Category Archives: News Round Up

Listen Up! Willie Watson – “Samson and Delilah”

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Willie Watson

“Samson and Delilah” is a traditional song based on the Biblical parable of the seductress Delilah whom Samson loved, and who led to his downfall. The song has been covered by Blind Willie Johnson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and many others the version of the song best known is by The Grateful Dead from their 1977 album ‘Terrapin Station.’

Neo folk interpreter Willie Watson infuses the work with fresh blood of reverence and stirring giving those others versions a worthy running. The song is given a Sunday morning gospel feel by the special guest vocals by The Fairfield Four.

Produced by David Rawlings and recorded on analog tape at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN, Watson’s anticipated new solo album, ‘Folksinger Vol. 2’ features eleven songs unearthed from the canon of American folk music including songs popularised by Leadbelly, Reverend Gary Davis, Furry Lewis and Bascom Lamar Lunsford. In addition to The Fairfield Four on three tracks, the album features Gillian Welch, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Morgan Jahnig and Punch Brothers’ Paul Kowert.

“I’m not trying to prove any point here,” Watson comments, “and I’m not trying to be a purist. There’s so much beauty in this old music, and it affects me on a deep level. It moves me and inspires me. I heard Leadbelly singing with the Golden Gate Quartet and it sounded fantastic, and I thought, ‘I want to do that.’ I heard the Grateful Dead doing their version of ‘On the Road Again,’ and it sounded like a dance party in 1926, and I wanted to do that, too. That’s the whole reason I ever played music in the first place—because it looked and sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun.”

The new album arrives three years after ‘Folk Singer Vol. 1,’ Watson’s first release since parting ways with Old Crow Medicine Show in 2011.

Based in Los Angeles, Watson is a member of the Dave Rawlings Machine and will soon make his acting debut in the Coen Brother’s latest project, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”

FOLKSINGER VOL. 2 TRACK LIST
1. Samson And Delilah (feat. The Fairfield Four)
2. Gallows Pole
3. When My Baby Left Me
4. Dry Bones
5. Walking Boss
6. On The Road Again (feat. The Fairfield Four)
7. The Cuckoo Bird
8. Always Lift Him Up And Never Knock Him Down
9. John Henry
10. Leavin’ Blues
11. Take This Hammer (feat. The Fairfield Four)

Willie Watson’s ‘Folksinger Vol. 2 will be released September 15
via Acony Records

Pre-order here.

Musicians Come Together to Celebarate John Prine and Support Jessi “Zazu” Wariner

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On July 27th Americana and Music Row communities will join for a night to perform live John Prine covers to support Those Darlins member Jessi “Zazu” Wariner fight with cancer and to celebrate the master songwriter’s legacy.

 “The Songs of John Prine,” is a covers a show that will celebrates the re-release of the 2010 John Prine tribute record Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows, which includes Those Darlins’ rendition of “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian.”

Basement East in Nashville will host the event featuring artists all inspired by Prine’s storied classics, Alex Caress, Amanda Shires, Andrew Combs, Andrew Leahey, Brothers Osborne, Caitlin Rose, Caroline Rose, Colter Wall, Cory Branan, Darrin Bradbury, Elise Davis, Elizabeth Cook, Holly Williams, Jason Isbell, Jon Latham, Kelsey Waldon, Larissa Murphy, Levi Hummon, Lilly Hiatt, Muddy Magnolias, The Nicholson Brothers, Paul Cauthen, and The Whiskey Gentry (+ with more to be announce

Those Darlins straddled the territories of roots-rock and garage. The band’s final album Blur the Line was released in 2013, and closes with the cut “Ain’t Afraid,” the song that become Zazu’s slogan of perseverance in her fight against cancer.

Buy tickets to the event. sold out

To order a pressing of Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows, visit https://store.johnprine.com/. 

For more Information about Jessi Zazu and her fight with cancer, visit her youcaring page. 

The Texas Gentlemen Sign To New West Records, To Release Debut ‘TX Jelly’ This Fall

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The Texas Gentlemen

One of the highlights of Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion was witnessing the manic genius of The Texas Gentlemen. The Lone Star quintet of Beau Bedford, Nik Lee, Daniel Creamer, Matt McDonald, and Ryan Ake played a fantastic set then went on to prove even greater dexterity by backing Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ray Benson and Billy Joe Shaver during the Texas Review portion of the show.

Now the TG are set to share thier gloriousness with the world.

The Texas Gentlemen have signed to New West Records and are set to share thier gloriousness with the world by releasing their debut album ‘TX Jelly’ on September 15th, 2017.

The 11-song set was cut live in four days at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL. This was paired down from 28 songs recorded in the 96-hour time span spent at FAME and moves between contemplative and raucous, encompassing the full breadth of the American music experience. The album was produced by band leader and organist Beau Bedford.

The 96-hour time span spent at FAME and moves between contemplative and raucous, encompassing the full breadth of the American music experience. Touching on blues, soul, folk, country, rock, and gospel, TX Jelly is real, raw, and righteous.

From the presser ‘The low-slung piece of vintage country-funk slams out of the speakers and announces The Texas Gentleman as a force to be reckoned with. Paste stated, “If its first track is any indication, Bedford and company’s TX Jelly is going to spread far beyond the boundaries of Texas itself. These Gentlemen are the real McCoy.” This September, The Texas Gentlemen will appear at Americanafest, Pilgrimage Music Festival along with Justin Timberlake, Eddie Vedder, Ryan Adams and more, and have also been tapped to support Eric Church’s Texas dates (see all dates below).

They take their cues from some of the most iconic acts of the past — the quicksilver brilliance of The Wrecking Crew, The Muscle Shoals Swampers (who backed everyone from Aretha to Wilson Pickett), Booker T. and The M.G.’s, and Bob Dylan’s one-time backers The Band are the most obvious examples. Bedford originally assembled The Texas Gentlemen as an all-purpose backing band for an eclectic array of singer-songwriters including Leon Bridges and Nikki Lane, among others. Last year, the Gentlemen were lured out of the studio to the Newport Folk Festival, where they were joined by iconic troubadour Kris Kristofferson, making his first Newport appearance in more than 45 years. Rolling Stone Magazine called it one of the festival’s “most exciting sets” and Kristofferson so enjoyed collaborating with the band that he enlisted them to reprise their roles in a series of critically acclaimed Texas concerts. Of Kristofferson and The Texas Gentlemen’s appearance at Bass Performance Hall, The Fort Worth Star Telegram stated “The piano, organ, guitar, drums and saxophone would slowly coalesce around Kristofferson’s gnarled but still potent voice, creating an electric sensation of the past fusing with the present. Time and again, the room would seem to bloom – a feeling of dawn breaking, just barely visible but discernible, behind some of the best songs ever written.”

TX Jelly will be available digitally, on compact disc and vinyl LP, and is available for pre-order now via PledgeMusic.

See the video for the album opener “Habbie Doobie” depicting the band jamming in their Modern Electric Sound Recorders studio in their hometown of Dallas, TX.

The Texas Gentlemen - Tx Jelly

TX Jelly Track Listing:
1. Habbie Doobie
2. Pain
3. Bondurant Women
4. Dream Along
5. Gone
6. My Way
7. Superstition
8. TX Jelly
9. Pretty Flowers
10. Shakin All Over
11. Trading Paint

The Texas Gentlemen On Tour:
September 7 – Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater*
September 8 – Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion*
September 12-17 – Nashville, TN @ Americanafest
September 23 & 24 – Franklin, TN @ Pilgrimage Music Festival

*appearing with Eric Church

Americana Music Association Announces Second Round of 2017 Americanafest Showcases

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AmericanaFest Announces Second Round of of 2017 Americanafest Showcases
Photo: (L-R) Top Row: Yola Carter, Drive-By Truckers, Iron & Wine
Bottom Row: Lukas Nelson, The Secret Sisters, Amanda Shires

Following the already stellar first round line-up announcement the Americana Music Association turned the yearly roots music showcase greatness meter firmly to 11.

The second round list of almost 300 artists slated to perform at the 18th Annual Americanafest roots music festival & conference plumbs deeper into the depths of Americana’s excellence than any other shocase of it’s type. Aside from stalwarts like Buddy Miller you get the new tradiitionalist like Elizabeth Cook and Hayes Carll as well as exciting young guns like Jade Jackson and Sammy Brue. Then there are my personal favorites Boo Ray, Angaleena Presley, Doug Seegers, Quaker City Night Hawks, The Secret Sisters, The Texas Gentlemen and don’t miss live performance by Whiskey Shivers. It’s also cool to see legendary folkers Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam on the list for the first time.

Conspicuously missing from the full list isthe most popular representatives of the genre – Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell, though Amanda Shires is on the list and Jason’s been known to show up as a guest.

With the list of the 84 performers announced can be found below, bringing the current line-up to 187 artists, which can be viewed here.

Resister for the full six-day festival here, or get festival showcase wristbands here.

AMERICANAFESTâ„  Conference Registrations (currently $299 for members/$399 for non-members) offer priority admission into all showcase venues, sanctioned parties and events, daytime educational panels, and can be purchased here. At this time, only Conference Registrants may purchase Honors & Awards show tickets. If you’re just interested in the nightly showcases, a festival wristband will be your most suitable option at the wallet-friendly price of $75. Available on their website, a festival wristband grants admission into all showcase venues as well as select sanctioned parties and special events.

Second Round of Artists Confirmed to Play AMERICANAFESTâ„ :
The Accidentals
Amanda Shires
Angaleena Presley
Becky Warren
Ben Smith & Jimmy Brewer
Birdtalker
Bonnie Whitmore and Her Band
Boo Ray
Boy Named Banjo
Buddy Miller
The Cactus Blossoms
Cary Morin
Charly Markwart
Cody Canada & The Departed
Colin Hay
Cory Branan
Cris Jacobs
Dalton Domino
Darling West
Darrin Bradbury
David Ramirez
The Dead South
Dean Owens
Doug Seegers
Drive-by Truckers
Dustbowl Revival
Elijah Ocean
Elizabeth Cook
Emily Barker
Flatland Cavalry
Great American Canyon Band
Hayes Carll
Humming House
Iron & Wine
J.P. Harris
Jade Jackson
Joan Osborne
John Hiatt & the Goners
Joshua Hedley
Kaitlin Butts
The Kernal
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
The Last Bandoleros
Lee Roy Parnell
Lilly Hiatt
Lori McKenna
LUCETTE
Lukas Nelson
Marc Broussard
Mark O’Connor featuring the O’Connor Band
Matthew Ryan
The Mavericks & Friends
Michigan Rattlers
Nicole Atkins
Noam Pikelny
Nora Jane Struthers
North Mississippi Allstars
Phoebe Hunt
Quaker City Night Hawks
Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm
Rogue + Jaye
Romantica
Sammy Brue
The Secret Sisters
Shannon McNally
Steelism
The Steel Wheels
Suzanne Santo
SZLACHETKA
The Texas Gentlemen
The Tillers
Timmy The Teeth
Tom Brosseau
Tommy Womack
Travis Linville
Twisted Pine
Whiskey Shivers
Whitney Rose
The Wild Reeds
Willie Nile
The Wood Brothers
Wood & Wire
Woody Pines
Yola Carter

(EDIT) –FINAL ROUND ADDITION–

A.J. Croce
Amelia White and The Blue Souvenirs
Amy Black
Belle Plaine
Big Star’s Third Live
Billy Strings
Blackfoot Gypsies
Blair Crimmins and The Hookers
Bonnie Bishop
Brigitte DeMeyer
Caitlyn Smith
Cale Tyson
Carson McHone
Carter Sampson
Cat Clyde
Cereus Bright
Charlie Mars
Christian Lopez
Colin Hay
Colter Wall
Danni Nicholls
Danny Burns
Darling West
Dave Alvin
David Mayfield Parade
David Myles
Don Gallardo
Early James & the Latest
Eddie Berman
Escondido
Falls
Faustina Masigat
Front Country
Gill Landry
Grant-Lee Phillips
Harrow Fair
High Plains Jamboree
India Ramey
Jack Ingram
Jamie Kent
Jamtown
Jason Wilber
Jesse Dayton
Jimmy Lumpkin and the Revival
Joana Serrat
Joey Kneiser
Jon Langford
Joseph Huber
K Phillips
Kaia Kater
Kamara Thomas
Korby Lenker
Kristina Murray
Lee Ann Womack & Friends
Leyla McCalla
Liz Cooper & The Stampede
Lucie Silvas
Mark Erelli
Mary Bragg
Max Gomez
Me And My Brother
Motel Radio
Muddy Ruckus
Natalie Hemby
Old Sea Brigade
Otis Gibbs
Parsonsfield
Rachel Baiman
Rayna Gellert with Kieran Kane
Reckless Kelly
Reuben Bidez
Robby Hecht
Robyn Hitchcock
Ryan Tanner
Sam Outlaw
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
Shane Nicholson
Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer
Shelly Fairchild
Skyway Man
Taasha Coates
Tattletale Saints
Ted Russell Kamp
The Americans
The Lowest Pair
The Mulligan Brothers
The Steel Woods
The Stray Birds
Tony Joe White
Trout Steak Revival
Vikesh Kapoor
Webb Wilder
Wild Ponies
Will Hoge
Will Kimbrough
Zach Schmidt
Zephaniah O’Hora

Watch Out! Jason Isbell on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

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Jason Isbell showed The Late Show With Stephen Colbert audience that he had brought the rock back out for a spin. Fresh off the release of his more electric new album, ‘The Nashville Sound,’ the Alabama native and his band the 400 Unit unleashed a tight and spirited rendition of their lead single, “Hope the High Road” at Ed Sullivan Theater last Tuesday night.

Look for this level of greatness as Isbell and the 400 Unit will be on the road for theater, amphitheater, and festival dates until their sold-out residency at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in October.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GC3MpIxl8g

Listen Up! Steve Earle – “So You Wanne Be An Outlaw”

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Being a Steve Earle fan can be a rough road. In the beginning there was no denying the neo-trad ferocity of 1986’s ‘Guitar Town.’ Standing near traditional frameworks while pushing the boundaries continued in spite of mega-success, an epic downfall, years of addiction. Sonic experimentation songs that took a more overt politically left turn and a move to New York City had the Texas hillbilly hellraiser heading more toward Woody Guthrie/Bob Dylan territory that resulted much of Earles spotty 2000-era releases.

Sure there have uneven , head-scratching, moan inducing patches in his work. But when you have as long a body of work, have as restless a soul, and a passionate determination to use your art as a soapbox as Earle has been you’re bound to hit a stinker now and again.

But recently Earle appears to have rediscovered his musical muse (the inspirational kind, he’s proved to be unlucky with the female human kind.) Starting with a heartfelt ode to his brilliant if troubled mentor, 2009’s “Townes,” to his latest return to the majors, “So You Wanne Be An Outlaw” Earle appears to have remembered that he shines brightest when he’s less Woody and more Eddie Cochran. 

The title track is a message to the next generation of troubadours. A tele-twang sits atop a classic 4/4 beat as Earle lays out a story of music and mythology he’s personally living in. Like Waylon’s “Don’t You Think This outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand” Earle exposes the bark underbelly of the romantic outlaw myth. The isolation of life on the road, broken relationshipsresulting in hard-learned wariness. Willie Nelson makes an appearance on the cut delivering original outlaw gravitas. As a pioneer that blazed the trail for Earle both men use the occasion to recount the landscape like a sonic Lewis and Clark warning other travelers sure to throw caution out the touring van window that these are trial and troubles ahead.
Earle is at his best when he’s peeling back his own story., this is never more true than “This Is How It Ends, ” a mid-tempo recount of the dissolution of a marriage. Earle recruits fellow divorcée , and accidental Earle plagiarist, Miranda Lambert as a duet partner. The bittersweet lyrics and the notable sadness left in the wake of each other’s absent partners makes the song that much more poignant.

‘Fixin’ To Die” is a sonic deluge of indedility, murder and resignation to ones demons with a melody snatched from “When The Levee Breaks” (the Led Zep bombast crunch version.) “Goodbye Michelangelo” is an elegant acoustic elegy to the legendary singer-songwriter, and early mentor of Earle’s, Guy Clark. The outlaw mojo runs even deeper on the deluxe version of “So You Wanna…” featuring a rousing boot-stomping version of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Ain’t No God In Mexico” which Waylon Jennings popularized as well as Earle’s versions of Willie Nelson’s “Sister’s Coming Home/Down At The Corner Beer Joint” and “The Local Memory.” The deluxe version is fittingly bookended by Waylon’s wryly defiant “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”

This is the best Steve Earle album in over a decade, but he’s apparently not content to enjoy the piling accolades and resulting success. He also appears to want to settle scores and raise dust. This has included complimenting up-and-coming talent (yay!) while then trashing two other artists (granted one of the targets is Hayes Carll, who did end up with Allison Moore- Earle’s wife #6)

The question that comes to mind is why?

Earle has an undeniable musical legacy and has help shape an entire genre.He traveled the road blazed, stylistically and tactically, by the likes of Willie and Waylon that shook the establishment and drew an audience hungry for something real. Even his songs covered and receiving significant radio play by more mainstream artists, like Travis Tritt, still maintained a dignity and humanity.

Now that he’s found his way back to a sort of return to form, it might be wiser to focus on the music and enjoy his legacy with a bit more grace and dignity asefitting an elder statesman. 

But dignity and grace didn’t get Earle here he is. It was rebellion to the bone.

Some have suggested that Earle is crassly cashing in at a time that the young guns – Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Nikki Lane – are hitting their popular stride. I call bullshit. If anyone has a right to look back to move forward it’s Earle and his stellar body of work.

I’ll wager that Earle, in true Texan onryness, could give a damn what anyone expects of him. His next album could be a collaboration with a rapper or a Tejano band if that’s where his muse leads him. Like many artists with an ear to thier own drumbeat you must take the occasional codgy comment with brilliance that accompanies it.

buy

8.5/10

Americana Music Association Announces First Round of 2017 Americanafest Showcases

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First Round of 2017 Americanafest Showcases

(L-R) Top: Brandy Clark, Hiss Golden Messenger, Turnpike Troubadours
(L-R) Bottom: Charley Crockett, Deer Tick, Bettye LaVette

Continuing the stellar tradition of being the preeminent roots music event of the year, the Nashville-based Americana Music Association has released its first round of artists slated to perform at this year’s 18th annual Americana Music Festival & Conference, presented by Nissan, September 12 – 17, 2017.

The first 103 of more than 230 artists are made up of pioneers, icons, and upstarts like Brandy Clark, Hiss Golden Messenger, Turnpike Troubadours, Lillie Mae, Alice Wallace, Mike and The Moonpies, Rodney Crowell, Paul Cauthen, John Paul White, The White Buffalo, Jason Eady, Bruce Robison, and much more.

With more acts still to be announced, the event promises to live up to its reputation as a must attend for roots music fans and industry alike.

Resister for the full conference here, or get festival showcase wristbands here.

AJ Hobbs
Allison Pierce
Aaron Lee Tasjan
Alice Wallace
All Our Exes Live in Texas
Ana Egge
Andrew Combs
Andy Golledge
Austin Plaine
Balkun Brothers
The Band of Heathens
The Barefoot Movement
Beaver Nelson
Becca Mancari
Bettye LaVette
Birds of Chicago
Blank Range
The Blind Boys of Alabama
Boomswagglers
Brandy Clark
Brent Cobb
Brent Cowles
Brian Wright
The Brother Brothers
Brothers Comatose
Bruce Robison
CALICO the band
Caamp
Caitlin Canty
Carl Anderson
Caroline Spence
Carsie Blanton
Casey James
Charley Crockett
Charlie Parr
Chastity Brown
Ciaran Lavery
Cordovas
Courtney Marie Andrews
Darlingside
David Childers
David Luning
David Starr
Deep Dark Woods
The Deer
Deer Tick
The Deslondes
Dirty River Boys
Don Bryant
Dori Freeman
Elise Davis
Eric Ambel
Erin Rae
Forlorn Strangers
Futurebirds
Haas Kowert Tice
Hiss Golden Messenger
The Honey Ants
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
The Howlin Brothers
Hugh Masterson
Jason Eady
Jaime Wyatt
Jesse Terry
Jim Lauderdale
John Paul White
Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge
Kacy & Clayton
Kasey Chambers
Leeroy Stagger
Leslie Stevens
Lillie Mae
The Lil Smokies
Lindi Ortega
Little Bandit
Low Cut Connie
Luke Bulla
The McCrary Sisters
Micky and the Motorcars
Mike and The Moonpies
Mipso
Molly Tuttle
My Bubba
Patrick Sweany
Paul Cauthen
Paul Thorn
Pony Bradshaw
Quiet Life
Renn
Rev Sekou
Rodney Crowell
SUSTO
Shane Smith & The Saints
Them Rubies
Turnpike Troubadours
Tyler Childers
Wade Bowen
Walter Salas-Humara
We Banjo 3
The White Buffalo
Wildwood Kin
William Wild
Willie Watson

Nikki Lane and Loretta Lynn Performs on CBS This Morning

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Nikki Lane and Loretta Lynn Perform on CBS This Morning

Honky-tonk chanteuse and entrepreneur Nikki Lane has been making the rounds on television as of late to promote her excellent third release, ‘Highway Queen.’ On a stop with a special Saturday CBS This Morning the South Carolinian performed with one of her heroes; the First Lady of Country Music, Loretta Lynn. The two are uncanny mirror images across time, country music and a couch at Lynn’s Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, ranch, with a sleeping dog between them as they perform Lynn’s Number One “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind).”

Lynn explains the pairs unique chemistry.

“I felt like we always knew each other,” Lynn says, adding that they might have met in a previous life.

In addition to singing with Lynn, Lane also performed her songs “Jackpot” and “Send the Sun.” Watch those below.

Lane is back on tour in Europe through June. She then returns to the U.S. for the Newport Folk Festival and Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival. Lynn’s new release ‘Wouldn’t It Be Great’ will be released on August 18th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr-AKwYbj7o&t=60s

http://youtu.be/iteIiF5uKQU

https://youtu.be/yJR161GAYKE

https://youtu.be/Gr-AKwYbj7o

Record Store Day 2017 – Americana and Roots Music Picks

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It’s that time of year again. Well, yes Spring but more specifically for a music blog it’s the annual season of blossoming limit selections of rare and obscure vinyl known as Record Store Day. The event has helped fuel the resurgence in sales and pushing the few remaining pressing plant’s production capacity to the hilt. As is tradition the event will be taking place on the fourth Saturday in April. For 2017 that means Saturday, April 22nd.

Record Store Day offerings are scarce, unique releases, some only available in specific regions. Some are produced in very limited runs, some totaling no more than a few hundred total.
Check out the Americana and roots selections below and take a look at the full list. Get to your favorite indy record early on April 22nd  (I’ll be at Good Records in Dallas) and share those great finds with me on Instagram and Twitter.

Blaze Foley – Sittin’ By The Road [LP] (180 Gram Gold Colored Vinyl, detailed liner notes by film maker Kevin Triplett, limited, indie-retail exclusive)

Brandy Clark – Live From Los Angeles [LP] (previously unreleased songs, limited to 2500, indie-retail exclusive)

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 [4LP] (150 Gram, first time on vinyl, numbered/limited to 3000, indie-retail exclusive)

The Cadillac Three – Live At Abbey Road [10 ” EP] (limited to 1500, indie-retail exclusive)

Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin, Hard Travelin’ EP (Yep Roc Records) Packaging: 12” Vinyl / Transparent Red

Dolly Parton – Puppy Love [7”] (limited to 2500, indie-retail exclusive

Drive By Truckers – Live In Studio, New York, NY 12/07/16 [LP] (Clear Vinyl, limited to 3530, indie-retail exclusive)

Emmylou Harris – Queen Of The Silver Dollar [5LP + 7 ” Box Set] (Emmylou’s first five studio albums plus a bonus 7 ” single, limited to 1100, indie-retail exclusive)

Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels – Live 1973 featuring Emmylou Harris [LP] (180 Gram, gold foil jacket and holographic numbered/limited to 2000, indie-retail exclusive)

Hayseed Dixie – Free Your Mind And Your Grass Will Follow [LP] (Clear Vinyl, limited to 1000, indie-retail exclusive)

Head And The Heart, The – Stinson Beach Sessions [LP] (unreleased songs and demos, limited to 3000, indie-retail exclusive)

Iron And Wine – Archives Series Volume No. 3 [LP] (Translucent Blue Vinyl, limited to 700, indie-retail exclusive

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Welcome to 1979 – Live recordings direct cut to acetate at Nashville studio Welcome To 1979. 12″, tip-on style, simple sleeve jacket, white dust sleeve. Side A: 1. Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (Jagger/Richards) 2. Storm Windows (Prine) 3. Heart on a String (Jackson/Buckins) Side B: 1. Atlantic City (Springsteen) 2. Sway (Jagger/Richards) 3. Never Gonna Change (Isbell)

John Paul White & Donnie Fritts – John Paul White Sings Donnie Fritts, Donnie Fritts Sings John Paul White [7”] (limited to 1000, indie-retail exclusive)

Leon Russell – Guitar Blues [CD] (limited to 1000, indie-retail exclusive)

The Lumineers – Song Seeds [10”] (limited to 1500, indie-retail exclusive)

Neil Young – Decade [3LP] (1977 compilation of solo and group hits, remastered, 2 photo reproductions by Henry Diltz, limited to 5000, indie-retail exclusive)

Nels Cline (Wilco) – In The Wee Small Hours [7 ”] (Frank Sinatra cover, limited to 1000, indie-retail exclusive)

Old 97’s – Terlingua b / w Off My Mynd [12 ”] (Opaque White Vinyl, Unreleased exclusive B-sides, etched B-side, limited to 2530, indie-retail exclusive

Pokey LaFarge – Riot In The Streets / Better Man Than Me [10 ”] (B-side etching of original hand-drawn image by Pokey, limited to 1500, indie-retail exclusive)

Robert Johnson – The Complete Recordings: The Centennial Collection [3LP] (150 Gram, gatefold, download, 12×24 poster, numbered/limited to 2500, indie-retail exclusive)

Sharon Jones with the E.L. Fields Gospel Wonders – Heaven Bound b/w Key To The Kingdom [7”] (‘picture frame’ custom jacket with easel-back, limited to 2500, indie-retail exclusive)

Sharon Jones, Corey Harris & Peter McGennis – Bubble Girl (Soundtrack) [12”] (limited, indie-retail exclusive)
Shooter Jennings & Waymore’s Outlaws – Live [12”] (Coke Clear Vinyl, single jacket with white inner sleeve, limited to 500, indie-retail exclusive)

Steve Earle & The Dukes – Live [7 ”] (picture sleeve, limited to 3000, indie-retail exclusive)

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble – Live At Carnegie Hall [2LP] (150 Gram Marbled Brown Vinyl, download, limited to 3000, indie-retail exclusive)

Townes Van Zandt – Live At Austin City Limits [LP] (limited to 2500, indie-retail exclusive)

Waylon Jennings & The 357’s – Waylon Forever [12”] (Clear Orange Vinyl, single jacket with white inner sleeve, limited to 250, indie-retail exclusive)

Jason Isbell Announces new album, ‘The Nashville Sound’ – Out June 16th

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Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist Jason Isbell and his mighty band, the 400 Unit, have announced the June 16th release of their highly anticipated new album, The Nashville Sound (Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers). The Nashville Sound is the follow up to 2015’s critically acclaimed Something More Than Free, which won two Grammy Awards (Best Americana Album & Best American Roots Song, “24 Frames”) and two Americana Music Association Awards (Album of the Year & Song of The Year, “24 Frames”). See Highlights.

Over his career, Jason Isbell has become one the most respected and celebrated songwriters of his generation. He possesses an incredible penchant for identifying and articulating some of the deepest, yet simplest, human emotions, and turning them into beautiful poetry through song.

‘The Nashville Sound’ features 10 new songs that address a range of real life subject matters that include politics and cultural privilege (“White Man’s World”), longing nostalgia (“The Last Of My Kind”), love and mortality (“If We Were Vampires”), the toxic effect of today’s pressures (“Anxiety”), the remnants of a break up (“Chaos and Clothes”) and finding hope (“Something To Love”). Songs such as “Cumberland Gap” and “Hope The Highroad” find Isbell and his bandmates going back to their rock roots full force.

The Nashville Sound was recorded at Nashville’s legendary RCA Studio A and produced by Grammy Award-winner Dave Cobb, who produced Something More Than Free and Isbell’s celebrated 2013 breakthrough album Southeastern. The Nashville Sound is the first official Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit album since 2011’s Here We Rest. The 400 Unit features Derry deBorja (keyboards), Chad Gamble (drums), Jimbo Hart (bass), Amanda Shires (fiddle) and Sadler Vaden (guitar). The group just announced a five-night stand at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium October 10,11,13-15 to add to their extensive tour. See the list of tour dates below.

Jason Isbell - 'The Nashville Sound'

June 17 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium #

June 18 – Raleigh, NC – North Carolina Museum of Art #
June 19 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia #
June 22 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre #

June 23 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre +

June 24 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre +

June 26 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall +
June 27 – Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion +

June 29 – Canandaigua, NY – Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center >
June 30 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion +

July 1 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music +
July 2 – Huber Heights, OH – Rose Music Center at the Heights +
July 5 – Papillion, NE – Sumtur Amphitheatre +
July 7 – St. Paul, MN – The Palace Theatre +
(Sold Out)
July 11 – Sioux Falls, SD – The Washington Pavilion +

July 12 – St. Louis, MO – Peabody Opera House +

July 14 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater +

July 15 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater #

July 16 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater #

July 18 – Houston, TX – Revention Music Center #

July 19 – Jackson, MS – Thalia Mara Hall #

July 21 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore *

July 22 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre *
July 23 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center*
September 7 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
October 10 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
October 11 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
October 13 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
October 14 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
October 15 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium

Support: # Amanda Shires / + Mountain Goats / > Iron & Wine / * Strand of Oaks

2017 European Dates

October 25 – Manchester, UK – Albert Hall
October 26 – Glasgow, UK – O2 ABC
October 27 – Dublin, Ireland – Olympia Theatre
October 29 – Brighton, UK – Brighton Dome
October 30 – London, UK – Roundhouse
October 31 – Birmingham, UK – Symphony Hall
November 2 – Paris, France – Le Café de la Danse
November 3 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
November 6 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
November 7 – Hamburg, Germany – Uebel & Gefährlich
November 8 – Berlin, Germany – Columbia Theater
November 10 – Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
November 11 – Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
November 12 – Stockholm, Sweden – Münchenbryggeriet
November 14 – Copenhagen, Denmark – DR Concert Hall

Tift Merritt supports all European dates