy Collins & Ari Hest — ‘Silver Skies Blue’
Robbie Fulks — ‘Upland Stories’
Rhiannon Giddens — ‘Factory Girl’
Sierra Hull — ‘Weighted Mind’
Sarah Jarosz — ‘Undercurrent’

Best Regional Roots Music Album:
Barry Jean Ancelet & Sam Broussard — ‘Broken Promised Land’
Northern Cree — ‘It’s A Cree Thing’
Kalani Pe’a — ‘E ‘Walea
’
Roddie Romero And The Hub City All-Stars — ‘Gulfstream’
Various Artists — ‘I Wanna Sing Right: Rediscovering Lomax In The Evangeline Country’

Best Album Notes
The Complete Monument & Columbia Albums Collection – Mikal Gilmore, album notes writer (Kris Kristofferson)
Label: Legacy Recordings
The Knoxville Sessions, 1929-1930: Knox County Stomp – Ted Olson & Tony Russell, album notes writers (Various Artists)
Label: Bear Family Productions Ltd.
Ork Records: New York, New York
Rob Sevier & Ken Shipley, album notes writers (Various Artists)
Label: The Numero Group
Sissle And Blake Sing Shuffle Along- Ken Bloom & Richard Carlin, album notes writers (Eubie Blake & Noble Sissle)
Label: Harbinger Records/The Musical Theater Project
Waxing The Gospel: Mass Evangelism & The Phonograph, 1890-1900- Richard Martin, album notes writer (Various Artists)

Best Historical Album:
The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series, Vol.12 (Collector’s Edition)
Steve Berkowitz & Jeff Rosen, compilation producers; Mark Wilder, mastering engineer (Bob Dylan)
Label: Columbia/Legacy
Music Of Morocco From The Library Of Congress: Recorded By Paul Bowles, 1959
April G. Ledbetter, Steven Lance Ledbetter, Bill Nowlin & Philip D. Schuyler, compilation producers; Rick Fisher & Michael Graves, mastering engineers (Various Artists)
Label: Dust-To-Digital
Ork Records: New York, New York
Rob Sevier & Ken Shipley, compilation producers; Jeff Lipton & Maria Rice, mastering engineers (Various Artists)
Label: The Numero Group
Vladimir Horowitz: The Unreleased Live Recordings 1966-1983
Bernard Horowitz, Andreas K. Meyer & Robert Russ, compilation producers; Andreas K. Meyer & Jeanne Montalvo, mastering engineers (Vladimir Horowitz)
Label: Sony Classical
Waxing The Gospel: Mass Evangelism & The Phonograph, 1890-1900
Michael Devecka, Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Michael Devecka, David Giovannoni, Michael Khanchalian & Richard Martin, mastering engineers (Various Artists)
Label: Archeophone Records

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Are You Serious
Tchad Blake & David Boucher, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Andrew Bird)
Label: Loma Vista Recordings
Blackstar
David Bowie, Tom Elmhirst, Kevin Killen & Tony Visconti, engineers; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer (David Bowie)
Label: ISO/Columbia Records
Dig In Deep
Ryan Freeland, engineer; Kim Rosen, mastering engineer (Bonnie Raitt)
Label: Redwing Records
Hit N Run Phase Two
Booker T., Dylan Dresdow, Chris James, Prince & Justin Stanley, engineers; Dylan Dresdow, mastering engineer (Prince)
Label: NPG Records
Undercurrent
Shani Gandhi & Gary Paczosa, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Sarah Jarosz)
Label: Sugar Hill Records

Valerie June Sophomore Release ‘The Order Of Time ‘ Out Early 2017

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Valerie June

Americana chanteuse Valerie June will release her follow-up to 2013’s breakout LP, ‘Pushin’ Against a Stone’ on January 27th, 2017 (Concord Records). The Tennessee-bred, Brooklyn-based songwriter ‘weaves electric blues, African rhythms, cosmic atmospherics and delicate soul into an inventive and wholly original rumination on love, family, struggle and the passing of time.’

June will also embark on a North American headline tour in support of ‘The Order Of Time.’ The announcement comes as June wraps up a series of performances this fall with Norah Jones and Sturgill Simpson. Tour dates below with more to be announced in the following weeks.

Produced by Matt Marinelli, ‘The Order of Time’ includes twelve original songs all written by June and features appearances from June’s family, her father, Emerson Hockett and brothers, Patrick and Jason Hockett .

Read June’s conversation with NPR’s Ann Powers here.

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Pre-Order The Order of Time

Tickets go on-sale Wednesday, October 26th at 10am ET via Music Glue. Those who purchase tickets through Music Glue will be able to pre-order ‘The Order of Time’ at a discounted price.

‘THE ORDER OF TIME’ TOUR DATES:
2/7 – Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre
2/8 – Montreal, Quebec @ Club Soda
2/9 – Toronto, Canada @ The Great Hall
2/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
2/11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Warhol at Carnegie Lecture
2/13 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Bar
2/14 – Newport, KY @ The Southgate House Revival
2/15 – Louisville, KY @ Bomhard Theater at the Kentucky
2/16 – Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
2/17 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Cafe
2/18 – St. Louis, MO @ Duck Room at Blueberry Hill
2/20 – Chicago, IL @ Park West
2/21 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
2/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
2/24 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
2/25 – Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads Saloon
2/27 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
2/28 – Austin, TX @ The Paramount Theatre
3/1 – Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater
3/2 – New Orleans, LA @ The Republic
3/3 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
3/4 – Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
3/5 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
3/6 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
3/7 – Durham, NC @ Carolina Theatre
3/9 – Washington, DC @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
3/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theatre
3/11 – New York, NY @ Town Hall

Steve Earle’s Iconic Guitar Town To Be Celebrated With 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

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Steve Earle's Guitar Town

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Earle’s iconic Guitar Town, MCA Nashville/UMe will release a deluxe edition of the album on CD and digital on October 14. The two-disc set will feature the classic album remastered from the original tapes by Robert Vosgien along with a previously unreleased 19-song live show recorded on the Guitar Town tour at the Park West in Chicago in 1986 and expanded liner notes. Pre-order and stream Guitar Town: 

The concert will also be available on its own as a double LP on 180-gram vinyl exclusively at UDiscover. A remastered vinyl edition of Guitar Town, cut for vinyl by Ron McMaster at Capitol Mastering and also remastered by Vosgien, was released in May along with Earle’s other MCA studio releases: Exit 0, Copperhead Road and The Hard Way.

Steve Earle’s status as a pioneer of the second wave Outlaw country movement and a founding father of alt.country and the resulting Americana movement didn’t come easy.

Songwriter sessions with Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark provided a wet stone where Earle sharpened his craft. Later he ended up in Nashville, playing bass in Guy Clark’s band and working at a publishing house as a staff songwriter with some mid-level chart success. Few imagined the long haired gruff San Antonian would release a watershed debut that shook up the typically staid Music Row machine and introduced the “great 80’scredibility scare” that included, among others Lyle Lovett and k.d. Lang.

Released on March 5. 1986, and produced by Emory Gordy, Jr. and Tony Brown  Guitar Town fused country heart and twang with hard-edged rock n’ roll and created something startling fresh and crakeling with rebellion.

Eventually though, the album, which was inspired by seeing Bruce Springsteen on his “Born To Run” tour, was discovered by rednecks, punks and headbangers alike. Like Willie and Waylon a generation before Earle brought together disparate music factions typically not used to occupying the same space in the record store. Drawn by the universal subjects of small-town aspirations, the demise of the American dream, hard living and songs about life on the road away from one’s family spoke to them. 

Guitar Town went on to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart and garnered two GRAMMY® Award nominations for Earle – Best Male Country Vocalist and Best Country Song for the album’s title track, which reached No. 7 on Billboard’s Country Singles chart. Earle, who several months before had been slogging away trying to get his break, received comparisons to such celebrated songwriters as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty and Tom Petty as the album became one of the most acclaimed of the ‘80s. It topped Rolling Stone’s Critic’s Poll for Country Album Of The Year and later was included in both the magazine’s 100 Best Albums Of The Eighties and their esteemed 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time lists. In their rave review, the Los Angeles Times hailed it as “one of the most endearing and exciting American debuts” in recent years, adding, “an album of this quality in a more mainstream country style would be hailed as the discovery of the year in country music.” The record, which also spawned the No. 8 Country Single, “Goodbye’s All We Got Left” as well as “Hillbilly Highway” and “Someday” is certified platinum in Canada and gold in the U.S.

Recorded at the Park West in Chicago in 1986 while on tour in support of Guitar Town, the live album is a new unearthed treasure that brims with the palpable energy and excitement that can only come from a band feeling on top of the world as its music connects with a fervent crowd. The high-quality sounding recording captures a watershed night as Earle realizes the dream he’s had since moving to Nashville at 19 has finally came true. Earle and his band – Bucky Baxter and Michael McAdam on guitars, Reno Kling on bass, Ken Moore on keyboards and Harry Stinson on drums – barrel through 19 songs including the entirety of Guitar Town, several tracks from the then-unreleased sophomore album, Exit 0, and a cover of Springsteen’s “State Trooper.” Nearly out of songs with an insatiable audience screaming for one more, Earle takes the stage for the third encore of the night with just an acoustic guitar for “No. 29.” As the crowd cheers wildly, Earle exclaims, “This has been the thrill of my life and that’s no shit.” It’s a poignant snapshot of an artist being genuinely overwhelmed that he had finally got what he was seeking, and just a sneak peek at what was to come.

https://youtu.be/_dyxvskkQwQ

STEVE EARLE – GUITAR TOWN 30TH ANNIVERSARY
DISC ONE – ORIGINAL ALBUM
1. Guitar Town
2. Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left
3. Hillbilly Highway
4. Good Ol’ Boy (Gettin’ Tough)
5. My Old Friend The Blues
6. Someday
7. Think It Over
8. Fearless Heart
9. Little Rock ‘N’ Roller
10. Down The Road
 
DISC TWO – LIVE AT PARK WEST, CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 15, 1986
1. Guitar Town
2. Sweet Little ‘66
3. Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left To Say
4. Hillbilly Highway
5. My Old Friend The Blues
6. Good Ol’ Boy (Getting’ Tough)
7. Someday
8. Think It Over
9. Little Rock ‘N’ Roller
10. State Trooper
11. The Week Of Living Dangerously
12. Angry Young Man
13. Nowhere Road
14. Fearless Heart
15. I Love You Too Much
16. San Antonio Girl
17. The Devil’s Right Hand
18. Down The Road
19. No. 29
 
STEVE EARLE – LIVE AT PARK WEST, CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 15, 1986
VINYL EDITION
 
SIDE A
1. Guitar Town
2. Sweet Little ‘66
3. Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left To Say
4. Hillbilly Highway
5. My Old Friend The Blues
 
SIDE B
6. Good Ol’ Boy (Getting’ Tough)
7. Someday
8. Think It Over
9. Little Rock ‘N’ Roller
 
SIDE C
10. State Trooper
11. The Week Of Living Dangerously
12. Angry Young Man
13. Nowhere Road
14. Fearless Heart
 
SIDE D
15. I Love You Too Much
16. San Antonio Girl
17. The Devil’s Right Hand
18. Down The Road
19. No. 29
 
STEVE EARLE ON TOUR
October 4 – Telluride, CO @ Sheridan Opera House #
October 6 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater #
October 8 – Kansas City, MO @ Kauffman Center For The Performing Arts %
October 9 – Lincoln, NE @ Rococo Theater %
October 11 – St. Louis, MO @ Sheldon Concert Hall %
October 12 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater @
October 13 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theater @
October 14 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall @
October 16 – Boston, MA @ Berklee Performance Center @
October 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Merriam Theater @
October 21 – Washington, DC @ Lisner Auditorium @
November 2 – Calgary, AB @ Grey Eagle Resort & Casino ^
November 3 – Regina, SK @ Casino Regina-Show Lounge ^
November 4 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre ^
November 5 – Minneapolis, MN @ Pantages Theatre ^
November 7 – Cleveland, OH @ Music Box ^
November 8 – Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Center Theatre ^
November 10 – St. Johns, NL @ Holy Heart Theatre ^
November 11 – St. Johns, NL @ Holy Heart Theatre ^
November 13 – Halifax, NS @ Casino Nova Scotia ^
November 14 – Halifax, NS @ Casino Nova Scotia ^
November 16 – Kingston, ON @ The Ale House ^
November 17 – London, ON @ London Music Hall ^
November 18 – Niagara Falls, ON @ Scotia Bank Convention Center ^
December 2 – Annapolis, MD @ Maryland Hall For The Creative Arts ^
December 5 – New York, NY @ Town Hall – John Henry’s Friends Benefit w/ Graham Nash, Shawn Colvin, Matt Savage and Steve Earle & The Dukes performing Guitar Town

^ performing Guitar Town
# Steve Earle Solo Acoustic
% Lampedusa: Concerts For Refugees w/ Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Milk Carton Kids
@ Lampedusa: Concerts For Refugees w/ Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Milk Carton Kids and special guest Robert Plant

Watch Out! Ryan Adams Revisits “Oh My Sweet Carolina” on Colbert

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Ryan Adams Revisits “Oh My Sweet Carolina”

Ryan Adams took time away from his classic rock persona to revisit his earlier incarnation of roots-rocker. Taking to the Late Night stage in an intimate setting Adams turned the focus toward his 2000 solo classic debut ‘Heartbreaker.’

Adams was joined by Infamous Stringdusters and Nicki Bluhm, sitting in for Emmylou Harris, who provided harmony on the original.

Adams revisit is to shed light on the re-issue of ‘Heartbreaker,’ which had a deluxe version reissued earlier this year.

https://youtu.be/YgP1J34D8LA

John Prine Will Release New album ‘For Better, Or Worse’ This Fall

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John Prine - For Better, Or Worse

The other day John Prine teased some upcoming music by posting a picture on his Facebook page of he and long-time collaborator Iris DeMent laying down some tracks in his home studio.

Now the great news is out. On September 30, Oh Boy Records will release John Prine’s latest, ‘For Better, Or Worse,’ a thematic bookend to his classic, Grammy nominated ‘In Spite of Ourselves. Produced by Jim Rooney, John performs duets with country and roots luminaries like the aforementioned Iris DeMent, as well as Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Kathy Mattea, Kacey Musgraves, Fiona Prine, Amanda Shires, Morgane Stapleton, Susan Tedeschi, Holly Williams, and Lee Ann Womack.

Wow, indeed.

The classic songs on ‘For Better, Or Worse,’ originally recorded by artists such as Hank Williams, George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Buck Owens and others, are in John’s blood. “I cut my teeth on Hank Williams songs,” he says. “When I sing these songs there is a small pipeline straight from my heart to my lips.” The tracks take listeners through the universal cycle of love’s pull, love’s bend, love’s life, and love’s end.

The toe-tapping first single, “Who’s Gonna Take The Garbage Out,” originally done by Loretta Lynn with Ernest Tubb, features Iris Dement, is available now when you pre-order the new record. Hear it below.

This fall, John will celebrate both the new album and his approaching 70th birthday with two shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Sept. 30th & Oct. 1st, where he will be joined by some of the duet partners from ‘For Better, Or Worse.’

John Prine took time to talk to NPR’s Jewly Hight about the album.

Tracklist:
John Prine/Iris DeMent – Who’s Gonna Take The Garbage Out
John Prine/Lee Ann Womack – Storms Never Last
John Prine/Alison Krauss – Falling in Love Again
John Prine/Susan Tedeschi – Color of the Blues
John Prine/Holly Williams – I’m Telling You
John Prine/Kathy Mattea – Remember Me (When Candlelights Are Gleaming)
John Prine/Morgane Stapleton – Look At Us
John Prine/Amanda Shires – Dim Lights, Thich Smoke and Loud, Loud Music
John Prine/Lee Ann Womack – Fifteen Years Ago
John Prine/Miranda Lambert – Cold, Cold Heart
John Prine/Kathy Mattea – Dreaming My Dreams With You
John Prine/Kacey Musgraves – Mental Cruelty
John Prine/Iris DeMent – Mr. & Mrs. Used to Be
John Prine/Fiona Prine – My Happiness
John Prine – Just Waitin’

Americana Music Association and Record Store Day Announce AMERICANA MUSIC MONTH

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AMERICANA MUSIC MONTH

Record Store Day always offers great limited edition Americana/folk/country/Bluegrass as well as other genres, but now it seems that June is all about the twang.

The good folks at Nashville-based Americana Music Association and Record Store Day have joined forces to make June AMERICANA MUSIC MONTH. More than 100 independent record stores are participating throughout the month providing free music samplers, special deals on new and classic Americana albums, and special in-store performances all month long.

Check the RSD site for participating indy record stores and chaeck back for more information.

Watch Out! Robert Ellis – “How I Love You” [VIDEO]

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Robert Ellis - "How I Love You"

Texas folk/country singer travels the big lonely in his new video “How I Love You.”

The track is from Ellis’ forthcoming self-titled LP, drums shuffle over a swelling piano with condensed electric guitar squeezing out sadness that fills the abandoned city Ellis traverses with dread and glimpses of hope embodied by a woman from the past? The future?

Ellis tells Consequence Of Sound – “Cullen (Kelly – the video’s diector) came to me with the concept of shooting a video in a major metropolitan area and making it feel completely empty,” Ellis explains to Consequence of Sound. “I think the city is the third character in this video. The idea is that falling in love has the power to bring a whole world into existence that wasn’t there before.”

“How I Love You” was penned by Delta Spirit frontman, Matthew Logan Vasquez anad can be found on Robert Ellis’ eponymous new release, out June 3rd via New West Records. Pre-order here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGtUMfI_1N0

Jaason Isbell Leads Americana Music Award Nominees

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Americana Music Award Nominees
(L-R) Ethan Jodziewicz, Sierra Hull, Kenneth Pattengale, Lucinda Williams, Joey Ryan, Margo Price, Jed Hilly.
Photo by Sarah Como

The nominees for the 15th annual Americana Music Awards and Honors was announced yesterday from the historic Mansion on O Street in Washington, D.C. Aside from the odd elitism that an event from a ballroom of the luxury hotel symbolizes (the Mansion? I wonder if it’s on a hill?) it was an entertaining and fun event.

The event was streamed via Facebook’s new ‘Live’ feature exclusively through NPR Music’s Facebook page. The Milk Carton Kids — Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan – were their usual droll elves. Ryan once making he connection between the event’s DC location and his vow to “Make Americana great again.” While donning a bright red cap emblazoned with that motto. It was huuuuuge.

Stellar performances by Lucinda Williams, Margo Price and Sierra Hull (who should be a nominee next year) with Ethan Jodziewicz put the spotlight on the purpose of the event – exceptional music by extraordinary musicians.

Alabama troubadour Jason Isbell continues his much-deserved success by leading the nominees with 3 nods for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. Lucinda Williams, Chris Stapleton and newcomer Margo Price each nominated for two apiece. Mainstream country crossover is reflected not only by Stapleton but also by Texan Kacey Musgraves

The 2016 Americana Music Association Festival and Conference is scheduled for September 20-25, with the awards ceremony being held at the historic Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday, September 21. Americana Music Association honors additional distinguished members of the music community with Lifetime Achievement Awards, which will be announced leading up to the event.

Jim Lauderdale is a natural as the proceedings host and Buddy Miller fronts the always exemplary house band.

Can’t make to to the event? Understandable, as it has sold out in recent years. But do not despair, the Americana Honors and Awards show will shown live on AXS TV and an edited version will show up on PBS at a later date. It will also be broadcast via SiriusXM Radio, BBC2, WSM and Voice of America.

South Carolina newcomers Shovels and Rope will lead the field with four nominations, followed by legendary Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller each with three nods. I’m happy to report that a few of my choices made it on the list this year(Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, YES!) and John Fullbright is up for Emerging Artist of the Year. Well if being nominated for the Americana Album of the year Grammy, as Fullbright was before losing to Bonnie Raitt, isn’t emerging the I don’t know what is. Dwight Yoakam’s dominance of the Americana charts earlier this year with his new release Three Pears (my review) also garnered him an Artist of the Year nod.

Here is the full list of the 2013 Americana Music Award nominees. Are your choices here?

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Something More Than Free – Jason Isbell
The Ghosts of Highway 20 – Lucinda Williams
The Very Last Day – Parker Millsap
Traveller – Chris Stapleton

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Isbell
Bonnie Raitt
Chris Stapleton
Lucinda Williams

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Leon Bridges
John Moreland
Margo Price
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

SONG OF THE YEAR
“24 Frames” Jason Isbell
“Dime Store Cowgirl” Kacey Musgraves
“Hands Of Time” Margo Price
“S.O.B.” Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
Alabama Shakes
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
Lake Street Dive
The Milk Carton Kids
Tedeschi Trucks Band

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Cindy Cashdollar
Stuart Duncan
Jedd Hughes
Sara Watkins

Watch Out! Dixie Chicks Cover Beyoncé “Daddy Lessons” – Manchester, UK 2016

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Dixie Chicks - Beyoncé cover "Daddy Lessons" - U.K. 2016

Much fuss has been made about Beyoncé new release; Lemonade. My social feeds and phone texts have called my attention to one particular cut off the album, “Daddy’s Lessons,” a rootsy number detailing learnings of self-defense and pride any Texan will recognize.

The Dixie Chicks on their current DCX MMXVI tour showed their love for the fellow Texan by wonderfully covering the song live in Manchester, England on April 39th.

The Chicks stayed true to the original adding their beautiful harmonies and making it even more rootsy.

“It painted a country picture in our minds,” Kevin Cossum, the song’s co-writer told Billboard. “It sounded tough. ‘So my daddy said shoot.’ You see the whiskey on the table. You see the rifle. It just had that feel to it. It didn’t take the hip-hop element to make it tough, which I think is very cool especially for Beyonce. And it goes with her being from Texas. Her vibe to it just makes sense for how it all came together.”

The song is motivated by Beyonce’s childhood roots in Texas and the lessons she learned from her father, Matthew Knowles, who has been a driving force not just in Beyonce’s life but in her career—he managed her from the Girls Tyme days through Destiny’s Child and through her early solo career. However, Beyonce fired her father as her manager in March 2011.

Watch the performance below: