By Ken Paulson – You know you’re in for a particularly spirited evening at the Country Music Hall of Fame when Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives tackle the Surfaris’ classic “Wipeout” and drummer Harry Stinson plays a solo on his face. That was just one example of a night full of surprising and highly entertaining performances on the second…
Review: Amy Speace’s “Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne”
By Paul T. Mueller – Amy Speace is a keen observer of humanity, and of all the good and bad humans are capable of. She’s also a gifted songwriter and performer, able to translate her observations into beautiful and moving songs. Speace’s latest collection is titled Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne, and it’s full of the excellent writing and singing…
Show 37 Jason Ringenberg Stands Tall
Jason Ringenberg is spending his September touring Europe with Dan Baird and the Kentucky Headhunters (now that’s a show), but we caught up with him recently at the 895 Fest. His latest album Stand Tall is outstanding and we have a special fondness for “God Bless the Ramones.” Jason’s still a punk after all these years. Here’s our conversation with…
Americana’s “first couples:” Buddy and Julie Miller, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis
By Paul T. Mueller “First Couple of Americana Music” may be a fictitious title, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some real contenders out there. Two such duos, Buddy and Julie Miller and Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, stake convincing claims on recently released albums – Breakdown on 20th Ave. South and Beautiful Lie, respectively. Of the two, the Millers’…
Concert review: Alejandro Escovedo at the Mucky Duck
By Paul T. Mueller – If this was really goodbye for Alejandro Escovedo, it was a nice way to go. The singer-songwriter seemed to be in the mood for introspection and retrospection as he took the stage at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston on Friday, July 19. He referred to his having recorded 15 albums (Wikipedia counts 16) and said…
Review: Rich Hopkins and Luminarios’ “Back to the Garden”
By Paul T. Mueller – Guitar fans could be forgiven for neglecting the lyrics on Back to the Garden, the new CD by Rich Hopkins and Luminarios. Such is the quality of the playing, both electric and acoustic. But the words are worth listening to as well. The two singer-songwriters at the heart of this band, Hopkins and his wife, Lisa…
Show #38 Mandy Barnett and her “Strange Conversation”
We recently enjoyed a not-so-strange chat with the engaging Mandy Barnett about her new album Strange Conversation. The setting was WMOT’s 895 Fest on the fields of the Hop Spring Beer Park, a distinctly different venue than her upcoming “Nashville Songbook” concert at Feinstein’s/54 Below on Broadway on August 13. But that’s no surprise. Mandy Barnett’s career has always been…
At last: Buddy and Julie Miller return with memorable show
Julie Miller makes a rare concert appearance in Nashville.
New Release: The High Divers’ “Ride With You”
The High Divers will be all over Nashville tomorrow, Friday, June 28. Promoting their new album Ride with You, the Charleston, SC, band will be featured on WMOT’s “Finally Friday” show at 3rd and Lindsley (listen with the Roots Radio app) and then will play a full show at the Basement in the evening.
Review: Matt Harlan’s “Best Beasts”
By Paul T. Mueller Best Beasts marks the return of Houston-based singer-songwriter Matt Harlan after a couple of years’ hiatus from writing. The subject matter of this fine collection seems drawn from recent events, on personal and public levels. Love gone wrong is explored in “K&W,” a dark country ballad narrated by two voices, Harlan’s and that of Kelley Mickwee…
New Steve Poltz video: “Ballin’ On a Wednesday”
Steve Poltz has a new video taken from his current album Shine On and it’s unsurprisingly goofy. Best of all, he recreates the incident that inspired the song, a tale he shared in his Americana One podcast interview.
New Release: Sugar Lime Blue’s “Narcoluptuous”
Out now is the intriguingly titled Narcoluptuous from Sugar Lime Blue. This rootsy band with a strong blues, jazz and folk/country foundation is based just outside of Nashville. You’ll find more about the band here.
New release: Mark Rogers ‘ “Laying It Down”
Mark Rogers’ affection for the Byrds and Jesse Winchester is prominent in “Laying it Down,” the new collection from the DC-based writer returning to music after a long layoff.
Americana One #35 Gary Nicholson bridges the divide
By Ken Paulson Gary Nicholson, one of Nashville’s most respected songwriters and artists, is overachieving these days. On June 7, he’ll release not one, but two new albums, and both are pretty special. Nicholson, like so many of us, is concerned about the state of our nation these days. His The Great Divide captures that in 11 compelling songs, opening…
Review: Houston Americana Women’s Fest
“Americana” is a pretty big tent, but a lot of the musical landscape that falls under that term was on display May 18 at the first Houston Americana Women’s Fest.
Americana weekend: WMOT’s first 895 Fest
WMOT, the fast-growing Americana radio station based at Middle Tennessee State University outside of Nashville, is gearing up for its first festival at Hop Springs Park on May 31 and June 1. It’s a remarkable line-up featuring legendary artists like Rodney Crowell and Delbert McClinton, as well as terrific newcomers like the War and Treaty and Liz Brasher. Overall, it’s…
Americana One #36 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.
New: Tim Easton’s “Exposition”
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…
Americana One #34: A conversation with Elizabeth Cook and Carlene Carter
Describing Elizabeth Cook and Carlene Carter as kindred spirits doesn’t begin to cover it. We were about 10 minutes into our conversation with Elizabeth when Carlene dropped by. What followed was a highly entertaining, engaging and candid conversation about both women’s lives and careers – and how the two first connected.
Review: Red Dirt Boys’ Cayamo Edition
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…