Stagecoach 2013 Lineup Announced

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

Then you haven’t been to Stagecoach.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Tennessean.com on The Marty Stuart Show

Peter Cooper at the Tennessean.com posts a great piece on RFD TV network’s The Marty Stuart Show. Cooper reports that the country music legend Stuart modeled after The Porter Wagoner Show, The Wilburn Brothers Show, The Flatt & Scruggs Show. Pretty good company to keep and miles away from the pop fluff being crammed down our necks on GAC and CMT. I really hope more cable companies start to carry the  RFD TV network or that CMT has the good sense to pick up this jewel.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckppW6EK47w[/youtube]

Riders in the Sky on The Marty Stuart Show

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-NfialUBWA&feature=related[/youtube]

Earl Scruggs on The Marty Stuart Show

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IzH8OT-m14[/youtube]

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 8

Just a few shots from the excellent Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 8 at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. A tip of the hat to investment banker, banjo player and member of the Bluegrass band The Wronglers Warren Hellman, who finances this gift to San Francisco every year and offers some of the greatest roots performers in the country. I don’t know how or why,  but I was taught to never look a gift horse too closely in the molars. Thanks!