While indulging my frequent music video ADHD I followed a YouTube trajectory to a series of videos of Jamey Johnson doing classic cover of Waylon Jennings and Patsy Cline and the like . One really caught my eye, it was Johnson not only covering, but joining with none other than country music legend George Jones on Willie Nelson classic “Yesterday’s Wine.” And it had only 751 views!! What a find!
“Yesterday’s Wine”  is the title cut from Willie’s 1971 album and, in 1982, Merle Haggard and Jones recorded a duet of “Yesterday’s Wine” which became a number one single on the country chart. Not everyone can fill The Hag’s boots but Johnson and Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr do a fine job. And, ladies and gentlemen , if that went enough the great Atlanta-based Southern Rock band Blackberry Smoke is backing them up. As one twitter follower responded when i posted it “Dayum!”
I was puzzled where the track came from and discovered, through the power of the google machine , that it’s included as a bonus track on Blackberry Smoke’s “Little Piece of Dixie” (2010.) I guess i should have payed more attention that that fine album!
George Strait is getting ready to ride into the sunset, at least on his tour bus.
The superstar that keeps the traditional country music flame burning announced Wednesday at a news conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum that he will head out on his The Cowboy Rides Away tour next year. Strait will play 21 dates in 2013, then 20 more in 2014 to put a finish on a stellar 30 plus year live career.
Strait says he wants to go out while still in fighting form but leaves the door open for a comeback. “I always had it in the back of my mind when I turned 60 that it might be time to start thinking about it. I also never wanted to show up for a tour when nobody came. I believe I made the right decision. Only time will tell. In 2016, I might say ‘What a dummy!” If that’s the case, maybe I’ll reconsider, but at this particular time, I’m pretty sure I won’t.”
Strait will start and end the tour in his home state. The first leg will kick off Jan. 18 in Lubbock, Texas, and end June 1 in San Antonio. Dates for 2014 will be announced later. Four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Martina McBride will open for the tour in 2013.
I’ve ner see Strait before, but I am a fan. looks like I need to pony up this time around.
The Cowboy Rides Again — 2013 Tour Dates
January 18:Â Lubbock, Texas (United Spirit Arena)
January 19:Â Â Oklahoma City, Okla. (Chesapeake Energy Arena)
January 25:Â Â Salt Lake City, Utah (Energy Solutions Arena)
January 26:Â Â Nampa, Idaho (Idaho Center)
January 31:Â Â Sacramento, Calif. (Power Balance Pavilion)
February 1:  Fresno, Calif. Save Marcht Center)
February 2:  Las Vegas, Nev. MGM Grand Garden Arena)
February 15:  St. Paul, Minn. Xcel Energy Center)
February 16:  Grand Forks, N.D. The Alerus Center)
February 22:Â Â Buffalo, N.Y. First Niagara Center)
February 23:  Hartford, Conn. XL Center)
March 1:  Knoxville, Tenn. Thompson-Boling Arena)
March 2:  Lexington, Ky. Rupp Arena)
March 17:  Houston, Texas (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo)*
March 22:Â Â Greenville, S.C. (Bi-Lo Center)
March 23:Â Â Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum Complex)
April 5:Â Â Albuquerque, N.M. (The Pit)
April 6:  Las Cruces, N.M. (Pan American Center)
April 12:Â Â N. Little Rock, Ark. (Verizon Arena)
April 13:Â Â New Orleans, La. (New Orleans Aren)
June 1:Â Â San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome)
Malcolm Holcombe should be huge. Perhaps the lack of acclaim for the North Carolina native are the boyish looks that have long faded from his Music City days due in large part to years of substance abuse. Maybe it’s the baked gravel voice, or the enigmatic themes that wind you in circles. Maybe it’s the raw, human heart that beats in every word delivered like emotional shrapnel. maybe Holcomb is too real, too lacking in veiled irony. This is not the lily-livered , Fedora-wearing, twee folk music that’s permeated the music culture over the last decade. I can imagine Malcolm Holcolmb acoustic guitar emblazoned with “This Machine Kills Hipsters.”
Holcomb’s ninth album, Down The River, bursts to life with “Butcher In Town” featuring Darrell Scott’s dobro acreens off Ken Coomer’s kick drum and Tammy Rogers-King’s jumping mandolin. “You a’int from here, When the shit hits the fan, There’s more meat on a pencil, From the butcher in town.” reels the chorus warning us of “All black and white, From the wars of the souls, Too much whiskey, Money and gold.” Abuse of power is a theme throughout Down The River. Whether the personal delusions of a man bilking a woman from her earnings and blowing it up into a greater vision of grandeur in “I Call The Shots” or the mass manipulation of world corruption in the frenzied “Twisted Arms.” The palpable indignation of “Whitewash Job” recounts recent topics of disasters and federal incompetence buttressed belied by a jaunty breakdown of Holcombe masterful picking.
Corruption is also represented, on “Trail O’ Money” guest vocalist Steve Earle, who once stated that Holcombe is ..”the best songwriter I ever threw out of my recording studio,†sounds comfortable with proletariat lines like “My instincts are wounded, My schools bleed with guns, My children are recklessly, Lost in the sun” He and Holcolmb join in the rallying chorus “Gangway i’m comin’ with a trail o’ money, Gangway stay outta my way, Gangway i’m comin’ with a trail o’ money, No room for the poor to stay.” No simple election sloganeering here.
Love songs fare little better in this hard soul’s terrain. “Gone Away At Last” brings along the river bank drums, stippling banjo and a fiddle dervish into a funnel cloud of a love song Cormac McCarthy could love.”The search lights beg to dim, In the blood of nightimes cover, No human sounds within, The lonely thoughts of lovers.” “the routine hammers solid, in the heads of spit and spoiled, (only) broken from contentions, Of the jealous snake’s recoil.” This is a long journey into the heart. “In Your Mercy” is a lament of a widow living in dire situation which is lightened briefly by the lovely lilt of Emmylou Harris.
These are not spoon-fed narratives guiding you gently through linear slices of life. Soapboxes are splintered for bonfire kindling and flags are shred and made into rags to dab tears or blot up blood. This is the human parade in all it’s violent and glory.
The mainstreaming of Americana music moves into hyper-speed with the upcoming sophomore release of Mumford & Sons’ “Babel.”
There are few mainstream milestones then playing SNL. Beside showing up in some sketches to parody themselves as teh “Poor man’s Beatles,” including Lead singer Marcus Mumford complete with a mop-top wig and turtleneck. At the end of the sketch host Joseph Gordon-Levitt and cast members helped Mumford & Sons led the crowd and cast in a singalong of The Beatles’Â “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.”
In addition to the comedy, Mumford & Sons also performed “I Will Wait” and “Below My Feet,” (below)Â Babel is out on Sept. 24.
Finally winding down from my annual trip and I’m here to say that 2011 is the year the Americana went mainstream.
The Americana Music Association, the Nashville professional trade organization that puts on the whole shindig, just experienced its biggest year yet: Their membership is up by 45 percent compared to 2006. The festival showcased twice the number of bands it did five years ago; and this year’s overall attendance was around 15,000, as opposed to the roughly 10,000 reported in 2011. Jed Hilly and the good people of the AMA were able to do all this while maintaining the performance intimacy and musical quality I’ve experienced over my 5 years of attending the event. They have also been able to avoid the band-of-the-minute trading bazaar plaguing events like South-By-Southwest .
CMT.com know a good thing when they see it. With the commercial breakout of artists like Mumford & Sons, The Civil Wars and the Avett Brothers the cable music channel, that in many ways embodies everything Americana stands in contrast of, is setting up a small section of it’s site branded “CMT Edge” focused on showcasing artists outside their usual fare of quasi-“outlaws” and warbling blondes. The venture is focusing on the heart of Americana’s best. The tapping that i attended while attending the AMA conference featured Jason Isbell and justin Townes Earle in performing a solo acoustic set of a few songs in a setting that was more Bluebird Cafe than the hell-raising arenas most SMT artists can be found.
Craig Shelburne, a CMT.com writer and producer is the driving force behind CMT Edge introduced the artists before their performances. I briefly spoke to Shelburne and he seemed to me to be a man doing good that wants to do well. CMT sees that the Americana brand is blowing up (thanks in large part to the promotional efforts of the AMA and the sheer talent under the genre’s tent.) Sure CMT is a corporation concerned with eyeballs to sell soap, but they offer a much larger stage where deserving artists can make more money and upgrade their instruments and crappy touring vans. or as Jason Isbell told me when i ran into him at the Buddy Miller Lee Ann Womack show “We all need to make money.” Indeed.
The Americana Honors & Awards program was a tightly executed package to showcase exceptional talent for wider public consumption. The new two-year deal with Mark Cuban’s AXS TV to broadcast the event live was added to the already existing live broadcast on radio, satellite and the web via outlets including Nashville’s WSM, SiriusXM’s “Outlaw Country†and NPR.org, respectively. The show’s current TV partner, Austin City Limits, also broadcasts an edited special ACL Presents on November 10. Voice of America and Bob Harris’ BBC Radio 2 will broadcast overseas in following weeks.
All this spiked with an official hashtag #Americanafest and the youTube videos from the festivals shows cropping up afterward and you have a full-scale media juggernaut.
The inclusion of Bonnie Raitt , Booker T Jones and Richard Thompson for lifetime achievement awards for performance, instrumentalist and songwriting respectively. There’s no denying the legendary status of these great artists and their appeal to an Americana demo that trends towards the Boomer generation, but – to polish an old chestnut – are they “Americana?”
Each of these artists have established themselves as legends in the well defined genres of blues, R&B & soul and folk & rock. Honoring these legends in an Americana awards ceremony undoubtedly allows the AMA to hitch the brand to established and well-repected talent, but at what cost? By seemingly playing a game of “me too” the AMA could be using their crown jewel awards program to further obscure the Americana brand at best. At worst there the risk that the AMA will lead Americana into being a cast as an always derivative genre, riding on the coattails of established genres in order to gain credibility and an audience.
I’m not sure which of these scenarios will play out but I see them both as unnecessary as the above numbers and CMT attention show that Americana is doing just firm staking out it’s own turf heading toward greater brand visibility. How can a genre that has legitimate ties to Steve Earle , Ryan Bingham and The Civil Wars need to pilfer genre to create awareness?
But maybe I’m wrong. maybe Americana at it’s core crosses so many lines that those lines are the real outlines of what this movement we all love is really about. Maybe it’s a result of that truly American phenomenon of a society emerging from a diversity of the melting-pot.
Maybe it’s like Jim Lauderdale said from the stage of the Ryman Auditorium the other night. “Boundaries are for cowards.
It was another night when the disciples of roots music congregated within the hallowed walls of the Mother Church of Country Music, and the Ryman Auditorium, to homage to that which ties us together and makes us whole. Music.
The evening got off to a funk – soul start as Buddy Miller and the house band turned up the heat on Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist recipient Booker T Jones’ Green Onions. Drive-By Truckers front man Patterson Hood presented Jones with award recounting the DBT backing him on the Grammy winning “Potato Hole” and recognizing the legendary musician and producer for his contributions to the Stax Records and Memphis soul music sound.
“It means so much to me to receive this award, and it’s especially good to receive it from Patterson, I am so honored to accept this award in such great company. It really touches me.”
Bonnie Raitt presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting and guitarist extraordinaire Richard Thompson. Thompson’s songs have been recorded by The Del McCoury Band, Robert Plant, Los Lobos, Elvis Costello, Blind Boys of Alabama, REM, Linda Ronstadt, Buddy & Julie Miller and Raitt herself.
Thompson, a Brit, said “I know we’ve had our differences, and especially that whole 1776 thing. But we do share a love of the folk music from the old country.” It Then broke into a sizzling version of his Vincent Black Lightning.
Raitt herself received the Lifetime Achievement for Performance, presented to her by by singer/songwriter John Hiatt who’s song “Thing Called Love” was a big hit for her when she covered it on her “Nick of Time” album. “I am proud to have an umbrella like Americana. Who cares what kind of music it is, if it is great music. Tonight we are putting aside generations and genres to celebrate roots music.”
Peter Cooper and Lee Ann Womack ‘s performance of Song of the Year nominated ” I Love” – Album from the Songs of Fox Hollow children’s album – was rendered even more eventful by a surprise appearance by the 76 year-old icon.
The greatest moment for me was an appearance by the legendary Guy Clark. The tribute This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark – produced by Tamara Saviano and Shawn Camp- won album of the Year. The noticeably frail Clark performed a song dedicated to his recently deceased wife Susanna, and “My Favorite Picture of You.”
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit snagged Song of the Year honors for “Alabama Pines.” Gillian Welch was named Artist of the Year, while The Civil Wars took home Duo/Group honors (and I won another bottle of whiskey from John Paul White!) Alabama Shakes were presented the Emerging Artist award and David Rawlings was named Musician of the Year.
Jim Lauderdale again was the perfect MC for the televised live event which moved at a more clipped pace than past years.
Excellent performances by Justin Townes Earle, Robert Ellis, The Mavericks, the Punch Brothers, Casey Chambers, Shane Nicholson, Hayes Carll, Cary Ann Hurst and the Carolina Chocolate Drops drew from the historic surroundings and often brought the crowd to their feet.
The evening closed with many performers joining by Emmylou Harris to pay tribute to the late Levon Helm, led by his daughter Amy Helm, who in a rousing version of The Band’s “The Weight.”
One of the highlights of the Americana Music Festival and Conference is the Americana Honors and Awards program, which takes place at within the sacred walls of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. on Sept. 12. It’s a great event because not only do you have Buddy Miller leading a stellar house band and Jim Lauderdale, and tireless and engaging MC, deserving of the moniker “Mr. Americana,” but the performances are always some of the best I’ve had the good fortune to witness from those storied pews.
For the first time TV viewers get a new perspective. This year’s Americana Honors & Awards will be broadcast on AXS TV which will include live behind-the-scenes coverage.
The ceremony will also broadcast live on radio, satellite and the web via outlets including Nashville’s legendary WSM, SiriusXM’s “Outlaw Country†and NPR.org, respectively. As they did last year Austin City Limits, will broadcast an edited special ACL Presents on November 10, and Voice of America and Bob Harris’ BBC Radio 2 will broadcast overseas in the following weeks.
I’ve already opined on my views of the nominees, now it’s time to settle in for the ride. below find the nominees and my pick in bold.
Album of the Year
Here We Rest – Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive – Steve Earle The Harrow & The Harvest – Gillian Welch
This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark – Various Artists
Artist of the Year
Gillian Welch Hayes Carll
Jason Isbell
Justin Townes Earle
Emerging Artist of the Year
Alabama Shakes
Dawes
Deep Dark Woods Robert Ellis
Song of the Year “Alabama Pines†– Written by Jason Isbell and performed by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
“Come Around†– Written and performed by Sarah Jarosz
“I Love†– Written by Tom T. Hall and performed by Patty Griffin
“Waiting On The Sky to Fall†– Written and performed by Steve Earle
Instrumentalist of the Year
Buddy Miller
Chris Thile Darrell Scott
Dave Rawlings
Duo/Group of the Year
Carolina Chocolate Drops The Civil Wars
Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Punch Brothers
Below you’ll find my picks for the 2012 Americana Music Conference showcases. This was one of the the toughest years to winnow down the performances I’m going to attend. And I still did a poor job! There is too many great acts playing at the same time. Such an embarrassment of riches!
But there is hope! Unlike the misery of traversing the stages at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass where you’re lucky to catch parts of shows at more than one stage, and or even to make it alive in some cases, the Americana Festival has buses to get us to the venues.
Of course I can’t make all the shows unless am able top perfect that time bending and beer making contraption I’ve been working on (SOON!) but you van catch any of these performances and not go wrong.
Tuesday, September 11
The 5 Spot
$2 TUESDAYS /Twang Nation Social Club -Â Hosted by Derek Hoke : feat.Melody WalkerAlanna ,
Royale Joshua Black Wilkins, Marsha & The Martians (Angel Snow & Robby Hecht) Late Night with Los Colones9pm
$2 cover/$2 Yazoo pints #UnofficialAMA
Mercy Lounge
Somebody’s Darling w/ Buffalo Clover – The High Watt #UnofficialAMA
The Billy Block Show featuring Yo Ma Ma, Erica Nicole, Chelle Rose, Allie Farris, Caroline Rose and The Cumberland Collective #UnofficialAMA
Two Old Hippies 401 12th Ave. South
The Alternate Root Presents a Pre-AMA Triple-Play of Music with Amelia White, Julie Christensen and Tommy Womack & The Rush To Judgment #UnofficialAMA
Showtime: 6:00-8:00 pm
No Cover ~ Special Treats
615-254-7999
Wednesday, September 12
Puckett’sGrocery, 5th & Church
5pm & 7pm Allen Thompson Band CD Release Party,
Dinner & show before the AMA Awards at 5 . Later show 7 #UnofficialAMA
The Basement
11:00 Blue Mountain
12:00 Shovels and Rope
The Station Inn
11:30 Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
The Rutledge
10:00 Gretchen Peters
12:00 Delta Rae
Mercy Lounge
10:00 Corb Lund
11:00 This Wheel’s On Fire: A Tribute to Levon Helm
The High Watt
10:30 Whitehorse
Cannery Ballroom
10:00 Star Anna Thursday, September 13
The Basement
8:00 Lydia Loveless
9:00 Angel Snow
10:00 Sons of Fathers
11:00 The Deep Dark Woods
12:00 Black Lillies
The Station Inn
10:00 Mary Gauthier
11:00 Richard Thompson
Mercy Lounge
8:00 Turnpike Troubadours
9:00 Billy Joe Shaver
10:00 Steve Forbert
11:00 John Fullbright
12:00 Jason Boland & The Stragglers
The High Watt
10:30 Eilen Jewell
11:30 Julie Lee Cannery Ballroom
8:00 Blue Highway
9:00 Sara Watkins
10:00 Paul Thorn
11:00 Punch Brothers (with a Sara Watkins cameo?)
Friday, September 14
Sheraton Hotel lobby – 623 Union St.
Wanda Jackson
12:30-1:10pm
Amy Black, Susan Cattaneo, Rose Cousins and Rod Picott
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
The Basement
9:00 American Aquarium
11:00 Chuck Mead and His Grassy Knoll Boys
The Station Inn
8:00 Red June
9:00 Della Mae
10:00 McCrary Sisters
11:00 Steep Canyon Rangers
12:00 Humming House
The Rutledge
8:00 Mandolin Orange
9:00 Mindy Smith
11:00 Belle Starr
Mercy Lounge
8:00 Jimbo Mathus & The Tri-State Coalition
9:00 Holy Ghost Tent Revival
10:00 Dylan LeBlanc
11:00 Darrell Scott
12:00 Reckless Kelly
The High Watt
9:30 Two Gallants
Cannery Ballroom
9:00Â Amanda Shires
10:00 Robert Ellis
11:00 John Hiatt
Saturday, September 15
The Basement
9:00 Chastity Brown
11:00 The Pines
12:00 Chris Scruggs
The Station Inn
8:00 Brennen Leigh
9:00 Phoebe Hunt
10:00 Marvin Etzioni
11:00 Rodney Crowell
The Rutledge
8:00 Felicity Urquhart
9:00 The Wood Brothers
10:00 Kevin Gordon
12:00 The Trishas
Mercy Lounge
8:00 Lera Lynn
9:00 honeyhoney
10:00 Tift Merritt
11:00 Buddy Miller & Lee Ann Womack
When twitter first caught my attention I felt I had no use for it. It seemed like an endless torrent of inanity and, I was not narcissistic enough to imagine anyone gave a flip what or where I was eating at that exact moment.
But I created an account and after seeing how some musicians, like Jason Isbell – @JasonIsbell – and labels, like Bloodshot Records – @BSHQ – that I respect were using it as a format for topical, and often hilarious, discussions about music I dove in and began to carve out my own backwoods niche.
Now after 22k + tweets and 5k + followers I think I’ve got the hang of it. I’ve followed, been followed by, re-tweeted and been re-tweeted by, some of the best musicians, labels , venues I could dare to imagine. THAT’S the magic of twitter, it democratizes discussions. As long as you have something to add to the dialogue someone will listen. As the grand matrone of Americana on twitter, Rossanne Cash – @rosannecash says on her profile page, “I like Twitter as cafe society.”
I’ve discovered many great musicians from twitter, one being the lovely and talented Lindi Ortega – @lindiortega – (thanks to a tweet by the excellent musician Brett Detar – @brettdetar .) Ortega and her team were kind and gracious enough to work with me to bring you a little something to celebrate my little milestone.
Just share your email address below to download a sweet ( and FREE!) mp3 of Lindi’s unique interpretation of the Johnny Cash classic Folsom Prison Blues.
And be sure to look for Lindi’s new release “Cigarettes and Truckstops” coming out October 2nd!
Thanks to all my excellent followers and, if your not yet doing so, be sure to follow Twang Nation, as well as everyone in this post I’ve mentioned and and all your favorite musicians on twitter. Let’s keep the conversation (and music!) going.
The duo recently released a 7 inch released by Jack White’s Third Man Records and had their song “Tomorrow Will Be Kinderâ€, inspired by the Alabama tornado outbreak, featured on the T Bone produced soundtrack for The Hunger Games.
The duo were kind enough to give thoughtful l answers to emailed questions submitted by me and some of my twitter followers.
Twang Nation: What was your first experience with music? The Secret Sisters: The two of us have been completely surrounded by music since we were babies. We spent many summers attending bluegrass festivals with our dad, who is a bluegrass musician. Though we can’t remember that far back, it’s very likely that the first concert we ever attended was a bluegrass festival somewhere in the South. We really believe that bluegrass musicians are some of the most incredible, skilled artists in the music world, and growing up in those circles helped us appreciate a time-honored musical genre and tradition that still finds its way into our music on a regular basis. We are very influenced by certain aspects of the bluegrass world, and that sound has been ingrained in us since we were very young.
TN: Alabama musicians seem to look after one another – from the Drive-By Truckers , John Paul White from the Civil Wars and Doc Daily – what is the source of that camaraderie and how has it helped you? TSS: We believe that the camaraderie comes from the desire to see Alabama be well represented again. Alabama is known for producing some of the most legendary artists, musicians, and songwriters in all of music history. It seems to us that all Alabama musicians are proud of the heritage we have, and we just really cheer for one another when big things happen, when our fellow Alabama artists get recognized for their talent. We’ve had countless compliments and expressions of support from other artists in Alabama, and knowing that those people are supporting us helps us keep going. It’s almost as though we’ve all subconsciously joined a movement to put Alabama back in the musical spotlight. That movement also requires a bit of a responsibility-we don’t want to do anything to tarnish the reputation of great music in our state, and we believe that all the artists in Alabama help to hold each other accountable for always putting out quality music.
TN:What is your songwriting process like? Do you walk into the studio with ideas fully formed or do you work it out in the studio? TSS: All of our songs come about in unique ways. Sometimes they come to us quickly, other times we struggle with them for hours and hours. We’ve spent a lot of time this year working together on our songs, and also exploring songwriting with some of our very favorite cowriters. It has been a wonderful learning experience and we still have so much to figure out. For the second record, we’ve chosen to have our songs mostly complete when we go into the studio. It saves time, and having a real grasp of the song ahead of time gives everything a good direction to work from. Of course some changes will be made once we get into the studio, but for the most part our songs are all ironed out and ready to be put to tape.
TN:Your self-titled debut album album was executive produced by one of the godfather’s of Americana, T-Bone Burnett. How was working with him and how did it open doors for you. Did his association hamper you in any way? TSS: Working with T bone has been very advantageous for us. He has been very kind and protective towards us, and we truly believe that much of our progress can be attributed to his involvement in our career. His knowledge of music history and sound quality is absolutely incredible, and he has taught us so much, in a very short amount of time. Having him in our corner helped us be involved in the Hunger Games soundtrack, which was a huge boost to our career. He’s constantly fighting for us and involving us in the cool projects that he undertakes, and it’s very nice to know that someone so well-respected is looking out for us.
TN:What compels young performers to create or cover music that is, or sounds like it’s, from generations before they were born? TSS: For the two of us, we choose to cover songs only if we love them. We obviously tend to love music from the early years of the 20th century, but we will cover any song that really touches us. The kind of songs we gravitate towards reminds us of home, our family, the South, God and faith, and all the other things that are most important to us. We think that young performers like us get tired of being surrounded by music that is fleeting. We want to cover and create music that can withstand the test of time. For the two of us, there’s also a sense of preservation in the music we play. We value early American roots music so much, and to think of that music fading into obscurity breaks our hearts. So we use our voices and our platform, no matter how big or small it may be, to remind everyone of how sincere and special the music from long ago is.
TN:You recorded the song “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder” for the The Hunger Games soundtrack. Did you read the books? If so did you imagine your music as a backdrop while you reading it? TSS: Honestly, we had written the song “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder” before we read the books. When we were approached about being on the soundtrack, we knew that we had a song in our pockets that would work very well in light of the subject matter of the books. So we submitted the song for consideration, and everyone involved agreed that though the song was begun previously, it was truly meant to be associated with that film. When we finally read the books, we were stunned at how perfectly our song fit with the emotional themes in the stories. It reminded us that music has its own way of getting to where it’s supposed to be.
TN:In a period of music industry turbulence and self-reflection how have you shaped the direction of your careers? TSS: We don’t let our career define us. We’ve focused on staying true to our beliefs and morals, and we both believe that we can be happy no matter what happens in our career, so long as we choose to be happy and grateful for whatever comes our way. We try not to get too worried about music business ups and downs. We simply make the kind of music we want to make, and if at any point we are pushed to be something other than what we want to be, we will walk away. Luckily, we are surrounded by people who help us preserve our true identities and the music that moves us, and we just let that music do what it will. Ultimately, our faith reassures us that we’re so blessed, in every moment, and that everything will pan out exactly as it should.
TN: How was it to play Jack White’s divorce party? Was it at all awkward? TSS: We actually did not play at Jack White’s divorce party. Not exactly sure how that rumor got started, but we are friends and fans of both Jack and Karen, and we love them both dearly and treasure their sweet family.
TN: How is your new album coming? Who’s playing on it and does it have a title yet? TSS: As of right now, we haven’t started tracking the record yet. We focused most of our time this year on writing the entirety of our record, and hope to go into the studio in October to start cutting songs. We did some of the songwriting with our good friend, Brandi Carlile, and that experience was absolutely priceless for us. We feel that Brandi really understands our musical inspiration, and she helped us develop our songs into something we are very proud of. We don’t know quite yet who will be playing on our record, but we can promise that some of the friends we’ve made in the past will be making appearances. We toured with so many incredible people last year, and several of them have offered to make a contribution to our second record. So be on the lookout for some awesome collaborating!
TN: John Paul White (The Civil Wars) mentioned be collaborated with you for a song on the album, who else has had a hand in writing songs for it? TSS: We did write a song with John Paul, and he was so great to work with. He really taught us so much, and we are proud for him and Joy and the success they’ve had. As mentioned before, we’ve worked with Brandi Carlile quite a bit on our songs, as well as Dan Wilson, Kevin Griffin, and other Nashville writers that we love and respect. At the end of the day, we really love the moments when just the two of us get together to write a song, mainly because we feel that those moments help us grow exponentially as writers. As we spend time writing together, our respect for one another grows, and the songs that come out of those sessions surprise us every time. Like maybe we are supposed to be doing this after all.
