By Ken Paulson
— Coming June 6 is The Beautiful Old, a project by Paul Marsteller and Gabriel Rhodes that revisits music that was popular at the close of the 19th Century.
It’s a revelation. At a time when pop songs can go viral and fade just as quickly, it’s remarkable how sturdy these songs are.
Gurf Morlix Finds the Present Tense is “the feel-good album of the year.” That’s how the Austin-based singer-songwriter described his latest CD during a recent in-store performance in Houston. He was kidding, of course.
The Americana Music Association is staging a concert June 1 in Franklin, Tennessee, hosted by Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas. Joining them at Liberty Hall at the Factory will be Amos Lee, Sarah Jarosz, Shawn Colvin, Angel Snow and Teddy Thompson.
The Blue Sky Riders – Kenny Loggins, Georgia Middleman and Gary Burr – are in the middle of a West Coast tour.
The opening track “Everywhere” absolutely channels the early ‘70s Byrds and sets the stage for an entertaining collection of songs that tap an earlier era of country and rock.
Loss and yearning run throughout Hey Marseilles’ “Lines We Trace,” and Matt Bishop’s vocals underscore the melancholy. Yet the album is not somber or sad. There’s a compelling flow to it, rewarding repeated listening.
By Ken Paulson –The reissue of Living By the Days, Don Nix’s second album, is something of a revelation. It barely charted in 1971 and the single “Olena” just cracked the Hot 100. But 42 years later, the album sounds fresh and soulful. Nix was signed to Leon Russell’s Shelter Records and they had similar musical sensibilities. Nix is backed…
Americana Music News — We saw the diversity of Tin Pan South tonight at two 6 p.m. shows in distinctly different venues. J.D. Souther hosted an evening at Douglas Corner, where the room was dark and the audience was hushed and almost reverential. The club was packed and the sign outside said the room was at capacity (which happened with…
Americana Music News –– We’re seeing good crowds throughout the Tin Pan South Festival in Nashville. Tonight, we dropped by Tapas for the 6 p.m. show featuring Steve Bogard, Sherrie Austin, Rob Hatch and David Fanning, and it was wall to wall, with people being turned away at the door. There’s another strong line-up Thursday. Among the highlights: The CMA…
By Ken Paulson — The Texas songwriter sessions are always a highlight of the Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival in Nashville and tonight was no exception. Radney Foster, Wade Bowen, Jon Randall and Bruce Robison showcased their best work and biggest hits at 3rd and Lindsley. Songwriters aren’t always adept vocalists, but all four were first-rate and often disarming…
Americana Music News — The Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival kicks off tonight with a full and varied schedule, combining songwriting prowess with a little star power. Among the highlights: It would be easy to just spend the evening at 3rd and Lindsley, with strong shows at both 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. First up is “From Texas to Tennessee,”…
By Ken Paulson —I met Kenny O’Dell at a press conference announcing the new Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year, and mentioned how much I had enjoyed his Beautiful People album, released in 1967. O’Dell, who is a member of the Hall of Fame, was gracious and seemed surprised that anyone remembered the pop album he recorded before…
Americana Music News — Tin Pan South, an amazing annual celebration of songwriting, returns to Nashville this week. The concept is simple: Songwriters perform their best and best-known compositions , typically in the round. The festival features both recording artists and those who perform only occasionally, and the mixture makes for great entertainment. You’ll find a full schedule here. You’ll find past Sun209 coverage of the festival…
By Paul T. Mueller –There’s no denying that Guy Clark’s March 23 concert at the historic Crighton Theatre in Conroe, Texas, had the air of a memorial service about it. The legendary singer-songwriter, a Texas native who’s lived in Nashville for many years, has been in ill health for several years; it seems likely that his ailments and possibly age…
By Paul T. Mueller –You could almost understand it if a band that scored its greatest hit almost 45 years ago – AFTER breaking up – decided to reform for a phone-it-in-and-cash-the-checks reunion tour. That’s been known to happen. No such worries with The Zombies, though. More than 50 years after the band started out in England, these guys are…
By Ken Paulson —Down Side Up from Old Man Markley is a riveting, high velocity bluegrass album, with surprisingly potent political content. There’s been some marketing effort to label this as a cross between bluegrass and punk, but that’s trying too hard. The only Clash-like elements are the highly topical lyrics. “The corporate propaganda paralyzes us with fear, destroying our…
By Ken Paulson — Unsung Hero: A Tribute to the Music of Ron Davies is a remarkable collection of songs, all written by Davies, and performed by an amazing line-up of artists. I’m not sure I’ve seen a tribute album this deep in talent and most of it is straight out of Nashville. Dolly Parton, John Prine, Alison Krauss and…
RT @TNMusicNews: .@oprystar and first #CMA male vocalist of the year Jack Greene has died at age 83: tnne.ws/ZFfNAU #nashville19 hours ago RT @DougCox1: Comox Valley Record – Kristofferson coming to Music Festcomoxvalleyrecord.com/entertainment/… via @BlackPressMedia 19 hours ago RT @SteveEarle: US and Europe tour dates are up: April 27th W/The Dukes: Rutland, VT bit.ly/ZcXN2zMay 2nd W/The… http://t. … 5 days ago RT @wmarocks: The Zombies “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” LIVE at…
by Paul T. Mueller –This live set from Texan Nick Verzosa and his bandmates is pretty standard bar-band stuff. Drinkin’, dancin’, lookin’ for love, gettin’ over lost love and so on – you’ve heard it before. But some things here give cause to hope for bigger and better things. Verzosa’s writing is a notch better than the usual for this…
Americana Music News — For a fourth week, Cheater’s Game by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison and Carrie Rodriguez’s Give Me All You Got are in the top two slots on the Americana Music Association airplay chart swapping their positions from last week. The Mavericks’ Suited Up and Ready/In Time remains in third place. New to the chart this week: Low Highway…