By Paul T. Mueller—If you were looking for the perfect artist to anchor a concert series called “Songs of Lovin’ and Redemption,” you could hardly do better than Billy Joe Shaver. Legendary songwriter, road-dog performer, one-time connoisseur of chemical excess, committer of serial matrimony, notorious hell-raiser, born-again Christian – you’d have to figure the guy knows everything there is to…
Review: Beth Nielsen Chapman’s “The Mighty Sky”
By Ken Paulson — It’s the rare children’s album that delights adults as much as kids , but that’s certainly the case with The Mighty Sky, a new album from Beth Nielsen Chapman. The album offers lessons in astronomy through a wide array of pop songs written by Chapman, Annie Roboff and Rocky Alvey, giving parents the chance to play…
Reissue: Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys
By Ken Paulson — Cat Mother and the All Night News Boys’ The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away (Real Gone Music) is a surprisingly fresh-sounding 1969 release with two claims to distinction: It was produced by Jimi Hendrix and spawned a Top 40 hit in “Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll,” a medley of “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Chantilly Lace,” Long…
Love and redemption with Ray Wylie Hubbard
By Paul T. Mueller — While a church is not necessarily the first place you’d expect to see Ray Wylie Hubbard performing, it does make sense in a way. The Oklahoma-bred singer-songwriter has been called the Wylie Lama, after all, and there’s a certain mystical/spiritual thread that runs through many of his songs. So it’s fitting that he was chosen…
Mike Nesmith on 17-city tour
Americana Music News — Unexpected news release of the week: Mike Nesmith is heading out on tour. While best known as a member of the Monkees (and possibly the most reluctant), Nesmith write and recorded Americana music decades before there was a term for it. He wrote “Different Drum,” Linda Ronstadt’s first hit with the Stone Poneys, “Some of Shelley’s…
Sun209: The week in tweets
RT @nancybtenn: Nashville Symphony just Announced: B.B. King April 25th. Tickets on sale to public this Friday. #SchermerhornFridays htt … 25 mins ago RT @nashvillesymph: @brandicarlile with @nashvillesymph Tickets will go on sale 10 a.m. on Friday, March 1, 2013 ow.ly/i0pJ5 … 25 mins ago RT @Grimeys: The blues is #1! Lowdown & stanky w/ Bobby Rush live @Grimeys…
Charting: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell
Americana Music News — It’s three weeks in a row for Cheater’s Game by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison to top the Americana Music Association airplay chart, with Carrie Rodriguez’s Give Me All You Got in the second spot. New to the chart this week: Old Yellow Moon by Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Minute By Minute by the James Hunter Six and…
Annie Dressner’s “East Twenties” set for April 8
Americana Music News — Annie Dressner, a New York songwriter who has relocated to the UK, is following up her Strangers Who Knew Each Other’s Names with East Twenties, an EP set for April 8. We’ve heard an advance copy and like what we heard, but was particularly taken by the whimsical video accompanying her Pledge Music campaign. You’ll find…
The 2013 Bonnaroo line-up, with McCartney, Mumford & Sons
Bonnaroo has announced its 2013 line-up, headlined by Paul McCartney, Mumford & Sons and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
New to chart: Sons of Fathers, Josh Ritter, Otis Taylor
Americana Music News — For a second week, Cheater’s Game by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison remains in the top position in this week’s Americana Music Association airplay chart, followed by Carrie Rodriguez’s Give Me All You Got. New to the chart this week: Sons of Fathers’ Burning Days, Josh Ritter’s The Beast in his Tracks, Otis Taylor’s My World…
Review: “Cheater’s Game” by Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison
By Paul T. Mueller — Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison have been performing together for years, but aside from a Christmas collection a few years ago, the First Couple of Alt-Country didn’t get around to recording an album together until last year. The wait was worth it; Cheater’s Game is as fine an effort as you’d expect from two pros…
Review: Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen in Galveston
by Paul T. Mueller– It could have been, in Lyle Lovett’s words, “Mardi Gras energy” that made his Feb. 12 acoustic show with fellow Texas singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen so special. Or maybe it was the fact that the two – college buddies, one-time co-writers, occasional collaborators, world-class musicians – were playing a long, relaxed set in a beautiful venue…
Sun209: The week in tweets
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 @kenpaulson1: Sitting behind Brenda Lee at the fun. concert at @TheRyman tonight. Only in Nashville. @OurNameIsFun 11 hours ago Only in Nashville: Brenda Lee at the fun concert. 14 hours ago RT @RelixMag: Take a look at…
New to chart: Holly Williams, Jim James, Black Prairie
Americana 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…
Sun209: The week in tweets
Finale of today’s salute to Louisiana music during Grammys weekend… http://t.co/JPyzSSlI 23 mins ago In LA for the Grammys.. 9 hours ago Bruce Springsteen saluted at the Grammys j.mp/YMIFbZ 12 hours ago RT @BuddyandJim: We are celebrating the release of Richard Thompson’s new album titled ELECTRIC. Check out t his week’s episode… http … 4 days ago…
Celebrating Louisiana’s rich musical legacy
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…
Bruce Springsteen saluted at the Grammys
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…
New to chart: Aaron Neville, Kris Kristofferson, Steeldrivers
Americana 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…
Holly Williams to play the Belcourt Theatre Feb. 12
Americana Music News — One of the most pleasant surprises on the 2012 Cayamo cruise was Holly Williams. She proved to be a self-assured performer with impressive material. We saw her again at the 30A Songwriters Festival two weeks ago. Now fresh off an appearance on the Tonight Show, the granddaughter of Hank Williams (yes, that one), is performing at…
Review: Hayes Carll at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
By Paul T. Mueller — The audience at Hayes Carll’s early set at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston on Feb. 1 got a little more than it paid for. The singer-songwriter, who grew up near Houston, put on a fine musical performance, but the set also included a comedy show and a magic act. More on those later. Carll breezed…