Author: Americana Music News

Livingston Taylor at 30A Songwriters Festival

 in Festivals, Songwriters, WMOT Roots Radio
Livingston Taylor
Livingston Taylor

The 30A Songwriters Festival is heading into its big weekend with shows featuring Jason Isbell, Rosanne Cash and dozens of other Americana, country and folk artists.

Yesterday’s shows didn’t disappoint, and it was a special treat to catch up with Livingston Taylor, who is celebrating 50 years as an artist. In his set last night at Bud and Alley’s, he showed how decades of experience translate into a wonderful mix of songs and deft engagement with the audience.

Livingston Taylor at the 30A Songwriters Festival

We had the chance to visit with him before the show, and he shared what he sees as his duty as an artist and entertainer.

The full interview will appear an an Americana Music News Podcast in coming weeks and broadcast on WMOT Roots Radio in greater Nashville. Our special thanks to Justin Eubanks and Fish Out of Water – a terrific restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach – for letting us turn their wine room into a recording studio.

Clare Dunn’s surprising path to success

 in Interviews, Podcast, Songwriters, WMOT Roots Radio
Clare Dunn at the 30A Songwriters Festival

Clare Dunn is a country artist and songwriter with a bright future and we spent some time with her at the 30A Songwriters Festival. We took for granted that like so many young singer-songwriters her path began playing acoustic guitar in her bedroom and singing for high school friends, but she quickly set us straight:

Clare Dunn at the 30A Music Festival

Clare Dunn may have had a late start, but you wouldn’t know it from her performances. Here she tackles Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.”

Tenth Annual 30A Songwriters Festival remains deep in talent

 in Festivals, Songwriters

By Ken Paulson

For us, the year’s music festivals kick off with the always diverse and engaging line-up at the 10th annual 30A Songwriters Festival in Walton County, Florida Jan. 18-21.  Some of the biggest names in Americana music headline the bill, complemented by dozens of 30A Songwriters Festivalartists you need to know.

The festival empahsizes the sheer volume of artists:  195 songwriters and more than 250 performances at 30 venues

Among the headliners: Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Rosanne Cash, Patty Griffin, Steve Earle, Shawn Mullins, Hayes Carll, Marc Broussard, Carlene Carter and the Secret Sisters.

Nashville is well represented with Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Gretchen Peters, Matraca Berg and Jeffrey Steele, plus Tommy Womack, Kim Richey, Webb Wilder, Will Kimbrough, Elizabeth Cook and others that I’ll kick myself for not mentioning.

As Americana and folk as the festival is, some of our favorite moments have come from rock artists. The twin-bill of the Bangles and Matthew Sweet a few years ago comes immediately to mind. Sweet is on the schedule again this year, as well as Rock Hall of Famer Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals.

Planning who you’ll see can be a challenge. Most of the shows are at clubs and restaurants, meaning often limited seating. It’s tough to club hop, but that will mean the opportunity to discover new talent at the club you do settle down in.

Tickets are still available in all sorts of configurations – day and weekend passes – at the festival site.

 

 

 

Alejandro Escovedo at the Heights Theater in Houston

 in Americana Music, New releases, Reviews

By Paul T. Mueller

Alejandro Escovedo

Ray Redding/TexasRedd

Alejandro Escovedo turned 68 on January 10, but at an age when many people have retired or at least are planning to, the singer-songwriter-force-of-nature shows little sign of slowing down. He played the second night of his current U.S. tour in support of his latest album, The Crossing, at Houston’s Heights Theater on January 6. The near-capacity crowd was rewarded with a hard-rocking 90-minute set that included much of the new album, along with some old favorites. After decades of performing, Escovedo still backs his literate, powerful lyrics with a strong voice, formidable guitar skills and an intense but charming stage presence.

Escovedo prefaced his set by explaining that The Crossing is the story of two teenage boys, one Italian, one Mexican, who meet while working at a restaurant in Galveston, Texas. Fueled by a shared vision of 1970s America, at once gritty and romantic, they set out in search of the America of their dreams, only to find that the reality is quite different. Escovedo and his excellent band, Italy’s Don Antonio, described the journey in songs such as the hard-rocking “Footsteps in the Shadows,” with its lyrics of fear and paranoia; the anthemic declaration “Outlaw for You”; the gentle love song “Waiting for Me,” and “The Crossing,” the show’s last song (and also the last song on The Crossing), in which one of the boys, alone in the desert after his friend’s death, tries to reach a reckoning of the journey’s costs and rewards.

More familiar Escovedo fare interspersed with the newer material included longtime favorite “Castanets,” which drew the first of several standing ovations; a somber take on “Sensitive Boys,” featuring an excellent tenor sax solo by Francesco Valtieri (who also played some fine baritone sax on several songs), and an extended rendition of “Always a Friend,” highlighted by the keyboard work of Nicola Peruch and tenor sax by Gianni Perinelli. Credit also goes to the fine rhythm section of bassist Denis Valentini and drummer Matteo Monti.

Escovedo, ever the lover of the sounds of the ‘70s, turned “Friend” into a medley of Smokey Robinson’s “The Tracks of My Tears” and Bob Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself” to close the main set. A 15-minute encore included “Another Girl, Another Planet” (The Only Ones), “Search and Destroy” (Iggy and the Stooges) and the aforementioned “The Crossing.”

Antonio Gramentieri , who goes by Don Antonio and gave that name to his band, shared vocals and (mostly) electric guitar duties with Escovedo throughout. The charismatic frontman also led his band through a 45-minute opening set featuring elements of blues, jazz and pop, especially the ‘50s style that preceded rock ‘n’ roll. Much of it sounded like it could have been the soundtrack to the kind of Italian movie you’d really like to see.

Show # 31 Darrell Scott

 in Americana Music

Darrell Scott

Darrell Scott (Paul T. Mueller)

We’re pleased to kick off the 2019 Americana Music Podcast season with Darrell Scott, an outstanding singer-songwriter whose body of work includes “It’s A Great Day to Be Alive” and “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.” On this edition of the podcast, Scott talks about his musical origins and his work that resonates most.  We’re looking forward to seeing his performance later this month at the 30A Music Festival.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

New: Bill Lloyd’s “Working the Long Game”

 in Americana Music, Nashville music, New releases

Americana Music News – Nashville’s Bill Lloyd is following up his engaging “It’s Happening Now” with “Working the Long Game,” a collection of compelling new songs, including co-writes with pop songwriting legend Graham Gouldman (“Bus Stop,” “For Your Love”) Aaron Lee Tasjan, Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson, Freedy Johnston, Buddy Mondlock, Pat Buchanan, David Surface and more. This trailer offers a quick spin  through the new album.

Our Favorite Podcasts of 2018

 in Americana Music, Podcast

It’s been a fun and rewarding year on the Americana Music News Podcast, featuring visits with some of the most vibrant artists in the field. Here are the five we’ll remember particularly fondly:

Tony Joe White – We were honored to speak with Tony Joe White about his new album Bad Mouthin’ at the Americana Music Festival. Sadly, he passed away weeks later. A great artist.

Kathy Mattea – We talked with Kathy Mattea at WMOT’s Americana Music Festival stage event in September about her new album Pretty Bird and her work to regain use of her singing voice.

Will Hoge – We also connected with Will Hoge at the WMOT event. His My American Dream is a powerful and passionate statement about today’s world.

Raul Malo – We kicked off the year with this entertaining conversation with Raul Malo of the Mavericks on the Sandy Beaches Cruise.

Mary Gauthier – Rifles and Rosary Beads features songs written by Mary Gauthier with veterans and their families, Moving and illuminating.

 

 

Top singles of 2018 from Americana Music Association

 in Americana Music

 

The annual list of top Americana singles from the Americana Music Association is always revelatory. While the top 10 is populated by a number of usual suspects – John Prine, Brandi Carlile and Chris Stapleton – we wouldn’t have guessed that Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats would have the 2 most-played songs of the year. Rounding out the top 4 were the Record Company and Lake Street Dive.

And no one could have guessed in 1977 that Elvis Costello and his ” My Aim is True” producer would both show up in 2018 on the charts of a not-yet-established genre. Costello is at number 8 with “Unwanted Number” and Lowe is at number 77.

The full chart from the Americana Music Association:

 
Year-End Position Artist Song
1 Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats “You Worry Me”
2 Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats “A Little Honey”
3 The Record Company “Life to Fix”
4 Lake Street Dive “Good Kisser”
5 John Prine “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door”
6 Brandi Carlile “The Joke”
7 Chris Stapleton “Midnight Train to Memphis”
8 Elvis Costello & The Imposters “Unwanted Number”
9 Jade Bird “Lottery”
10 Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real “Fool Me Once”
11 The Wood Brothers “Happiness Jones”
12 Trampled By Turtles “The Middle”
13 Kacey Musgraves “Slow Burn”
14 Margo Price “A Little Pain”
15 Glen Hansard “Roll On Slow”
16 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “If We Were Vampires”
17 Ashley Monroe “Hands On You”
18 Parker Millsap “Fine Line”
19 First Aid Kit “It’s a Shame”
20 Kelly Willis “Back Being Blue”
21 The Wood Brothers “River Takes the Town”
22 Ry Cooder “Shrinking Man”
23 The Devil Makes Three “Bad Idea”
24 American Aquarium “Tough Folks”
25 Lori McKenna “People Get Old”
26 Rayland Baxter “Casanova”
27 Amanda Shires “Leave It Alone”
28 The War and Treaty “Healing Tide”
29 Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore “Downey to Lubbock”
30 Anderson East “Girlfriend”
31 Willie Nelson “Last Man Standing”
32 Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats “Hey Mama”
33 John Prine “Summer’s End”
34 I’m With Her “I-89”
35 John Hiatt “Cry to Me”
36 Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real “Find Yourself”
37 Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite “Found the One”
38 Jade Bird “Uh Huh”
39 The Revivalists “All My Friends”
40 Shemekia Copeland “Ain’t Got Time for Hate”
41 Blackberry Smoke (feat. Amanda Shires) “Let Me Down Easy”
42 Ryan Adams “Baby I Love You”
43 Lake Street Dive “Shame, Shame, Shame”
44 The Marcus King Band “Homesick”
45 Boz Scaggs “Radiator 110”
46 Chris Stapleton “Millionaire”
47 Rodney Crowell “Shake Your Money Maker”
48 Hiss Golden Messenger “Domino (Time Will Tell)”
49 Paul Cauthen “Resignation”
50 Israel Nash “Rolling On”
51 Willie Nelson “Me and You”
52 Sam Morrow “Quick Fix”
53 Old Crow Medicine Show “Flicker & Shine”
54 Jason Boland & The Stragglers (feat. Sunny Sweeney) “I Don’t Deserve You”
55 Josh Ritter “Feels Like Lightning”
56 Calexico “Under the Wheels”
57 Courtney Marie Andrews “Kindness of Strangers”
58 Mark Knopfler “Good On You Son”
59 Joshua Hedley “Mr. Jukebox”
60 Chris Stapleton “Broken Halos”
61 Leftover Salmon “Show Me Something Higher”
62 Ruston Kelly “Mockingbird”
63 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Hope the High Road”
64 Nicki Bluhm “To Rise You Gotta Fall”
65 Jackie Greene “Crazy Comes Easy”
66 I’m With Her “Game to Lose”
67 Cody Jinks “Must Be the Whiskey”
68 Grace Potter “I’d Rather Go Blind”
69 Carolina Story “Lay Your Head Down”
70 Kacey Musgraves “Butterflies”
71 Blackberry Smoke “Best Seat in the House”
72 JD McPherson “On the Lips”
73 The Record Company “Make It Happen”
74 JD McPherson “Lucky Penny”
75 The Jayhawks “Everybody Knows”
76 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings “Matter of Time”
77 Nick Lowe “Tokyo Bay”
78 Birds of Chicago “Roll Away”
79 First Aid Kit “Fireworks”
80 Mike Farris “Snap Your Fingers”
81 Paul Thorn “Love Train”
82 Rosanne Cash “The Walking Wounded”
83 The Band of Heathens “Heaven Help Us All”
84 Brandi Carlile “Hold Out Your Hand”
85 Tommy Emmanuel (feat. Rodney Crowell) “Looking Forward to the Past”
86 Calexico “End of the World with You”
87 Phil Cook “Miles Away”
88 Van William “Revolution”
89 Turnpike Troubadours “Something to Hold On To”
90 The Milk Carton Kids “Big Time”
91 Brent Cobb “King of Alabama”
92 Charley Crockett “Lil’ Girl’s Name”
93 Wade Bowen “So Long 6th Street”
94 Margo Price “Weakness”
95 Kacey Musgraves “Space Cowboy”
96 Steep Canyon Rangers “Out in the Open”
97 JD McPherson “Crying’s Just a Thing You Do”
98 The Black Lillies “Midnight Stranger”
99 Brandi Carlile “The Mother”
100 Dead Horses “On and On”

 

Americana Grammy Nominees unveiled

 in Americana Music, Nashville music

Brandi CarlileThe just-released Grammy nominations are a big win for Americana long before the final ballots are announced. Brandi Carlile and Kacey Musgraves are front and center in the most prominent categories in the music industry.

Vying for the album of the year are Carlile’s “By the Way, I Forgive You” and Musgraves’ “Golden Hour.” Carlile also earned a nomination for Song of the Year for “The Joke,” written with Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth

It was also good – though a bit mystifying – to see Margo Price nominated as “New Artist of the Year.”

Carlile’s album and single were also nominated in the Americana and roots recordings categories, where John Prine also picked up three nominations:

Best Americana Album:

By the Way, I Forgive You — Brandi Carlile

Things Have Changed — Bettye LaVette

The Tree of Forgiveness — John Prine

The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone — Lee Ann Womack

One Drop of Truth — The Wood Brothers

Best American Roots Performance:

“Kick Rocks” — Sean Ardoin

“Saint James Infirmary Blues” — Jon Batiste

“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile

“All On My Mind” — Anderson East

“Last Man Standing” — Willie Nelson

Best American Roots Song

“All The Trouble” — Waylon Payne, Lee Ann Womack & Adam Wright, songwriters (Lee Ann Womack)

“Build a Bridge” — Jeff Tweedy, songwriter (Mavis Staples)

“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)“Knockin’

On Your Screen Door” — Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)

“Summer’s End” – Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)

Show 30: Kathy Mattea and her “Pretty Bird”

 in Americana Music, Nashville music, New releases, Podcast, WMOT Roots Radio

Kathy MatteaAmericana Music News – It’s been too long since a new Kathy Mattea album, but that’s been remedied with the release of “Pretty Bird,” a vibrant collection that includes outstanding versions of Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now” and Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.”

On this edition of the Americana Music Podcast, Kathy Mattea talks about the path to her new album and the vocal challenges she had to overcome to make it.

You can now  subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Review: Ryan Culwell’s “The Last American”

 in Americana Music

By Paul T. Mueller

Ryan CulwellIf you don’t find Ryan Culwell’s The Last American especially accessible or easy to listen to, give him credit at least for originality. The often-bleak third album from Culwell, a native of the Texas Panhandle, conjures the image of a man sitting in a farmhouse kitchen at 3 a.m., his only companions the High Plains wind outside and a half-empty bottle in front of him. And it’s unmistakably the work of someone who grew up listening to the radio – rife with musical, lyrical and emotional allusions to the likes of Springsteen, the Beatles, Tom Waits and the drums-and-synth beat of English post-punk pop. The adventurous sonic landscape is an unexpected departure from the familiar country/folk sound of Culwell’s breakthrough 2015 album Flatlands.

The Last American’s lyrics and music quote, but don’t copy, the artists mentioned above, among others. The album opens with “Can You Hear Me,” an ode to alienation (“Can you hear me/can you hear me/I can’t breathe/I can’t breathe”) driven by guitars and synthesizer and a beat you can dance to. The narrator of the title track speaks in a folkier way of being “born on the edge of town” and of getting everything he wanted at 16 – “my old man’s heart and a broke-down Chevrolet.” “I Have a Dream” is about the search for freedom, but not so much the kind Dr. King preached about – more the kind that’s always just a little beyond reach. The closer, “Tie My Pillow to a Tree,” acknowledges the ultimate futility of life – “My fortress it just crumbled, my hole filled up with rain” – but also leaves the sense that it’s worth making the effort to live.

Culwell enlisted some capable Nashville help on The Last American, notably Ethan Ballinger (guitars and keyboards), Megan McCormick (bass and guitars) and Neilson Hubbard (bass and other instruments), all of whom also co-produced. Cody Martin contributed drums on most tracks.

 

 

The Gibson Brothers’ “Mockingbird”

 in Americana Music, New releases

And now for something completely different . The highly accomplished bluegrass duo the Gibson Brothers explore new musical territory on their new album produced by Black Key Dan Auerbach.

It’s soulful folk, including a cover of R.E.M’s “Everybody Hurts.”  The “Mockingbird” album is being released today.

 

Show 29 The Accidentals and Vanessa Peters

 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, New releases, Podcast, WMOT Roots Radio

Today’s episode of the Americana Music News Podcast  features the Accidentals, a talented young trio that floored us with their dynamic performances at this year’s Americana Music Festival and WMOT showcase. And just in time for election day, we offer Vanessa Peters’ “Carnival Barker,’ a pointed and powerful song from her striking new album “Foxhole Prayers.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Show #28 Will Hoge’s “My American Dream”

 in Americana Music, Nashville music, New releases, Podcast

Will HogeBy Ken Paulson

Two great ways to celebrate democracy:

1. Vote on Nov. 6.

2. Buy Will Hoge’s My American Dream.

At a time of intense polarization, surprisingly few artists have used their music to reflect their political beliefs. Will Hoge is the laudable exception to that, as evidenced by his compelling new collection of socially conscious songs. It’s no surprise; his earlier Modern American Protest Music was similarly striking.

This week’s edition of the Americana Music News Podcast features a conversation with Will about his music and the state of the Union.

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

RIP Tony Joe White

 in Americana Music

Tony Joe WhiteWe learned hours ago that Tony Joe White had passed away. It was just weeks ago that we had the chance to sit down with him and discuss his new album “Bad Mouthin'” We’ve admired Tony Joe for decades, and he lived up to all expectations in both the interview and a brief set later high atop the BMI headquarters in Nashville. A classy and talented man.

Here’s our conversation. 

Review: Scott Mulvahill’s “Himalayas”

 in Americana Music, New releases, Reviews

By Paul T. Mueller
Scott Mulvahill“I wanna go where I’ve never been,” singer-songwriter-bassist Scott Mulvahill declares on the title track of his new CD, Himalayas. “I gotta find out what I’m made of.” That impulse to self-discovery has produced some impressive results in the form of this collection, which embodies pop, jazz, blues and gospel, among other influences. A lot of musical ground, no doubt, but it’s nicely held together by Mulvahill’s strong, expressive vocals and his formidable skills as an acoustic bassist (he played that instrument for several years as a member of Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder band).

Sunny themes mark many of the album’s 12 tracks, starting with “Begin Againers,” which celebrates persistence and fresh starts. “Top of the Stairs” is based on the idea that it’s the journey, not the destination, that really counts. “Move and Shake” features a lighthearted melody in the service of a serious message about changing what needs to be changed instead of waiting for someone else to do it. But Mulvahill isn’t afraid to confront darker ideas as well, such as regret over an unspecified transgression in the confessional “Indefensible” or dealing with the difficulties of relationships in “Fighting for the Wrong Side.”

Along with handling most of the vocals (harmony as well as lead), Mulvahill wrote or co-wrote most of Himalayas’ songs. A couple of covers are worth noting. “20/20 Vision,” an old bluegrass tune written by Joe Allison and Milton Estes, is remade here with a cool, jazzy-bluesy arrangement and powerful vocals. Similarly, “Homeless,” by Paul Simon and Joseph Shabalala, doesn’t sound much like the version on Simon’s Graceland, but is beautiful in its own way.

Several tracks feature Mulvahill’s bass and vocals only; contributing musicians on others include guitarist Jesse Isley, keyboardist Mike Hicks, dobroists Jason Mowery and Jerry Douglas, percussionist Josh Hunt, and former boss Skaggs on mandolin. Production is excellent, emphasizing – not surprisingly – Mulvahill’s bass. Good woofers are recommended. Mulvahill ‘s name is first in the list of producers, followed by Nashville notables Charlie Peacock, Gary Paczosa and Shani Gandhi.

Show 27: Webb Wilder’s “Powerful Stuff,” plus Cheryl Deserée

 in Americana Music

Webb WilderAmericana Music News – Webb Wilder’s new release “Powerful Stuff” is a real treat, a collection of long-lost and archived songs that capture Webb and the Beatnecks at their full-throttle best. In this edition of the Americana Music News Podcast, Webb Wilder talks about how this classic collection came to be. Rounding out the show is a First Person appearance by Cheryl Deserée talking about the charming “Sitting Duck” from her new Texas swing album “Dreamy,” featuring  Ray Benson, Dale Watson and Riders in the Sky.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS