7 years ago neo-bluegrass trio Nickel Creek,Chris Thile (mandolin/vocals), Sara Watkins (fiddle/vocals) and Sean Watkins (guitar/vocals) , went on “indefinite hiatus” and then ventured into separate successful solo careers. Many thought the day the band might reunite had passed
They would be wrong.
Nickel Creek have announced new album in the Spring of 2014 as well as a 7 city tour this Spring.
A limited ticket pre-sale will begin tomorrow, February 4 at 10 a.m. local time at nickelcreek.com. Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning this Friday, February 7.
Hear “Destination,” a song from the upcoming Nickel Creek album below.
Here’s the latest of Nickel Creek’s tour dates:
April 18 and 19 – Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
April 29 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
May 1 Boston, MA House of Blues
May 3 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
May 9 Chicago, IL Riviera Theater
May 19 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
June 19-22 Telluride, CO Telluride Bluegrass Festival
American Songwriter reports that Nonesuch Records will reissue Emmylou Harris’ acclaimed 1995 album Wrecking Ball as a three-disc set. The reissue will contain a remastered version of the original album, which snagged the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1996. There will also be a bonus CD of recently unearthed demos and outtakes.
The reissue will also include a documentary DVD “Building the Wrecking Ball,” featuring studio footage and interviews with Harris and producer Daniel Lanois, as well as album contributors Steve Earle and Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Neil Young, who wrote the title song.
Last month Harris celebrated her collaboration with Rodney Crowell, “Old Yellow Moon,” by winning the Grammy for Best Americana Album
In October of 2013 Emmylou Harris and Daniel Lanois, joined by Jim Wilson, Brian Blade and Malcolm Burn, performed “Wrecking Ball” in it’s entirety at the Marathon Music Works in Nashville. (see video below)
The Wrecking Ball reissues is slatted for release on April 8
In celebration of the reissue, Harris will hit the road with Lanois this spring. Check out tour dates below.
Disc 1
1. “Where Will I Be?†(Daniel Lanois)
2. “Goodbye†(Steve Earle)
3. “All My Tears†(Julie Miller)
4. “Wrecking Ball†(Neil Young)
5. “Goin’ Back to Harlan†(Anna McGarrigle)
6. “Deeper Well†(David Olney, Lanois, Emmylou Harris)
7. “Every Grain of Sand†(Bob Dylan)
8. “Sweet Old World†(Lucinda Williams)
9. “May This Be Love†(Jimi Hendrix)
10. “Orphan Girl†(Gillian Welch)
11. “Blackhawk†(Daniel Lanois)
12. “Waltz Across Texas Tonight†(Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris)
Disc 2 – Deeper Well: The Wrecking Ball Outtakes
1. Still Water 3:55
2. Where Will I Be (alternate version) 4:14
3. All My Tears 3:21
4. How Will I Ever Be Simple Again 3:36
5. Deeper Well 2:18
6. The Stranger Song 5:21
7. Sweet Old World (alternate version) 5:56
8. Gold 3:16
9. Blackhawk (alternate version) 4:40
10. May This Be Love (acoustic) 2:15
11. Goin’ Back to Harlan 2:35
12. Where Will I Be (alternate version) 2:13
13. Deeper Well 3:06
Emmylou Harris Wrecking Ball Tour Dates:
April 3 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
April 5 San Francisco, CA The Warfield
April 7 Royal Oak, MI The Royal Oak
April 8 Chicago, IL The Vic
April 11 Washington, DC The Lincoln Theatre
April 12 Brooklyn, NY TBA
April 13 Boston, MA The House of Blues
(additional tour dates to be announced)
The live (and lively) performance by country legends Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Merle Haggard on the 56th Annual Grammy Awards stage to perform the classics “Highwayman,” “Okie From Muskogee” and “Mamma’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” was a magnificent, albeit creaky, moment of music history. It is also a testament to how far off the reservation Music City has veered.
Leaving aside whether Blake Shelton merited a spot alongside such luminaries (cough…Jamey Johnson, Sturgill Simpson…cough) it was a highlight of the event.
Wille mentioned to Billboard.com that a formal collaboration among the three is in the works.
“We’re working on one now, yeah,” Nelson said, adding that they’ll release it “as soon as we get it together.”
Tentatively called “The Musketeers†(SavingCountryMusic.com) this will be the first time the trio has collaborated on the same project. Nelson is the common bond as he recorded the Townes Van Zandt’s classic, “Pancho & Lefty,” with Haggard and worked with Kristofferson in The Highwaymen alongside Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.
Given Kristofferson and Haggard’s recent health concerns a collaboration album released this year might be the last we hear from these gentleman. I certainly hope not.
But going out among friends would be a fine adios.
It’s fashionable to gripe about the current sorry state of contemporary country music and for good reason. In it’s single-minded obsession for hits and radio charting Music Row often appears to be like an Chinese iPad factory (with better clothes.) A casual listen of country music hits from the last 40 years clearly shows that the industry often tilts the cultural scales toward stacks of commerce over the beauty of craft.
Mary Sarah has the looks and the pipes to shoot for the denim and glitter of Country Music stardom. She even toured with the lucrative Kidz Bop franchise as a singer and dancer when she was 12 years old. The lady’s got options
But performing in the Texas near her home in Richmond TX home (outside Houston) put her in a unique position to be steeped in tradition and to meet some of the legends that created that music.
Her upcoming release, “Bridges,†is a collection iconic songs done as duets with the legends that made them famous. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Vince Gill, recorded over the last two-and-a-half years.
“I never imagined that singing these songs in the Texas Oprys would lead to one day recording them with some of the greatest country legends of our time,†Mary Sarah says. “Working on this album and with these legends has changed my life. Not only did I learn more about traditional country music, it has led me to have a clearer vision of what I want to accomplish in country music.â€
That doesn’t sound like a crass money grab to grease the path to maga-stardom. It does sound like a smart move in a genre starving for substance to set herself up for longevity and, dare I say, a shot as legend.
Yes, Loretta there is hope for Music City.
“Bridges” is expected to be released in early April.
“Bridges†track listing
“Jolene†with Dolly Parton
“Crazy†with Willie Nelson
“Fightin’ Side of Me†with Merle Haggard
“Heartaches by the Number†with Ray Price
“What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life†with Ronnie Milsap
“Texas, When I Die†with Tanya Tucker
“Rose Garden†with Lynn Anderson
“Go Rest High on That Mountain†with Vince Gill
“Dream On†with the Oak Ridge Boys
All I Wanna Do Is Sing My Song†with Freddy Powers
“Where the Boys Are†with Neil Sedaka
“My Great Escape†with Big & Rich (original song)
“I’m Sorry†(solo version of Brenda Lee classic)
The Music Row protest song is nothing new. Working a narrative within a form that shows reverence for legacy while tweaking the nose of current business practices is tricky. Doing it well without seeming petty is even trickier.
Waylon Jennings’ #1 single “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way†and George Strait’s “Murder on Music Row†as well as newcomer’s Jason Eady’s “AM Country Heaven” and Sturgill Simpson’s “You Can Have The Crown” are all sterling examples.
15-year-old songwriter and performer Melody Williamson, from the Nashville based string band Williamson Branch, has penned an original composition that I believe fits right in with the above. “There’s No Country Here†paves the way fro her to join the ranks of the current female cadre of Outlaws, Musgraves, Monroe, Clark and Lambert.
Sarah Jarosz made her stunning television debut last night on the Conan O’brien show.
Sarah donned a little black dress and cowboy boots, and her spectacular band, fiddler Alex Hargreaves and cellist Nathaniel Smith, killed it in this performance of “Over The Edge from her current release “Build Me Up From Bones”
Embodying the Southern sass of Lorett spiked with a little of the garage grit of the White Stripes, Sally Jaye and Sarah Roberts make up the North Carolina duo Ladies Gun Club’s new single,Big Bass Drum,is a great mix of southern slide and foot stomping.
The cut is produced by Josh Day, written and performed by LGC with musicians, Brian Wright, Dylan Cooper, Philip Krohnengold, and Josh Day.

Regarding the name, soon after meeting, the pair borrowed the name from an actual ladies’ gun club in North Carolina.
I say they have taken deadly aim and hit the mark here.
Get your Southern gritty groove on (by way of Oregon) with this new video for Root Jack’s “Dead Man’s Hand” from their upcoming “Oasis Motel.”
The band says that the video is a “…DIY affair. Using a single light bulb, an old sheet, and some public domain video.” The “video-ographer” was 16 year-old Max Vegas.
Jason Isbell will make his Austin City Limits debut this Saturday, January 11th on PBS. Here’s a taste of the performance, Isbell plays “Cover Me Up” from his latest excellent release “Southeastern.”
Check your local PBS listings for dates and times in your area.
David Letterman, and his music booker at the Late Show Sheryl Zilikson, continued their ongoing support of Americana and roots music by featuring the creator of my #1 pick of last year, Brandy Clark
Clark performed the song “Stripes†from that latest debut “12 Stories.â€
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgQ7Y1U2M2A
ON EDIT: Want more Brandy? Here’s ‘Hold My Hand’ from ‘Hold My Hand’ in the Morning
