Ryan Adams’s Ashes & Fire won’t budge from the top of the Americana Music Radio Chart, holding on to #1 for yet another week, followed by Robert Earl Keen’s Ready for Confetti and The Jayhawks’ Mocking Bird Time. The big changes are all at the bottom of the chart, with The Goat Rodeo Sessions featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar…
Review: John Prine’s ‘The Singing Mailman Delivers’
Musical prequels rarely work. Older material – released after an artist has become a big name –almost always disappoints. After all, there’s usually a reason why the hits came later. Some albums – like the Beatles’ Hamburg tapes and Decca Sessions – have historical value. Most just stink. That’s why John Prine’s The Singing Mailman Delivers is such a pleasant…
Savannah Music Festival announces 2012 line-up
The Savannah Music Festival has been set set March 22-April 7, and will feature more than 100 performances spanning Americana music, jazz, world and classical music, according to Savannahnow.com. Among the notable Americana acts attending: -The Preservation Hall Jazz Band with the Del McCoury Band – Daniel Lanois, Buddy Miller, Brian Blade and The Zion Baptist Mass Choir – Bela…
ACL’s Terry Lickona recaps best of Americana Music Festival
The Americana Music Festival edition of Austin City Limits is being seen across the country on PBS stations this week, and Brian Atkinson interviewed ACL producer Terry Lickona for the Austin American-Statesman about how the show came about. You’ll find the full interview at the American-Statesman site, but here’s what he had to say about the highlights of the evening:…
Will Kimbrough’s “Lick of the Day” debuts
Will Kimbrough, solo artist and member of DADDY, records a cool “Lick of the Day” one day each week and has given Sun209.com the green light to share them on our site. And if you haven’t heard it yet, check out Will’s outstanding Wings album, available here.
Lisa Oliver-Gray’s solo debut: Dedicated to Love
Tommy Womack wrote an enthusiastic ode to Lisa Oliver-Gray and her first solo album Dedicated to Love on Sun209.com earlier this month. He didn’t oversell it. You can tell this was a liberating project for all involved. Lisa steps up front with a fresh and powerful voice and her DADDY bandmates and co-writers deliver songs that are largely buoyant and…
Americana Music Festival now online
Austin City Limits is now streaming the 2011 Americana Music Festival Honors and Awards show on its website. The show has been edited down to 56 minutes, so it’s more variety show than awards show, but the music is consistently compelling.
New to Americana chart: Deep Dark Woods, Carolyn Wonderland
Ryan Adams’ Ashes & Fire holds on to first place on the Americana Music Chart for a second week, with Robert Earl Keen remaining in second with Ready for Confetti. New to the chart this week: Deep Dark Woods’ The Place I Left Behind (Sugar Hill) at #36 and Carolyn Wonderland’s Peace Meal (Bismeaux Productions) breaking in at #37. The…
Americana Music Festival set for Sept. 12-15, 2012
For those with very busy lives, the Americana Music Association has announced the dates for the 2012 Americana Music Festival 10 months in advance. The Americana Music Conference and Festival is set for September 12-15, 2012 in Nashville. The 2011 event was possibly the best yet, with a terrific awards show (televised on WNPT and Austin City Limits) and an…
Concert review: Joe Ely at the Mint in Los Angeles
By Terry Roland -It’s been a long four-year stretch without a solo Joe Ely show in Los Angeles. Our drought ended November 17th as he and supporting instrumentalist, Jeff Plankenhorn, made a rare appearance at L.A.’s famous club, The Mint. The capacity crowd was treated to a 90 minutes-plus show, which included a rich set of songs, old and new.…
Suzy Bogguss in concert at Country Music Hall of Fame
In 1994, Suzy Bogguss teamed up with legendary guitarist and producer Chet Atkins for the delightful Simpatico album. Bogguss will revisit that album and era in a concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 10. The program is tied to the hall’s exhibit, “Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player.” The Hall of Fame…
Tommy Womack: My three favorite Kinks songs
By Tommy Womack Bill Lloyd and I (with the trusty rhythm section from my band The Rush to Judgment – Dan Seymour and Justin Amaral) will grace you (if you deign to come) with a night of the Kinks at the Family Wash (Corner of Greenwood & Porter in East Nashvillw) on December 2nd. In honor of that noble undertaking,…
Review: Kentucky Headhunters’ “Dixie Lullabies”
By Ken Paulson – A sense of humor has always set the Kentucky Headhunters apart from other Southern rock bands. While others swaggered, the Headhunters did what they pleased, including covers of “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” and “Spirit in the Sky.” The Kentucky Headhunters are back with Dixie Lullabies (Red Dirt Music), a new album that’s as loose, derivative…
Video: Civil Wars at the Americana Music Festival
The 2011 Americana Music Festival awards show will be aired on Austin City Limits beginning Nov. 19. Here’s one of the evening’s highlights, a riveting performance of “Barton Hollow” by the Civil Wars. F The Civil Wars “Barton Hollow” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.
Chris Isaak, Dale Watson celebrate Sun Records
Given this site’s obvious affection for Sun Records, it’s heartening – and a little astounding – to see two albums on the Americana Music Chart pay tribute to the label. Dale Watson and the Texas Two are at #25 with “The Sun Sessions” and Chris Isaak breaks in at #31 this week with the two-CD “Beyond the Sun.” The music…
Recommended: Folkworks’ Josh White Jr. interview
Terry Roland, a fine writer for Sun209.com, recently did a thought-provoking interview for Folkworks with Josh White Jr., son of the legendary and blacklisted folksinger . It appears that courage and compassion are in the Whites’ DNA. You’ll want to read the entire interview, but we wanted to share Josh’s thoughts on how music can bring people together: “I admire…
Review: This One’s For Him, A Tribute to Guy Clark
by Terry Roland – Released on November 8, two days after veteran Texas songwriter Guy Clark’s 70th birthday, This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark, succeeds beyond expectations as a tribute to a much- loved songwriter and a well-produced album of finely crafted country-folk music. It may be the mark of a great songwriter that a diverse group…
Wayne Carson to appear at Country Music Hall of Fame
The career of songwriter Wayne Carson will be the focus of the Dec. 3 edition of “Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters” at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. Carson co-wrote the classic “Always on My Mind” and “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles),” among other country hits. But we’ll confess to a particular admiration for the songs…
Great Lost Bands: Heads, Hands and Feet
By Bill Lloyd – During the late ’60s and early ’70s, the idea of a rock group being musically stronger than individual parts still felt like a happening trend. Not every lead singer or star guitarist had gone solo… yet. Even the dissolving Beatles made great music in between arguments. Some groups, however, never hit their commercial stride before the…
Tom Waits, Nikki Lane enter Americana chart
Ok, we’re all disappointed that in this week’s Americana Music Chart Will Hoge’s “Number Seven” jumped right past number seven to land in the sixth slot. There goes a perfectly good lead. Vaulting into the chart at #12 this week is Tom Waits’ “Bad As Me.” Other new entries include Nikki Lane (very impressive at the Thirty Tigers event at…