Tag: “John Prine”

“Steve Goodman Live ’69:” A treasure

 in New releases, Reviews

By Ken Paulson –

I first saw John Prine onstage at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival in July of 1972. Prine was the main attraction, but the animated young man who shared the stage with him that night was a close second.

You might know Steve Goodman as the writer of “City of New Orleans” or as a close friend and collaborator of Prine’s, but he was also one of the most electric singer-songwriters ever to grace a stage. Goodman engaged an audience like no other, with songs that moved you or made you laugh, hilarious stage patter and rapid-fire acoustic guitar. If you saw him, you never forgot him.

Goodman died of leukemia in 1984 at age 36, which is part of the reason he’s not better known today. Last August, Omnivore Recordings reissued his final four recordings from the ’80s with bonus tracks, but it was pretty clear that the archives were empty. We would never again see a new Steve Goodman album.

Until now. In an unexpected move, Omnivore has released Steve Goodman Live ’69, a recording of a performance for a local Chicago folk music show. It’s a fascinating document and the sound is surprisingly good.

It’s from so early in Goodman’s career that his performance didn’t include any of his own songs. It’s very much a recording of its time. There’s a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Country Pie,” traditional folk (“John Barleycorn”) and “Ballad of Spiro Agnew,” a brief political joke masquerading as a song, written by Tom Paxton.

But it’s the rest of the album that is revelatory. The same guy who floored audiences throughout the ’70s is right there in 1969, opening with a full-throttle version of Willie Dixon’s “You Can’t Judge a Book By Its Cover,” offering up a charming cover of Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and tackling an odd medley of “Where Are You Going/Eleanor Rigby/Drifter/Somebody to Love.”

Closing out the set was what would go on to be a staple of Goodman’s live set, a stellar rendition of Leroy Van Dyke’s “The Auctioneer.”

Steve Goodman Live’ 69 is a treasure – unexpected, unpredictable and delightful. So was Steve.

Missing John Prine

 in Americana Music, Nashville music

By Ken Paulson

John Prine meant the world to our family.
My wife-to-be Peggy and I went to see John, Steve Goodman, Bill Quateman and Bonnie Koloc at Ravinia Festival just after high school graduation in the Chicago suburbs.

John Prine
John Prine at Americanafest 2017

We were so excited that I missed the exit on the way home and badly blew curfew. Peggy’s mom was …. judgmental.
One of my earliest paid writing gigs was a handwritten review of John’s second album “Diamonds in the Rough.” I praised the album, but pointed out his limited vocal range. Punk.
His music was everywhere in our household, and we had to convince our 12-year-old son to join us for a Prine concert in New York. He liked “Space Monkey.” Now a music writer for the Tennessean, he just wrote his own celebration of John.

Brandi Carlile and John Prine on Cayamo

We thought of John as our local musical hero because of shared Chicago ties, but then John moved to Nashville. And a decade later, so did we.

It was coincidence, but the best kind. Suddenly our favorite artist popped up all over town, on stage and in the grocery store. One night a dear friend tipped me off that John was going to hold a secret Christmas party in an hour, and sure enough, there he was with his brother Billy, friends and family in a local sports bar. John liked Christmas.


I had the privilege to host John on our “Speaking Freely” TV show on PBS stations years later and saw firsthand what I had been told so often: He was the same guy on stage as he was in-person.

And then just last fall, my wife and I attended “All the Best,” the magnificent festival he and Fiona Whelan Prine  staged in the Dominican Republic. There was a truly special night when he took the stage to perform his first album from start to finish, as a full and incandescent moon was reflected in the waves. For the rest of my life, when I think of John, I’ll think of that moment and those songs.

So thankful for that, and for everything John Prine brought into the lives of everyone who loved his music – and him.

Brian Wilson, John Prine headline 30A Songwriters Fest

 in Festivals, Songwriters

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.

John Prine, Crystal Gayle, Charley Pride and Shawn Camp salute Cowboy Jack Clement at Country Music Hall of Fame

 in Country Music Hall of Fame
John Prine
John Prine at the Country Music Hall of Fame (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

The late Cowboy Jack Clement’s Gibson J-200 guitar was donated to the Country Music Hall of Fame today, and his old friends John Prine, Crystal Gayle, Charley Pride and Shawn Camp were on hand to sing some of Clement’s favorite songs.

The guitar, a constant companion in Clement’s career as a songwriter, producer and artist, was purchased in the early 1950s.

Camp kicked off the mini-concert with a performance of “Gone Girl” and Gayle did her hit version of “When I Dream,” a song Clement didn’t write, but loved. Pride performed “Just Between You and Me,” his breakthrough record produced by Clement, and John Prine, fresh off his “All the Best” Festival in the Dominican Republic, closed with Clement’s first hit as a songwriter, “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” while paying Clement’s guitar.

Cowboy Jack was inducted into the Country music Hall of Fame in 2013.

The donation of the guitar was made possible by a grant from the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation. – Ken Paulson

12 special moments at John Prine’s inaugural “All the Best” Festival

 in Festivals, Reviews

By Ken Paulson –

John Prine’s music – and life – have always been marked by courage, compassion and integrity.

Now imagine a music festival just like that.

All the Best, a Prine-curated Sixthman festival in the Dominican Republic, wrapped up tonight after four days of inspired and inspiring music from some of the top songwriters in the world, including Prine, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Gretchen Peters, Lori McKenna and Brandi Carlile.

More important, the performers at this festival were hellraisers and truth tellers, just like their host. When you write a line like “Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose,” you don’t invite the meek to your festival.

Kentucky songwriter Kelsey Waldon said it was a treat to perform where “people care so much about the lyrics . . . awesome.”

John Prine and Emmylou Harris at the All The Best Festival
Emmylou Harris and John Prine at the All The Best Festival

12 special moments:

  • The day after the Country Music Awards featured “Independence Day, Gretchen Peters proudly performed her indelible anthem, smiling broadly and exultantly declaring “My words came out of Dolly Parton’s mouth!”
  • Throughout the festival, artists covered Prine’s songs to often stirring effect. Perhaps the most moving, though, were Emmylou Harris and Ruby Amanfu’s respective takes on “Angel From Montgomery.” Prine noted that when artists perform the song, they always base it on Bonnie Raitt’s version instead of his.
  • Much like Prine, Paul Thorn is always wildly entertaining, but then he’ll draw you up short with a song that makes you look at something in a fresh way. “You Might Be Wrong” couldn’t have been more timely.
  • Given the line-up, the festival was full of songs that reflect the news. Todd Snider joked that surveys indicate that only 50 percent of the audience should like his topical songs, while Steve Earle’s “City of Immigrants” received a rousing response.
  • In the spirit of the festival, Iris Dement and John Prine performed what appeared to be a thoroughly unrehearsed version of the spouse-swapping tune “Let’s Invite Them Over Tonight.” The real lyrics showed up about 30 seconds in. Pure fun.
  • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – The Dirt Band was a late addition to the line-up, and happily so. It’s hard to imagine a more joyous band than these guys, and that’s been the case for a half-century.  Sometimes you want self-reflection . Sometimes you want to dance. The Dirt Band has been around for more than a half-century, but remain as vibrant as ever.
Jimmie Fadden and Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at the All the Best Festival
Jimmie Fadden and Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at the All the Best Festival
  • Keith Sykes performed “You Got Gold,” a number of times during the festival, but added the inside story during a guitar pull at the Breathless Plaza.  He and Prine felt so good about the song they had written that they were “overserved” and ended the night being “picked up by two women” – Memphis police officers – who promptly took them to jail.
  • Tyler Childers’ swift career ascent has been amazing, and he played two crowd-pleasing sets, but the real treat was seeing him cover fellow Kentuckian Prine’s “Yes, I Guess They Oughta Name A Song After You” and “Please Don’t Bury Me
  • Lori McKenna unveiled a brand new song “In it for Love.”  “I’ve only heard it twice myself, she said. She played the near-anthemic song in back-to-back sets and the audience roared.  Sometime, somewhere and in the hands of someone to be determined, “In It For Love” is going to be a hit.
  • Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats played a raucous set on the final night and then Rateliff returned to the stage for a closing segment of Prine songs. Wiping away tears, Rateliff sang “Summer’s End” and was then joined by Prine for a touching “Sam Stone.”
  • Brandi Carlile was fresh off the Country Music Awards, where she had performed with her new group the Highwomen. Her All the Best  set was high energy and compelling, but two solo turns stuck out: Her rendition of the yodel-intensive “Lovesick Blues” and “Highwomen,” the gender-revised version of Jimmy Webb’s classic “Highwayman.”
The finale of John Prine's All the Best festival
The finale of John Prine’s All the Best festival

There was much more, including fine sets by Emmylou Harris and the Red Dirt Boys, Courtney Marie Andrews, Jason Wilber, Lucinda Williams, Rita Wilson, Senora May, Ruston Kelly, Kristi Rose and Fats Kaplin.

  • But everything was eclipsed by John Prine’s revisiting his very first album, playing the LP in order, start to finish. This was the astounding debut album that gave us “Sam Stone,” “Angel From Montgomery,” “Paradise,” “Donald and Lydia” and “Hello in There, ” and signaled the emergence of an extraordinary new talent. Prine noted that the album didn’t chart or win any awards, but that it was eventually inducted into the Grammys Hall of Fame along with Neil Young’s Harvest and Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. “I’ll take that,” Prine said.

Prine later joked that it took 40 minutes to play the album and another hour for him to talk about the songs. Of course, that’s what made it so special:  A great American songwriter standing steps from the ocean, exploring his groundbreaking first recording under a full moon. Now that’s Paradise.

Review: Marty Stuart, John Prine and “Songs That Tell A Story”

 in Nashville music

By Ken Paulson –

Throughout his performance last night at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Marty Stuart emphasized the unique nature of the concert, saying “This is never going to happen again.”

That’s true of course, because this was the final evening of Stuart’s Artist-in-Residence series, but it would be a shame if the Country Music Hall of Fame doesn’t find a way to create a new role for him, something along the lines of Ringmaster in Chief.

Stuart brought three rings of entertainment and insight to the Hall of Fame over the past three weeks, showcasing everyone from Chris Stapleton and Emmylou Harris to go-go dancers.
He and the Hall staff masterfully put together three distinct evenings and then populated them with extraordinarily talented people.

Last night was no exception. The theme was “Songs That Tell A Story” and Stuart’s guests included John Prine, songwriter Dallas Frazier, Brandy Clark and Doug Kershaw.

Among the highlights:

Dale Jett (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

Stuart’s first guest was Dale Jett, the grandson of A.P. and Sara Carter of the Carter Family. Jett’s back-to-basics performance was a revelation, particularly welcome in a week in which America is caught up in the history of Country Music via Ken Burns’ documentary. Jett did one of his own songs about compassion, pulled out a rarely heard A.P. Carter song about a cyclone killing children at a local school and then joined Stuart for a robust “Sunny Side of Life.”

Stuart and the Superlatives performed a breathtaking rendition of Marty Robbin’s “El Paso,” a song the band worked up for Grady Martin’s (he played guitar on the record) induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Great harmonies and guitar work throughout.

Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier and Marty Stuart(Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

  • Legendary songwriter Dallas Frazier delivered his classic “There Goes My Everything” in fine voice. He explained that the song was inspired by Ferlin Husky’s divorce. Husky had the publishing rights on the song, so his pain was eased a bit when it became a hit, Frazier noted.
Brandy Clark(Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
  • In a night filled with music veterans, Brandy Clark was the newcomer and more than held her own. She told of seeing John Prine at the Americana Music Honors event at the Ryman a few years back, and how after he received an extended ovation, Prine said he wished he was “who you thought I was.” That led to Brandy’s song of the same name and a soaring, resonant performance.
John Prine (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
  • Prine received another warm welcome last night, with many audience members aware of this recent medical setback and grateful for his return to the stage. After his opening song “Egg and Daughter Night,” the always gracious Stuart complimented Prine’s guitar-playing. Prine, not known for his guitar work, seemed taken aback and said “I’ll show you if you have five seconds.”

Americana Grammy Nominees unveiled

 in Americana Music, Nashville music

Brandi CarlileThe just-released Grammy nominations are a big win for Americana long before the final ballots are announced. Brandi Carlile and Kacey Musgraves are front and center in the most prominent categories in the music industry.

Vying for the album of the year are Carlile’s “By the Way, I Forgive You” and Musgraves’ “Golden Hour.” Carlile also earned a nomination for Song of the Year for “The Joke,” written with Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth

It was also good – though a bit mystifying – to see Margo Price nominated as “New Artist of the Year.”

Carlile’s album and single were also nominated in the Americana and roots recordings categories, where John Prine also picked up three nominations:

Best Americana Album:

By the Way, I Forgive You — Brandi Carlile

Things Have Changed — Bettye LaVette

The Tree of Forgiveness — John Prine

The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone — Lee Ann Womack

One Drop of Truth — The Wood Brothers

Best American Roots Performance:

“Kick Rocks” — Sean Ardoin

“Saint James Infirmary Blues” — Jon Batiste

“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile

“All On My Mind” — Anderson East

“Last Man Standing” — Willie Nelson

Best American Roots Song

“All The Trouble” — Waylon Payne, Lee Ann Womack & Adam Wright, songwriters (Lee Ann Womack)

“Build a Bridge” — Jeff Tweedy, songwriter (Mavis Staples)

“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)“Knockin’

On Your Screen Door” — Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)

“Summer’s End” – Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)

Americanafest 2018: A singular week of music in Nashville

 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Festivals, Nashville music

John Prine

John Prine at Americanafest 2017

Americana Music News – We’re just 2 days away from the launch of the Americana Music Conference and Festival on Tuesday in Nashville, the number one musical event in a city devoted to them. Of course, we have a bias toward all things Americana, but you would be hard-pressed to name another festival anywhere with the same depth and  breadth of talent.

John Prine, Candi Staton, Buddy Miller, Brandy Clark, John Hiatt, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, K.D. Lang, Kathy Mattea, Kim Richey, Lori McKenna, Old Crow Medicine Show, Richard Thompson, Lera Lynn, Rosanne Cash and Alejandro Escovedo are among the top artists at Americanafest 2018. The full list is here.

The $75 wristband  is a tremendous bargain, and some are still available at the Americana Music Association site.

Podcast 15: 2018 Americana Music Nominees Announced

 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival

Today the Americana Music Association released its list of nominees for honors at the Americana Music Festival and Conference set for Nashville in September.

The nominees included:

Album of the Year

Mary Gauthier

Mary Gauthier

 

“All American Made,” Margo Price, Produced by Jeremy Ivey, Alex Munoz, Margo Price and Matt Ross-Spang
“By The Way I Forgive You,” Brandi Carlile, Produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings
“The Nashville Sound,” Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Produced by Dave Cobb
“Rifles & Rosary Beads,” Mary Gauthier, Produced by Neilson Hubbard

 

 

John Prine

John Prine

 

Artist of the Year
Brandi Carlile
Jason Isbell
Margo Price
John Prine

 

 

Duo/Group of the Year
I’m With Her
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

Emerging Act of the Year
Courtney Marie Andrews
Tyler Childers
Anderson East
Lilly Hiatt

Song of the Year
“A Little Pain,” Margo Price, Written by Margo Price
“All The Trouble,” Lee Ann Womack, Written by Waylon Payne, Lee Ann Womack and Adam
Wright
“If We Were Vampires,” Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Written by Jason Isbell
“The Joke,” Brandi Carlile, Written by Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth

Instrumentalist of the Year
Daniel Donato
Brittany Haas
Jerry Pentecost
Molly Tuttle

Here’s our podcast from this celebrative event, featuring the Milk Carton Kids and AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Cayamo Music Cruise 2018 preview

 in Americana Music, Festivals, Music Cruise News

Brandi Carlile on Cayamo

Brandi Carlile

By Paul T. Mueller – Cayamo 2018, a “festival at sea” focused on singer-songwriters, celebrates its 10th anniversary (and 11th sailing) beginning Feb. 4. The cruise for the first time will depart from New Orleans, en route to a seven-night western Caribbean voyage with stops at Cozumel and Harvest Caye, off the coast of Belize.

More than 40 performers – some solo, some with bands – will provide the entertainment, which at times will span more than 12 hours a day of continuous shows. Six venues, ranging in size from a few dozen to several hundred, will accommodate the performances. That’s in addition to the usual after-hours jams, consisting mostly of amateur musicians but often featuring drop-in contributions by the professionals.

Paul Thorn will appear on Cayamo

Paul Thorn

Cayamo’s big names return

Big names in the lineup, in no particular order, include Cayamo veterans Richard Thompson, John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Lee Ann Womack, Paul Thorn, Jim Lauderdale, and Shawn Mullins – the only artist to have sailed on every Cayamo. Other veterans, possibly less familiar but no less capable, include Scott Miller, Hayes Carll, John Paul White, John Fullbright, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Brian Wright, Michael McDermott, Drew and Ellie Holcomb and Max Gomez.

The roster also includes a healthy crop of Cayamo newcomers, such as Margo Price, JD McPherson, Charley Crockett, Joe Pug, Lindi Ortega, The War and Treaty, Steve Poltz, Devon Gilfillian and Michael Logen. Other rookies include three acts – solo Caleb Caudle and duos Flagship Romance (Shawn Fisher and Jordyn Jackson) and Heart Society (Teneia Sanders-Eichelberger and Benjamin Eichelberger) who were voted aboard by Cayamo passengers in the annual Soundcheck competition.

Jim Lauderdale on Cayamo

Jim Lauderdale

Given the festival’s focus on the singular visions of singer-songwriters, duos and bands are, as always, in the minority. Those that made the cut include the rocking Band of Heathens, throwback crooners The Cactus Blossoms, Nashville soul sirens the McCrary Sisters and pop folkies Humming House. The complete Cayamo 2018 lineup can be found here.

Cayamo’s tributes and special shows

Tribute shows honoring John Prine and Tom Petty are on the schedule, as are several “Unlikely Sets” – songwriter rounds featuring several artists who might not share a stage otherwise. Previous Cayamos have shown that musical magic frequently results from such unexpected combinations.

In addition to shows, the week’s activities will include a “Tales and Ales” craft-beer tasting hosted by Paul Thorn; a screening of the film American Folk, starring Cayamo musicians Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth, with a Q&A to follow; an “Artisans & Crafts” leatherworking workshop with Jonny Fritz, a member of the trio Traveller; a songwriter workshop with Fritz and his Traveller bandmates, Cory Chisel and Robert Ellis, and guest jams with backline equipment and assistance provided by Sixthman, the company that produces Cayamo and several other music cruises.




COPY CODE SNIPPET

2017 Americana Music Awards and Honors show

 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival
By Ken Paulson –
The Americana Music Association’s Annual Awards and Honors event is always  a special evening, but there was a special sweetness about it this year, much of it involving John Prine.
 First there was Prine’s presentation of the Trailblazer Award to Iris Dement with an obvious fondness. Deeply touched, an emotional DeMent thanked John for being her friend. The two went on to perform a spirited take on their classic “In Spite of Ourselves.”
Later, Prine was named artist of the year over some of Americana’s rising stars. It’s heartening when roots music acknowledges its own roots.
I had the opportunity to present Graham Nash with the Spirit of Americana Free Speech in Music Award, and he took the podium to offer a gracious tribute to his friends the Everly Brothers. He then joined the Milk Carton Kids to perform the Everlys’ “So Sad.”
As always, it was an evening of great performances and heartfelt remarks.
This year’s honorees:
 
Album of the Year: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, Sturgill Simpson, Produced by Sturgill Simpson
 
Artist of the Year: John Prine
 
Group/Duo of the Year: Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
 
Song of the Year: “It Ain’t Over Yet”, Rodney Crowell (feat. Rosanne Cash & John Paul White), Written by Rodney Crowell
Emerging Artist of the Year: Amanda Shires
Instrumentalist of the Year: Charlie Sexton
Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award co-presented by the Americana Music Association and the First Amendment Center: Graham Nash
Lifetime Achievement Award, Trailblazer: Iris Dement
Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriting: Van Morrison
Lifetime Achievement Award, Performance: Robert Cray
Lifetime Achievement Award, Instrumentalist: Hi Rhythm Section
Lifetime Achievement Award, Executive: Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg
(Photo: Getty Images for the Americana Music Association.)

Americana Music Festival’s talent-packed awards show

 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Nashville music

Americana Music News – The Americana Music Festival’s annual Honors and Awards show is always special, but the 2017 line-up raises the bar.

Where else in the world would you see Van Morrison, Graham Nash and John Prine on the same stage? And then there are the gnere’s established stars, incuding Rodney Crowell, Billy Bragg, Iris DeMent, Jason Isbell and Old Crow Mediince Show.

The full line-up:

Billy Bragg

Brent Cobb

Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm

Rodney Crowell

Iris DeMent

Drive-By Truckers

Rhiannon Giddens

Joe Henry

Hurray for the Riff Raff

Jason Isbell

The Lumineers

Lori McKenna

Van Morrison

Graham Nash

Old Crow Medicine Show

Sam Outlaw

Margo Price

John Prine

Amanda Shires

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives

Aaron Lee Tasjan

 

 

John Prine’s “September 78” due at sane prices

 in Americana Music

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Americana Music News – Like all John Prine fans, we rushed to our local music establishments on Record Story Day in 2015 hoping to score the exclusive Prine album “September 78” capturing a performance at Park West in Chicago. No luck. There were just 2,000 pressed.

Searches on EBay were maddening as the album soared from $30 to $50 to $150. We love John, but $15 a song seemed a little steep.

Now comes the good news that Oh Boy Records will be releasing this rare album in CD and digital formats this month. The MP3 pre-order price is $7.99 on Amazon and John’s site has the Cd for $8.99. Here’s a sample:

 

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2017 Americana Music Awards nominees announced

 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Nashville music

The Americana Music Association unveiled its nominees for the 2017 Americana Music Awards in a press event at the Country Music Hall of Fame.  It’s a nice mix of veterans (Rodney Crowell, John Prine), today’s mainstays (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson) and emerging artists (Aaron Lee Tasjan, Margo Price and more.)

Album of the Year

“American Band,” Drive-By Truckers, Produced by David Barbe

“A Sailor’s Guide to Earth,” Sturgill Simpson, Produced by Sturgill Simpson

“Close Ties,” Rodney Crowell, Produced by Kim Buie and Jordan Lehning

“Freedom Highway, Rhiannon Giddens, Produced David Bither, Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell

“The Navigator,” Hurray for the Riff Raff, Produced by Paul Butler

 

Artist of the Year

Jason Isbell

John Prine

Lori McKenna

Margo Price

Sturgill Simpson

 

Duo/Group of the Year

Billy Bragg & Joe Henry

Drive-By Truckers

Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives

The Lumineers

 

Emerging Artist of the Year

close dialog

 

close dialog

 

Aaron Lee Tasjan

Amanda Shires

Brent Cobb

Sam Outlaw

 

Song of the Year

“All Around You,” Sturgill Simpson, Written by Sturgill Simpson

“It Ain’t Over Yet,” Rodney Crowell (with Rosanne Cash & John Paul White), Written by Rodney Crowell

“To Be Without You,” Ryan Adams, Written by Ryan Adams

“Wreck You,” Lori McKenna, Written by Lori McKenna and Felix McTeigue

 

Instrumentalist of the Year

Spencer Cullum, Jr.

Jen Gunderman

Courtney Hartman

Charlie Sexton

Review: Jason Wilber’s “Echoes”

 in Americana Music, New releases

By Paul T. Mueller
wilberJason Wilber is best known to many as the nattily dressed guy who stands to the right of the great John Prine on stage, playing guitar and mandolin and singing harmony. Wilber also happens to be a singer-songwriter in his own right, with nine solo albums to his credit.

The newest, Echoes, finds him performing songs by other writers. He’s covering a lot of ground here – Leon Russell’s “A Song for You,” the Rolling Stones’ “As Tears Go By,” Pink Floyd’s “Echoes,” Joni Mitchell’s “Edith and the Kingpin,” David Bowie’s “Oh You Pretty Things” and Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” are among the 11 tracks. Of course Wilber’s boss gets his due, with a solemn reading of “Paradise,” Prine’s lament about the despoiled coal country of Kentucky.

Echoes follows several years’ serious effort by Wilber to improve his singing voice, and while he will probably always be more noted as a guitarist than as a singer, his vocals do justice to the essence of these songs. The album benefits from spare but clean production by Paul Mahern, who also handled percussion duties, with help on a couple of tracks from Devon Ashley. The rest of it – guitars, bass and vocals – is all Wilber.

 

 

Preview: Cayamo music cruise 2016

 in Americana Music, Music Cruise News

By Paul T. Mueller

Lucinda Williams

Lucinda Williams

The ninth annual Cayamo music cruise sails from Miami on Jan. 31, en route to a week of music and fun under the Caribbean sun. Produced by Atlanta-based Sixthman aboard the chartered Norwegian Pearl, Cayamo is a weeklong music festival at sea, featuring dozens of scheduled performances in indoor venues ranging from small lounges to a thousand-seat auditorium, as well as a couple of open-air stages on the pool deck.

Cayamo is also known for passenger participation; a fair number of the 2,000-plus cruisers bring along their instruments and can be found jamming at pretty much any hour of the day or night. These sessions often draw the attention, and participation, of some of the professional musicians as well.

John Hiatt

John Hiatt

Americana’s best

While it’s not specifically an Americana cruise, this year’s Cayamo features a couple of the biggest names in Americana music at the moment – Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton, both still touring on the strength of excellent 2015 albums (Something More Than Free and Traveller, respectively). Other scheduled performers include two-time Cayamo veteran Lucinda Williams; three-timer John Prine; John Hiatt, back for a sixth tour; Nashville (and Nashville) superstar Buddy Miller, a fixture on every Cayamo except 2009; Shawn Colvin, who’s sailed five times before; John Fullbright, a two-time Cayamoan, and Steve Earle, back after two previous sailings. Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins, the only performer who’s been on every Cayamo, also returns to keep his streak unbroken.

Paul Thorn

Paul Thorn

New to the cruise

Buzzworthy newcomers this year include Alabama-based singer-songwriter Paul Thorn; former Maine resident turned Austin folkie Slaid Cleaves; Hurray for the Riff Raff, featuring neo-New Orleanian Alynda Segarrra; Irish singer Foy Vance; and Angaleena Presley, also known as a member of Nashville’s Pistol Annies.

Returning to the Cayamo music cruise after successful debuts on previous cruises are country songbird Kacey Musgraves, whose duet show with Prine was a big hit last year; Amanda Shires, a fiddler and singer-songwriter who’s married to Isbell and is a member of his band, the 400 Unit; the talented duo Birds of Chicago (2015); Texas singer-songwriter Robert Ellis (2013), and Knoxville, Tenn.-based The Black Lillies (2015).

Jim Lauderdale

Jim Lauderdale

Stepping out from sideman roles with scheduled sets of their own are Buick 6 (Lucinda Williams’ band, consisting of guitarist Stuart Mathis, bassist David Sutton and drummer Butch Norton) and Jason Wilber, Prine’s longtime guitarist.

A wide range of artists

The rest of the announced lineup for the Cayamo music cruise includes Jim Lauderdale, David Bromberg, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, Watkins Family Hour (featuring former Nickel Creekers Sean and Sara Watkins and others), Johnnyswim, Angaleena Presley, Langhorne Slim, The Bros. Landreth, Sam Lewis, American Babies, Mingo Fishtrap, The Alternate Routes, Rainey Qualley, Kate York and Joe Pisapia, Sugar & the Hi-Lows, Maren Morris, Martin Harley and Jimmy Galloway. The winners of this year’s Soundcheck

Shawn Mullins

Shawn Mullins

competition for spots on the roster include the Andrew Duhon Trio, from New Orleans; The Novel Ideas, a Massachusetts-based folk quintet, and the aforementioned Slaid Cleaves. And the possibility of a “stowaway” surprise artist can never be ruled out; last year Todd Snider filled that role, coming aboard mid-cruise and performing a couple of excellent sets.

A good many Cayamo passengers don’t much care where the cruise goes and would just as soon sail around in circles for a week. But for those who like a little sightseeing with their music, this year’s ports of call are Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands, and St. Maarten/St. Martin, which consists of both Dutch and French territory. There will also be four full days at sea, providing time for traditional cruise-ship activities – and for even more music than on port days.

(Cayamo music cruise photos by Paul T. Mueller.)

2015 Americana Music Festival notebook

 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Nashville music

By Ken Paulson

ama_logo_button_redRandom thoughts and observations about the Americana Music Festival week that was: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band‘s 50th anniversary show at the Ryman was the perfect kick-off and an extraordinary event. Take the four current members of the Dirt Band – Jeff Hanna, John McEuen, Jimmie Fadden and Bob Carpenter – and add Byron House, Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas, and you have the ultimate Americana band. Then you add appearances by Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, John Prine, Alison Krauss, Rodney Crowell and returning Dirt Band member Jimmy Ibbotson and you have a singular evening. Recorded for PBS, the show’s few flubs just meant we had a chance to hear the classics twice – most notably Jerry Jeff Walker and the band doing his “Mr. Bojangles. …Based on their most recent album, we had high hopes for Dustbowl Revival and they absolutely delivered, even inspiring some City Winery patrons to dance, a scene we hadn’t witnessed before…

Dustbowl Revival at the City Winery

Dustbowl Revival at the City Winery

Our single favorite song of the week was Steve Earle doing “Mississippi, It’s Time,” a stirring song about the Confederate flag that reminded us how powerful truly topical songs can be….On the same stage, we saw Loretta Lynn, whose stage show probably hasn’t changed much in the past 40 years – and that’s just fine…We used the new app for our schedule all week and just have one request: build bios into the app for artists and panel members rather than passing us through to websites….We were honored to present the Spirit of Americana Free Speech in Music award to Buffy Sainte Marie on Wednesday night and then sat in when she visited with Middle Tennessee State University students the next day. They loved her energy and sage advice: “Don’t believe any of that junk about genres.”…We saw some tremendous unbilled shows at various receptions around town, including the new trio Applewood Road…. The Americana Music Festival remains the best single week for music in Music City –and that’s saying something.

The 10 best lines on the Cayamo music cruise 2015

 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Music Cruise News

By Paul T. Mueller

The 10 best lines from artists on the 2015 Cayamo cruise:

Amy Speace

Amy Speace

  • It was sad knowing everyone I knew or loved was going to hell. – Elizabeth Cook on her fundamentalist upbringing (Saturday)
  • This has been a very palpable evening. – Jim Lauderdale, during John Fullbright’s “Unlikely Sit-In” show (Saturday)
  • I starred in “Shakespeare in the Parking Lot” – Amy Speace on her days as a Shakespearean actress in New York (Monday)
  • Thanks, Mom. – John Prine, in response to a female audience member’s shout of “You’re sexy, John Prine!” (Monday)
  • The difference between a freeloader and a free spirit is about three chords. – Todd Snider (Wednesday)
  • This was No. 1 for about two weeks on the radio in Serbia. Take that, Lyle Lovett! – Amy Speace on the title track of her new CD, “That Kind of Girl” (Thursday)
  • Morning, everyone! – Lucinda Williams, at a 1:30 p.m. show (Thursday)
  • He doesn’t consider himself an Eagle, but I do. No, I consider you an egret. – Shawn Colvin to guitarist Steuart Smith, who tours with The Eagles (Thursday)
  • What we do on Cayamo stays on Cayamo. – Shawn Colvin (Thursday)
  • Since you probably played on the original record, play a little guitar right here, good brother. – Rodney Crowell to David Bromberg, during “Like a Rolling Stone” (Friday)