Tag: 30A Songwriters Festival

Show 48 The Reverend Shawn Amos’ new “Blue Sky”

Just out is the Reverend Shawn Amos’ new album “Blue Sky” with his band the Brotherhood. We had the pleasure of talking with Shawn about this new release a while back at the 30A Music Festival. He was excited – and we now know why.

Shawn is a dynamic artist and so is the album. Learn how Blue Sky came together and what he has in common with the Who on this edition of the Americana One Podcast.

Show 47 Paul Thorn on songwriting

We’ve had the chance to see Paul Thorn perform twice in the past few months, first at John Prine’s All the Best Festival in the Dominican Republic and then at the 30A Songwriters Festival in January. The latter seemed a particularly apt location to talk with Paul about his approach (and tips on) songwriting. Insights abound on this edition of the Americana One podcast.

Photo of Paul Thorn
Paul Thorn

Brian Wilson, John Prine headline 30A Songwriters Fest

By Ken Paulson

John Prine

“Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows.”

“Angel From Montgomery” and “Sam Stone.”

“American Pie” and “Vincent.”

If the measure of a songwriting festival is the caliber of the songs it showcases, the 11th annual 30A Songwriters Festival is in an enviable position. The festival, which begins this Friday in Fort Walton, Florida, is being headlined by Brian Wilson, John Prine and Don McLean.

One of the joys of the 30A Songwriters Festival is always the range of talent it presents. There are dozens of both emerging and veteran artists who share one common trait: They’re all deserving of more attention than they currently enjoy.

At the other range of the fame spectrum are the writers whose work has made them household names. Joining Wilson, Prine and McLean are Tanya Tucker, the Indigo Girls and even Peter Noone and the current generation of Herman’s Hermits. It’s all a smart mix of thoughtful songwriting and joyous entertainment. (See Peter Noone.)

You’ll find the full line-up here, and tickets are still available here.

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.

Steve Poltz at the 30A Songwriters Festival

Steve Poltz
Steve Poltz at the 30A Songwriters Festival

Steve Poltz has something that most of the artists at the 30A Songwriters Festival can only dream of – an honest to goodness hit song. But his “You Were Meant For Me,” co-written and recorded by Jewel in the mid-’90s, was actually a bit of an impediment as Poltz tried to develop his own solo career. In this interview excerpt with Americana Music News, Poltz explains how all of that changed when he moved to Nashville. His new album “Shine On,” produced by Will Kimbrough, is due March 1.

Stee Poltz talks about his breakthough hit

The full interview will be available soon on the Americana Music News Podcast (find it on iTunes) and broadcast on WMOT Roots Radio.

Livingston Taylor at 30A Songwriters Festival

Livingston Taylor
Livingston Taylor

The 30A Songwriters Festival is heading into its big weekend with shows featuring Jason Isbell, Rosanne Cash and dozens of other Americana, country and folk artists.

Yesterday’s shows didn’t disappoint, and it was a special treat to catch up with Livingston Taylor, who is celebrating 50 years as an artist. In his set last night at Bud and Alley’s, he showed how decades of experience translate into a wonderful mix of songs and deft engagement with the audience.

Livingston Taylor at the 30A Songwriters Festival

We had the chance to visit with him before the show, and he shared what he sees as his duty as an artist and entertainer.

The full interview will appear an an Americana Music News Podcast in coming weeks and broadcast on WMOT Roots Radio in greater Nashville. Our special thanks to Justin Eubanks and Fish Out of Water – a terrific restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach – for letting us turn their wine room into a recording studio.

Clare Dunn’s surprising path to success

Clare Dunn at the 30A Songwriters Festival

Clare Dunn is a country artist and songwriter with a bright future and we spent some time with her at the 30A Songwriters Festival. We took for granted that like so many young singer-songwriters her path began playing acoustic guitar in her bedroom and singing for high school friends, but she quickly set us straight:

Clare Dunn at the 30A Music Festival

Clare Dunn may have had a late start, but you wouldn’t know it from her performances. Here she tackles Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.”

Tenth Annual 30A Songwriters Festival remains deep in talent

By Ken Paulson

For us, the year’s music festivals kick off with the always diverse and engaging line-up at the 10th annual 30A Songwriters Festival in Walton County, Florida Jan. 18-21.  Some of the biggest names in Americana music headline the bill, complemented by dozens of 30A Songwriters Festivalartists you need to know.

The festival empahsizes the sheer volume of artists:  195 songwriters and more than 250 performances at 30 venues

Among the headliners: Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Rosanne Cash, Patty Griffin, Steve Earle, Shawn Mullins, Hayes Carll, Marc Broussard, Carlene Carter and the Secret Sisters.

Nashville is well represented with Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Gretchen Peters, Matraca Berg and Jeffrey Steele, plus Tommy Womack, Kim Richey, Webb Wilder, Will Kimbrough, Elizabeth Cook and others that I’ll kick myself for not mentioning.

As Americana and folk as the festival is, some of our favorite moments have come from rock artists. The twin-bill of the Bangles and Matthew Sweet a few years ago comes immediately to mind. Sweet is on the schedule again this year, as well as Rock Hall of Famer Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals.

Planning who you’ll see can be a challenge. Most of the shows are at clubs and restaurants, meaning often limited seating. It’s tough to club hop, but that will mean the opportunity to discover new talent at the club you do settle down in.

Tickets are still available in all sorts of configurations – day and weekend passes – at the festival site.

 

 

 

Oct. 27: The Week in Americana Music

This week in Americana

30a_logo_largeThe sixth annual 30A Songwriters Festival, scheduled for Jan. 16-18 in South Walton County, FL has announced its first round of artists, including Graham Nash, Indigo Girls, Leon Russell, Jason Isbell, Shawn Mullins, Sara Watkins, Chely Wright, Bobby Bare Jr., Steve Poltz, Angaleena Presley, Over the Rhine, Glen Phillips, Jeffrey Steele, Jesse Harris, Mary Gauthier, Hayes Carll, Bob Schneider, Ellis Paul, Allison Moorer, Deana Carter, Peter Karp and Sue Foley and David Ryan Harris.

In Nashville:

On Monday, Oct. 27, Sarah Jarosz and the Milk Carton Kids join forces in concert at 8 p.m. at  the CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Other shows this week:

Caroline Rose Oct. 28 at the High Watt

Drive By Truckers Oct. 30 at the Ryman Auditorium

Caitlyn Smith Oct. 30 at the Station Inn

The Devil Makes Three at the Marathon Music Works Oct. 31

Rounding out the week is a Nov. 1 appearance by Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee  Pat Alger at the Country Music Hall of Fame at 11:30 a.m.

New this week:

First Waltz – Hard Working Americans

Rock and Roll Time – Jerry Lee Lewis

The Complete Epic Recordings – Stevie Ray Vaughan

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30A Songwriting Festival: Rodney Crowell, Steve Forbert and the Bangles

By Ken Paulson

Seaside, Florida – The third annual 30A Songwriters Festival, closed out its three-day run today, wrapping up an ambitious and entertaining celebration of songs.

Very similar in scope and approach to Nashville’s’ Tin Pan South Festival, run by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, 30A showcases a wide range of artists and genres in both open-air and intimate indoor venues. There are still some growing pains – parking can be tight and some audiences don’t get the whole “listening” thing – but the festival is clearly moving in the right direction.

Among the highlights:

–  Rodney Crowell at the Gulf Place Amphitheater: Crowell is savvy enough to complement his most challenging and topical songs with his country hits, including “Crazy for Leaving” and “Stars on the Water.” His cover of “Like a Rolling Stone” was great fun.

 

–   An impressive solo acoustic set by Vicki Peterson of the Bangles. Her “Mixed Messages” was recorded by both the Bangles and Continental Drifters, and it was a pleasure to hear it as it began. Susan Cowsill followed with a very brief and off-kilter performance, but somehow it was charming. The show featured cameos and heckling by assorted Bangles and Cowsills. Truly memorable.

 

–   Steve Forbert at Fish Out of Water: His introduction – something about a Grammy-nominated songwriter from Mississippi – badly undersold one of the most literate, consistent and prolific singer-songwriters over nearly four decades. The audience enjoyed his energetic and entertaining set, and then roared as they recognized “Romeo’s Tune.” So that’s who that was.

 

–  The Bangles: We reported earlier on their great set; it was one of the most memorable of the weekend. Rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t get much more joyous.

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30A Songwriters Festival update

We’re  at the 3rd annual 30A Songwriters Festival in Santa Rosa, Florida, with Matthew Sweet and the Bangles headlining. The weather is as good as it gets in Florida in January and turnout so far has been impressive enough that some veteran attendees of the festival are saying it’s too crowded.  Clearly these people have never been to Bonnaroo.

We’ll post reviews of the Bangles and Matthew Sweet shows later, but we’re headed out for a full slate of acoustic performances tonight. This is our first year here and the festival’s map left us with a sense that we’d be travelling all over the county to visit the mulitple venues, but the festival is actually fairly compact, with most of the Saturday shows clustered near the Watercolor Resort on A30.

 

Matthew Sweet at 30A Songwriters Festival

Matthew Sweet opened the afternoon show at the 30A Songwriters Festival with a set that drew heavily from his breakthrough 1991 album Girlfriend. Sweet joked that the girlfriend was now 21 and old enough to drink.

It was a tough setting for Sweet. Most of the crowd had come to see the Bangles, and though there’s some stylistic common ground, he wasn’t big on pop radio.  Although Girlfriend is widely considered a classic, this was new material to much of the crowd and the response was somewhat subdued.

Sweet said he had been playing the album in its entirety on his current  tour, but was going to skip some songs “because we can.”

Highlights included Girlfriend tracks ““I’ve Been Waiting” and “Evangeline”   and the hard-driving closer ‘Sick of Myself,” from 100% Fun.

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30A Songwriters Festival begins

Sun209 is headed for Santa Rose Beach, Florida to cover the 30A Songwriters Festival this weekend. Watch for updates on Twitter (sun209com) and on this site.

The News Herald of Panama City previewed the festival today. You’ll find the full story by Tony Simmons here, but here’s a preview:

Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles described the event as “a series of magical moments unfolding over the course of the long weekend — old friends reuniting, new friendships being born. … Large audiences and performers enjoying days and nights of music, storytelling both poignant and humorous, spontaneous jams, Southern hospitality, delicious food and wine.”

The festival is produced by the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County and presented by Visit South Walton. Proceeds benefit the CAA.

Festival venues include Vue, Fire, The Naked Grape and the Gulf Place Amphitheatre in Santa Rosa Beach; First Note Music Hall in Blue Mountain Beach; Hibiscus, Pandora’s and Shorty’s in Grayton Beach; Fish Out of Water, The Gathering Spot and The Boathouse in WaterColor; The Lyceum, Bud & Alley’s, Pizza Bar, Central Square Records and the Seaside Meeting Hall Theatre in Seaside; La Botana in Seagrove; Caliza in Alys Beach; the amphitheater in Seacrest Beach; and Amavida, The Summer Kitchen and the Town Hall in Rosemary Beach.

Bangles, Crowell, Ray headline 30A Songwriters Festival

The Bangles, Rodney Crowell and Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls are among the headliners at next week’s 30A Songwriters Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

While some songwriters festivals feature writers who have composed for others, the 30A festival features a wide range of performers with recording careers, who also happen to write their own material.

Artists scheduled to appear at the festival Jan. 13-15 include Matthew Sweet, Mary Gauthier, Tania Elizabeth, Shawn Mullins, Jeffrey Steele, Miles Zuniga of Fastball, Joan Osborne,  Jim Lauderdale, Steve Forbert, Chely Wright, the Sam Bush Band,  David Ryan Harris, Corey Smith, Marti Jones and Don Dixon, Tommy Talton, Randall Bramblett, Susan Cowsill, Teddy Gentry, Lenny LeBlanc, Joseph Arthur, Lori McKenna, Eric Brace and Peter Cooper, Chuck Cannon, Brigitte DeMeyer, Jeff Black, David Olney, Over the Rhine, Tommy Womack, Emily Lynch, Larkin Poe and Suzi Ragsdale.

Schedule details and ticket information can be found here.