On the day of its release, Kathleen Edwards’ Voyageur is at the top of the Americana Music Association Chart. The Little Willies’ For the Good Times is at the number three position, just one week after release.
Both albums are new to the market, but have been played for weeks on Americana radio. The release of albums to radio weeks or even months in advance helps build a foundation that pays off when the CD is actually available to consumers. There was a one-month lead time on Robert Earl Keen’s Ready for Confetti, and that album has been in the top five for months, with almost 7,000 spins to date.
This week’s Americana music chart debuts include Darrell Scott’s Long Ride Home (Full Light) at #21, Reckless Kelly’s Good Luck and True Love at #27 (No Big Deal Records), the Wood Brothers’ Smoke Ring Halo (Southern Ground Artists) at #32 and Ruthie Foster’s Let It Burn (Blue Corn) at #37.
Scott, Foster and the Wood Brothers also show up on the list of most added albums, along with Gretchen Peters’ Hello Cruel World (Scarlet Letter Records) and the Guy Clark tribute This One’s For Him.
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 is more than half a century old, but still sounds vibrant.