Category Archives: News Round Up

Video Feature: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – “Danko Manuel”

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On Nov. 20, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will be release their first live album Live From Alabama on Lightning Rod Records/Thirty Tigers.The album captures highlights from two sold out shows at the WorkPlay Theater in Birmingham and Crossroads in Huntsville in the Summer of 2012.

Let’s be honest, The Drive-By Truckers were a better band when Jason Isbell was in the fold. Songs like Dank Manual are the reason why. This beautifully shot black and white video from the live performance has Isbell and his band taking the original spare performance from the DBT’s Dirty South and building up to a more nuanced and meatier performance with keyboards and horns.And of course Isbell kills on the guitar as well .

 

Free MP3 Download: Daniel Romano – “Middle Child”

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Don’t let the the cover of Daniel Romano’s Come Cry With Me fool you. Sure the digitally weathered album cover (what’s that?),  his  Nudie-style cosmic Americana getup and hipster ‘stache might lead you to dismiss Romano as peddler of glib irony. But judging album covers are a lot like judging book covers. When you listen to the songs you know this comes from a deeper place.

Born in 1987, during what Steve Earle called “Nashville’s great credibility scare of the mid ’80s,” this Canadian visual artist, producer (City and Colour)  and musician (with a history of punk and post-punk rock) uses his keening pitch to perfectly capture loneliness and heartbreak in “Middle Child, ” a tale of maternal abandonment.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/63517997″ iframe=”true” /]


Intro to Americana – 5 Albums To Get You Started

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This si a post for people that night have seen me at Jessica Northy’s excellent online talk show TwangOut. I asked my incredibly well-informed Twitter followers what 5 albums they would recommend to someone just coming to Americana for the first time. Here’s their choices. Of course for a genre as rich as this 5 is just scratching the surface so please leave your choices in the comments section and let’s make this a post for anyone wanting to discover this great music.

Lucinda Williams : Car Wheels On A Gravel Road – This album is Lucinda’s opus and has firmly established her as the Queen of Americana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ainIBDO6a8E

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression – For many people, including me, this is the band that started them on the road to Americana. After their break up in 1994 principle members Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy went on to form Son Volt and Wilco respectively.

Whiskeytown – Strangers Almanac – Ryan Adams veers between spinning gems and a insufferable self-indulgence. 16 Days from this excellent album show’s him at his best.

Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel – If there was ever a singular person you could point to as the Patron Saint of Americana, it would be Gram Parsons. He influenced the Rolling Stones, the Eagles and Emmylou Harris, who joins him on Love Hurts, with his brand of Cosmic American Music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bwmiJWFHN0

Old 97’s – Too Far to Care -This is my personal choice. Yes Rhett and the boys are a pivotal alt.country/Americana ban, but more importantly theyre from my home town of Dallas!

5 Artists I’d Like to Hear On ABC’s Nashville

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As I’ve said,  I believe Nashville ,  ABC’S new evening soap opera , has the potential to be a great vehicle to introduce great Americana and roots artists to a much wider audience of music lovers. After watching the first two episodes I think T Bone Burnett has done a great job of dropping excellent artists like Shovels & Rope and Lindi Ortega into key scenes in the show. If the show can  catch the attention of a large enough audience I predict great things.

I’d love to be a music consultant, so until some Hollywood big-wig rings me up here’s my shot at it. Here’s  5 under the radar artists whose music I’d personally like to see on Nashville. Some have a great country music spirit to echo the golden age, some are spiked with a current sound to drive their sound into the present day. Some have both.

Like any list this one is incolete. Please leave your choices and thought in the comments section. Appreciate you!

I defy you to find a current musician with more soul that Austin Lucas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW3AfUbYLx4&feature=related

Whitey Morgan is pure outlaw, y’all.

Lera Lynne has a little Loretta and a little Bobbie Genrty

John Fullbright is one of the best and purist songwriters I’ve seen in some time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo93cE0U_T0

Jason Eady is the current embodiment classic country and great songwriting.

Music Review: Dwight Yoakam – 3 Pears [Warner Bros.]

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It’s been seven long years since Dwight Yoakam’s last proper release, 2005’s Blame the Vain. Since then he of painted-on jeans and low-hanging Stetson has done some acting – most notably the opening scene in  The Wedding Crashers and as the manic Doc Miles in the hilariously over-the-top Crank films. Yoakam has done some music producing an an excellent tribute to his mentor Buck Owens, but for the most part, for a man you couldn’t escape in his heyday, Yoakam’s been MIA.

His newly released album 3 Pears neatly connects a path of trajectory Yoakam’s career. The road he’s been traveling since the early 80’s L.A. cow-punk scene where he was perfected his craft in clubs like Club Lingerie and The Roxy opening for local bands like The Blasters and Los Lobos. Almost as soon as he set foot on SoCal soil Yoakam became part actor – taking the cowboys imagery from 60s films like Paul Newman’s Hud and Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns, and part honk-tonk disciple – taking his sound from the 50s Bakersfield sound of Merle Haggard and his mentor Buck Owens. Yoakam always appeared assured and to be a man embodying s place he had planned to be all along.

3 Pears has all the trademarks you’d expect of a Yoakam work. Skillful performances within taught arrangements The hillbilly vocals topped-off with a hiccup finish. The swagger that won him legions of fans. All here without a skip or a a thought to ape modern trends. Even where on paper you’d think he might be a buckling toward commercial pressures -  like inviting Kid Rock to co-write the album opener Take Hold of My Hand – with it’s brash bass moving toward a spirited sock-hop snap resulting in no discernible trace of Rock’s Southern /classic rock regurgitation influence at all.

Waterfall is a lingeringly paced cut skirting between whimsey and DaDa showing Yoakam’s not afraid to throw out the classic handbook of country music themes. The song achieves a level of absurd imagery that would make Roger Miller smile. ” If I had a waterfall, It might not make no sense at all, But that won’t matter much to you and me.’

Yoakam shows his Guitars, Cadillacs Etc. Etc. roots with Joe Maphis’ honky-tonk take on the Honky-Tonk angel theme  Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, which was also extensively covered by The Flying Burrito Brothers. Yoakam’s Trying moves into sweet Memphis soul territory with a “Dock of the Bay” vibe and a lovely Wurlitzer accompaniment.

Indy rocker Beck co-produces two tracks; the bittersweet Missing Heart is great rendition of a classic pedal steel weeper but Mr Hanson’s pastiche sensibilities are most apparent on A Heart Like Mine with it’s guitar lick echoing I’m a Believer from one of Yoakam’s stylistic influences, the Monkees.  ” The slow rocking Rock It All Away cribs a bit close the melody of The Who’s  Baba O’Riley for me to just enjoy the song on it’s own merits.

Yoakam is nothing if not the American ideal of the self-made man and 3 Pears proves that  we are all, ultimately,  a product of his influences. Yaokam has taken those influences and composed one of the best albums of his career.

Choice cuts – Dim Lights, Thick Smoke , Wateerfall , Trying

Official Site | Buy

 

Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss Perform “Make the World Go Away” [Video]

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David Letterman continues to champion great Country and Americana music by inviting Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss to appear on the Late Show. The duo perform a breathtaking rendition of the classic “Make the World Go Away,” from Johnson’s tribute to his friend, the just-released “Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran.”

Don Imus also showed his love for great Country music by featuring Johnson earlier in the week. He did “Love Makes A Fool Of Us All” and “I Fall To Pieces” from “Living for a Song…”

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eW0o7-2Ffk

Amy LaVere and Shannon McNally to Release Chasing The Ghost

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Amy LaVere and Shannon McNally were initially brought together by North Mississippi Allstars’ lead guitarist and vocalist Jim Dickinson as part of the roots/jazz/soul collective The Wandering. The two Americana singer/songwriters bonded over similarities, one of which was a their mutual predilection for bourbon neat, and the collaboration turned fruitful one. On October 13th the duo will release their EP, Chasing The Ghost — “Rehearsal Sessions,”

Armed with a set of songs the ladies headed to the Music+Arts Studio in Memphis, TN, for rehearsals a few days before getting into the van to start touring with The Wandering. With LaVere on stand up bass and vocals, McNally on acoustic guitar and vocals the tape-recorded session was rounded out with Robert Mache on guitar, mandolin and Shawn Zorn on drums.

These two songs from the EP  promise good things. LaVere’s jazzy influence is heard in the bittersweet lament of “Never Been Sadder” and McNally’s  laid-back style is stamped all over the jaunty ramble of “If It Were Mine to Keep,” The similarities and differences of both artists complement and contrast each other beautifully.

Take a listen and let me know what you think.

Look for LaVere and McNally on tour for Chasing The Ghost in October

 

 

Stagecoach 2013 Lineup Announced

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If somebody said that Justin Townes Earle and Lady Antebellum would be appearing on the same bill you would not be remiss in thinking “You’re nuts.”

Then you haven’t been to Stagecoach.

The above is indeed correct. The Goldenvoice-produced festival, now in it’s seventh year, takes a broad, historical view of country music. Contemporary country staples Toby Keith and Trace Adkins with country legends Charley Pride and Don Williams and Americana music favorites Old Crow Medicine Show and Hayes Carll are all included.

I’m a fan of this cross-influence dynamic. That a Toby Keith fan could check out Hayes Carll is good for both fan bases that tend to be a bit musically and culturally insular. Americana acts in front of these huge audiences gives them a big opportunity to grow their audience.

And if Keith and Carll break into a rendition of “Beer for my Horses” I’ll be the first to applaud.

The festival place the weekend of April 26-28 in Indio California. Tickets go on sale Oct. 20 at 10 a.m. via the official Stagecoach site. A new pricing structure is in place for 2013, and a three-day festival pass will cost $239.

Friday, April 26:
Toby Keith, Hank Williams Jr., Trace Adkins, Jeff Bridges & the Abiders, Roger McGuinn, Old Crow Medicine Show, Joe Nichols, Connie Smith, Maggie Rose, Hayes Carll, Wylie and the Wild West, Commander Cody, the Steel Wheels, Haunted Windchimes, Alissa Griffith

Saturday, April 27:
Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Rodney Atkins, Dwight Yoakam, Phil Vassar, Nick 13, John Anderson, Marty Stuart, Jana Krama, Justin Townes Earle, Suzy Bogguss, the Honky Tonk Angels Band, Sons and Brothers, the Westbound Rangers, Robert Ellis

Sunday, April 28:
Zac Brown Band, Darius Rucker, Thompson Square, Lonestar, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charley Pride, Don Williams, Tanya Tucker, Blue Sky Riders, John Reilly and Friends, Riders in the Sky, Waddie Mitchell, Florida Georgia Line, Brown Bird, Becky Stark, Gabriel Kelley

ABC’s “Nashville” – The Newest Source for Americana Music?

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I’m intrigued by the ABC’s new dramatic  series “Nashville,” not because a soap opera set in Music City is in any way compelling to be (it ain’t) but because said dramatic series has tapped one of the Godfathers of Americana, Grammy winner and Oscar nominee T-Bone Burnett , to be executive music producer for the show.

Isn’t this like the chicken being put in charge of the fox’s den?

Burnett’s stewardship is made even more perplexing when you consider the show also has ties to the Nashville big label system. Big Machine records (Taylor Swift, The Band Perry) will be releasing music featured on the program. First up is the single “If I Didn’t Know Better” co-written by the Civil Wars’ John Paul White (video below)

I imagined Burnett to be the ultimate Nashville outsider. Musician,  producer and guiding hand of the neo-rusticity movement stemming from movies (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain, Walk the Line, Crazy Heart)  rock crossovers (Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, Jakob Dylan ) to full on champion of Americana ( Alison Krauss,  Gillian Welch, etc., etc. etc.)

Apparently Burnett has ties to the show that begins at home. He’s married to “Nashville” executive producer Callie Khouri ( who won an Oscar  for  penning the “Thelma & Louise” script. There is also the link from Taylor Swift to the Civil Wars (who she championed early on) to Burnett, who produced the recent Hunger Games soundtrack, which featured both Swift and the Wars. What the hell is gong on here?

Burnett says of music being chosen for the show:  “I hope that we become the platform for the people who are writing from their whole hearts.”

Isn’t this exactly what’s wrong with current commercial pop radio? it’s not written from the heart, it’s written from the wallet.

So we have a story about Music City that is given musical dimension by the the more dynamic and emotional genre of Americana. Part of me thinks that the show should be stuffed to the gills with whatever stupid truck song is currently cluttering the airwaves and dare the audience the endure it. Aren’t there any compelling stories of talented musicians struggling to make great music without cutting  each others throats to fill arenas that can better fit the greatness of this music?

In the end it’s about artists getting expose and building a fan base to make enough money to focus in their craft. No one has done more for exposing Americana to the broader public AND commercial interests that Burnett, (except perhaps NPR) so there’s no doubt he’s the man for the job. Hell he’s even got Lucinda Williams to contribute songs to the show

And , truth  be told, I deeply enjoy the irony of a Music City soap opera being a powerful format for discovering great Americana and roots music. I look forward to hearing Jason Isbell during a love scene and Hellbound Glory during a road race or bar fight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAI_1FsJ8rE

 

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival 12 Full Schedule / Picks / Spotify Playlist

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The 12th year of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival shows the premier showcase for great (and FREE!) Americana and roots music is showing no signs of slowing down. This year might prove to be the best yet as old friends like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Ralph Stanley are joined by event newcomers like punk-turned-folkie Chuck Ragan, Texas sweethearts The Trishas and Americana darlings The Civil Wars, who pulled out of last year’s HSB.

Have fun, and remember to wear layers and stay hydrated out there (and upwind.)  Below find the schedule with my picks in bold.

 

 

Friday Oct 5 (10:00am – 7:00pm)

Star Stage
10:00am Poor Man’s Whiskey and Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Banjo Stage
12:00pm John Reilly and Friends (featuring Becky Stark and Tom Brosseau)
    1:15pm Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys
    2:40pm The Jerry Douglas Band
    4:15pm The Time Jumpers (Vince Gill, Dennis Crouch, Paul Franklin, Larry Franklin, Andy Reiss, Dawn Sears, Kenneth Sears, Joe Spivey, Jeff Taylor & Billy Thomas)
    5:45pm Elvis Costello Solo

Arrow Stage
12:00pm Chuck Ragan
1:00pm Pickwick
2:10pm Chris Carrabba
3:20pm Patterson Hood & the Downtown Rumblers
    4:45pm Jon Langford & His Sadies feat. Sally Timms
6:15pm Reignwölf

Rooster Stage
12:00pm Simone Felice
    1:00pm Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express
2:20pm Beachwood Sparks
3:25pm Ben Kweller
4:25pm Jenny Lewis
5:45pm Conor Oberst

Saturday Oct 6 (11:00am – 7:00pm)

Banjo Stage
11:00am World Famous Headliners (Big Al Anderson, Shawn Camp, Pat McLaughlin, Michael Rhodes & Greg Morrow)
12:10pm Alison Brown Quartet with Stuart Duncan
1:25pm Buddy Miller
2:45pm Tribute to the Founding Fathers: Warren Hellman, Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson featuring Alison Brown, Stuart Duncan, Tim O’Brien and Bryan Sutton, with special guests Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris with Heidi Clare & Colleen Browne (from the Wronglers), Peter Rowan, Nick Lowe & more!
4:15pm The Chieftains
5:45pm Steve Earle & the Dukes (& Duchesses)

Rooster Stage
11:00am The Go to Hell Man Clan with Special Guests the Wronglers featuring Jimmie Dale Gilmore
12:00pm Lloyd Cole
1:10pm Guy Clark & Verlon Thompson
2:30pm The Lumineers
  3:50pm Patty Griffin
    5:30pm Robert Earl Keen

Star Stage
    11:00am Roger Knox and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts
    12:30pm Dirty Three
    2:10pm Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones
3:45pm Cowboy Junkies
5:45pm Chris Robinson Brotherhood

Towers Of Gold Stage
11:40am Red Baraat
1:20pm Justin Townes Earle
3:00pm Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang
4:45pm The Head & the Heart

Arrow Stage
11:00am The Trishas
    12:05pm Reckless Kelly
1:30pm Bill Kirchen & The Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods
2:45pm Heartless Bastards
4:05pm Jerry Jeff Walker
    5:35pm The Flatlanders feat. Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock

Porch Stage
11:00am Joe Pug
12:10pm Sara Watkins
1:25pm Little Green Cars
2:40pm Allison Moorer
3:50pm Robyn Hitchcock
4:50pm Sierra Hull
6:05pm Seasick Steve

Sunday Oct 7 (11:00am – 7:00pm)
Banjo Stage
11:00am Dry Branch Fire Squad
12:05pm Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands
1:20pm Peter Rowan
2:45pm Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
4:15pm Tim O’Brien Party of 7
5:45pm Emmylou Harris

Rooster Stage
11:00am Jim Lauderdale
    12:05pm Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin
1:10pm Jesse Winchester
2:20pm Glen Hansard
3:35pm Nick Lowe
4:50pm Todd Snider
6:10pm The Civil Wars

Star Stage
11:00am Giant Giant Sand
12:40pm The Knitters
2:15pm DOUG SAHM’S PHANTOM PLAYBOYS featuring: dave ALVIN, steve EARLE, delbert McCLINTON, boz SCAGGS, jimmie VAUGHAN… and whoever the cat drags in…
4:05pm The Del McCoury Band
6:00pm Keller Williams, Steve Kimock & Kyle Hollingsworth featuring Bernie Worrell, Wally Ingram & Andy Hess

Towers of Gold Stage
12:00pm The Milk Carton Kids
1:30pm Soul Rebels
3:10pm Dwight Yoakam
5:00pm Patti Smith and her band

Arrow Stage
11:00am Lucero
12:05pm Moonalice
1:25pm Rubblebucket
2:45pm Son Volt
4:10pm Luther Dickinson & the Wandering
5:45pm ALO

Porch Stage
11:00am The New Orleans Bingo! Show
12:10pm Tiny Television
1:25pm The Barr Brothers
2:40pm Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys
3:55pm The White Buffalo
5:10pm Walter Salas-Humara
6:20pm Jonny Two Bags & Salvation Town