Author: Americana Music News

Americana Music Festival’s latest line-up

The Americana Music Festival and Conference is just weeks away and the line-up is deep and diverse. Here are the most recent additions for the festival, set for Nashville from Sept. 12 through 17.

The latest additions:

A.J. Croce   Amelia White and The Blue Souvenirs    Amy Black    Belle Plaine    Big Star’s Third Live    Billy Strings    Blackfoot Gypsies   Blair Crimmins and The Hookers   Bonnie Bishop        Brigitte DeMeyer  Caitlyn Smith  Cale Tyson Carson McHone Carter Sampson Cat Clyde Cereus Bright Charlie Mars Christian Lopez Colin Hay Colter Wall Danni Nicholls Danny Burns Darling West Dave Alvin David Mayfield Parade David Myles Don Gallardo Early James & the Latest Eddie Berman Escondido Falls Faustina Masigat Front Country Gill Landry Grant-Lee Phillips  Harrow Fair High Plains Jamboree  India Ramey Jack Ingram Jamie Kent Jamtown Jason Wilber Jesse Dayton Jimmy Lumpkin and the Revival  Joana Serrat Joey Kneiser Jon Langford Joseph Huber K Phillips Kaia Kater Kamara Thomas Korby Lenker Kristina Murray Lee Ann Womack & Friends Leyla McCalla Liz Cooper & The Stampede Lucie Silvas Mark Erelli Mary Bragg Max Gomez Me And My Brother Motel Radio Muddy Ruckus Natalie Hemby Old Sea Brigade  Otis Gibbs Parsonsfield  Rachel Baiman Rayna Gellert with Kieran Kane Reckless Kelly Reuben Bidez Robby Hecht Robyn Hitchcock  Ryan Tanner Sam Outlaw Sarah Shook & the Disarmers Shane Nicholson Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer Shelly Fairchild Skyway Man Taasha Coates Tattletale Saints Ted Russell Kamp The Americans The Lowest Pair The Mulligan Brothers The Steel Woods The Stray Birds  Tony Joe White Trout Steak Revival Vikesh Kapoor Webb Wilder Wild Ponies Will Hoge Will Kimbrough Zach Schmidt Zephaniah O’Hora

 

 

Ireland’s Mary Black touring the U.S.

Mary Black is midway through her current U.S. Tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of her classic “By the Time It Gets Dark.” We’re looking forward to her date in Nashville, but here’s the full August itinerary:

August 1—One World Theatre, Austin, TX
August 2—Cactus Theatre Centre, Lubbock, TX
August 3—Midtown Arts & Theatre Center, Houston, TX
August 5 and 6—Dublin Irish Festival, Dublin, OH
August 7—Midland Cultural Centre, Midland, Ontario, Canada
August 10—Lake Superior Bigtop Chautauqua, Bayfield, WI
August 11—Nashville City Winery, Nashville, TN
August 12—Atlanta City Winery, Atlanta, GA
August 13—Great American Music Hall, San Francisco CA

Review: Mathew Sweet, Tommy Keene in concert

By Ken Paulson —
I’ve only seen Matthew Sweet perform once before, on a double-bill with the Bangles at the 30A Songwriters Festival. The show was fine, but couldn’t compare with tonight’s performance in front of an audience of fans, all of whom apparently own a copy of Girlfriend.
That raised both the adoration and energy levels at the City Winery in Nashville  and Sweet delivered. He played a remarkably balanced set, with a handful of tracks from his new Tomorrow Forever album, and a generous mix of past successes. The new material went over well and “Music For Love” was a highlight. Sweet saved a familiar trifecta to close out his main set, including vibrant versions of “Girlfriend,” “I’ve Been Waiting” and “Sick of Myself.”

Opening the show was Tommy Keene, a revered figure in power pop circles. He played solo, first acoustically and then with an electric guitar. He delivered a solid set, but it made you really want to see him with a band.

Highlights included his classic “Places That Are Gone,” “Deep Six Saturday” and a cover of Alex Chilton’s “Nighttime.”

 

 

 

Power Pop redux: Matthew Sweet, Tommy Keene on tour

Americana Music News — An intriguing tour featuring two power pop icons rolls into Nashville tonight for a show at the City Winery. Matthew Sweet and Tommy Keene are touring together in most cities.
Sweet is touring in support of his new album “Tomorrow Forever,” his first since 2011. He’s made up for it with a 17-song collection.
Here’s the rest of the tour:
SA 7/29 Louisville KY – Headliners
TH 9/07 Alexandria, VA – Birchmere
FR 9/08 Annapolis, MD – Rams Head On Stage
WE 9/13 Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
TH 9/14 Derry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
FR 9/15 Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain
SA 9/16 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
SU 9/17 Norfolk, CT – Infinity Hall
MO 9/19 Fall River, MA – Narrows Center for the Arts
WE 9/20 Hudson, NY – Club Helsinki
TH 9/21 Wilmington, DE – The Queen
FR 9/22 Tarrytown, NY – Tarrytown Music Hall
SA 9/23 Port Washington, NY – Landmark on Main Street
SU 9/24 South Orange, NJ – SOPAC

Review: A.J. Croce’s soulful “Just Like Medicine”

By Ken Paulson – –

“Just like Medicine” s A.J. Croce’s most soulful album to date, and with good reason. His compelling collection of new songs is in the hands of producer Dan Penn,  abetted by an amazing band including Colin Linden, David Hood, Bryan Owings, the Muscle Shoals Horns and the McCrary Sisters.

We loved Penn’s production of Greg Trooper’s Make It Through This World, creating a vibe, but also staying out of the way. That same approach is evident here.

Highlights include “The Heart That Makes Me Whole” with Steve Cropper and “Name of the Game,” an unreleased song written by A.J.’s father Jim Croce. Vince Gill joins on guitar.

Croce will bring his new music to the City Winery in Nashville on August 10, joined by Penn, Linden and the Time Jumpers’ Jeff Taylor.

New stuff we like: Twitter edition

Notable new releases:

Reissue: B.J. Thomas’ complete Columbia singles

By Ken Paulson–

We’ve written in the past about B.J. Thomas’ continuing vibrancy as an artist, most recently during his appearance at the Franklin Theater in greater Nashville this spring.
His concert longevity has been fueled by multiple decades of hits, as we’re reminded by the new Real Gone Music release New Looks from an Old Lover: The Complete Singles.
Thomas had his first hits on Scepter Records in the ’60s, piled up more hits in the ’70s on MCA and ABC and then gracefully moved to Columbia in 1983, where he had several more hits, largely on the country charts. On top of all of that, he had a highly successful career in Christian music.
None of this new collection is “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On my Head,” but it’s well-crafted and throughly enjoyable pop music by one of the genre’s best vocalists.
Highlights include “As Long as We’ve Got Each Other,” (Yes, from Growing Pains), “New Looks from an Old Lover,” “Whatever Happened to Old-Fashioned-Love,” “Two Car Garage” and “Rock and Roll Shoes” with Ray Charles.

 

Review: Gurf Morlix’s “The Soul & the Heal”

By Paul T. Mueller

On his latest CD, The Soul @ the Heal, Austin-based singer-songwriter Gurf Morlix celebrates humanity in all its flawed glory. These 10 songs comprise an unsparing examination of what’s good and what’s not so good in people, all seen through Morlix’s critical but sympathetic lyrics and conveyed in his familiar gruff voice.

Now in his mid-60s, Gurf Morlix has had the opportunity to observe a wide variety of people, from his early years in upstate New York through his long musical career in places like Nashville and Austin. It’s a safe bet he’s known the subjects of these songs, or people much like them. Some of his characters aren’t very likable – for example, the narrator of the ominous “Bad Things,” who insists, not entirely convincingly, that he’s “a good man who may have done some bad things.” Some, such as the wounded-by-love protagonist of “I’m Bruised, I’m Bleedin’,” come across as more victim than perpetrator.

But amid the darkness, there is also light. “Love Remains Unbroken” celebrates the emotional connections that help us through tough times; “Right Now” is an ode to focusing on the present instead of dwelling on the past or the future; “Quicksilver Kiss” recalls the first flowering of new romance; “Move Someone” is a plea for human interaction.

The contradictions of life are neatly summed up in “The Best We Can,” the album’s closing track, which is built around what Morlix has described as a “pretty chord” of the kind he rarely uses. “Ain’t none of us are noble/We lead tawdry little lives/We’re animals roaming the land,” he sings matter-of-factly. “We might be made of stardust, but that don’t make us special/And we gotta do the best we can.” It’s not exactly a rousing pep talk, but Morlix’s gentle, jazzy guitar and restrained optimism make for a welcome message for anyone dealing with the daily grind.

The songs’ thematic contrasts are echoed by the artwork of the CD cover – on the front a cross-section of a cherry, bright red and shaped like a heart, and on the back an amorphous splatter, also bright red, that looks a lot like blood.

In addition to producing, Gurf Morlix handled all of the singing here and much of the playing – guitars, bass, keyboards and percussion. Other contributors include Rick Richards on drums, Ray Bonneville on harmonica and Nick Connolly on B3 organ.

Class reunion: The original Alice Cooper band

By Ken Paulson

It’s been more than four decades, but I still remember seeing the Alice Cooper “School’s Out” tour. Complete with guillotine, they rocked Chicago Stadium. And there they were tonight, the band’s original members reuniting to deftly play “Eighteen,” “School’s Out” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy” in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

I’d be surprised if Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith and Michael Bruce have played those songs in recent years, but the rust didn’t show. The mini-set offered up driving rock and nostalgia in equal measure.

The first part of the set featured Alice’s current band, and with the early classics saved for the original band, was little heavy on album tracks of the past 20 years. That said, “Under My Wheels” and “Halo of Flies” were absolute highlights.

One side note: Alice Cooper’s shows have always been about theatricality, but it was a little jarring to have him pull out a dagger at the end of his sympathetic “Only Women Bleed” and have the audience cheer in anticipation of the stabbing to come. Maybe it’s time to retire that.

 

Tonight was a reminder, though of the enduring appeal of  radio-friendly songs, imaginative staging and a persona that never seems to age. Alice Cooper was always about hard rock and humor. Some things never change.

 

 

 

 

Celebrating Bobby Keys

By Ken Paulson

(This article first appeared in May 2011 on Sun209. Bobby Keys passed away this week.)

There was a moment in Bobby Keys’ show at the Mercy Lounge when it dawned on everyone just how pivotal a player in rock history he is. Sure, we knew of his long association with the Rolling Stones and his short, but fruitful association with Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, but then he told a sweet story about hearing his saxophone on the radio for the first time, and how he wished his girlfriend had been there to hear it. And then he played “The Wanderer.”
It was an apt reminder that throughout the first three decades of rock ‘n’ roll, Key’s sax was at the heart of both AM and FM radio, including such songs as “Brown Sugar,” “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” and Bitch”, as well as albums by George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Warren Zevon, Nilsson, Eric Clapton, Faces and dozens more.
Keys’ playing is still vibrant, and he’s joined by a terrific band that includes Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites) on lead vocals and Michael Webb (Poco) on keyboards.
This isn’t an oldies show; it’s a loose and lively celebration of an iconic career, and it does the man justice.

Sun209: The week in Tweets

Sun209: The week in Tweets

Sun209: The week in Tweets

Sun209: The week in Tweets

Sun209: The week in Tweets – Americana Music Festival edition

Sun209: The week in Tweets

Sun209: The week in Tweets