Category: Americana Music

Sun209: The week in tweets

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New to Americana music chart: Holly Williams, Jim James, Black Prairie, Samantha Crain j.mp/XNvA1m 

RT @WillKimbrough: new blog! rvrb.fm/XH3ov7 58 mins ago

RT @HuffingtonPost: Dave Clark Five bassist dies at age 72 huff.to/12zkuOG 3 days ago

New to chart: Holly Williams, Jim James, Black Prairie

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HOLLY WILLIAMSAmericana Music News — Cheater’s Game by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison remains at the top of this week’s Americana Music Association airplay chart, just ahead of Carrie Rodriguez’s Give Me All You Got.

New to the chart this week: Holly Williams’ The Highway, Jim James’ Regions of Light, Black Prairie’s A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart and Samantha Crain’s Kid Face.

Most added this week Sons of Fathers’ Burning Days, Richard Thompson’s Electric, Kris Kristofferson’s Feeling Mortal and Stella’s Sorry, Stella.

Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @Sun209com.

Sun209: The week in tweets

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Celebrating Louisiana’s rich musical legacy

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By Ken Paulson —

A friend tipped us off to the Only in Louisiana event during Grammys weekend and we’re glad she did.  As partial as we are to the theory that Nashville is the center of the popular music universe, Louisiana makes a pretty good case, citing the Louisiana Hayride,  Jerry Lee Lewis and Dr. John, and many others.

Kix Brooks was a special guest at the event and he entertained the audience with color tales of his adventures in Louisiana, including a night in New Orleans when a young Brooks and Dunn overindulged in Jell-O shots and decided to cover themselves (badly) in a karaoke bar. The account was as colorful as the state’s music scene.

Highlights of the event included a mini-set from Wayne Toups and a finale of state song “You Are My Sunshine.”

Bruce Springsteen saluted at the Grammys

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Los Angeles – We just arrived in LA for the Grammys, so we missed what looks like the coolest event of the weekend, the MusiCares salute to Bruce Springsteen.

Here’s some of what Edna Gundersen wrote in USA Today:

“The night’s entertainment focused more on Springsteen the songwriter than the rockin’ Boss, with artists leaning toward midtempo, reflective material. There were exceptions. Alabama Shakes kicked off the program with a mighty Adam Raised a Cain. Tom Morello and Jim James ripped off the roof with a rough-and-tumble Ghost of Tom Joad. Ken Casey of Dropkick Murphys turned American Land into a punk reel. And Neil Young and Crazy Horse threw some bruising blows into Born in the USA.

Natalie Maines and Ben Harper sang Atlantic City with Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica. Zac Brown and Mavis Staples took My City of Ruins to church. Elton John submitted a dramatic reading of Streets of Philadelphia. Colombian rocker Juanes revised Hungry Heart with Spanish verses. Tim McGraw and wife Faith Hill entwined voices on Tougher Than the Rest. A backlit Mumford & Sons delivered an elegiac I’m on Fire.

Also on tap: Kenny Chesney’s acoustic One Step Up, Jackson Brown and Morello collaborating on American Skin (41 Shots), John Legend’s solo piano version of Dancing in the Dark and Sting’s Lonesome Day.

Follow Sun209: The Americana News on Twitter at @Sun209com.

 

New to chart: Aaron Neville, Kris Kristofferson, Steeldrivers

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Aaron NevilleAmericana Music News — No surprise, but the top  album in Americana music this week is Cheater’s Game by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison.  The album jumped into the chart last week in the sixth slot, with almost 50 radio stations adding it in a single week.

At number 2 is Buddy & Jim, from Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale.

New to the chart this week:  Kris Kristofferson’s Feeling Mortal, Dale Watson and his All-Stars’  El Rancho Azul, the Steeldrivers’ Hammer Down (reviewed on Sun209), Paul Kelly’s Spring and Fall and My True Story, a celebration of Doo-Wop from Aaron Neville.

Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @Sun209com.

 

 

Review: Terry Allen at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck

 in Americana Music, Reviews

Terry Allen

By Paul T. Mueller
–Terry Allen played most of his Jan. 19 late set at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston with a small, secret smile on his face, as if anticipating the punch line to an upcoming joke. Fortunately for the standing-room-only audience (the second of the evening), he didn’t keep the humor to himself, sharing it generously over the course of more than 20 songs and some highly entertaining between-songs banter.

That’s not to say that Allen, a longtime resident of the High Plains of Texas, is a comedy act. Violence and other misbehavior also feature prominently in his gritty narratives, many of them set in the American Southwest and Mexico. Allen’s songs, several of which have been covered by better-known artists, are marked by his quirky outlook and the vivid imagery one might expect from a painter (another of his job descriptions, which also include sculptor and dramatist).

Backed by a capable if unconventional band – his son Bukka on accordion and percussion, Richard Bowden on violin and mandolin, and Brian Standefer on cello – Allen romped through a mix of old favorites and newer material, including seven tracks from his excellent new CD, Bottom of the World.

Some highlights:

  •   “Amarillo Highway,” a rocking tribute to the road warriors of the West Texas blacktop
  •   “Beautiful Waitress,” an offbeat love song of a sort
  •   “Queenie’s Song,” a vitriolic message to the unknown person who shot and killed Allen’s dog Queenie in 1999 (Allen co-wrote the song with the legendary Guy Clark, and his description of Clark’s reaction to the news of Queenie’s demise was worth a good chunk of the ticket price all by itself)
  •   “Sidekick Anthem,” a sweet tribute to Allen’s wife, Jo Harvey
  •   “Gimme a Ride to Heaven, Boy,” a very funny tale about a late-night encounter with a dubious deity on a lonely highway

Allen closed out a several-song encore with “Give Me the Flowers,” in which he suggests that flowers work better as gifts to the living than as remembrances of the dead.

Terry Allen was in fine form and terrific voice for this show, but one could be forgiven for wondering how many tours a man pushing 70 has left in him. Fans of this unique voice in American music might do well to take his floral advice and reward him with the flowers of their attention sooner rather than later.

 

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Sun209: The week in tweets

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Review: Drew de Man & Old Custer’s “¡Vámanos pa’l Monte!”

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drew_150by Paul T. Mueller

It’s not always easy to tell what singer-songwriter Drew de Man is trying to say. The subtitle of his Tumblr site reads “Exploring and expanding the roots and branches of rocknroll poetry.” His lyrics tend toward imagery that’s often obscure and sometimes seemingly random. All this may have something to do with geography: de Man is a Georgia native who used to live in Atlanta, where he attended college and later spent several years fronting alt-country outfit No River City. He moved to Portland, Ore., a while back, and his more recent music seems to reflect the looser, hipper vibe of the West Coast.

What hasn’t changed is de Man’s ear for melody and his skill on a variety of instruments. The album’s nine songs feature plenty of nicely played guitar, both acoustic and electric, as well as the other things you might expect – bass, piano, drums – and some you might not – jaw harp, tanpura (something like a sitar), and udu (an African percussion instrument). It adds up to an interesting mix that’s fun to listen to.

Picking obscure instruments out of the mix is easier than describing de Man’s lyrics, but here’s a start. “Kingsferry” is a kind of road tale, played in a catchy, Tom Pettyish way. “Unspeakable Things” reads like something of a memoir, fueled by guitar riffs that Keith Richards wouldn’t be ashamed of. “The Luckiest Guy” is countrified love ballad, played in a style that recalls the Grateful Dead’s acoustic side. “I’d Give a Whole Lot,” the closing track, is a slow, mournful song that seems to be a tribute to a musical hero of de Man’s youth. “I’d give a whole lot,” he sings, “just to hear him play again.” Jerry Garcia? Duane Allman? Hard to say – maybe it’s best to just sit back and enjoy.

Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @sun209com.

Charting: Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, James Hand

 in Americana Music, Reviews

Kelly willisAmericana Music News — The hottest album in Americana music this week is Cheater’s Game by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison. The album breaks in at number 6 on this week’s Americana music radio airplay chart, and was also the most added release, with 46 stations picking it up.

At number 1 for a second week is Buddy & Jim, from Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale.

Also new to the chart this week: James Hand’s Mighty Lonesome Man, Kevin Deal’s There Goes the Neighborhood and Mary Gauthier’s Live at Blue Rock.

Among the most added this week: Mary Gauthier, Rich Mahan’s Blame Bobby Bare and Ted Russell Kamp’s Night Owl.

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Sun209: The week in tweets

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30A Songwriters Festival: Nanci Griffith and Lucinda WIlliams

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Lucinda Williams

Lucinda Williams

Americana Music News — The 30A Songwriters Festival wraps up on Sunday with headliners Nanci Griffith and Lucinda Williams, two highly respected artists who have carved out long and successful careers by following their own creative paths.

Griffith is touring in support of her new album Intersection and will perform at 1:30 p.m. at Gulf Place Amphitheater. We saw Lucinda Williams on the Cayamo cruise last year and can only say that anything can happen. She takes the stage at 3:30 p.m.

Other intriguing shows on Sunday:

–  Holly Williams and Homesick Elephant at the Hibiscus at 10 a.m., followed by Gretchen Peters and Eliza Gilkyson.

–  Amy Andrews and Brigitte DeMeyer at the Hibiscus at 6:30 p.m.

–  Shawn Mullins and Chuck Cannon at Bentley’s at 8:30 p.m.

–  Humming House at Pandora’s at 9:30 p.m.

–  David Olney, Tommy Womack and Webb Wilder at Rosemary Beach Town Hall at 10 p.m.

You’ll find ticket details and maps to venues at the 30A Songwriters site. And here’s a look back at the 2012 festival.

Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @sun209com.

 

 

 

Saturday’s Best Bets at the 30A Songwriters Festival

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CarpenterAmericana Music News — The 30A Songwriters Festival is clearly trying to corner the market on female singer-songwriters.  There are literally dozens in Walton County, Florida, this weekend, including Saturday’s headliners Mary Chapin Carpenter and Suzanne Vega, both appearing at the Gulf Place Amphitheatre Saturday afternoon.

Ashes and Roses, Carpenter’s latest album, stakes out somber turf, but her live shows range from highly personal songs to her often-energetic hits.   Vega’s “Luka,” a hit song about an abused boy, was the unlikeliest way to launch a career, but foreshadowed years of thought-provoking and adventurous recordings.

Among the shows we’re most eager to see on Saturday:

–  Don Dixon and Marti Jones at 723 Whiskey Bravo at 7 p.m.

–  Freedy Johnston, Susan Cowsill and Vickie Peterson at Rosemary Beach Town Hall at 7 p.m.

–   Allison Moorer, Gretchen Peters and Parker & Parker at the Boathouse at 7:30 p.m.

–  Webb Wilder, Tommy Womack, Mike Whitty and Angel Snow at Fish Out of Water at 8:30 p.m.

–  Kim Richey and Holly Williams at Bentley’s and Maddog’s at 9 p.m.

–  Will Kimbrough, Sugarcane Jane and Grayson Capps at Caliza at 9:30 p.m.

–  Tift Merritt at Fish Out of Water at 10 p.m.

You’ll find ticket details and maps to venues at the 30A Songwriters site. And here’s a look back at the 2012 festival.

Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @sun209com.

Opening night at the 30A Songwriters Festival

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David Olney

David Olney

 Americana Music News — The 30A Songwriters Festival in Walton County, Florida opens tomorrow with a varied and intriguing   line-up.  Some of the best bets on Friday night:

–  Webb Wilder, Jimmy Hall and Parker & Parker at the Boathouse at  7:30 p.m.

– David Olney and Don DiLego at Shorty’s Topside at 7:30 p.m.

– Freedy Johnston and Charlie Mars at Bud and Alley’s at 9 p.m.

– Tommy Womack and Will Kimbrough at the Boathouse at  9:30 p.m.

–  Jeffrey Steele at Fish Out of Water at 10 p.m.

–  Fastball at Caliza at 10:30 p.m.

You’ll find ticket details and maps to venues at the 30A Songwriters site. And here’s a look back at the 2012 festival.

Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @sun209com.

 

Sun209: The week in tweets

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RT @Dreamspiderweb: Show review –> Appalachian Jamwich » Leftover Salmon and The Lee Boys – 12-27-12 = The Vogue – Indianapolis, IN  … 7 hours ago

Tennessee Waltz: Patti Page at the Ryman

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Americana Music News — We’ve seen many special shows at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, but one of the most memorable was from a woman in her late ’70s whose biggest hits were recorded a half-century earlier.

Patti Page passed away this week, and obituaries inevitably mentioned ’50s hits “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” and “Tennessee Waltz.”

She did those favorites and songs from her then-new album Brand New Tennessee Waltz at the Ryman in the spring of 2000. She was in good voice and the show was remarkably contemporary. The concert and her album – a collaboration with Victoria Shaw and others in the Nashville music community – were reminders of Page’s enduring talent and charm.


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Sun209: The week in tweets

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Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter @Sun209com.

 

 

Sun209 contributors

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Will Kimbrough: Spending most of 2011 touring with Emmylou Harris as one of her Red Dirt Boys, Will Kimbrough often performs with Rodney Crowell, Jimmy Buffett and others when not performing his own shows, writing hit songs, working as a session performer or producing others notable artists across various genres.
Will’s songs have been recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Little Feat, Jack Ingram, Todd Snider and others, while he has released 10 artist albums and a 3-CD box set to-date, including five albums as a founding member of DADDY, the bis-quits, and Will and the Bushmen. A new studio album is due out in late 2012. Dubbed an “Alien” performer as a way to explain his un-earthly, masterful performance on the guitar, Will was recognized in 2004 as the “Instrumentalist of the Year” by the Americana Music Association.
His websites: http://www.reverbnation.com/willkimbrough and
http://www.willkimbrough.com

Bill Lloyd: Bill Lloyd is a Nashville-based songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer who is most often remembered as half of the late ’80s RCA country-rock duo, Foster and Lloyd. Lloyd’s diverse musical activities include working as a producer (ranging from Carl Perkins to MTV reality show indie-rockers, The Secret), a session player (from Brit-pop icons like Ray Davies of The Kinks and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze to country legends like Buck Owens and Steve Earle), a sideman (Poco, Marshall Crenshaw and with Cheap Trick when they perform The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper with orchestra) and as a songwriter (with songs cut by Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Keith Anderson, Hootie and the Blowfish and many more). He has recorded a string of critically acclaimed solo records that blend his melodic power pop sensibility with finely tuned song craft. During his stint as the Stringed Instrument Curator at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, he created the quarterly series Nashville Cats, that he continues to host. He’s the music director for the First Amendment Center in Nashville. He also organized and plays in Nashville’s high concept cover band, The Long Players

Ken Paulson: Ken Paulson is the editor of Sun209:The Americana Music Journal. The former editor-in-chief of USA Today and a journalist for almost thirty years, Paulson began his career as a music reporter for Chicago-area publications in the ‘70s, and later worked as music critic for the national Gannett News Service and as a music writer for a wide range of magazines, including Goldmine, Environs, Triad and Family Weekly.

Terry Roland: Terry Roland is an Americana-roots music journalist who has published interviews, reviews and feature articles for FolkWorks, Sing-Out, No Depression and The San Diego Troubadour.

Bruce Rosenstein: Bruce Rosenstein is currently Managing Editor for the journal Leader to Leader. His book Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life was published by Berrett-Koehler in 2009.For 21 years, Bruce was a librarian for USA TODAY, where he also wrote about business and management books for the Money section of the newspaper. He has written for such publications as Leader to Leader, Leadership Excellence, American Executive, ONLINE and Information Outlook. He also wrote scripts for a weekly rock music radio show heard around the world on the Voice of America in the 1970s and ’80s, and contributed to such music publications as Trouser Press and ARSC Journal. He and Steve Leeds released one of the first compilations of independent rock music, Declaration of Independents, on their Ambition Records label in 1980. His website is www.brucerosenstein.com.

Joe Ross: Joe Ross of Roseburg, Oregon has been a music journalist and reviewer for over three decades. Now retired from the day job as a civilian with the U.S. Marine Corps, Joe is working full-time on music-related endeavors, including teaching and songwriting. He “edu-tains” with his interactive, fast-paced “Roots of Bluegrass” solo show that traces that music’s evolution while demonstrating banjo, mandolin, guitar, concertina, autoharp and dulcimers. But you might also see him performing a solo show of Latin, Hawaiian or even Beatles music. Performing since age 12, Joe also currently plays with various bands including Irish Crème (Celtic), Umpqua Valley Bluegrass Band (Bluegrass), The Keynotes (Polka Band), Zephyr Duo (Old-Time), and Alamojo (Western Swing). His eight albums, available at Amazon and CDBaby, span multiple genres and also include many original songs. Contact him at rossjoe@hotmail.com

Tommy Womack: A successful singer-songwriter with songs recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Todd Snider, Jason Ringenberg, Dan Baird, Scott Kempner and others, Tommy Womack is the author of the rock memoir cult classic “Cheese Chronicles: The True Story of a Rock n Roll Band You’ve Never Heard Of” and the recording artist behind 2007’s career-defining There, I Said It! album, as well as founding
member of the band DADDY with the Americana Music Association’s
instrumentalist of the year Will Kimbrough. A two-time winner of “Best Song” in the Nashville Scene’s annual “Best of Nashville” poll, Tommy is releasing a new solo studio album – NOW WHAT! – in late February 2012. He is always writing towards his next book. His websites:

http://www.tommywomack.com

Review: Cow Bop’s “Cowlifornia Swing”

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cow bopBy Joe Ross

The Cowbopsters are back with their fourth album called Cowlifornia Swing, and there are plenty of both western and jazz influences apparent. Much like their last album (“Too Hick for the Room”) we hear guitarist Bruce Forman, vocalist Pinto Pammy (Forman’s wife), bassist Alex King and drummer Jake Reed. The quintet has also added David Wise on saxophone and cornet. On several cuts, guests fill out the new album with tints of piano, fiddle, trombone, cello, mandolin and accordion. All are hot tunesters with solid credentials.  Bruce Forman teaches jazz guitar at USC’s Thornton School of Music, and others in the band are (or were) students there.  Like their last successful album, Thornton alumnus Doug Gerry produced, and faculty member Andrew Garver mastered.

 

“Spade” Cooley coined the term “Western Swing” in the early 1940s, and it’s interesting that “Spade” was a Los Angeles resident like the members of Cow Bop. He had fortune and fame, but was imprisoned in 1961 for murder. Despite the thousands of bands playing all over the West during the heyday of Western Swing, the genre is most closely associated with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Cow Bop pays tribute to them with a boss arrangement of “Roly Poly” that wisely includes Phil Salazar’s fiddle, the only cut with that classic western swing instrument, albeit played electric on this song.

 

Cow Bop’s approach to bovine boogie also taps jazz  standards (“I’ve Found a New Baby”), pop fare (“These Boots are Made for Walking,” “Mambo Italiano”), country (“Cattle Call”), western (“Wahoo”), and some less oft-heard big band tunes (“A Gal in Calico”). The jazz chops predominate in these uplifting tunes and make for an enjoyable listen. We also hear Pinto Pammy’s countrified sounds, like yodeling in “Cattle Call” and call-and-response (with David Jackson) in the novelty number “Wahoo.” She’s also comfortably smooth with a swinging version of “Indian Love Call,” quite unlike the rendition done by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Six-minute offerings like “What is this Thing called Love?” and “These Boots are Made for Walking” allow multiple instrumentalists to showcase with improvisation between verses. The arrangements are solid, but I wonder if they write any originals.

 

While some of Cow Bop’s influences are clearly organic and corn-fed, Cow Bop’s jazzy twang also provides a copious amount of toe-tapping fun. There may not be many big roadhouses and dancehalls left today, but you can catch this band at fairs, festivals, cafes, rodeos, burger joints and places like the Viva Cantina in Burbank. I haven’t ever been there, but I imagine it as a place where young folks, old-timers, friends and neighbors all know each other and gather for listening or dancing the night away. Hailing from busy and heavily populated Southern California, Cow Bop’s music conveys a rural ethos, but also demonstrates an urban, contemporary understanding. Cowlifornia Swing is music for dancing so roll up the rug, throw some cornmeal on the floor, invite the neighbors over and throw a party to their music.

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