Listen Up! Neko Case – “That’s Who I Am” from Ghost Brothers of Darkland County

GhostBros_cover_5x5_rgbI haven’t seen the Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the collaboration by horror author Stephen King and , roots-rocker John Mellencamp and Americana godfather and singer/songwriter T Bone Burnett, but if the soundtrack gives us any insight into the Southern Gothic musical it’s going to be a killer.(heh)

I already posted an Elvis Costello cut from album. Now we have a sweet cut from Neko Case. A femme fatale reels off a long list of libido-fueled plays over a shuffle. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that Neko’s character is not one of the good guys.

It’s been years since I’ve heard this country music tinged sound from Neko and I am a fan. What do you think? Leave it in the comments below.

June 4th, 2013 as the project’s new release date. Check the trailer for the soundtrack below.

Jason Isbell to Release New Solo Album, “Southeastern” June 11

jason isbell southeastern

Jason Isbell will release Southeastern on June 11 via Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers. This will be his second solo album since 2007’s debut Sirens of the Ditch released shortly after his split from the Drive-By Truckers. Southeastern contains 12 new Isbell compositions and reportedly has “some of the most personal songs of self-reflection and discovery he has written to date.”

Southeastern is a more personal release from Isbell as he deals with new beginnings, like the recent marriage to Amanda Shires and his now yearlong sobriety, without being mawkish pr getting on a soapbox.

The album will offer a duets with Amanda shires Traveling Alone and Stockholm with Kim Richey and will feature 400 Unit members Derry deBorja (keyboards) and Chad Gamble (drums.) The album was produced by Dave Cobb (Jamey Johnson, The Secret Sisters).

Southeastern Track Listing

Cover Me Up
Stockholm
Traveling Alone
Elephant
Flying Over Water
Different Days
Live Oak
Songs That She Sang In The Shower
New South Wales
Super 8”
Yvette
Relatively Easy

Listen Up! EXCLUSIVE Amy Black “Live at Johnny D’s”

Amy Black Live

Amy Black is a personal friend and favorite here at Casa Twang, She’s a fantastic singer/songwriter with a sound that harkens back to country music’s soulful golden age and a smart and savvy self-promoter.

Black was named by Alternate Route as one of the top 30 Female vocalists and her local paper The Boston Globe described her latest album, “One Time” as “Americana in its broadest definition. It’s rooted in folk and country but with tinges of Southern soul and blues.” Oh yes, she’s all that and more.

TN is proud to present an EXCLUSIVE first listen of her upcoming live album.

The release was recorded on January 4th, 2013 at a packed Johnny D’s Uptown, a historic live music space in Somerville, MA, that started as a Country/Western honky-tonk in 1969. The historic venue plays host to performers such as Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Hayes Carll, Eileen Jewell, Junior Brown and many others when they pass through town.

The recording features songs from Black’s most recent studio album plus three new originals, Make Me an Angel, Brick by Brick and Other Side of Heartache.

Out March 23, pre-order CDs purchased before noon ET on Friday will be signed.

Listen Up! Shovels and Rope Cover Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits for Jack White’s Third Man Records

Shovels and Rope Johnny 99It looks like Jack White;s adopted home of Nashville is starting to reflect in the music being released by his Third Man Records label.

The latest is from Charleston indie-folk duo Shovels and Rope. The 7-inch will be released on April 2nd and features a jaunty cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Johnny 99” (off the extraordinary Nebraska, hear it below) on the A side, with a version of Tom Waits’ “Bad As Me” on the B.

The release is on on Third Man’s Blue Series, where singers and bands traveling through Nashville are invited to stop by to record one or two songs at Third Man Studio produced by White. The songs are then, as soon as possible, made available on 7” vinyl and digitally on itunes. The series also includes releases by Brittany Howard and Ruby Amanfu, Seasick Steve, Chris Thile with Micheal Daves , The Secret Sisters, Wanda Jackson and others.

The release will be available on iTunes and vinyl. It;s a measly $6 and you can pre-order here.

Watch Out! David Mayfield Parade – “Human Cannonball” [VIDEO]

Good Man Down

Some musicians sound like they are moving Americana music, into new directions, and David Mayfield is one of them. Mayfield paid his dues playing bass for his family’s bluegrass band, alongside his younger sister, the singer/songwriter, Jessica Lea Mayfield. He handled bass on her debut record, Blasphemy So Heartfelt and performed same in her touring band.

Mayfield was also been a “gun-for-hire” for pick-up gigs in the tourist filled honky-tonks on Nashville’s lower Broadway and was also the lead guitarist and contributing songwriter for roots band Cadillac Sky, currently on indefinite hiatus.

He has also toured with The Avett Brothers, Mumford & Songs and Willie Nelson.

Mayfield’s self-titled debut was pretty much unremarkable, straight-ahead bluegrass fair. His upcoming Kickstarter funded release Good Man Down things get a bit more daring.

Mayfield said in a recent press release. “I feel like this record is more mature. Now that I’ve been touring so much I have had the chance to try new songs live and see how they are accepted, and to construct an album that is more of a cohesive thought.”

On the song Human Cannonball (below) Mayfield’s high-tenor meshes well with the melancholy, love-lost theme and the bluegrass influenced sound that are steeped in country music tradition. But the arrangement, and soaring chorus, shifts the song into the pop-folk territory of R.E.M, the Avetts and Mumford and Co.

It speaks well of that maturity Mayfield spoke of that he doesn’t get trapped in the saccharine mechanizations of the last two and comes closer to the best of the former.

Good Man Down is will be released April 1 on Beautywood Records.

Elizabeth Cook on the Late Show with Georgia Southern University Marching Band

Elixabeth Cook on Letterman 3-14-13Elizabeth Cook stopped by the Late Show for her third visit to explain the Australian country music scene to David Letterman. Just what makes the Best Bush Ballad!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOTJ5q53R6A

Cook also performed Tear This Building Down from her current EP Gospel Plow. She was joined by the Georgia Southern University “Southern Pride marching band. Cook is a 1996 graduate of Georgia Southern with dual degrees in Accounting and Computer Information Systems.

Ryan Adams to Preview New Album in Live , Full-Band , Performance

RyanAdams2Consequence of Sound reports that Ryan Adams has announced his first show backed by a full band since The Cardinals split up in 2009. The show will take place March 19th at London’s Royal Albert Hall and is part of the Noel Gallagher-curated Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert series.

COS has done some on-line sleuthing and posts “…the Royal Albert Hall ticketing site describes Adams’ “The show will feature the debut of new songs from his as-yet-untitled new album due for release in the autumn alongside classics from his extensive catalogue.”

So, if the program’s details of “new songs” and “new album” correct there appears to be a new album on the horizon. The record reportedly has Adams reuniting with 2011′s Ashes & Fire producer/legend Glyn Johns (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Clash), and COS reports that the band accompanying him on March 19th is expected to be the same as in the studio.
Check Adams’ recent appearance on Conan, sporting Buck Owen’s red, white and blue acoustic guitar, below.

Listen up! Amanda Shires Single Premier – “Bulletproof”

amanda shires

With her newly released single, Bulletproof, Amanda Shires continues to explore a variety of musical influences – folk, blues and jazz -she began in her last release “Carrying Lightening.

The song sets Shires warm-honey vibrato and fine fiddling against a Tom Waits-like junkyard orchestral accompaniment. The song details potential supernatural impenetrability against a litany of physical and emotional armaments. Like a whimsical protective talisman set to a cha-cha beat

No word on an upcoming album title or release date came with the press release. but when I know , you’ll know

Bulletproof was released to coincide with Shires showcases at South-By-Southwest. Catch her at one of the performances below:

THURS MARCH 14 @ 11 PM
St. David’s Episcopal Church
Historic Sanctuary
hosted by Utne and Thirty Tigers
official SXSW showcase!

FRI MARCH 15 @ 7 PM
Wyndam Garden Hotel
on the patio @ the bar area!
3401 IH 35 Austin, TX 78741
free! open to the public!!

SAT MARCH 16th 6 PM
Omni Austin Hotel Downtown
700 San Jacinto & 8th Street
lobby lounge located @ the atrium!
free! open to the public!!

Alabama Shakes Announce Spring/Summer dates – Debut Album Boys & Girls Is RIAA Certified Gold

alabama shakes SNLAlabama Shakes is riding a wave of buzz from their GRAMMY Awards nominations, the band’s appearances on “Saturday Night Live” and “Austin City Limits,” and their debut album, Boys & Girls (ATO Records) and selling 100,000 copies and being certified RIAA Gold (just proves people are still willing to buy good music.)

Alabama Shakes has just announced Spring/Summer tour dates that include South America, Canada and Europe. The roots/rock band will kick off a North American headline tour on June 18 at LC Pavilion Outdoors in Columbus, OH. The outing will include two nights at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium (July 17 & 18).

For further details, visit www.alabamashakes.com.

Upcoming Tour Dates

March
12 – Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom – SOLD OUT – with Michael Kiwanuka, Sam Doores and Riley Downing supporting
13 – Austin, TX @ Rodeo Austin – with Michael Kiwanuka, Sam Doores and Riley Downing supporting
15 – New Orleans, LA @ The Sugar Mill – SOLD OUT – with Michael Kiwanuka, Sam Doores and Riley Downing supporting
16 – Jackson, MS @ Hal + Mal’s Street Dance – with Michael Kiwanuka, Sam Doores and Riley Downing supporting
27 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Jose Cuervo Salon
30 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Lollapalooza Brazil
31 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Cine Joia

April
1 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil @ Circo Voador
3 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Quilmes Rock 2013
6 – Santiago, Chile @ Lollapalooza Chile

May
10 – Napa, CA @ Bottle Rocket Music Festival

June
1 – Houston, TX @ Free Press Festival
2 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/ Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros SOLD OUT
7 – Birmingham, AL @ Sloss Furnace – SOLD OUT
8 – Birmingham, AL @ Sloss Furnace – SOLD OUT
18 – Columbus, OH @ LC Pavilion – Outdoors
19 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
20 – Toronto, ON @ Echo Beach
22 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival
23 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
30 – London, UK @ Olympic Park/Hard Rock Calling w/Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

July
13 – Louisville, KY @ Forecastle Festival
14 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom-w/Fly Golden Eagle & Hurray For The Riff Raff supporting
15 – Albuquerque, NM @ Popejoy Hall-w/Fly Golden Eagle & Hurray For The Riff Raff supporting
17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium-w/Fly Golden Eagle & Hurray For The Riff Raff supporting
18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium-w/Fly Golden Eagle & Hurray For The Riff Raff supporting
19 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl Theater-w/Fly Golden Eagle & Hurray For The Riff Raff supporting
21 – Alta, WY @ Targhee Festival
23 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
25 – Calgary, AB @ Calgary Folk Music Festival
26 – Edmonton, AB @ Interstellar Rodeo
28 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cabooze Outdoor Plaza

August
7 – Oslo, Norway @ OYA Festival
8 – Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West
9 – Skanderborg, Denmark @ Skanderborg Festival
10 – Haldern, Germany @ Haldern Festival
13 – Barcelona, Spain @ Apollo
14 – Porto, Portugal @ Paredes Da Coura
18 – Hallendoorn, Holland @ Lowlands Festival

September
7 – Guthrie, OK @ Gentlemen of the Road w/Mumford & Sons – SOLD OUT

The Sin City Social Club Annual SXSW 2013 Bash

SC_SXSW-_2

Twang Nation is proud to announce sponsorship of The Sin City Social Club Annual Bash, the premier South-By-Southwest roots and Americana music showcase.

Now celebrating it’s 11th Anniversary, Sin City Social Club knows how to put on a party. This is one of thier best line ups and you won’t want to miss it! And make sure to try the great food at Maria’s Taco Xpress

The Sin City Social Club Annual Bash
Maria’s Taco Xpress in Austin, Texas
Fri, March 15, 12pm – 9pm
Free! No badges or wrist bands needed. All ages.

Lineup:

12:00 * The Mercy Brothers (S. Louisiana)
12:40 * So Long Problems (Austin)
1:20 * Rod Melancon (Los Angeles)
2:00 * Chelle Rose (Nashville)
2:40 * Israel Nash Gripka (Austin)
3:20 * Deadman (Austin)
3:45 * Deadstring Brothers (Detroit)
4:25 * Shurman (Austin)
5:05 * Out of Our Tree (Feat. Tim Easton & Megan Palmer)
5:45 * Elijah Ford & The Bloom (Austin)
6:20 * Mike Stinson (Houston)
6:55 * Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils (Seattle)
7:40 * Jesse Dayton (Austin)
8:30 * Two Hoots & A Holler (Austin)

Brought to you by: Sin City Social Club * Rootsy Records * Twang Nation * Chris Kro Art Design * Lone Star Beer * Lone Star Music * Mojave Audio * Little Brother Music * Maria’s Taco Xpress

Other great SXSW Americana showcases:

Official SXSW Little Brother Showcase Tuesday, March 12 – 8:00pm until 2:00am

Guitartown/Conqueroo Block Party Kickoff – Wednesday, March 13 – 11:00am until 9:00pm

Grand Ole Austin SXSW Showcase – Thursday, March 14 – 11:00am until 9:00pm

Hillgrass Bluebilly Records presents: X-SXSW 6 Unofficial Showcase – Open to the Public – $10 Fri. 03/15 | 6:00PM