Singer-songwriter James McMurtry released his first CD in 1989, so it’s pretty much inevitable that his shows these days resemble career retrospectives. At an August 26 solo acoustic show at Houston’s McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, McMurtry led off with “Melinda,” from his 1995 album Where’d You Hide the Body.
James McMurtry (photo by Paul T. Mueller)
Next came the title track of 2002’s Saint Mary of the Woods; more songs from other stages of his career followed, accompanied by masterful work on six- and twelve-string guitars. They included “a medley of my hit,” the raucous “Choctaw Bingo,” and “Levelland,” which McMurtry described as “one of the Robert Earl Keen songs that I wrote.” Four songs from last year’s excellent The Horses and the Hounds made the cut; the later-in-life romance tale “Canola Fields” might have held particular significance for audience members, many of whom were old enough to have been fans from the beginning. McMurtry closed on a upbeat note with “If It Don’t Bleed,” a wryly humorous look at aging that tempered ruefulness (“there’s more in the mirror than there is up ahead”) with acceptance (“it don’t matter all that much if it don’t bleed”).
Mention the late Levon Helm to a fan of Americana music and you’re likely to get a very strong response.
The quick comeback could focus on The Band, for which Levon played drums and mandolin, and sang. And there are, of course, those iconic Band songs that Levon sang, “Up On Cripple Creek,” “Ophelia” and “The Weight” among them.
Levon and The Band performed and recorded with Bob Dylan. Levon played on Ringo Starr’s First All Starr Band tour in 1989. And after recovering from cancer of the vocal cords and nearly losing his home-recording studio to the bank, Levon during the early 2000s staged a colossal comeback.
Design by Mike DuBois, photo by Dino Perrucci
And after recovering from cancer of the vocal cords and nearly losing his home-recording studio to the bank, Levon during the early 2000s staged a colossal comeback.
His winning formula revolved around house concerts he held at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York, that he called the “Midnight Ramble.” What started out as rent parties and a last hurrah ended up saving Levon’s home and setting him on a path to triumph. The Midnight Rambles were presented to a bankruptcy judge as a source of revenue, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Rambles drew sold-out crowds and attracted the likes of Emmylou Harris and Ricky Skaggs. These intimate performances set the stage for three Grammy-winning solo albums, and as they reconnected Levon to his loyal fans, the Rambles introduced him to new ones.
But for all that he accomplished in the music industry, the Levon Helm that I got to know, while collaborating on a book with him, has more to do with things that may seem a bit more, well, routine.
When I think of Levon Helm, I recall the guy who grew up in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, and never lost his passion for farming, tractors and harvest time. Let’s not forget that the Midnight Rambles were based on the traveling medicine shows Levon saw as a kid, growing up in Phillips County, Arkansas. And his 2007 comeback album was called Dirt Farmer.
The Levon Helm I knew loved to watch college football. He indulged his passion for sushi and Popeye’s chicken. And he liked a lot of ice in his beverages of choice—Coca Cola and Boylan’s grape soda—which he drank in a red plastic Solo cup, slipped inside another red Solo plastic cup.
In the wake of Levon’s death in 2012, I continued to work on the book we were collaborating on. Levon Helm: Rock, Roll & Ramble—The Inside Story of the Man, the Music and the Midnight Ramble was recently published and I think that Levon would have been as proud of the final product as I am.
One reason for this is that Rock, Roll & Ramble—with a foreword written by Ringo Starr—covers the ups and the downs of Levon’s life, rather than just his successes.
I traveled often with Levon during his Midnight Ramble era, and during those trips to concerts in the Northeast, and a journey on his tour bus to Bonnaroo in 2008, I recorded our conversations and used them to write the book.
In February 2009, I was traveling with Levon from Manhattan back to Woodstock, after the Levon Helm Band had performed on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”
This was during the early stages of the book and I asked Levon if he was comfortable talking about his cancer, his bankruptcy and nearly losing Levon Helm Studios to foreclosure. I am paraphrasing here, but he replied by explaining that a stool needs three legs to work properly, and if you only have two legs, it’s going to fall over. In other words, Levon was saying, we needed all three legs of the stool—we needed to tell the entire story, his entire story.
And so I am very proud to present these excerpts from that story, from Levon Helm: Rock, Roll & Ramble—The Inside Story of the Man, the Music and the Midnight Ramble:
“We were just about at the end of our rope financially,” Levon said. “So the Midnight Ramble was going to be one big rent party or go out with a bang. We were going to have one more tear ‘em down night or two, and all of a sudden, the thing started getting legs of its own and people started wanting to come and pay to get in.
“That was just about the time when the shit was ready to hit the fan. All of a sudden, you’re sick and you can’t work and you haven’t been able to work and the bills don’t stop and they’re still coming in. You’ve got your hands full trying to get well, and then to have the other stuff heaped on top is certainly an unfair way to go. Those radiation treatments, after a while, they can get ahold of you. It’s a little bit raw. The bankruptcy part—that was just getting ready to cloud over and really rain—that don’t scare you after all that radiation.”
On growing up in Arkansas:
“I’ve been to all day sing-alongs with dinner on the ground,” Levonsaid. “They’d lay out those cotton sheets—a big row of them. And putout a couple of tubs of iced tea at the end of one of them; another tub full of Kool-Aid. And all up and down those cotton sheets would be platters of cold fried chicken and coleslaw and potato salad. My mom would always make chicken salad. I would stand right in front of her chicken salad while the blessing was getting said and I’d attack that first.
“I’d go up and down the row of sheets, looking for stuff like angel food cake, things I’d never seen before. That angel food cake was something else. That was the wildest damn thing I’d ever chewed on. Anything you could chew on that was cold, they’d have a bunch of it. It was all gospel groups. In the morning part would be the local church and their choir people. Then everybody’d eat dinner, then other churches would bringin their choir. I could eat, fight and raise hell and listen to music all at the same time”
On The Band, Band manager Albert Grossman and Bob Dylan:
“There weren’t any real albums after the first two, first three. Everything else was ‘Best of,’ ‘Live at You-Know-Where.’ The Band was just a miserable fucking deal. The Band wasn’t never no fun, shit. TheBand always, you know, Albert always wanted to lock everyone in the room, have that stand-offish bullshit, like with Bob. ‘You can’t see Bob.’ Fuck all that, you know? I don’t want to be like that. Shit. There is a lot of arrogance to that bullshit. In fact, that’s why I never could stomach that shit. That ain’t me. No. Uh-uh.”
On the Midnight Ramble:
“The easiest thing I’ve ever done. The whole place turns into a temple for me. There is nothing else and time and everything else is kind of suspended. All I’m conscious of is the pitch, if the pitch is correct. There are no echoes or fancy sound devices. And about 50 percent of what you hear, even on a full electrical tune, is acoustic.
“And walking out of your living room and playing a show—it’s the best. It’s the best. Especially the way the room responds. All I have to do is go shave, take a shower and head out there. We usually stop when it feels like it’s time to stop. When the show’s over, I just walk next door and take my boots off. I believe this might be my payback for all the traveling and stuff. Musicians, their years are like dog years. All that traveling around and now, all of a sudden—I don’t know how we got it to happen. They’re coming here and we don’t even have to crank a car. We leave everything set. And we’ve got all my best equipment; we can sound better here than we can anywhere.
“Each band plays at least an hour, and we probably play at least twohours. By the time we quit, which is between 11:30 and midnight, they’ve had four-to-five hours of music and that’s just about enough in one day. You really can lose the outside world and all those aggravations. At the end of each tune, you can kind of feel that embracement, where you start to realize—music being medicine, you know?
“There is no pressure around here. When you play, you can start prettymuch and finish when you want to and play what you want to. We try toleave it that way, let it be what it wants to be.”
And here are some of my thoughts from the book, as the author, regarding Levon Helm:
When Levon sang, you could feel your own heart aching in his voice. The conviction with which he sang gave you courage. His signature vocal tone was part growl, part roar, part plea for help and it served as a lightning rod for all of our troubles, not just for a few hours at a gig, but across generations.
When Levon sang—with one turn of a phrase, one note, one lyric—he somehow managed to capture the despair we all feel, the hope that keeps us going and the resolution for which we never stop longing. He tapped into that terrifying sensation of solitude that every one of us has experienced, at those times in our lives when you feel like you haven’t got a friend in the world. But Levon also made you feel like he was right there with you, clinging desperately to any solid ground that remained, as his world fell apart in a manner that wasn’t much different than the way in which your world might be falling apart.
Levon Helm had resolve. He did not give up. And he maintained that
sparkle in his eye and that laugh in his gut through all the calamity. Levon Helm represented much of what we value in those we admire, and a lot of what we wished to be true of ourselves.
All of this resonated so strongly with his audience because just like youand me, Levon was forced to manage the madness of life and make sense of insanity. There was a bond of familiarity he shared with millions of people he never met.
To quote Levon about Levon, “There was a guy who never met a stranger.” Here’s a Coke, have yourself a chair, I’m glad to know ya.
John W. Barry first met Levon Helm while working as music writer for the USA Today Network/Poughkeepsie Journal in New York’s Hudson Valley.
You can learn more about Levon Helm: Rock, Roll & Ramble by visiting rockrollramble.com and https://amzn.to/3Q7FHOI.
Americana One – We’ve spent a lot of time on music-based cruises over the past decade, but the Cayamo cruise remains one of the most consistent and adventurous. They’ve just opened reservations to the general public with a line-up that includes Jeff Tweedy, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Neko Case, Shovels & Rope Andrew Bird and Trampled By Turtles,
Grace Potter performs on the Cayamo cruise in 2022. (photo by Paul T. Mueller)
This year’s cruise runs from Feb. 10-17 and includes stops at St. Maarten and Tortola, BVI.
By Paul T. Mueller – Texas singer-songwriter BettySoo’s July 7 show at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston celebrated the release of Insomnia Waking Dream, a CD-only collection of 15 demos recorded over more than a decade and assembled with the help of fellow singer-songwriter Curtis McMurtry. BettySoo was the sole performer on the album, but for this show and others on her current tour, she was accompanied by guitarist Jon Sanchez and bassist Gary Calhoun James, both of whom provided excellent support. BettySoo performed the entire album, including three songs solo, showcasing her beautiful vocals and skillful guitar playing.
The show was livestreamed, but in-person audiences at the Duck are usually rewarded with a little extra after the end of the main set. On this night, it was a lovely rendition of Guy Clark’s “Dublin Blues.”
(The Americana One Postcard series features quick takes on Americana music performances in concerts and on recordings.)
Robert Earl Keen, who earlier this year announced his intention to retire from touring after more than four decades, probably could have phoned in his farewell tour. His legions of fans likely would have eaten it up in any event. Instead, the beloved Texas singer-songwriter seems to be taking his last go-round very seriously, while having a lot of fun to boot.
Keen brought his “I’m Comin’ Home” tour to the Martin Center for the Arts at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, on June 5. His set, which lasted a little more than an hour and a half, featured several of his biggest hits, along with seldom-heard deep cuts and a few well-chosen covers. The audience responded enthusiastically, often singing along on choruses, but listening respectfully during the quieter passages.
Robert Earl Keen in concert (Paul T. Mueller)
Playing before a large backdrop captioned “I’m Comin’ Home” and “41 Years on the Road,” Keen opened with several older songs, including “Mr. Wolf and Mamabear,” from his 2014 album What I Really Mean. He noted that a fan had once sent him a 12-page essay detailing how the song’s somewhat fanciful lyrics were in fact an explanation of World War II. A few songs later he sang “Charlie Duke Took Country Music to the Moon,” a true story that he described as “a fake song” from Burn Band, a little-noticed album he and fellow Texan Randy Rogers recorded under the fictitious name The Stryker Brothers. The song describes how astronaut Duke, one of the last people to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 16 crew, had taken a mixtape of classic country songs with him on his lunar journey.
Remembering John Prine, Nanci Griffith
Keen introduced his raucous fishing tale “The Five Pound Bass” by noting that guitarist/fiddler Brian Beken had spent some happy time fishing earlier that day. Next came a funny anecdote from his days opening for John Prine, and a sensitive cover of Prine’s “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.” That in turn was followed by stories of touring with revered singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith, who he said treated him with respect and kindness early in his career. After setting the scene with a lovely description of a wee-hours hotel room performance of Ralph McTell’s “From Clare to Here” by Griffith and two other singers – a moment he called the single most beautiful musical of experience of his life – he shared his own rendition of the song.
Keen eventually moved into more familiar musical ground with “Feelin’ Good Again,” segueing quickly into fan favorite “Gringo Honeymoon.” Next up were a couple of his older and funnier songs, “Copenhagen” (“Copenhagen, what a wad of flavor”) and “It’s the Little Things,” an ode to marriage featuring that rarest of moments, an acoustic guitar solo by Keen (it was more than competent). The main set finished with “Corpus Christi Bay,” a tale of two brothers whose relationship is fueled by sometimes irresponsible behavior, and the rousing “The Road Goes on Forever.” After a brief break, Keen returned solo for the wildly popular “Merry Christmas from the Family.” A pretty good Aggie joke (Keen attended Texas A&M University, where such humor is a staple) led into “The Front Porch Song,” which Keen wrote with fellow Aggie Lyle Lovett about their college days. Keen closed with “I’m Comin’ Home,” rejoined partway through by his band, which along with Beken featured his longtime rhythm section, bassist Bill Whitbeck and drummer Tom Van Schaik. It made for a fine end to a joyous and very enjoyable evening.
The chorus of one of Keen’s best-known songs declares that “the road goes on forever and the party never ends.” That might prove wishful thinking, if he’s serious about retiring. And even though, song lyrics notwithstanding, all parties must end at some point, this one seems destined to continue for a while yet. Keen’s tour continues through the summer, including a July 9 date at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, and is scheduled to end in Texas in early September.
Nashville-based singer-songwriter John R. Miller opened the show with a 30-minute set featuring well-crafted and personal lyrics backed by excellent guitar playing. Fiddler Chloe Edmonstone contributed fine playing and vocals.
Words never spoken after a Steve Forbert concert: “I’m just so tired of him playing the same set on every tour.”
Forbert, a former Nashville resident, returned to the town’s City Winery tonight with a performance that promoted his new album Moving Through America, but seemed to be largely fueled by whim.
I was just telling George we might do “Complications,” he said mid-show, nodding toward his guitarist, the affable and adept George Naha.
It was a set that included two compositions by his idol Jimmie Rodgers in the first half-dozen songs, and spanned more than four decades of his recorded music.
At one point, he emphasized the title of his album by recalling the cities he and George had already visited on the tour, briefly confusing Pascagoula with Pensacola. Still, the point was made. Forbert’s music has always had a travelogue quality, from songs like “Strange Names (North New Jersey Has ‘Em)” to his art exhibits.
Steve Forbert at the City WInery @copyright 2022 Ken Paulson
Highlights included the title song and “Fried Oysters” from the new album, plus audience favorites like “What Kinda Guy?”, “Sure Was Better Back Then” and “Romeo’s Tune,” plus a sampling of “Sunny Side of the Street” and the Beatles’ “Good Night.”
It was the kind of show we’ve come to anticipate from Steve Forbert, with energy, intelligence and idiosyncrasies wrapped up in a melodic package.
The Delevantes return
Opening the show was the Delevantes, playing songs from their new album A Thousand Turns.
Mike and Bob Delevante
@copyright Ken Paulson 2022
The duo of brothers Mike and Bob Delevante emerged in the ’90s with two excellent albums, but A Thousand Turns is their first release together in more than 20 years. As they hit the stage at the City Winery tonight with “Little By Little. the harmonies made clear that the Delevantes truly were back.
The new album was produced with E-Streeter Garry Tallent and Dave Coleman of the Coalmen. Coleman also joined the Delevantes onstage, playing impeccable guitar throughout the show.
Dave Coleman waits patiently as a sound engineer sorts out an audio problem. @copyright 2022 Ken Paulson
What could have been an evening of mourning instead became a celebration of life and music as the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted its class of 2022.
The sudden death of honoree Naomi Judd might have cast a pall over the event honoring the Judds, Ray Charles, pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake and session drummer Eddie Bayers, but the Hall captured exactly the right tone for the ceremony, respectfully acknowledging Naomi’s passing while celebrating the music that led the inductees to this night.
Wynonna Judd ((Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
If there was any tension in the room, it quickly dissipated when Hall of Fame Director Kyle Young noted that the Judds – mother Naomi and daughter Wynonna – sang in perfect harmony, but didn’t always live that way. Wynonna was quick to add an “Amen!” from the audience.
Hall of Fame member Ricky Skaggs inducted the duo, recalling that he first met the Kentucky women backstage at a club date in San Francisco and then learned a few years later that they had been signed to a recording contract. They opened for him on a number of tours, but not for long, he noted.
A tearful Wynonna Judd, along with sister Ashley, accepted the award.
“I didn’t prepare anything tonight because I knew Mom would do most of the talking,” she said.
Celebrating the Judds musically were Carly Pierce with a version of “Grandpa, Tell Me About the Good Old Days,” Gilliam Welch and David Rawlings with “Young Love” and Tommy Sims performed “Love Can Build a Bridge.”
Pedal steel guitarist Pete Drake became the first musician on his instrument to be inducted. His work has been at the heart of dozens of country classics and he was tapped by Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and George Harrison to work on their respective projects. Elizabeth noted the Dylan connection with her version “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” followed by Wendy Moten’s stirring take of “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” the George Jones hit fueled by Drake’s playing.
Bayers was honored for his drumming and percussion on decades of country hits, including Vince Gill’s “I Call Your Name” and Trisha Yearwood’s “I Call Your Name.” Both artists performed their songs in Bayers’ honor.
The late Ray Charles was the final honoree for the evening. His 1962 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music was groundbreaking in multiple ways, in addition to being both a historic release and commercial success,
Americana artists The War and Treaty performed Charles’ “You Don’t Know Me,” Garth Brooks followed with “Seven Spanish Angels” and Bettye LaVette closed out the salute with an impassioned “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”
(L-R) Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount of The War and Treaty perform onstage for the class of 2021 medallion ceremony at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on May 01, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
After a year lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cayamo cruise returned in mid-March, rewarding passengers and artists alike with nearly a week’s worth of floating music festival. The chartered cruise, produced by Norwegian Cruise Lines subsidiary Sixthman and held aboard the NCL Pearl, featured more than 40 bands and solo artists and around 2,000 passengers. Cayamo is a happy event in any case, but seemed even more exuberant this year after the unwanted hiatus. It was also an especially poignant year for the festival – the 14th since 2008’s maiden voyage – because of the loss of a number of prominent musicians in the past two years, most notably Cayamo veteran John Prine.
In retrospect, the week is something of a blur of stages, songs and singers. As always, seeing one great show meant missing another scheduled at the same time. Your correspondent was not able to attend every set. But certain moments stand out; here are some impressions from particularly memorable performances.
The Mavericks, Pool Deck, Friday: Cayamoans have been clamoring for The Mavericks for years, and this year they got their wish, with the high-energy band kicking off the March 18 departure from Miami (ports of call were St. Thomas and St. Kitts). The pool deck set was a showcase for frontman Raul Malo’s otherworldly vocals, backed by a very capable three-piece horn section, a tight rhythm section and other instrumentation including guitar and accordion.
Raul Malo (photo by Paul T. Mueller)
Grace Potter and Friends, Stardust Theater, Saturday: The songwriter-in-the-round format has become a Cayamo favorite over the years, and for good reason. It’s highly entertaining to get to see not only artists performing their own songs, but also the reactions of those artists to each other’s performances. Cayamo first-timer Grace Potter’s show featured Malo, the iconic Emmylou Harris, and Taylor Goldsmith, frontman of Los Angeles-based band Dawes. Goldsmith made a big impression with “The Game,” which he described as “my attempt to write a Guy Clark song,” and “House Parties,” an ode to the quiet joys of family vacations. Harris’ selections included a couple of songs from her landmark Red Dirt Girl album – “My Antonia” and “The Pearl (Hallelujah).”
Grace Potter (photo by Paul T. Mueller)
Madison Cunningham, Spinnaker Lounge, Saturday: Singer-songwriter and guitarist Madison Cunningham first played Cayamo in 2020, and this year’s festival was a showcase for her impressive artistic growth since then. Leading an accomplished small band, she played and sang with confidence and joy, with a sound that one observer later described on social media as “Joni Mitchell meets King Crimson.” As is common practice among Cayamo musicians, Cunningham also made several guest appearances during other artists’ sets.
Madison Cunningham (photo by Paul T. Mueller)
Quitters Coffee Acoustic Mornings, The Atrium, Sunday: The 9 a.m. show, curated by Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards, was an enjoyable start to the day for those fans and artists able to answer the early-morning call. Edwards, who famously left the music business several years ago to start a coffee shop named Quitters in an Ottawa suburb, recently quit that business, selling the shop in March. Her guests for the show, the second of the weekend, were Robbie Fulks, Steve Poltz, Aoife O’Donovan and John Paul White. Highlights included Fulks’ rendition of Cowboy Copas’ Sunday-appropriate “We’ll Walk Along Together” and O’Donovan’s lovely take on Joni Mitchell’s “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio.”
Kathleen Edwards (photo by Paul T. Mueller)
Six Questions with Maple Byrne, The Atrium, Sunday: Sixthman staffer Trae Vedder conducted a wide-ranging interview with Maple Byrne, longtime guitar tech to Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller and other Nashville notables. Topics included Byrne’s memories of a late ‘70s tour featuring Steve Martin and Steve Goodman, laundry tips for tour T-shirts (wash them inside out), Byrne’s top 10 Cayamo moments (he’s a longtime veteran of the festival), and his extensive collections of records and musical instruments. It was a fascinating peek behind the curtain with someone who’s played a crucial, if not always very visible, role in the success of Cayamo.
Aoife O’Donovan, Spinnaker Lounge, Sunday: Boston-based singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan brought along an excellent band, but for this show – a full performance of Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 acoustic album Nebraska – she was mostly on her own. Notwithstanding the incongruity between her lovely voice and guitar and Springsteen’s often dark tales, O’Donovan delivered a nuanced performance, adding her own twists to the songs while staying true to the album’s roots. She got assists from fiddler and former Crooked Still bandmate Brittany Haas on “Highway Patrolman” and brilliant young mandolinist and singer Sierra Hull on the closing “Reason to Believe.” Audience reactions, aside from pin-drop silence, included not a few tears and too many smiles to count.
Aoife Donovan (photo by Paul T. Mueller)
Tré Burt, Spinnaker Lounge, Monday: Sacramento, Calif.-based singer-songwriter Tré Burt started off with a nice rendition of John Prine’s “The Late John Garfield Blues” and proceeded through a set of mostly original material, accompanied at times by a young female singer named Levi. Burt’s voice, delivery and lyrics were, to some observers, reminiscent of the early Bob Dylan. A Dylanesque outrage at injustice was certainly evident in “Under the Devil’s Knee,” a pointed commentary on the killing of George Floyd in which Burt called not for sympathy but for action. Burt, who records for the Prine-founded Oh Boy Records label, closed with a sweet tribute to Prine titled “Dixie Red.”
Tré Burt (photo by Paul T. Mueller)
Paul Thorn’s Campfire Sessions, Stardust Theater, Wednesday: This songwriter round, on a stage decorated with fake foliage, a fake campfire and even a fake owl, featured Cayamo veterans Paul Thorn and Richard Thompson along with newcomer Jerron Paxton. Paxton, a California-based artist with Louisiana roots, features an old-timey sound that recalls blues recordings from the early decades of the 20th century. That sound is supported by his astounding command of a variety of instruments, ranging from guitar and banjo to piano and bones. Paxton also dropped one of the best onstage lines of the festival, stopping a song to admonish the audience about clapping along. “The last thing I need is a bunch of white people helping me with my rhythm,” he said with a big grin, earning laughter and applause. Thorn contributed his trademark mix of humor and poignancy, while Thompson applied his virtuosic acoustic guitar playing and expressive voice to “She Moved Through the Fair” and several other songs.
The Mavericks and Friends, Stardust Theater, Thursday: Raul Malo and his merry band opened their cruise-ending set with an impressive rendition of “Us and Them” from Pink Floyd’s landmark The Dark Side of the Moon album. The hit parade went on from there: “Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down” by “stowaway” Jim Lauderdale; a sultry take on “Friday’s Child” by Kristi Rose, accompanied by husband Fats Kaplin (“I think I need a cigarette,” Malo said at song’s end, “and I don’t even smoke.”); Kathleen Edwards performing the Linda Ronstadt hit “When Will I Be Loved?” with high energy and unbridled joy; “Moon River,” with Malo crooning to the accompaniment of Australian guitar whiz Tommy Emmanuel; JD McPherson’s energetic take on Little Richard’s “Lucille,” and Nicole Atkins’ brilliant rendition of The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” complete with professional-grade dance moves and backup vocals (and dancing) by vocal trio Rainbow Girls. The Mavericks and all their guests closed out the set with an extended workout on one of the band’s big hits, “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down.”
Of course there was much, much more: An all-star tribute to musicians no longer with us; an “All the Best” show featuring friends of John Prine; another Prine tribute dubbed “Souvenirs: Songs of John Prine”; a nautical-themed sailaway show by Punch Brothers, featuring frequent shouts of “Ahoy!” by frontman and ace mandolinist Chris Thile; a Stowaway Reveal Show with “stowaways” Jim Lauderdale and Steve Poltz, featuring an album’s worth of songs written especially for Cayamo; the popular Sunday morning pool deck show, this year called Sunday Soul Session; Brady Blade’s Drum and Music Extravaganza, featuring the seemingly omnipresent drummer; an onstage conversation between Emmylou Harris and Fiona Prine, John’s widow; Cayamo debuts that included Austin blues legend Ruthie Foster, UK folk-rock duo Ida Mae, and others, and too many other shows and events to mention.
Next year’s Cayamo is scheduled for Feb. 10-17, 2023, sailing from Miami with stops at Tortola and St. Maarten.
Dean Dillon, Marty Stuart, Hank Williams Jr. (All photos by Jason Kempin and Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
Tonight’s COVID-delayed Country Music Hall of Fame induction honored three free spirits – Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart and songwriter Dean Dillon – in a ceremony marked both by celebration of their special talents and gratitude that the country music community could finally convene to recognize the class of 2020.
Each of the honorees followed a unique path to success. Hank Williams Jr. began recording at age 14 covering his father’s hits, but didn’t have real success until he found his own raucous style. Stuart began with an apprenticeship with bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, found country commercial success in the late 1980s, and settled into a critically-applauded, creatively satisfying career this century. Dillon had a difficult and dispiriting childhood, but was drawn to songwriting at age 12. He came to Nashville with dreams of being a star, but found his future writing songs for others. That included 40 years of writing for George Strait, beginning with Strait’s first hit “Unwound.”
The highlights of a special evening, which included a surprising number of established and emerging Americana artists:
Marty Stuart: Emmylou Harris and Charlie Worsham teamed for a version of Stuart’s first big hit “Tempted,” followed by Ashley McBryde’s take on “Conversations of a Crow,” from his album The Pilgrim. Stuart’s wife and Hall of Fame member Connie Smith inducted her husband, citing his skill at connecting with people and noting “He loves music with all of his heart.”
Dean Dillon: George Strait praised Dillon’s contributions to his career before performing “The Chair.” Kenny Chesney performed “A Lot of Things Different,” a song written by Dillon with Bill Anderson, and a hit for Chesney. He recalled that Bruce Springsteen once asked him if he had written the song. Chesney said he gave credit where due.
Britney Spencer, an alum of Middle Tennessee State University, performed a riveting version of Dillon’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” a song memorably covered by Chris Stapleton. She began her performance acknowledging to the audience “you don’t know me,” but closed to a standing ovation.
Hank Williams Jr. kneels so that felllow Hall of Famer Brenda Lee can bestow his medallion.
Hank Williams Jr. : Prior to performing Williams’ “The Blues Man,” Alan Jackson observed that Williams’ induction was “long overdue.” That may be the case. While Marty Stuart has tremendous goodwill with the country music world, that’s not the case with Williams. Some dismiss his “rough and rowdy” songs and Williams has been known to court controversy, including comparing President Obama to Hitler in 2011.
Still, there’s no denying his success, particularly in escaping his father’s legacy by establishing one of his own.
That really came home in Brenda Lee’s full-throated endorsement of Williams as a “good man” as she inducted him into the Hall of Fame. She said he was one of those rare people in the music business you could call for help when you had a flat tire in Alabama. “He might not come, but he’ll send his plane,” she joked.
Shooter Jennings – another artist with a famous father – performed “Feelin’ Better,” followed by Eric Church’s tailored take on “A Country Boy Will Survive.”
Williams had the predictably unpredictable last words as he accepted his induction.
“All my rowdy friend are coming over tonight. I was born to boogie,” he said, holding his award aloft, “And this is a family tradition”
John McEuen, a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, revisited songs spanning decades in a nostalgia-rich show at the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, TN tonight.
It was an informal and entertaining evening that began with a singalong to “The Ballad Of Jed Clampett” and featured McEuen’ and his band’s rendition of big Dirt Band hits, including “Dance Little Jean,” “Mr. Bojangles” and a traditional take on “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”
The band included Les Thompson, another Dirt Band founder, who left the group in the early ’70s to become a goldsmith. He looked right at home. Here’s Thompson talking about the origins of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
McEuen has a new album called The Nashville Sessions. Here he briefly talks about the new release, as well as the Dirt Band’s biggest record.
Steve Cropper sits on stage watching the performances in his honor at the Ryman
There was a nice event honoring guitar legend Steve Cropper on his 80th birthday last week. He sat at stage right for the entire first half of the show and then took the stage to play with folks like Felix Cavaliere, 84-year-old Eddie Floyd and Billy Gibbons. “Knock on Wood,” “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” “Green Onions” and many more. The Ryman was slow in implementing vaccine requirements, and the audience was largely made up of tourists, but they now have some wonderful stories to take home.
WMOT Roots Radio celebrates its 5th anniversary tonight with a fundraiser at the City Winery featuring Rodney Crowell, Carlene Carter and Shannon McNally. That’s quite the line-up, fitting for a still-young station that has emerged as one of America’s most influential Americana stations. Tickets are still available for tonight’s Nashville show. If you don’t live in Nashville, the show will be livestreamed.
If you had any lingering doubts about how performers and audiences are feeling about the recent resumption of live performances, Rodney Crowell’s July 29 show at Houston’s Heights Theater would have put those doubts firmly to rest. Crowell and his excellent four-piece band, clearly thrilled to be back on the road, put on an energetic performance spanning the Houston native’s long career, up to and including his new release, Triage. The near-capacity audience responded in kind.
The show was only the third of the current tour, but you’d never have known it from the band’s tight playing. Multi-instrumentalist Eamon McLoughlin and keyboardist Catherine Marx earned frequent and enthusiastic mid-song applause for their impressive solos, while bassist Zachariah Hickman and percussionist Glen Caruba provided solid rhythm support. Band members also contributed vocals in support of Crowell’s fine voice and powerful delivery.
Crowell started off with the title track of 1995’s Jewel of the South and continued with the anthemic “Earthbound” from 2003. He dedicated “Still Learning How to Fly” to an audience member turning 70. Marx and McLoughlin, on fiddle, showed off their impressive skills on the jazzy “The Weight of the World,” from Crowell’s 2015 collaboration with Emmylou Harris, The Traveling Kind.
Other highlights of the 25-song set included older hits such as “I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried,” “Shame on the Moon,” “I Walk the Line (Revisited)” (with Hickman handling the Johnny Cash vocals), and the more recent “It Ain’t Over Yet,” which Crowell wrote for his old friend Guy Clark. A mid-set segment of Triage songs included the title track, “Something Has to Change” and “This Body Isn’t All There Is to Who I Am.” “Telephone Road” and “East Houston Blues,” with their local references, got big reactions, as did Crowell’s stories about growing up in the Houston area and about the genesis of some of his songs.
The main set ended with a trio of hits from Crowell’s more mainstream days in Nashville – “I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” and “ ’Til I Gain Control Again.” After a standing ovation and a short break, the band returned with “Frankie Please,” which Crowell dedicated to the late Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, and a quiet but powerful solo rendition of his “cautionary tale” of crime and irony, “Highway 17.”
By Paul T. Mueller – “Spring break” took on some added meaning early this year, when the pandemic shut down normal life and most people had to adjust to a strange new reality. For Nashville-based singer-songwriter Will Kimbrough, Spring Break turned out to be a good title for an album recorded during a forced hiatus from touring and other activities. It’s a solo acoustic album of mostly new material, with a few older songs thrown in, and a fine showcase for Kimbrough’s many musical strengths.
Some of Kimbrough’s songs deal directly with the pandemic and its consequences. “The Late Great John Prine Blues” is a gentle, sad tribute to one of COVID-19’s better-known victims. “Handsome Johnny’s coming home/with the late, great John Prine blues,” Kimbrough sings. “All Fall Down” takes a wider view of the situation, realistic but is also hopeful. “Maybe we should listen to some good advice/Maybe it’d do some good,” Kimbrough sings, later concluding, “We rise and we fall together/We fly like birds of a feather/We shine through good or bad weather.”
Several songs deal with travel, and the frustration of being unable to do so. “I Want Out” is the first-person story of a waitress trapped by circumstances, while the narrator of “Trains” dreams of hopping a freight and getting away. Harmonica breaks give the song a Springsteen-like vibe. “Philadelphia Mississippi” tells the story of a woman who left her small town for brighter lights, only to return. “She never felt at home, until she ran away,” Kimbrough sings, accompanying himself with a lovely slide guitar.
Kimbrough acknowledges the need to accept reality and get to work in the folky “Plow to the End of the Row.” In the same vein, “Work to Do” is an anthem to confidence and determination: “I ain’t wasting my time here/I got work to do.”
Not so directly connected to current events are the confessional “My Sin Is Pride,” a bluegrassy take on “Rocket Fuel” (a co-write with Todd Snider, whose band Kimbrough once led), and “Cape Henry,” an account of a Revolutionary War naval battle also written with Snider. Humor finds a place in “My Right Wing Friend,” in which a long friendship transcends political differences; “Home Remedy” explores romantic love, and “Child of Light” is a hymn to parenthood. Kimbrough closes with “Digging a Ditch with a Spoon,” a country blues tune about doing the best you can with what you’ve got.
It’s hard to overstate Kimbrough’s skill and style as a player. Seemingly anything with strings is fair game, and he does justice to a wide range of wood and wire, including several guitar, dobro, mandolin and banjo. Kimbrough is also an accomplished producer, and he does a good job with his own material here, leaving things simple and letting the playing and singing shine through.
Austin’s Continental Club helped sustain James McMurtry over the years. For two decades McMurtry played regular Wednesday night gigs at the Austin club when he wasn’t touring elsewhere. Now the Texas-based singer-songwriter is returning the favor. The Continental, a longtime fixture on Austin’s live-music scene, is closed due to coronavirus restrictions – as are its Houston offshoot and many other live-music venues. McMurtry is responding by donating all proceeds from sales of a recently released digital EP to the club.
Blasted from the Past, recorded live at the club in 2006, features McMurtry and his longtime bandmates Ronnie Johnson on bass, Tim Holt on guitar and Daren Hess on drums. The five-song collection spans a decade’s worth of McMurtry albums – “Rachel’s Song” from Where’d You Hide the Body (1995); “Saint Mary of the Woods” and “Out Here in the Middle” from 2002’s Saint Mary of the Woods, and “See the Elephant” from 2005’s Childish Things. The closing track is “Laredo,” an ominous rocker written by one of McMurtry’s Austin contemporaries, Jon Dee Graham.
Blasted, which McMurtry calls “whiskey-soaked cowpunk from a bygone era,” is an interesting time capsule from an earlier phase of his career. It chronicles a tight band of seasoned road warriors, playing and singing with the kind of intensity that’s sometimes needed to hold the attention of a rowdy bar crowd. McMurtry’s guitar playing (all electric) is ferocious, and his voice has a roughness and an urgency shaped by years of near-constant gigging (and probably some whiskey along the way).
McMurtry these days is performing solo, streaming his shows live from his home in Lockhart, not far from Austin. Drawing from his extensive catalogue, he comes across as relaxed and relatively folksy. His incisive lyrics and brilliant guitar playing (on an impressive collection of six- and 12-string acoustics) are on full display, but McMurtry projects the ease of a man playing for friends in his living room. It’s a more than excellent experience, but it doesn’t include the rock ‘n’ roll power of his full-band shows. Fans of that side of McMurtry will find plenty to love in Blasted from the Past.
The EP is available via download, in a variety of digital formats. via McMurtry’s website or that of the Continental Club.
By Paul T. Mueller – Gurf Morlix made good use of the early months of the COVID crisis, producing an album titled Kiss of the Diamondback. As might be expected in a time of isolation, most of the nine songs are written from a first-person perspective, dealing with themes including love, insecurity, life’s struggles, and the search for meaning. All are filtered through the Austin singer-songwriter’s distinctive sensibilities; the overall tone is somewhat moody and dark, but with flashes of lightness and humor. And no one dies, as sometimes happens in Morlix’s stories.
A couple of songs focus on beginnings. “She said, ‘I only sleep with geniuses,’ ” / I took a half step back,” Morlix sings in “Geniuses.” (After that promising start, we never quite learn how things work out.) “We Just Talked,” not as dramatic, is an account of a quiet conversation that might escalate. “Magnetism, hard to miss / I could have leaned in any moment for a kiss,” the narrator says. “Somehow that all seemed too obvious / and we just talked.”
Existing relationships also get their due. “If You Were Perfect” is a kind of gently backhanded love song in which Morlix croons, “If you were perfect, you wouldn’t have the same allure,” his delivery accented by sweet strings. In “Reason to Live,” he declares, “I’ll go anywhere with you / Do anything you ask me to.”
A few songs take a wider view. The ominous “Water Is Risin’ ” is an impending-disaster narrative that could be a metaphor for this year’s ongoing flood of bad news. “Lookin’ for hope, but I can’t find it,” Morlix sings. “Fear in front, the unknown behind it / The rain ain’t stopped, we can’t take much more.” The uncertainty of the times is reflected in “Hard As a Hammer, Sweet As a Kiss”: “Hard as a hammer, sweet as a kiss / How did life ever come to this?”
Morlix closes with “Is There Anyone Out There?,” a dirge-like tune that seems to question the very idea of connection. “Is there anyone out there?” he intones plaintively, accompanied by slow drumbeats and the drone of a cello. “Anybody going my way? Ain’t nobody going my way.”
The album is almost a one-person project – Morlix wrote eight songs, co-wrote the other, sang all the vocals and played almost all the instruments – most notably a lot of creative guitar. He also produced, engineered, mixed and mastered the album at his studio. Other contributors include Rick Richards on drums and Gene Elders, credited with arranging and performing the string section.
In this January 2018 interview, the late Justin Townes Earle talked about his unique approach to songwriting and the release of what would prove to be his final album. – Ken Paulson
Reed Waddle has a vibrant new album, exemplified by album opener “Too Bright to Fade Away.” You’ll find engaging songs throughout. The album tracks are available now for streaming on YouTube.
We first heard John Sieger’s songs when he headed up Semi-Twang in the late ’80s. It’s gratifying to hear that he’s still creating compelling music. From his arresting new album Modern Folk Vol. II, here’s “The Pleasure of Your Company:”
By Paul T. Mueller “I’m getting used to living alone,” Eliot Bronson sings on the title track of his new album, Empty Spaces. “I’m getting used to nobody there when I come home… I’m getting used to the empty spaces that you used to fill.”
And that’s one of the happier songs on this 10-song collection.
Empty Spaces is one fine breakup album – written, as Bronson says, as therapy in the wake of painful breakup and a move to a new city. It’s got everything one would expect – sadness, confusion, bitterness, resignation – and, of course, emptiness. One could easily imagine most of these songs on breakup mixtapes, if that’s still a thing. The album is also a pretty good metaphor for the times we’re living in, as we navigate the transition between the world we used to know and the new, harsher reality we find ourselves in.
Several albums into a solo career, Bronson is only getting better as a writer. Around every corner here is another skillful turn of phrase to capture experience and emotion. “Don’t give me words, words can confuse,” pleads the weary narrator of “Let Me Go.” “Words can conceal the weapons we choose.” Confusion and frustration fuel “Good for You”: “If it’s so good for you, why aren’t you kinder? If it’s so good for you, why don’t you step lighter?” And in “Montana,” a sweetly sung bit of misplaced hostility, Bronson vents his rage on a proxy instead of his real target: “Your mountains in the night/Look like the edges of a knife that cut me… You took her away from me, and how could I ever compete with what you’ve got?” In “Gone,” the album’s bleak closer, he sings, “I listen to the rain play on the leaves/Like seconds ticking away, tiny thieves,” accompanied by twangy guitars and a lonely-sounding harmonica.
Empty Spaces encompasses a range of musical genres. “Visitor” is introspective singer-songwriter pop, while “Good for You” has a glossier feel. There’s a little country in “Good for You” and “She Loves the Mountains,” and “With Somebody” is packed with ’80s-style guitars and drums. The title track is a lovely, timeless pop song, full of sweet melody and catchy hooks, layered vocals and understated playing.
The album is also a showcase for Bronson’s talent for composition and arrangement. He shares credit for the project’s atmospheric production with bandmate Will Robertson, who also plays guitars, keyboards and bass. Other contributors included Bret Hartley (guitars), Colin Agnew (percussion), Marla Feeney (violin), Andrew Colella (viola), and Prisca Strothers (harmony vocals).
Bronson has been doing weekly livestreamed shows for the past few months, and for the most part they’ve been lively and upbeat – not surprising from a guy who last year came up with a funny novelty song based on that viral tweet about “30-50 feral hogs.” That he’s written and released an album’s worth of downbeat songs speaks to his skill as a writer, as well as his willingness to bare the darker side of his soul. It’s been said that artists turn pain into art, and Eliot Bronson has certainly done that with Empty Spaces.
