Category Archives: News Round Up

Bobbie Gentry Box Set ‘The Girl From Chickasaw County-The Complete Capitol Masters’ To Be Released This Fall

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Bobbie Gentry 'The Girl From Chickasaw County'

Great news for classic roots music fans! The first major retrospective box set celebrating the pioneering and enduring legacy of Bobbie Gentry will be released by Universal Music on September 21st.

“The Girl From Chickasaw County” is an 8 CD collection which includes all of the studio albums recorded by the Mississippi singer-songwriter, including more than 75 previously unreleased recordings. These extras include Gentry’s “lost” jazz album, outtakes, demos, and rarities, as well as a disc of live performances taken from the series she hosted on the BBC in 1968 and 1969 which was part of a vinyl-only release this past Record Store Day.

The set features specially commissioned cover art by David Downton and an 84-page book containing a comprehensive essay, rare and unseen photos, eight postcards and a facsimile of Gentry’s original handwritten lyrics for her signature hit ‘Ode To Billie Joe.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9jSKfTOQZ0

Pre-order “The Girl From Chickasaw County” here.

‘The Girl From Chickasaw County-The Complete Capitol Masters’ track list:

*previously unreleased

DISC 1 – ODE TO BILLIE JOE

1. Mississippi Delta
2. I Saw an Angel Die
3. Chickasaw County Child
4. Sunday Best
5. Niki Hoeky
6. Papa, Woncha Let Me Go to Town With You?
7. Bugs
8. Hurry, Tuesday Child
9. Lazy Willie
10. Ode to Billie Joe

BONUS TRACKS

11. The Seventh Son [Demo]*
12. I Saw an Angel Die [Demo] *
13. Niki Hoeky [Demo]*
14. Papa, Woncha Let Me Go to Town With You? [Demo]*
15. Hurry, Tuesday Child [Demo]*
16. Mississippi Delta [Alternate version]*
17. Sunday Best [Alternate take]*
18. Show-Off [Stereo version]*
19. La Siepe [Original 7”]
20. La Citta E’ Grande [Original 7”]

DISC 2 – THE DELTA SWEETE

1. Okolona River Bottom Band
2. Big Boss Man
3. Reunion
4. Parchman Farm
5. Mornin’ Glory
6. Sermon
7. Tobacco Road
8. Penduli Pendulum
9. Jessye’ Lisabeth
10. Refractions
11. Louisiana Man
12. Courtyard

BONUS TRACKS

13. The Seventh Son [Band version]*
14. Feelin’ Good [Demo]*
15. I Didn’t Know [Demo]*
16. Morning to Midnight [Demo]*
17. Refractions [Demo]*
18. Louisiana Man [Demo]*
19. Sermon [Demo]*
20. Morning Glory [Demo]*
21. Jessye’ Lisabeth [Demo]*
22. Courtyard [Demo]*
23. Louisiana Man [‘The Tom Jones Show’ 06/07/1968]*
24. Ode to Billie Joe [‘The Tom Jones Show’ 06/07/1968]*

DISC 3 – LOCAL GENTRY

1. Sweete Peony
2. Casket Vignette
3. Come Away Melinda
4. The Fool on the Hill
5. Papa’s Medicine Show
6. Ace Insurance Man
7. Recollection
8. Sittin’ Pretty
9. Eleanor Rigby
10. Peaceful
11. Here, There and Everywhere

BONUS TRACKS

12. Hushabye Mountain [Original 7”]
13. Skip A Long Sam [Ode to Bobbie Gentry]
14. Conspiracy of Homer Jones*
15. Sweet Peony [Alternate Version]*
16. Cotton Candy Sandman [Demo] *
17. Hushabye Mountain [Demo]*

DISC 4 – BOBBIE GENTRY & GLEN CAMPBELL

1. Less of Me
2. Little Green Apples
3. Gentle on My Mind
4. Heart to Heart Talk
5. My Elusive Dreams
6. (It’s Only Your) Imagination
7. Mornin’ Glory
8. Terrible Tangled Web
9. Sunday Mornin’
10. Let It Be Me
11. Scarborough Fair/Canticle

BONUS TRACKS

12. All I Have to Do Is Dream [Original 7”]
13. Walk Right Back [Original 7”]
14. Sunday Mornin’ [Alternate version]*
15. Let It Be Me [Without strings]*
16. Scarborough Fair/Canticle [without strings]*
17. Love Took My Heart and Mashed That Sucker Flat [Duet with Kelly Gordon] [Defunked, 1969]
18. Fool on the Hill [Japanese language version] [Original 7”]
19. No me quiero enamorar [Spanish Language ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’] [Original 7”]
20. En Todas Partes [Spanish Language ‘Here There and Everywhere’] [Original 7”]

DISC 5 – TOUCH ‘EM WITH LOVE

1. Touch ‘Em with Love
2. Greyhound Goin’ Somewhere
3. Natural to Be Gone
4. Seasons Come, Seasons Go
5. Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing
6. I Wouldn’t Be Surprised
7. Son of a Preacher Man
8. Where’s the Playground, Johnny
9. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again
10. You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

Bonus Tracks

11. More Today Than Yesterday*
12. Spinning Wheel*
13. Touch ‘Em with Love [Stereo version]*
14. Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing [Alternate take]*
15. Seasons Come, Seasons Go [Demo]*
16. Suppertime*
17. God Bless The Child*
18. Since I Fell For You*
19. Save Your Love For Me*
20. Here’s That Rainy Day*
21. Stormy [Ode To Bobbie Gentry]
22. This Girls In Love With You
23. Windows of the World [The Best of Bobbie Gentry: The Capitol Years]

DISC 6 – FANCY

1. Fancy
2. Delta Man
3. Something in the Way He Moves
4. Find ‘Em, Fool ‘Em and Forget About ‘Em
5. He Made a Woman Out of Me
6. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
7. If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
8. Rainmaker
9. Wedding Bell Blues

BONUS TRACKS

10. In the Ghetto [I’ll Never Fall In Love Again (UK)]
11. Fancy [Mono radio edit]*
12. Apartment 21 [Original 7”]
13. Away In A Manger [The Christmas Sound of Music, 1969]
14. Scarlett Ribbons [The Christmas Sound of Music, 1969]
15. Circle ‘Round the Sun*
16. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head [Alternate take]*
17. Wedding Bell Blues [Alternate take]*
18. Apartment 21 [Without strings]*
19. Scarlett Ribbons [Alternate version]*
20. If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody [Live on ‘Top Of The Pops’]

DISC 7 – PATCHWORK

1. Benjamin
2. Interlude 1
3. Marigolds and Tangerines
4. Interlude 2
5. Billy the Kid
6. Interlude 3
7. Beverly
8. Interlude 4
9. Miss Clara/Azusa Sue
10. Interlude 5
11. But I Can’t Get Back
12. Jeremiah
13. Interlude 6
14. Belinda
15. Mean Stepmama Blues
16. Your Number One Fan
17. Interlude 7
18. Somebody Like Me
19. Lookin’ In

BONUS TRACKS

20. Smoke [The Best Of The Capital Years, 2007]
21. Joanne*
22. Salome Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear*
23. Benjamin [Alternate take]*
24. Belinda [Alternate version]*
25. Smoke (Demo)*
26. The Girl from Cincinnati [Original 7”]
27. You and Me Together [Original 7”]

DISC 8 – LIVE AT THE BBC

1. Mississippi Delta [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
2. Papa Won’t You Let Me Go To Town With You [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
3. I Saw An Angel Die [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
4. My Dog Sargent [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968] *1.15
5. Ode to Billie Joe [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968] *
6. Mornin Glory [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]* 3.15
7. Sunday Best [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]*
8. Hurry Tuesday Child [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]*
9. Nikki Hokey / Barefootin’ [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
10. Penduli Pendulum [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
11. Ace Insurance Man [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
12. Chickasaw County Child [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
13. Recollection [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
14. Sweet Peony [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
15. Refractions [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
16. Greyhound Goin’ Somewhere [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
17. Cotton Candy Sandman [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
18. Open Your Window [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
19. Mother Nature’s son [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
20. Mr Bojangles [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
21. Your Number One Fan [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
22. He Made A Woman Out of Me [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
23. Billy the Kid [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
24. Wailing Of The Willow [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*

25. Belinda [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*

26. Circle ‘Round The Sun [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*

*Previously unreleased

David Crosby Joins Jason Isbell And the 400 Unit on Stage at Newport Folk Festival

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David Crosby Joins Jason Isbell

Folks attending the Jason Isbell And the 400 Unit performance at last Friday at the Newport Folk Festival were treated to one of those spectacular collaborations that can often happen at the storied festival. During the set Folk / rock legend David Crosby unassumingly strolled onstage to join the band on a couple of perform a pair of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young classics from their 1974 release ‘So Far.’

Isbell took time to speak to the bonds connecting him and other performers at this year’s festival and artists of older generations, and how artists like Crosby effect social change with their music.

“The songwriters, the guitar players and bass players and banjo players and singers — they’re all connected to the people that they were when they were trying to make things change,” he said. “We need to get together and try to make things change.”

Watch Isbell and Crosby perform “Wooden Ships” and “Ohio” at the 2018 Newport Folk Festival below.

Isbell and Crosby have had a budding bromance on Twitter for quite a while now so it was no surprise that once they appearing at there same event there would be some kind of collaboration.

I love this and look forward to re collaberations between these men and more of the old guard reaching out to the new blood for same.

Colter Wall Readies New Album Coming This Autumn – Hear Two New Songs – Announces Extensive Tour

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Colter Wall - Songs of the Plains, October 12
Photo credit: Little Jack Films

The only downside to hearing a work as stunningly perfect as Colter Wall’s eponymous 2017 debut is the dread that the proverbial sophomore slump will strike down any hopes of experiencing that satisfaction the next time around.

Well if the two released cuts off WaLL’s highly-anticipated forthcoming release “Songs of the Plains’ (October 12 – Young Mary’s Record Co.) is any indication of the flavor of the remainder of the album you can put those apprehensions to rest. The timeless simple beauty of the arrangements are there transporting Wall’s deep baritone across country music’s golden years.

The first is ‘Plain to See Plainsman’ a delicate 4/4 strummer paying tribute to his Swift Current home in the prairies in a new-traditional style reminiscent of Marty Robbin’ “El Paso” and “Big Iron period. The song has an extra layer of beauty as Mickey Raphael’s signature harmonica wails in the distance like a midnight train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlinDMsUOcQ&t=8s

The second cut is a version of ‘Calgary Round-Up’ by real-life Alberta cowpuncher and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame / Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Wilf Carter, better known in the lower 48 as Montana Slim, 1961 release. Though much more toned-down and missing the original’s signature yodeling, you can close your eyes and still get the sense of the prairies winds coming off the plains accompanied by the cry of Lloyd Green’s pedal steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnVxeeZlE2M

Colter Wall - Songs of the Plains

Recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A with Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Lori McKenna), the album features 11 songs, seven original songs written by Wall as well as versions of Billy Don Burns’ “Wild Dogs,” the aforementioned Wilf Carter’s “Calgary Round-Up” and two cowboy traditional songs, “Night Herding Song” and “Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail.”

In addition to Wall (vocals, acoustic guitar), the album also features Cobb (acoustic guitar), Lloyd Green (pedal steel), Chris Powell (drums, spoons), Jason Simpson (bass), Mickey Raphael (harmonica), Blake Berglund (vocals) and Corb Lund (vocals).

Pre-order “Songs of the Plains’ here.

The track list is:
1. “Plain to See Plainsman” (written by Colter Wall)
2. “Saskatchewan In 1881” (written by Colter Wall)
3. “John Beyers (Camaro Song)” (written by Colter Wall)
4. “Wild Dogs” (written by Billy Don Burns)
5. “Calgary Round-Up” (written by Wilf Carter)
6. “Night Herding Song” (Cowboy Traditional)
7. “Wild Bill Hickok” (written by Colter Wall)
8. “The Trains are Gone” (written by Colter Wall)
9. “Thinkin’ on a Woman” (written by Colter Wall)
10. “Manitoba Man” (written by Colter Wall)
11. “Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail” (Cowboy Traditional)

Wall also announced a series of new tour dates starting in October. His full schedule is:
July 28 – Newport, RI-Newport Folk Festival
Aug. 3-4-Happy Valley, OR-Pickathon
Aug. 18-Fort Worth, TX-Cody Jinks’ Loud and Heavy Festival
Aug. 24-Tonder, Denmark-Tonder Festival
Aug. 29-London, U.K. -Scala
Aug. 30-Manchester, U.K. -Gorilla
Sept. 1-Salisbury, U.K. -End of the Road Festival
Sept. 2-Stradbally, Ireland-Electric Picnic
Sept. 14-15-Athens, Ontario-Festival of Small Halls
Sept. 16-Lansdowne Park, Ottawa-City Folk
Sept. 23-Indianapolis, IN-Holler on the Hill Festival
Oct. 13-Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-O’Brian’s Event Centre
Oct. 16-Regina, Saskatchewan-Conexus Convention Hall
Oct. 18-Edmonton, Alberta-Union Hall
Oct. 19-Calgary, Alberta-Macewan Hall Ballroom
Oct. 21-Missoula, MT-Top Hat
Oct. 22-Bozeman, MT-The Rialto
Oct. 23-Billings, MT-Pub Station Taproom
Oct. 25-Omaha, NE-The Waiting Room
Oct. 26-Des Moines, IA-Wooly’s
Oct. 27-Maquoketa, IA-Codfish Hollow Barn
Oct. 28-Detroit, MI-Majestic Theatre
Oct. 30-Columbus, OH-A&R Music Bar
Oct. 31-Pittsburgh, PA-Club AE
Nov. 2-Somerville, MA-Somerville Theater
Nov. 3-South Burlington, VT-Higher Ground Ballroom
Nov. 5-New York, NY-Irving Plaza
Nov. 8-Charlotte, NC-Neighborhood Theatre
Nov. 9-Richmond, VA-Capital Ale House
Nov. 11-Carrboro, NC-Cats Cradle
Nov. 14-15-Nashville, TN-The Basement East
Nov. 16-Asheville, NC-The Grey Eagle
Nov. 17-Atlanta, GA-Variety Playhouse
Nov. 18-Charleston, SC-Charleston Music Hall
Nov. 24-Toronto, Ontario-Opera House
Nov. 28-Washington, D.C. -9:30 Club
Dec. 1-Madison, WI-Majestic Theatre
Dec. 2-Columbia, MO-The Blue Note
Dec. 10-Santa Fe, NM-Meow Wolf
Dec. 12-Solana Beach, CA-Belly Up
Dec. 14-Los Angeles, CA-El Rey Theatre
Jan. 19-Vancouver, British Columbia-Commodore Ballroom
Jan. 20-Seattle, WA-The Showbox @ The Market

The Band’s Landmark Debut ‘Music From Big Pink’ To Get 50th Anniversary Edition Treatment This Summer

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'Music From Big Pink' To Get 50th Anniversary Edition

On July 1, 1968, The Band’s landmark debut album, Music from Big Pink, seemed to spring from nowhere and everywhere. Drawing from the American roots music panoply of country, blues, R&B, gospel, soul, rockabilly, the honking tenor sax tradition, hymns, funeral dirges, brass band music, folk, and rock ‘n’ roll, The Band forged a timeless new style that forever changed the course of popular music. Fifty years later, the mythology surrounding Music from Big Pink lives on through the evocative storytelling of its songs including “The Weight,” “This Wheel’s On Fire,” “Tears of Rage,” and “To Kingdom Come,” its enigmatic cover art painted by Bob Dylan, the salmon-colored upstate New York house – ‘Big Pink’ – where The Band wrote the songs, and in myriad descendant legends carried forth since the album’s stunning arrival.

On August 31, Capitol/UMe will release Music From Big Pink in newly remixed and expanded 50th Anniversary Edition packages, including a Super Deluxe CD/Blu-ray/2LP/7-inch vinyl box set with a hardbound book; 1CD, digital, 180-gram 2LP black vinyl, and limited edition 180-gram 2LP pink vinyl packages. All the Anniversary Edition configurations feature a new stereo mix for the album, produced by Bob Clearmountain from the original four-track analog masters, achieving a striking clarity and incorporating some previously unreleased chatter from the studio sessions. The 50th Anniversary Edition’s CD, digital, and box set configurations also include five outtakes and alternate recordings from the ‘Big Pink’ sessions and a previously unreleased a cappella version of “I Shall Be Released.”

Exclusively for the box set, Clearmountain has also produced a new 5.1 surround mix for the album and the bonus tracks, presented on Blu-ray with the new stereo mix in high-resolution audio (96kHz/24bit). All the new audio mixes have been mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. The box set also includes an exclusive reproduction of The Band’s 1968 7-inch vinyl single for “The Weight” / “I Shall Be Released” in their new stereo mixes and a hardbound book with a new essay by noted music journalist David Fricke and classic photos by Elliott Landy. For the album’s new vinyl editions, Chris Bellman cut the vinyl lacquers for the album’s new stereo mix at 45rpm at Bernie Grundman Mastering, expanding the album’s vinyl footprint from one LP to two. The black and pink vinyl LPs were pressed at GZ Vinyl / Precision.

Pre-order “Music From Big Pink: The 50th Anniversary Edition” here.

‘King of the Road’ Roger Miller Tribute Recruits Alison Krauss, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson

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Roger Miller

Few people these days are aware of the gENius of Roger Miller. If he’s known at all it’s for his deceptively goofy sons like ‘Dang Me’ and Z”You Can’t Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd.” He was also the one of the greatest songwriters to ever work the country music genre snagging 11 Grammy Awards, a Tony Award for writing the music and lyrics for the Broadway play “Big River’ and was voted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995. He performed, and was friends with greats like Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

Speaking of Kris Kristofferson, Miller was also the to record and commercially release his “Me and Bobby McGee” a full year before Janis Joplin made it a classic.

Now his friends and new blood that owe him a debt have come together to pay tribute. ‘King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller,’ out Aug. 31 via BMG, pays long overdue respects to one of American music’s premier entertainers and songwriters. The two-disc collection contains new renditions of Miller’s songs by Ringo Starr, Dolly Parton, Eric Church, Loretta Lynn, John Goodman and more than two dozen others, including Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard on one track. Produced by Miller’s son, Dean Miller, and Colby Barnum Wright, ‘King of the Road’ offers a fresh look at the work of a creative giant who has been gone 26 years but whose genius continues to shape contemporary music in ways both overt and subtle.

Read more about the project in a new interview at The Tennessean: https://tnne.ws/2toJY7B

Before Miller’s premature death of cancer at age 56, the Country Music Hall of Famer had 31 Top 40 Billboard country hits (10 of which crossed over to the pop chart), including his signature songs “Dang Me” and “King of the Road.” He held the record for most GRAMMY wins in a single night until Michael Jackson and ‘Thriller’ broke it in 1984. Miller wrote songs and voiced a character for Walt Disney’s 1973 Robin Hood film. He also wrote the music and lyrics for the Tony-winning Big River, helping launch the career of actor John Goodman, who reprises the musical’s “Guv’ment” on ‘King of the Road.’ As Dean Miller writes in liner notes accompanying ‘King of the Road,’ “Roger Miller was too gigantic to be contained by genres and definitions.”

‘King of the Road’ includes versions of Miller’s biggest ’60s hits, like “Chug-A-Lug” (Asleep at the Wheel ft. Huey Lewis) and “England Swings” (Lyle Lovett), and lesser-known treasures from a catalog full of gems. As with Miller’s own output, the album contains plenty of unexpected turns — country superstar Eric Church’s playful take on Robin Hood’s “Oo De Lally,” for instance, or Starr’s selection of “Hey, Would You Hold It Down?,” a song from Miller’s long-out-of-print 1979 ‘Making a Name for Myself’ album. By any standard of measurement, Miller was “one of the greatest songwriters that ever lived” — even if he did say so himself. And he did, in the first of a handful of the album’s live-performance interstitials that capture the spontaneous wit of a mind that operated at a breakneck pace.

There is a television event in the works, more information coming soon.

The scope of material and performances on ‘King of the Road’ both capture Miller’s personality and convey an astonishing legacy that’s still felt today. “Roger Miller didn’t have to say much,” Dean writes in the liners. “You were simply drawn to him. He had a magnetic smile, and electric wit and a passion for life and music that transcended generations.”

‘King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller’ Tracklist:

Disc One
Greatest Songwriter (Banter)
Chug-a-Lug – Asleep at the Wheel ft. Huey Lewis (!)
Dang Me – Brad Paisley
Leavin’s Not the Only Way to Go – The Stellas/Lennon and Maisy
Kansas City Star – Kacey Musgraves
World So Full of Love – Rodney Crowell
Old Friends (Banter)
Old Friends – Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard
Lock Stock and Teardrops – Mandy Barnett
You Oughta Be Here With Me – Alison Krauss ft. The Cox Family
The Crossing – Ronnie Dunn, The Blind Boys of Alabama
In the Summertime – The Earls of Leicester ft. Shawn Camp
Fiddle (Banter)
England Swings – Lyle Lovett
You Can’t Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd – Various Artists
Half a Mind – Loretta Lynn
Invitation to the Blues – Shooter Jennings, Jessi Colter
It Only Hurts Me When I Cry (Live) – Dwight Yoakam

Disc Two
Hey, Would You Hold It Down? – Ringo Starr
Engine, Engine #9 – Emerson Hart ft. Jon Randall
When Two Worlds Collide – Flatt Lonesome
Oo De Lally – Eric Church
You Can’t Do Me This Way and Get By With It – Dean Miller ft. The McCrary Sisters
Chicken S#$! (Banter)
Nothing Can Stop Me – Toad the Wet Sprocket
Husbands and Wives – Jamey Johnson ft. Emmylou Harris
I Believe in the Sunshine – Lily Meola
Guv’ment – John Goodman
Old Songwriters Never Die (Banter)
The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me – Dolly Parton ft. Alison Krauss
I’d Come Back to Me – Radney Foster ft. Tawnya Reynolds
Reincarnation – Cake
One Dying and a Burying – The Dead South
Do Wacka Do – Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
King of the Road – Various Artists

Lori McKenna To Release “The Tree” This Summer, Hear The Premier Track Now

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Lori McKenna "The Tree"
Album cover art: Sydney Clawson

GRAMMY, CMA and ACM Award-winning singer-songwriter Lori McKenna will release the follow up to her 2016 acclaimed ‘The Bird and the Rifle’ July 20 on CN Records via Thirty Tigers and is now available for pre-order.

The new album takes one of McKenna’s signature themes—family—and builds a tapestry of experiences she has lived and overheard, been told and dreamed up. Of the album, McKenna comments, “I love people’s stories about their families—the way they tic and the ways we’re all crazy and love each other. I hope my songs shine a little light on that for a second. Maybe our stories remind us of our families and what they give us. It’s beautiful, and sometimes we take it for granted.”

‘The Tree’ is McKenna’s eleventh studio album and second in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile). Recorded by Matt Ross-Spang over seven days at Nashville’s historic RCA, the 11-song album features McKenna (vocals, acoustic guitar), Cobb (acoustic/electric guitar, mellotron), Anderson East (electric guitar), Brian Allen (bass), Chris McKenna (mellotron), Chris Powell (drums, percussion) and background vocals from Kristen Rogers, Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey.

In celebration of the release, McKenna will embark on “The Way Back Home Tour” this summer. The headline tour kicks off June 29 at Annapolis’ Rams Head On Stage and includes stops at City Winery venues in Boston, New York, DC, Chicago and Atlanta as well as Philadelphia’s World Café Live and Nashville’s CMA Theatre among others. McKenna will also join Alison Krauss on two tour dates in Ohio this June. See below for complete tour dates. (alas no Texas dates…..yet)

Listen to the poignantly reflective track “People Get Old” below.

“The Tree” Track List
1. A Mother Never Rests (Lori McKenna, Barry Dean)

2. The Fixer (Lori McKenna)

3. People Get Old (Lori McKenna)

4. Young And Angry Again (Lori McKenna, Barry Dean, Luke Laird)
5. The Tree (Lori McKenna, Natalie Hemby, Aaron Raitiere)
6. You Won’t Even Know I’m Gone (Lori McKenna)

7. Happy People (Lori McKenna, Hailey Whitters)

8. You Can’t Break A Woman (Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose)
9. The Lot Behind St. Mary’s (Lori McKenna)

10. The Way Back Home (Lori McKenna, Luke Laird)

11. Like Patsy Would (Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose)

“The Way Back Home Tour”

June 14—Sylvania, OH—Centennial Terrace (supporting Alison Krauss)
June 15—Kettering, OH—Fraze Pavilion (supporting Alison Krauss)
June 29—Annapolis, MD—Rams Head On Stage
June 30—Northampton, MA—Iron Horse Music Hall
July 1—East Greenwich, RI—Greenwich Odeum
July 18—Boston, MA—City Winery
July 20—New York, NY—City Winery
July 21—Philadelphia, PA—World Café Live
July 22—Washington, DC—City Winery
August 3—Ann Arbor, MI—The Ark
August 4—Chicago, IL—City Winery
August 5—Minneapolis, MN—Dakota Jazz Club
August 15—Atlanta, GA—City Winery
August 16—Charlotte, NC—North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
August 17—Nashville, TN—CMA Theatre, Country Music Hall of Fame

Johnny Cash Museum Unveils ‘I Walk the Line’ Gold Record On Anniversary

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Cash’s first #1 I Walk the Line
Sun Records Sam Phillips presenting Johnny Cash with his first Gold Record for I Walk the Line – Credit: Johnny Cash Museum Archive

The Johnny Cash Museum premiered a special artifact today that has never previously been on public display despite being presented to Johnny Cash more than six decades ago.

Johnny Cash’s very first gold record to commemorate Cash’s first #1 I Walk the Line on what is the anniversary of the song’s release on Sun Records on May 1, 1956. Johnny’s siblings Tommy Cash and Joanne Cash-Yates joined Sam Phillips’ son Jerry Phillips on the site of the museum today as the award finally found a permanent home on exhibition at the museum, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year.

I Walk the Line remained on the Billboard charts for 43 weeks. Cash was inspired to write the melody of the song after hearing a reel-to-reel tape record during his Air Force days in Germany with what he thought were interesting chord changes. It turned out the reel had gotten turned around and all the chords were being played backwards. The strange, haunting sound inspired the melody to “I Walk the Line” which Cash wrote several years later, backstage before a show in Texas in 1956.

The song would become an American music standard and be credited with numerous accolades:

Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts selected it among the 365 titles chosen as“Songs of the Century.”
In 2000, NPR ranked it among the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th Century.
CMT included the recording in its list of the “100 Greatest Songs of Country Music.
In 2014, Rolling Stone ranks it as #1 on its list of the “100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time”
RIAA Double Platinum selling single with more than 2 million copies sold

Fans can view the article on display at the museum which is open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM CT.

Johnny Cash at Town Hall Party in 1958 singing “I Walk The Line”

Lera Lynn To Release Duets Album ‘Plays Well With Others’

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Lera Lynn - Plays Well With Others

Over her successful career, Lera Lynn has had the good fortune to share the stage with some of roots music’s beat (see her duet with John Paul White below covering Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty’s ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ below for evidence to that fact.)

On June 22 the Nashville-based singer-songwriter will make her collaborations formal by releasing an album of duets album entitled ‘Plays Well With Others.’

The record features songs written and performed by an impressive assortment roots musicians which include Peter Bradley Adams, Dylan LeBlanc, Andrew Combs, Rodney Crowell, Shovels & Rope, JD McPherson, Nicole Atkins and John Paul White, who’s record label ‘Single Lock Records’ is releasing the album which was recorded at White’s Sun Drop Sound studio in Florence, Alabama.

Of the project, Lynn says:
“Songwriting can be such a personal process; in the past I have tended to do it alone. With this record, I wanted to get outside of my own writing corner. I have access to a great community of writers and singers in Nashville, and it became an exciting challenge to sit down with some friends and say, ‘Let’s write a duet — one that maybe hasn’t been written before — and then record it together.’ This was an important thing for me to do as an artist: to open myself up to other people and have some fun.”

Check out the single “Lose Myself,” below featuring John Paul White.

See tracklist and tour dates below.

Tour Feat. Peter Bradley Adams and more:
June 22 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley – FEAT. John Paul White, Peter Bradley Adams, Nicole Atkins, Dylan LeBlanc, Rodney Crowell, and Andrew Combs
June 24 – Allison Park, PA – Hartwood Acres Amphitheater – FEAT. John Paul White & Peter Bradley Adams
June 26 – Alexandria, VA – The Birchmere – FEAT. John Paul White & Peter Bradley Adams
June 27 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom – FEAT. John Paul White & Peter Bradley Adams
June 29 – Arnoldsville, GA – Wildwood Revival – Feat. Peter Bradley Adams, Dylan LeBlanc, & Andrew Combs

Plays Well With Others track list
1.”Same Old Song” with Peter Bradley Adams
2. “Lose Myself” with John Paul White
3. “What Is Love” with Dylan LeBlanc
4. “Breakdown” with Andrew Combs
5. “Crimson Underground” with Rodney Crowell
6. “Wolf Like Me” with Shovels & Rope
7. “Nothin To Do With Your Love” with JD McPherson
8. “In Another Life” with Nicole Atkins
9. “Almost Persuaded” with John Paul White

Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam Announce Summer ‘LSD Tour’

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Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam - LSD Tour

This summer Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam will come together for what is being called the “LSD Tour” (get it?) These three prominent singer/songwriters made names for themselves as pioneers of the wave that evolved the genre of country music by fusing it with the rock and punk of the day. This new vibrancy, along with electrifying live shows, resulted in a disruptive effect on Music Row’s stranglehold on the genre and drew a sharp contrast to the safe, sterile, industrialized cultural product they profited from much like The Outlaw movement had done a generation before.

This contrast between the old guard and these neo-traditional upstarts was struck most star key when Earle insightfully described the movement at the time as the“Great Credibility Threat of the ’80s”

I was lucky to see Williams and Earle share the stage at New York City’s Town Hall on the “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” portion of her tour playing her albums in full, but this is the first time Williams, Earle and Yoakam have shared the stage together so I would describe this as pretty badass.

SiriusXM will present the tour and recently announced a 24/7 channel curated by Dwight launching in late April titled “Dwight Yoakam and Bakersfield Beat – Where Country Went Mod “ featuring music from Yoakam’s extensive career and celebrates the Bakersfield sound.

The summer tour starts at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston on June 12, continues a run on the East coast, jumps to the West on August 1st play on The Masonic in San Francisco then concludes this leg with a Midwest swing through Chicago; Rochester, Michigan and Indianapolis. Hopefully there will be more dates added including a stop near me in North Texas.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, March 30 at 10 a.m. local.

The LSD Tour:
June 12 – Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
June 13 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
June 15 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
June 16 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of NH Pavilion
June 17 – National Harbor, MD @ MGM National Harbor
June 19 – Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six Pavilion
June 20 – Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
June 21 – Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre
August 1 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
August 3 – San Diego, CA @ Open Air Theatre
August 4 – Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre
August 10 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
August 11 – Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 12 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater
August 14 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 16 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
August 17 – Rochester, MI @ Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
August 18 – Indianapolis, IN @ Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn

Record Store Day 2018: Our Top 11 Americana/Roots Picks

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It’s that time of year again. Time to raise your dead ass out of bed at the crack of dawn to stand in a line in the elements outside your favorite record still for limited-edition vinyl delights. Record Store Day follows behind the blooming of Spring and like it the selections bursts with bounty. Or something. It’s good, really good.

The DIY movement that nearly single-handedly resuscitated the vinyl format is back on Saturday, April 21. New releases, obscure releases, re-releases, picture discs, colored discs, die-cut discs…it’s all there for a sometimes hefty price. But it’s cheaper than buying it later on ebay for 3-times the original price.

Here are a few choice Americana and Roots music nuggets from the list (found in its entirety here) Highlights include Bobbie Gentry’s Live at the BBC in its first official release, Johnny Cash’s 5oth Anniversary edition of his watershed release ‘ At Folsom Prison’ and Uncle Tupelo demos from their genre-defining ‘No Depression.’

So, get to your favorite indy record early on April 21nd (I’ll be at Good Records in Dallas) and share those great finds with me on Instagram and Twitter.

The Allman Brothers Band – ‘Live At The Atlanta Pop Festival, July 3 & 5, 1970’

DETAILS
Format: 4 x LP
Label: Legacy
Quantity: 3000
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release

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The Allman Brothers Band was one of Georgia’s top live acts still looking for a break when they were hired to open the three-day Atlanta International Pop Festival. The band’s Southern-blues style, bolstered by jams that stretched to epic lengths, won over audiences–and two days later, after legends like Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and B.B. King took the stage, the Allmans were invited back for a second set. Recorded nearly a year before At Fillmore East established them as one of America’s hottest bands, fans can now discover these landmark nights in Allman Brothers Band history with this individually numbered, limited edition box set, available on vinyl for the first time and packaged in an oversize slipcase with an eight page booklet of photos and liner notes.

7/3/70 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Statesboro Blues 1.3 Trouble No More 1.4 Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ 1.5 Dreams 1.6 Every Hungry Woman 1.7 Hoochie Coochie Man 1.8 In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed 1.9 Whipping Post 1.10 Mountain Jam Part I 1.11 Rain Delay 1:14 1.12 Mountain Jam Part II 7/5/70 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ 2.3 Statesboro Blues 2.4 In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed 2.5 Stormy Monday 2.6 Whipping Post 2.7 Mountain Jam

Dickey Betts – Dickey Betts Band: Live At The Lone Star Roadhouse

DETAILS
Format: 2 x LP
Label: RockBeat Records
Quantity: 1400
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
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Dickey Betts may not have had the name but he was a co-founder and the ongoing heart and soul of the Allman Brothers. With the deaths of Duane and then Gregg, Dickey slipped into semi-retirement. This show was recorded in August, 1978 with his back-up band, Great Southern, at the Lone Star Roadhouse in New York City and simulcast on WLIR on Long Island. Dickey Betts and Great Southern riffed on some of the Allman Bros. best known hits: “Blue Sky”, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”, “Jessica”, Statesboro Blues”, “One Way Out”, “Southbound” and other gems. Dickey is backed by Warren Haynes- guitar/vocals, Johnny Neel- keyboard/vocals, Matt Abts- percussion and Marty Privette- bass. Special appearances by Rick Derringer, Jack Bruce and Mick Taylor. It was just announced that Dickey was embarking on his first tour in some time, touring with his son Duane sharing lead guitar..

Disc 1: Blue Sky, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Duane’s Tune, Jessica
Disc 2: Statesboro Blues, One Way Out, Rock ‘n Roll Hoochie Coo, Spoonful, Southbound

Bobbie Gentry – Live at the BBC

DETAILS
Format: LP
Label: UMC
Quantity: 1200
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
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This LP is sure to be highly collectable for fans. No BBC material featuring Bobbie has ever been released (and only Ode to Billie Joe has leaked on YouTube as it featured in a BBC doc about songwriters) so these recordings are completely unfamiliar to fans.

Side 1: (1) “Mississippi Delta”, (2) “Papa Won’t Let Me Go To Town With You”, (3) “I saw An Angle Die”, (4) “Ode To Billie Joe”, (5) “Mornin Glory”, (6) “Ace Insurance Man”
Side 2: (1) “Niki Hokey/ Barefootin”, (2) “Penduli Pendulum”, (3) “Recollection”, (4) “Sweet Peony”, (5) “Greyhound Going Somewhere”

Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison: 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition

DETAILS
Format: 5 x LP
Label: Legacy
Quantity: 2500
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
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“Hello… I’m Johnny Cash.” With those four words, The Man In Black solidified his legend as outlaw country pioneer with two spirited sets recorded at Folsom State Prison in 1968 and released as At Folsom Prison, one of the most acclaimed live albums of all time. This special box set includes both full concerts, including performances by June Carter, Carl Perkins and The Statler Brothers. This numbered deluxe package, featuring individually designed LP jackets packaged in a deluxe hardshell slipcase with an eight page, 12″ x 12″ booklet, and also includes a bonus 12″ single featuring previously unreleased audio of Cash and friends rehearsing at the El Rancho Motel in Sacramento, CA the night before the concerts.

Steve Earle & The Dukes – Live From The Continental Club

DETAILS
Format: 2 x LP
Label: E-Squared
Quantity: 2000
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
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Side 1 – 1. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way 2. Guitar Town 3. Hillbilly Highway 4. My Olf Friend The Blues 5. Someday 6. The Devil’s Right Hand Side 2 – 1. Baby’s Just As Mean As Me 2. Dominic Stree/The Gallway Girl 3. Little Emperor 4. Aquainted With The Wind 5. Down THe Road Part II 6. Copperhead Road Side 3 – 1. So You Wanna Be An Outlaw 4. Looking For A Woman 3. Goobye Michaelangelo 4. Dim Lights , Thick Smoe (And Loud, Loud Music) 5. Amanda Side 4 – 1. Fixin To Die 2. Hey Joe 3. Johhny Come Lately 4. Wild Thing

Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives – Way Out West – Desert Suite (Trip One)

DETAILS
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Superlatone Recordings
Quantity: 1200
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
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(Trip One) is the first in a series of Desert Suite releases. Marty and His Fabulous Superlatives have reached back into the vault and let loose some of their favorite collaborations and B-Sides. Deseret Suite (Trip One) features guest appearances from Merle Haggard, Don “Juan” Maddox. It also features a never before released track called “Rattle and Roll” which is produced by Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers).

Side A: 1. The New Step It Up and Go (featuring Don Juan Maddox) / San Joaquin Boogie / TB Blues (featuring Merle Haggard) Side B: 1. Rattle and Roll

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression– Demos

DETAILS
Format: LP
Label: Legacy
Quantity: 3000
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
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Released in 1990, Uncle Tupelo’s debut album No Depression was a genuine milestone in American rock and roll, a striking fusion of traditional folk and country with post-punk innovation and hardcore ferocity. For the first time on vinyl, fans can hear Jeff Tweedy, Jay Farrar and Mike Heidorn’s legendary demo tape Not Forever, Just For Now, recorded in 1989, plus a demo of “No Depression” recorded a year earlier.

Side A 1. Outdone [1989 Demo] 2. That Year [1989 Demo] 3. Whiskey Bottle [1989 Demo] 4. Flatness [1989 Demo] 5. I Got Drunk [1989 Demo]
Side B 1. Before I Break [1989 Demo] 2. Life Worth Living [1989 Demo] 3. Train [1989 Demo] 4. Graveyard Shift [1989 Demo] 5. Screen Door [1989 Demo] 6. No Depression [1988 Demo]

Hellbound Glory – Pinball (Junkie Edition)

DETAILS
Format: LP
Label: Black Country Rock
Quantity: 500
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
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A Record Store Day exclusive collector’s edition of the 2017 release, “Pinball [Junkie Edition]” features the entire album, and a very special version of a previous Hellbound hit, “Better Hope You Die Young”, performed by Tanya Tucker (feat. Leroy Virgil) and produced by Shooter Jennings. All on limited edition toxic green vinyl, with all-new artwork that continues the story from the first album cover. To top all of that off, the collector’s item will include a CD and download of everything, plus demos from they years that led to the pinnacle that is Hellbound Glory’s “Pinball”.

Side A. 1. ‘Merica (The Good Ole U.S.A.) 2. That’s Just What I Am 3. Six Strings Away 4. Vandalism Spree 5. Sun Valley Blues #3 (Bloodweiser) 6. Empty Bottles Sid B 7. Pinball 8. Delta Dawn 9. Hellbound Blues 10. You Better Hope You Die Young (featuring Tanya Tucker) 11. Blue Yodel Number 5 (California Blues) CD & DOWNLOAD CARD TRACKS 1. Hellbound Blues (Demo) 2. Empty Bottles (Demo) 3. Pinball (Demo) 4. Vandalism Spree (Demo) 5. Hellbound Blues (Hellbound AF Remix)

Mandolin Orange – Mandolin Orange Plays Cover Songs

DETAILS
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Yep Roc Records
Quantity: 1400
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
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Mandolin Orange Plays Cover Songs is an EP of five classic covers reinterpreted by the Chapel Hill, North Carolina folk duo Mandolin Orange. Side A includes three traditional folk songs. Side B includes a cover of Gregory Alan Isakov’s “Amsterdam” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather”.

Side A: 1) Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel (Traditional) 2) Silver Dagger (Traditional) 3) Little Margaret (Traditional)
Side B: 1) Amsterdam (Gregory Alan Isakov cover) 2) Boots of Spanish Leather (Bob Dylan cover)

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Live at Twist & Shout

DETAILS
Format: Vinyl
Label: New West Records
Quantity: 3000
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
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A six song EP recorded live at Twist & Shout in Denver, CO in 2007.

1 – Grown, 2 – Goddamn Lonely Love, 3 – Hurricanes And Hand Grenades, 4 – Danko/Manuel, 5 – Outfit, 6 – Into The Mystic

The Lone Bellow – Live at Grimey’s

DETAILS
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Masterworks
Quantity: 2500
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
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individually numbered, purple marble vinyl 10″ recorded live at Grimey’s New and Preloved Music in Nashville. This Record Store Day 2018 release includes two tracks from their latest album Walk Into A Storm and two never-before-recorded tracks: “Jessica” and “Lovely in Blue”

Side One: “May You Be Well” “Is It Ever Gonna Be Easy”
Side Two: “Jessica” “Lovely in Blue”