Tag: Alison Krauss

Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas host celebration of Americana

 in Reviews

 AMABy Ken Paulson

As Jerry Douglas prepared to introduce an artist at the Americana’s Cross-Country Lines event at the Factory in Franklin, Tennessee tonight, he said “And next year we’ll have a festival.”

He’s right, of course. The Americana Music Association will be staging an annual festival in addition to its always impressive Americana Music Conference and Honors Awards. But given the talent we saw tonight, the festival is already here.

 The fundraiser for the Americana Music Association featured co-hosts Jerry Douglas and Alison Krauss, plus solo performances from Sarah Jarosz, Angel Snow,

Jerry Douglas

Jerry Douglas

Teddy Thompson, Amos Lee, Shawn Colvin and Gabe Dixon. It was a rich and rewarding evening, and a testament to both the growth and maturity of the Americana music genre.

Highlights were plentiful, but we were particularly struck by two covers: Jarosz’s rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Ring Them Bells” and Thompson’s stirring take on “She Thinks I Still Care,” made famous by the late George Jones. A great evening all around.

Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @sun209com.

Rounder, New West, Lost Highway top Americana labels

 in Americana Music, Reviews

Among the joys of Americana music is the range of artists and labels. Indie labels often break through, leading to dark horses and pleasant surprises.

Yet this year’s Americana Music Association list of the top 100 albums from November 16, 2010 through November 14, 2011, serves as a reminder that the bigger labels still play a major role.

An analysis of both the number of charting albums and their relative position in the charts suggests that five labels are dominant, accounting for the top six releases of the year and more than a quarter of all charting albums:

1.Rounder is the top player in Americana music radio. The label placed a total of nine albums in the top 100, including two in the top 20 and 6 in the top 25, including Alison Krauss and Union Station’s Paper Airplane (4), Gregg Allman’s Low Country Blues (6) the Jayhawks’ Mocking Bird Time (12), Robert Plant’s Band of Joy (17) Abigail Washburn’s City of Refuge (24) and Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers’ Rare Bird Alert (25)

2. New West had six albums on the Americana music charts, with two in the top 10 and three in the top 20. They include Steve Earle’s I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (3), John Hiatt’s Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns (8), Buddy Miller’s Majestic Silver Strings (13) and the Old 97s’ The  Grand Theatre (30.)

3. Lost Highway had four  albums on the Americana chart, including the top two slots, Hayes Carll’s KMAG YO-YO and Lucinda Williams’ Blessed. Their other charting albums were Robert Earl Keen’s Ready for Confetti (19) and 19 and Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses’ Junky Star (40.)

4. Nonesuch was the fourth most influential label, with five albums in the top 100, including Emmylou Harris’ Hard Bargain (5) and Wanda Jackson’s Party Ain’t Over (Third Man/ Nonesuch) at 23.

5.Sugar Hill also fared well in the annual chart with five albums, including Sarah Jarosz’s Follow Me Down (20) and Kasey Chamber’s Little Bird (31)

Hayes Carll tops 2011 Americana music airplay chart

 in Americana Music
The Americana Music Association has just released its list of the 100 most-played Americana music albums, with Hayes Carll’s KMAG YOYO in the top slot.
Their top 20:
1) Hayes Carll, KMAG YOYO / Lost Highway
2) Lucinda Williams, Blessed / Lost Highway
3) Steve Earle, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive / New West
4) Alison Krauss & Union Station, Paper Airplane / Rounder
5) Emmylou Harris, Hard Bargain / Nonesuch
6) Gregg Allman, Low Country Blues / Rounder
7) Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Here We Rest / Lightning Rod
8. John Hiatt, Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns / New West
9) Decemberists, The King Is Dead / Capitol
10) Band of Heathens, Top Hat Crowns and the Clapmaster’s Son / BOH Records
The AMA offers a full list of the top 100 albums of the past year here, but be forewarned that you’ll need to search for the link and the download will be straight out of your accountant’s office.

2012 Grammy nominations: Americana, folk and blues

 in Americana Music

The 2012 Grammy nominations are out, with the winners to be named on Feb. 12. The Americana music-related categories and nominees:

For Best Americana Album:
Emotional Jukebox -Linda Chorney
Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down – Ry Cooder
Hard Bargain -Emmylou Harris
Ramble At The Ryman -Levon Helm
Blessed -Lucinda Williams

For Best Bluegrass Album
Paper Airplane- Alison Krauss & Union Station
Reason And Rhyme: Bluegrass Songs By Robert Hunter and Jim Lauderdale
– Jim Lauderdale
Rare Bird Alert -Steve Martin And The Steep Canyon Rangers
Old Memories: The Songs Of Bill Monroe – The Del McCoury Band
A Mother’s Prayer -Ralph Stanley
Sleep With One Eye Open – Chris Thile & Michael Daves

For Best Blues Album:
Low Country Blues – Gregg Allman
Roadside Attractions -Marcia Ball
Man In Motion – Warren Haynes
The Reflection – Keb Mo
Revelator – Tedeschi Trucks Band

For Best Folk Album
Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars
I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive -Steve Earle
Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes
Ukulele Songs – Eddie Vedder
The Harrow & The Harvest -Gillian Welch

For Best Children’s Album:
I Love: Tom T. Hall’s Songs Of Fox Hollow
(Various Artists) Eric Brace & Peter Cooper, producers

For Best Instrumental Composition
Life In Eleven – Béla Fleck & Howard Levy, composers (Béla Fleck & The Flecktones)

Nov. 19: Americana Music Festival on Austin City Limits

 in Americana Music Festival

The national television debut of the Americana Music Festival is scheduled for Nov. 19 on Austin City Limits, which has released this show setlist, beginning with Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Buddy Miller, Jerry Douglas and Don Was singing “I’ll Fly Away.”

  • The Avett Brothers – The Once and Future Carpenter
  • Lucinda Williams – Blessed
  • Amos Lee – Cup of Sorrow
  • Elizabeth Cook- El Camino
  • Justin Townes Earle – Harlem River Blues
  • Jessica Lea Mayfield – For Today
  • Buddy Miller – Gasoline and Matches
  • The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
  • Candi Staton – Heart on a String
  • Jim Lauderdale – Life by Numbers
  • Robert Plant – Monkey
  • Gregg Allman – Melissa

It captures the best moments of the evening, although we wish Hayes Carll had made the cut. Nashville area viewers were able to watch the full version live and in a couple of early morning repeats.

As we’ve noted, national television exposure is critical to the future growth of Americana music and there’s arguable no better showcase than Austin City Limits. Check your local PBS station for show times.