Category: Americana Music

At last: Buddy and Julie Miller return with memorable show

 in Americana Music, Nashville music, Reviews

By Paul T. Mueller

Julie Miller
Julie Miller

Beloved singer-songwriter Julie Miller made a rare concert appearance in Nashville on June 26, and it’s hard to say who enjoyed it more, Miller or her adoring fans. A sellout crowd at City Winery greeted the artist and her husband, Americana superstar Buddy Miller, with a lengthy standing ovation before they sang or played a note. The enthusiasm continued throughout the performance, leaving both Millers clearly moved and delighted.

Fans not in attendance might be out of luck. “This is the beginning and the end of our world tour,” Buddy Miller announced two songs into the 45-minute set, which included five songs from the couple’s recently released CD, Breakdown on 20th Avenue South. Julie Miller has not performed much in public in recent years, and her husband’s concert schedule is much lighter than it once was. No other performances are scheduled for the duo.

On the first song, “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” Julie’s vocals seemed a bit hesitant. But the song was met with thunderous applause, and after repeating “Thank you so much!” several times, she seemed to gain strength and confidence, her high-pitched voice harmonizing sweetly with Buddy’s gruffer delivery.

Buddy Miller

Highlights included the mystical “Feast of the Dead,” featuring multi-instrumentalist Colin Linden on the Millers’ antique hurdy-gurdy, and a lovely cover of Richard Thompson’s “Keep Your Distance,” with Buddy playing a small guitar he had once given to Julie. “It looks like you got it at the airport,” she told him with a laugh. An intense rendition of “All My Tears” came near the end, leaving some audience members, not coincidentally, in tears. Another standing ovation followed at set’s end. After a short break, the band returned for a one-song encore, “Hole in My Head,” which Buddy described as “one of our sillier songs,”

The show was preceded by well-received sets from fellow Americana icon Jim Lauderdale, whose CD From Another World was released the same day as Breakdown, and young singer-songwriter and fiddler Lillie Mae. In between, Linden – former musical director on the TV series Nashville – performed one song on his own, using a more familiar instrument, a resonator guitar. The show was recorded for the SiriusXM satellite radio program “Buddy and Jim,” hosted by Buddy Miller and Lauderdale.

Americana One #36 Aaron Lee Tasjan

 in Americana Music, Interviews, Nashville music, Podcast
Aaron Lee Tasjan
Aaron Lee Tasjan

Aaron Lee Tasjan’s “Karma for Cheap” is one of our favorite albums of the past year. It’s adventurous, engaging and draws on the musical influence of a multitude of great artists. We wanted to talk to Aaron largely to figure out what’s in his record collection.

He gave us those details and also regaled us with his adventures as a member of the New York Dolls in this episode of Americana One, available wherever fine podcasts are distributed.

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New: Tim Easton’s “Exposition”

 in Americana Music, Nashville music, New releases, Reviews

By Paul T. Mueller —

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tim Easton takes his wandering troubadour persona pretty seriously. For his latest project, Exposition, he hit the road to record in several musically significant locations: the Okfuskee Historical Society in Okemah, Oklahoma,where Woody Guthrie was born; the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, where Robert Johnson made his historic recordings back in 1936, and the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Muddy Waters’ birthplace.

Tim Easton

The result is a 10-song collection of personal songs that look both inward and outward. The former include first-person narratives such as “Saint Augustine,” “Sail Away Sailors” and the heart-wrenching “New Year’s Day.” The latter are showcases for Easton’s well-known activism, including the calls to action “If You Want Something Done Right” and “Don’t Spectate; Participate.”


Exposition is very much a solo project. Easton earns credits for writing, performance, recording and production, and the only collaborator credited – for handclaps and backwards piano – is his young daughter. Easton accompanies his gritty vocals with his usual excellent guitar, as well as bass, mandolin and piano, and the production is clean and sharp. While this collection doesn’t seem destined to make its creator rich, it’s a fine example of a unique vision skillfully realized.

Review: Red Dirt Boys’ Cayamo Edition

 in Americana Music, Nashville music, New releases, Reviews

By Paul T. Mueller

Not every backing band can make an album that stands on its own, but the Red Dirt Boys are not just any backing band. Emmylou Harris’ touring outfit – guitarist/mandolinist Will Kimbrough, bassist Chris Donohue, drummer Bryan Owings and keyboardist/guitarist Phil Madeira, with all but Owings contributing vocals – are excellent musicians on their own. But they play together with a cohesion that comes from long experience playing together, and a sense of fun that comes from being friends as well as bandmates. This collection, produced in conjunction with their appearance with Ms. Harris on this year’s Cayamo music festival at sea, is a real pleasure to listen to.

There’s no fluff among the album’s 11 tracks, just solid, well-played and well-produced music that deals with themes ranging from Creole cooking (“Cook That Down”) to love (“Plenty Enough”) to hypocrisy (“Religion”) to death (“All Saints Day”). Much of it has a New Orleans sound and vibe, possibly owing to the proximity of Kimbrough’s native Alabama to the Crescent City.

It’s hard to talk about highlights when the whole collection is this good, but “Religion” delivers a heartfelt skewering to people who deserve it; “Plenty Enough” is a realistic take on real-life romance, and “All Saints Day” is a poignant farewell song sweetened by harmony vocals by Ms. Harris herself. Closing track “Jesse” finds Kimbrough and Madeira alternating vocals on a touching tribute to singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester. Kudos to John Mark Painter, whose horns add excellent atmosphere to several tunes.

Adults deserve adult music. The Red Dirt Boys deliver.

Americana One #33 Steve Poltz Shines On

 in Americana Music, Interviews, Nashville music, New releases, Podcast
Steve Poltz

We met Steve Poltz in Nashville on July 4th, 2017 when he happened to walk into a local club where we were holding one of our free speech in music nights. He wasn’t on the bill, but about two minutes into his visit, he committed to performing.

That spontaneity and commitment show up big time on his just-released album “Shine On” on Compass Records. We had the chance to visit with Steve a few weeks ago at the 30A Songwriters Festival. Among the topics: our shared respect for his producer Will Kimbrough and a night two decades ago when he opened for Lisa Loeb in Nashville.

This week’s show:

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Americana One #32 Michael McDermott embraces his “Orphans”

 in Americana Music, Interviews, New releases, Podcast, WMOT Roots Radio
Michael McDermott
Michael McDermott at the 30A Songwriters Festival

In this week’s Americana One podcast, Michael McDermott talks about his rich career, his personal struggles and his new “Orphans” album, an engaging collection of songs that didn’t quite fit elsewhere.

Americana One is a weekly radio show on the 100,000-watt WMOT Roots Radio station heard throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee and streamed to a national audience via the Roots Radio App. The show is also a podcast available on iTunes, Google Play and all the leading podcast providers. Subscribe now.

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Previewing 2019 Cayamo Cruise

 in Americana Music, Festivals, Music Cruise News

By Paul T. Mueller

2019 marks an even dozen for the Cayamo music cruise. The 12th edition of the festival at sea, produced by Atlanta-based Sixthman aboard the Norwegian Pearl, will head south from Tampa for a week of music – and what many passengers surely hope will be warmer weather than they’ve been enduring lately.

As always, the event will feature a full – not to say intimidating – lineup of musicians and bands. Returning notables this year include Emmylou Harris, Keb’ Mo’, Indigo Girls, Buddy Miller, Paul Thorn, Mary Gauthier, Shawn Mullins, Justin Townes Earle, Amanda Shires, Chuck Cannon, The War and Treaty, Steve Poltz and Bonnie Bishop. Newcomers include Will Kimbrough, Carlene Carter, Raul Malo, Billy Bragg, Josh Ritter, Tommy Emmanuel, Brett Dennen, Molly Tuttle and Phil Madeira.

  • Keb’ Mo’
  • Mary Gauthier (All photos Paul T. Mueller)
  • Jason Isbell

As is typical of Cayamo, the lineup is heavily tilted toward the quieter fare of solo singer-songwriters and duos, but a few larger outfits will also make the trip. Bands on board include Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Dawes, the Jerry Douglas Trio, The Wood Brothers, Kasey Chambers and the Fireside Disciples, Darlingside, Red Molly, Red Dirt Boys and The Ghost of Paul Revere. The complete lineup can be seen here.

Themed shows scheduled this year include the Shawn Mullins Variety Show, Buddy Miller’s Sirius XM radio show featuring The War and Treaty, Billy Bragg’s Woody Guthrie tribute show, and the mysteriously named “Buddy’s Musical Genius Bar,” presumably hosted by Cayamo mainstay Miller. And while the concept of “after hours” is a bit hazy given that scheduled performances and informal jams routinely stretch into the small hours, there is nonetheless a “Cayamo After Hours with Sadler Vaden and Friends” show, featuring the 400 Unit guitarist, scheduled for very early Friday morning.

Given a lineup this large, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to see every performer, but there will be a few other events thrown in to make scheduling even tougher. These include yoga sessions led by Bonnie Bishop, a couple of open jam sessions, a 10 a.m. “Bloodies, Bacon and Bingo” event, a “Conversation About Songwriting” with Will Kimbrough and Phil Madeira, a “Tales & Ales” beer tasting hosted by Paul Thorn, and a drum workshop with Brady Blade.

For many Cayamoans, the music is all that matters and it’s of little interest where the cruise stops along the way. But for the record, this year’s ports of call are Montego Bay, Jamaica, and the Costa Maya on Mexico’s southern Caribbean coast. The Jamaica stop will feature a beach excursion and show by Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance.

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.

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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.

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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.