5 Duos To Feed Your The Civil Wars Jones

By now you heard the bad news that The Civil Wars have cancelled all their upcoming shows and are giving each other some space. What’s a lover of melodic Americana duos with lovely harmonies that have possible ambiguous romantic ties to do?!  Here are 5 alternatives to quell those nerves until the reunion tour is announced.

 Ry Dalee and Evangeline – I don’t don’t much about this Oklahoma duo but I like what I hear!
http://youtu.be/9VufJmpYRgs

Caitlin Cary & Thad CockrellBegonias – Sure it was a one-off release from 2005 but these two Americana vets released one of the most gorgeous romantic duo albums ever. It even comes through in this crappy video.

Chapel Hill’s Mandolin Orange are the talented Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz whose tunes will soothe your soul.

Charleston, SC’s Michael Trent and Cary Ann are Shovels and Rope and are a bit rougher than The Civil Wars fare, but certainly no less talented.

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings are the obvious choice and are the standardbearers for male/female duos in Americana.

 

 

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

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

 

Americana Association Music Awards 2012


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.”

Americana Honors & Awards Picks

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

A Solid Selection of Americana Music Association Nominees ‎Announced

Through a spotty online streamed event (at least on my side) from Grammy Museum’s Clive Davis Theatre in L.A. the Nashville-based Americana Music Association announced their 2012  announced their nominees for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Emerging Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Instrumentalist of the Year.

On hand was “Mr. Americana,” and the premier host of the Americana Awards program, Jim Lauderdale. Buddy Miller lead the Americana All Star quartet with Don Heffington, Greg Leisz and Don Was. Featuring excellent performances by Lauderdale, Shelby Lynne,  Lucinda Williams and Texas’s own Robert Ellis.

Jed Hilly gave a gracious speech and then introduced the actor John C Reilly, and mighty fine roots musician in his own right, as M.C.  for the event.  Taking the stage and looking rather sheepish Reilly stated  “They call this the Americana Awards but really it should be the All the Great Artists Out Right Now Awards.”

The nominees are some of the most solid since I’ve been keeping score of the AMA awards.  Jason Isbell and  Gillian Welch lrad nominations with 4 and 3 respectively. The Artist of the Year noms Welch, Isbell as well as Hayes Carll and Justin Townes Earle leaves me for the first time with no clear favorite to root for. There is the staple legend that released something unexceptional but still gets a nod (  Steve Earle with an Album of the Year nod for  I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive ) but overall even this category is solid (not least of which because 2 of the nominees , Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and Gillian Welch, were on my best  of 2011 list)

There appears to be some bandwagon jumping with the Emerging Artist of the Year nominees Alabama Shakes and Dawes. I could give you a list of a  dozen artists I’d replace them with. (one being already on the list, the exceptional Robert Ellis.) Buddy Miller is to the AMAs what Kenny Chesney is to the CMAs, is once again on the list for Instrumentalist of the Year.

The performers and the band then ended the ceremony with a rousing rendition of the traditional spiritual “Let the Circle Be Unbroken.”

Winners will be announced at the Americana Honors and Awards program  at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. -  Sept. 12. The ceremony is part of the Americana Music Festival and Conference, which takes place on Sept. 12-15.

Full list of nominees below:

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

Listen to Pistol Annies “Run Daddy Run” from Hunger Games Soundtrack

Singer/songwriter/producer and Americana stalwart T Bone Burnett seems to be practicing a sort of genre alchemy  with the upcoming Hunger Games soundtrack (March 20.)

Mr. Burnett seems to be taking poetic license with Suzanne Collins’ trilogy which follows the heroine, whose home in District 12 that encompasses current-day Appalachia, an region Burnett knows something about. The setting of the books is a sort of future version of the old frontier which also plays to Burnett’s wheelhouse.

Burnett excels  in making neo-rustic music that would appeal more to Hunger Game readers parents. The young women that are the primary demographic for the books are more likely to be fans of indy rock, pop or country pop.

Burnett displays his craft to fuse his world to the new audience adeptly on the  Taylor Swift and Civil Wars track “Safe and Sound.” Now he’s done the same for the same for the Pistol Annies’ cut Run Daddy Run. The song is sung by the group, which consists of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, and sounds more akin to O Brother’s Didn’t Leave Nobody but the Baby sung by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch. This is a different sound than the sassy country found on the recent Pistol Annies debut.

Check out the track below and let me know what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYhvKabzUZ4&feature=player_embedded

Twang Nation Top Picks of 2011

Tis’ the season for “Best of…” “Top picks…”Depending on your point of view it’s either as welcome as a gift under the tree on Christmas morning or fruit cake. This subjective separation of musical wheat from chafe, truth be told, it’s my least favorite part of doing this blog. I prefer visit each work on an individual basis. And though I do bring a wider view of music, only in rare instances would weigh a work in contrast to something I heard just the week before. This 12-month capsule is constraining, bit with constraints come opportunity to focus the mind.

First- ground rules. No albums of cover songs. So, no Gurf Morlix or Carrie Rodriguez. But ya’ll should still buy the excellent Blaze Foley’s 113th Wet Dream and We Still Love Our Country respectively. No albums where an artist revisits earlier work, or live albums of already recorded work. Sorry Levon Helm, Ramble At The Ryman might get you that Grammy for Americana Album of the Year but you won’t make the TN 2011 list.

My pick for number one spot came to me in April and I pegged it early as the one to beat. Nobody even came close. Austin Lucas’ New Home In The Old World is a fine mix of country, folk and rock delivered in such a seamless and extraordinary way that ibelieveit advances th genre in it’s existence. Same with To the Wind and On To Heaven by Sunday Valley. The Kentucky band captured my attention early in the year with their brand of high-octane honky-tonk/gospel boogie and seeing them live sealed their spot at #2.

Jason Isbell may not care for end-of-year lists but he made mine by creating his most inspired and solid solo record with Here We Rest. A chance encounter at the Grimey’s Americanarama showcase at the Americana Music Association led me to the #9 quirky duo of Hymn for Her.

Canadian Laura Repo’s debut Get Yourself Home landed in my in-box the week I was putting this list together. Repo’s plaintive voice of simple, timeless themes and and the sparse arrangements reach back to country music’s roots and secured her a slot at number 10.

Last year was a great year for Americana/roots music and I reflected this bumper crop by overindulging and creating a top 25 list. On retrospect, this was excessive. this year I’ve focused on the abloute top 10 that I love to listen to from start to finish.  Here’s no an even better 2012!
  1. Austin Lucas – New Home In The Old World
  2. Sunday Valley – To the Wind and On To Heaven
  3. Jason Isbell – Here We Rest
  4. Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers – Starlight Hotel
  5. Gillian Welch – The Harrow & The Harvest
  6. Hayes Carll – KMAG YO YO
  7. Lindi Ortega – Little Red Boots
  8. Hellbound Glory – Damaged Goods
  9. Hymn for Her – Lucy & Wayne and The Amairican Stream
  10. Laura Repo – Get Yourself Home

Americana and Roots 54th Grammy Awards Nominees – 2012

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) announced its nominees for the 54rd Annual Grammy Awards. I was pleased to see Americana and roots performers being nominated for some of the more prestigious awards like Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Below are nominees that fall into the Americana and roots category and other artists in other categories that might be of interest to readers of Twang Nation.

Best Americana Album
Emotional Jukebox – Linda Chorney
Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down – Ry Cooder
Hard Bargain – Emmylou Harris
Ramble At The Ryman – Levon Helm
Blessed – Lucinda Williams

Best Folk Album
Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars
I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive – Steve Earle
Helplessness Blues – Fleet Foxes
Ukulele Songs- Eddie Vedder
The Harrow & The Harvest – Gillian Welch

Best Bluegrass Album
Paper Airplane – Alison Krauss & Union Station
Reason And Rhyme  – Jim Lauderdale
Rare Bird Alert – Steve Martin And The Steep Canyon Rangers
Old Memories: The Songs Of Bill Monroe – The Del McCoury Band
A Mother’s Prayer- Ralph Stanley
Sleep With One Eye Open- Chris Thile & Michael Daves

Best Country Album
“Here For A Good Time” — George Strait

Best Children’s Album
I Love: Tom T. Hall’s Songs of Fox Hollow (various artists collection)

Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes
The Bristol Sessions, 1927-1928: The Big Bang of Country Music (various artists collection)

Record Of The Year
Rolling In The Deep – Adele
Holocene – Bon Iver
The Cave – Mumford & Sons

Album Of The Year
21 – Adele

Song Of The Year
The Cave – Mumford & Sons
Holocene – Bon Iver
Rolling In The Deep – Adele

Best New Artist
Bon Iver

Best Pop Solo Performance
Someone Like You – Adele

Best Pop Instrumental Album
The Road From Memphis – Booker T. Jones
Setzer Goes Instru-Mental! – Brian Setzer

Best Pop Vocal Album
21 – Adele

Best Rock Performance
Down By The Water – The Decemberists
The Cave – Mumford & Sons

Best Rock Song
The Cave – Mumford & Sons
Down By The Water- The Decemberists

Best Rock Album
Wilco  – The Whole Love

Best Alternative Music Album
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
My Morning Jacket – Circuital

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars

Best Country Song
Threaten Me With Heaven – Vince Gill

Best Instrumental Composition
Life In Eleven РB̩la Fleck & Howard Levy, composers (B̩la Fleck & The Flecktones)

Best Engineered Album (Non Classical)
Follow Me Down-  Brandon Bell & Gary Paczosa, engineers; Sangwook “Sunny” Nam & Doug Sax, mastering engineers (Sarah Jarosz)
The Harrow & The Harvest – Matt Andrews, engineer; Stephen Marcussen, mastering engineer (Gillian Welch)
Paper Airplane – Mike Shipley, engineer; Brad Blackwood, mastering engineer (Alison Krauss & Union Station)

Music Review: Mandolin Orange – Haste Make / Hard Hearted Stranger [self-released]

This is not typically the kind of music that floats my boat. Most Americana that works the folkie singer/songwriter side of the fence leaves me cold. To me like it’s more commercially lucrative cousin pop-country; a watered down version of a powerful source who’s soul was sold long, long ago. Like corporate beer and steak chain restaurants something wonderful went terribly wrong while bringing something to the masses. And even though folk never sells in Music City numbers the brunch-folk styling of Jack Johnson and M Ward have led to a relatively wide audience and financial independence for the artists.

But sometimes a performer reminds us of what once was. Dylan did this. So did Townes Van Zandt. The Chapel Hill, NC duo of Andrew Marlin (guitar, mandolin, harmonica)  and Emily Frantz (violin/fiddle, guitar, vocals), collectively known as Mandolin Orange, draw from a deeper well than those others to craft their songs and sound. Like Welch and Rawlings or Parsons and Harris there is a reverence for history while charting new sonic landscapes.

There is subtlety in the arraignments. Songs like No Weight and Runnin’ Red would make perfect living room performance faire for a polite audience. But  like a trace of arsenic after a sip of fine whiskey or a Smith & Wesson hammer clicking back under a table set for a romantic dinner there something  menacing just below the surface.

From the excellent Runnin’ Red “The waters runnin’ red tonight, and our bridge is burnin’ hot, we parted ways in the middle, now we gaze from each side” and the Van Zandt-like Clover “You used to live untruly, so kindly, and it left you lying here in ruin, you cut the hand of a good friend and you smiled in all your doing.”

This is not music made to be pretty, but pretty music made to be honest.

To ratchet the burden even higher Mandolin Orange has crafted 18 consistently excellent songs across two disks,  individually titled Haste Make / Hard Hearted Stranger. There may be a thematic difference between the two but I can’t discern between them. The albums sweeps past you like memories of a whiskey-fueled Saturday night or the landscape from the window of a speeding 18-wheeler. They shift and blur into a singular whole that surprises you when it ends. It surprised me even more that after 18 songs I still wanted more.

Site | Buy

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival 11 Wrap Up

The 11th annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival was dedicated to the activist folk/country singer who died in April at the age of 75. Dickens had played the festival every year since it’s inception in 2001. Her influence was felt everywhere from the her likeness stamped on the programs, to references from the stages and the sense of community in the crowd and from the stage.

During the Wronglers’ set with Jimmie Dale Gilmore that kicked day 2 of the three day event, the band had Dickens’ longtime collaborator Ron Thomason sit in for a cover of Dickens’ signature song, “The Mannington Mine Disaster.” Wrongler banjoist, festival benefactor and longtime Dickens fan, Warren Hellman said  “We were very fond of each other but we couldn’t be two more opposite people,” Hellman said. “She’s probably looking down from heaven right now thinking, ‘How did that old bastard make it?”

Next I was off to the Star stage to catch my buddy Jimbo Mathus in the South Memphis String Band. The cosmic-America vibe mixed with front porch casualness easily won over the crowing crowd as the smell of the Bay Area’s favorite controlled substance filled the air. Jolie Holland, a Texan by way of Bay Area is a distinctive voice ran her all-famale  four-piece band a braod swath of her discography with charm and passion.

Then off to the Arrow Stage for Southern Culture on the Skids. I’d been wanting to see SCOTS for a long time but it never worked out. Their brand of white-trash boogie is like a monster truck, a wonder of precision fused to a aesthetic awesome abomination.

I headed due East to settle in at the Banjo stage to catch John Prine. Prine still casts a folkie wry eye on modern living. His opening number Spanish Pipedream – “Blow up your TV, throw away your paper, Go to the country, build you a home.” With Bay Area rent what it is this is a sentiment appreciated in spirit if less so in practice.

As anticipated the heavy crowd quickly swelled when the ex-Zep wailer Robert Plant brought his latest roots music venture – The Band of Joy, to the Banjo Stage. Grittier than his work with Alison Krauss on Raising Sand. Variations of Los Lobos, Low, Townes Van Zandt and reworked Zeppelin tunes were visited. The mic was passed between Plant and band-mates Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, and Darrell Scott . The plant encored with excellent reworks of Zeppelin’s Bron-Y-Aur Stomp and Gallows Pole.

Saturday was dominated by two living country music legends. Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson ran through a treasure trove of golden hits of their own and from Bob Wills and Johnny Cash on the Star Stage as the sun warmed the capacity crowd.

When I saw Gillian Welch and David Rawlings a few months back as they struck out on their current tour Gillian had mentioned that it was the lack of new material while playing Hardly Strictly 10 that led to the creation of their current release Harrow and the Harvest. The pair made up for it at HSB 11 as new songs were slotted in with older favorites in their 12 song set which encored, appropriate for San Francisco, Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit.

Golden Gate Park has a long history of free music festivals, beginning with the “Human Be-In” of 1967 and continues Hardly Strictly Bluegrass because of one banjo player, bluegrass and roots music enthusiast, Warren Hellman. You could see him on the side of the stage catching many of the acts smiling like a kid. Even sharing the stage with Jimmie Dale Gilmore, resplendent in a Nudie-style black jacket, sparkling Stars of David along the sleeves designed by his granddaughter, his love of the music is felt from observing him and results in the three day event and 90 acts spread across six stages highlighting some of the best of Americana and roots music. Every year, stacks of personal thank-you cards turn up at the offices of Hellman & Friedman, his private equity investment offices, but you can imagine that even without the gratitude he;d still do it for personal pleasure. There are worse ways to spend your millions.

If there was a negative to the HSB festival they were the aforementioned record-breaking crowds. The large amount of older people, children and dogs addd to often stand-still conditions made things uncomfortable if not dangerous. Perhaps next year a minimal cover charge to keep the crowd under control? Also, and I understand that this is San Francisco, bit the amount of marijuana in the air made it obviously family unfriendly. What you do with your body is your business but when your purple crush wafts downwind to a playing three-year old you’re imposing on others.

Also, I’ve never understood the inclusion of bands that have absolutely no Americana or roots music influences on the bill. Broken Social Scene may be a indy darling but there are a hundreds local and national bands that would kill for a spot at the premier Americana festival that is currently occupied by a band that can get a slit at any of the dozen rock festivals held.

Thanks to Warren Hellman, Dawn Holliday, general manager of Slim’s and the Great American Music Hall, who spends half the year organizing the Hardly Strictly event, and all the other volunteers and other personnel for putting together another great (and FREE!)  event.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings – “I’ll Fly Away, White Rabbit”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myB1k6wtgWg[/youtube]

Kris Kristofferson & Merle Haggard playing “Sunday Morning Coming Down”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpjbboA-YU0[/youtube]

Robert Plant and the Band of Joy – “Thank You”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls1de0syj4M[/youtube]