Tag: Rodney Crowell

Despite illness, Rodney Crowell shines in hometown show at Heights Theater

 in Reviews


By Paul T. Mueller –

Sometimes seeing what a performer is overcoming to deliver a performance is as impressive as the performance itself. Early in his Oct. 18 show at Houston’s Heights Theater, singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell announced that he was battling “the mother of all colds.” But despite a voice that often sounded hoarse and strained, and taking an occasional break to cough (“It’s not COVID!”) or swig from a water bottle, he pushed on for nearly two hours, delighting the capacity crowd with signature songs from his long career and readings from his recent book, Word for Word.

Crowell is the closest thing to royalty in country and Americana music, and he looks the part – still slim at 72, with white hair and a vintage black Gibson acoustic. Without a band to back him up, he played and sang with a confidence born of decades onstage, clearly basking in the love of the hometown crowd.

Rodney Crowell in concert at the Heights Theater

He led off with “Highway 17,” the tale of a career criminal who buries his ill-gotten gains and spends years in prison dreaming of what he’ll do when he gets out and recovers it – only to find that it’s been forever lost under a newly built interstate highway. Afterward he explained that the song is based on a true story involving a family he knew as a child. “Grandma Loved That Old Man,” about his beloved grandfather and the wife who put up with his faults and flaws, got a similar treatment. And so it went, with fine renditions of instantly recognizable songs interspersed with funny stories about how they came to be, and about how their author became a top-tier songwriter and performer.

The show, something of a career retrospective, included songs from Crowell’s days as a hotshot mainstream Nashville artist (“I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” “She’s Crazy for Leaving,” “ ‘Til I Gain Control Again”) as well as several from his more recent phase as an independent, more introspective artist (“East Houston Blues,” “Anything But Tame,” “Telephone Road,” “I Don’t Care Anymore”).

Crowell won enthusiastic responses for some songs he wrote with or about the late Guy Clark, a good friend of his for decades – “Stuff That Works,” co-written in the wake of his divorce from Rosanne Cash, and “It Ain’t Over Yet,” an imagined conversation between Crowell, Clark and Clark’s wife, Susanna.

After wrapping up the main set with “Please Remember Me,” Crowell acknowledged the standing ovation, put in one final plug for his book (“Christmas is coming, just saying,” he had noted earlier) and finished with “The Flyboy & the Kid” from his Tarpaper Sky album, a song he’d dedicated to Clark.

Health issues notwithstanding, Crowell headed quickly for the venue’s lobby, where he spent quite a while posing for pictures with fans and writing personalized inscriptions in the books they’d bought – and apparently loving every minute of it.

Tonight from WMOT: Rodney Crowell, Carlene Carter and Shannon McNally

 in WMOT Roots Radio

By Ken Paulson

  • WMOT Roots Radio celebrates its 5th anniversary tonight with a fundraiser at the City Winery featuring Rodney Crowell, Carlene Carter and Shannon McNally. That’s quite the line-up, fitting for a still-young station that has emerged as one of America’s most influential Americana stations. Tickets are still available for tonight’s Nashville show. If you don’t live in Nashville, the show will be livestreamed.

Rodney Crowell returns to Houston for an exuberant set at the Heights Theater

 in Reviews, Songwriters

By Paul T. Mueller

If you had any lingering doubts about how performers and audiences are feeling about the recent resumption of live performances, Rodney Crowell’s July 29 show at Houston’s Heights Theater would have put those doubts firmly to rest. Crowell and his excellent four-piece band, clearly thrilled to be back on the road, put on an energetic performance spanning the Houston native’s long career, up to and including his new release, Triage. The near-capacity audience responded in kind.

The show was only the third of the current tour, but you’d never have known it from the band’s tight playing. Multi-instrumentalist Eamon McLoughlin and keyboardist Catherine Marx earned frequent and enthusiastic mid-song applause for their impressive solos, while bassist Zachariah Hickman and percussionist Glen Caruba provided solid rhythm support. Band members also contributed vocals in support of Crowell’s fine voice and powerful delivery.

Crowell started off with the title track of 1995’s Jewel of the South and continued with the anthemic “Earthbound” from 2003. He dedicated “Still Learning How to Fly” to an audience member turning 70. Marx and McLoughlin, on fiddle, showed off their impressive skills on the jazzy “The Weight of the World,” from Crowell’s 2015 collaboration with Emmylou Harris, The Traveling Kind.

Other highlights of the 25-song set included older hits such as “I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried,” “Shame on the Moon,” “I Walk the Line (Revisited)” (with Hickman handling the Johnny Cash vocals), and the more recent “It Ain’t Over Yet,” which Crowell wrote for his old friend Guy Clark. A mid-set segment of Triage songs included the title track, “Something Has to Change” and “This Body Isn’t All There Is to Who I Am.” “Telephone Road” and “East Houston Blues,” with their local references, got big reactions, as did Crowell’s stories about growing up in the Houston area and about the genesis of some of his songs.  

The main set ended with a trio of hits from Crowell’s more mainstream days in Nashville – “I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” and “ ’Til I Gain Control Again.” After a standing ovation and a short break, the band returned with “Frankie Please,” which Crowell dedicated to the late Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, and a quiet but powerful solo rendition of his “cautionary tale” of crime and irony, “Highway 17.”

Kris Kristofferson’s “Life and Songs”

 in Americana Music, Nashville music, New releases, Songwriters

By Ken Paulson – Just released is “The Life and Songs of Kris Kristofferson,” a three-disc set with guest spots from Buddy Miller, Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell, Alison Krauss and many more. Recorded in Nashville on March 16, 2016, the collection contains two CDs and a DVD of the concert.
Kristofferson’s voice is singular, but his songs work for just about everybody and there’s a surprisingly consistent level of quality, despite more than 20 artists coming to the stage.
There are deeply touching moments here, with Reba McEntire beckoning Kristofferson onstage to wrap up “Me and Bobby McGee” and Highwaymen family members Jessi Colter and Rosanne Cash delivering their own memorable performances. Jennifer Nettles nails “Worth Fighting For,” as do Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss on “For the Good Times.”
It’s a must-have for Kris Kristofferson fans.
On the topic of Kris’ life and career, we had the opportunity a while back to interview him for our “Speaking Freely TV show:







			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Review – Rodney Crowell’s “Close Ties”

	

		 in Nashville music, New releases, Reviews	

			    

				    
by Paul T. Mueller – There’s a little looking forward, a lot of looking back, and more than a hint of unfinished business in Rodney Crowell’s latest collection, Close Ties. The last comes courtesy of a couple of songs that reference Susanna Clark, wife of Guy Clark, Crowell’s early mentor and later peer (and competitor). In “Life Without Susanna,” Crowell describes her as “the most near perfect woman I’d ever seen” and “the most worthy opponent that I’ve ever known.” But he also talks about the darker days that followed. “Life without Susanna started when Townes Van Zandt died,” he sings “She made the bed inside her head a shelter… Nothing pierced the fortress inside her mind.” In “Nashville 1972,” Crowell describes his arrival in Music City and the beginnings of his complicated relationship with the Clarks: “I found my way around this town with a friend I made named Guy/Who loved Susanna and so did I.”


Falling into the “looking back” category, in addition to the above, is “East Houston Blues,” which recounts Rodney Crowell’s hardscrabble childhood and adolescence. A glimpse of the future comes in “I Don’t Care Anymore,” in which the singer contemplates life with less concern with the trappings of success and more comfort with the man he’s become.


Crowell’s introspective bent manifests itself in “Reckless,” in which he describes a dream fueled by the tension between temptation and guilt. In “Forgive Me, Annabelle,” he sings of belatedly coming to terms with the end of a relationship, and with his responsibility for that event.


One of the album’s more interesting tracks, in terms of both subject matter and songcraft, is “It Ain’t Over Yet,” which seems to take the form of a three-way dialogue between Crowell, Guy Clark and Susanna Clark. The song features John Paul White and Rosanne Cash as stand-ins for the Clarks, imparting such wisdom as “Here’s what I know about the gifts God gave/You can’t take ’em with you when you go to the grave” (Guy/White) and “I’ve known you forever and it’s true/If you came by it easy, you wouldn’t be you” (Susanna/Cash).


Close Ties works pretty well as a summing-up of an illustrious career. But there’s also the sense that, at 66, Rodney Crowell has much more to offer.


Other notable guests include guitarists Steuart Smith, Tommy Emmanuel and Jedd Hughes, bassist Lex Price and Michael Rhodes, drummers Ian Fitchuk and Jerry Roe, and singer Sheryl Crow.

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Quotable Cayamo 2017

	

		 in Americana Music, Music Cruise News	

			    

				    
By Paul T. Mueller


Things musicians say between songs are sometimes funny, sometimes profound, sometimes both. Here are some notable quotes from the stages of Cayamo 2017.


“I don’t have any songs about boats. I do have a lot of songs about death, so we’ll just do those.” – Gretchen Peters


Lee Ann Womack


“I’m here to do country music!” – Lee Ann Womack


“Are you often told you’re too young to be writing that well?” – Glen Phillips to 21-year-old Christian Lopez after the latter presented a new song in their songwriters-in-the-round show with Will Hoge


“Glen and I were 21 when Pearl Harbor happened.” – Will Hoge (who’s actually 44) to Lopez after Lopez described singing on an aircraft carrier


“Damn, I’m having a good time! Resistance is fun!” – Gretchen Peters, in the “Songs of Protest” show she hosted


“The dues-paying in Nashville is never-ending.” – Angaleena Presley


“There’s a responsibility to protect the repertoire.” – Luther Dickinson, on the North Mississippi Allstars’ approach to playing the blues.


“Cayamo, I just found out, is an old Spanish word for ‘We printed the lineups too small.’ “ – Will Hoge, on the tiny type used on the show schedules provided to passengers


“Y’all just sit there and judge us? If we make you cry, do we get a prize?” – Aoife O’Donovan, a guest performer in the Secret Sisters’ “All the Girls Who Cry” show, to the Sisters, Lydia and Laura Rogers (who were in fact sitting, judge-like, at the side of the stage)


“How cliché are we, crying at our own show?” – Lydia Rogers, after a particularly sad song


“Oh, my god! Holy sh*t! I was worried! Thanks for voting for me! I never win anything!” – Sarah Potenza, who earned her spot in the lineup partly through passengers’ votes in the “Soundcheck” competition


“We’re songwriters. You can’t hurt our feelings.” – Lori McKenna, in a Love Junkies show


BJ Barham


“Thank you so much for cultivating this kind of community… It’s just as much fun as everyone told us. It’s a family reunion!” – BJ Barham of American Aquarium.


“We went from a latte president to an Orange Julius president.” – “stowaway” Chuck Cannon, on his new song “Tangerine Jesus,” sung to the tune of “Paperback Writer”


“It’s ‘Skunk’ time all over again!” – Loudon Wainwright III of “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road” fame, on the expected success of “Meet the Wainwrights,” a musical introduction to his extended family


“If Elton John had had a baby with Tom Petty…” – Patty Griffin, introducing guest Aaron Lee Tasjan, before a lovely duet on Petty’s “Insider”


“You will always have my heart.” – Rodney Crowell to Emmylou Harris in their duet show


“Same back atcha!” – Harris to Crowell


“I’m going to keep singing this song until I die or it comes true, whichever happens first.” – Steve Earle on his optimistic “Jerusalem”


 


 


 


 


 

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Cayamo music cruise review: An astounding line-up

	

		 in Americana Music, Music Cruise News	

			    

				    
By Paul Mueller


The 10th edition of the Cayamo music cruise enjoyed sunny skies, smooth seas and a fairly astounding musical lineup. The festival at sea, aboard the Norwegian Jade, left Tampa on Feb. 19, and returned a week later, after stops at the islands of Cozumel, Mexico, and Roatan, Honduras. As always, it was billed as “A Journey Through Song,” and as always it lived up to that promise. The number of shows and their scheduling made it difficult to see every performer, but that’s a good problem to have.


Buddy Miller and Aaron Lee Tasjan


Most of the more than 50 performers played individual shows, and many appeared in themed and collaboration shows as well. Themed shows included a tribute to the late Guy Clark; a “Songs of Protest” show hosted by Gretchen Peters; a “variety show” hosted by Shawn Mullins; “All the Girls Who Cry,” a sad-song fest hosted by Alabama country-folk crooners The Secret Sisters, and a guitar-focused show dubbed “Buddy Miller’s Guitar 101.” There were several “and friends” shows, mostly featuring several singer-songwriters in an in-the-round format, and singer and multi-instrumentalist Luke Bulla hosted “Last Man Standing” jams that capped off three evenings’ music. Many made guest appearances at other artists’ shows throughout the week, and passenger jams, sometimes including professionals, were easily found all over the boat.


A weeklong festival inevitably produces too many high points to list them all, but here are a few. Be assured that at the same time as pretty much any of these shows, there was at least one other equally memorable show going on somewhere else on the Jade.


Sunday, Feb. 19: The opening set on the pool deck can be a tough slot, with many passengers still boarding and those already aboard busy looking around or reuniting with old friends. But singer-songwriter Christian Lopez, a West Virginia native who’s all of 21 years old, made the most of his rookie appearance, demonstrating a veteran’s savvy in capturing the attention of the crowd. Alternating between well-written originals and covers, and between full-band and solo formats, Lopez rocked hard and showed that he’d earned his spot


North Mississippi All-Stars


on the roster. Well-done renditions of the Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pigeons” and Bill Withers’ “Use Me” played to the sensibilities of the crowd, much of which was three times Lopez’s age, but in a respectful way.


Also: Brandi Carlile,  a veteran of the first Cayamo music cruise in 2008 and most since, had herself a great time at the sail away show later in the afternoon, proclaiming the cruise “the greatest Cayamo ever.” Assisted as always by the Hanseroth twins (Phil on bass and Tim on guitar), she tore through favorites such as “Wherever Is Your Heart” and “The Eye” and closed with a nice rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California.”


Monday, Feb. 20: East Nashville-based singer-songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan made his much-anticipated Cayamo music cruise debut at an evening pool-deck show, and fully met his fans’ high expectations. Accompanied by fellow singer-songwriter Brian Wright, Tasjan played most of his most recent album, Silver Tears, as well as a few older tunes. His outgoing personality contrasted with Wright’s more stoic approach, but they were two of a kind when they started trading guitar licks. Late in the show, Wright took the spotlight to offer a fine rendition of his murder ballad “Maria Sugarcane.” Tasjan closed with a vigorous workout on his anthemic “Success” that had much of the crowd singing along.


Love Junkies on Cayamo music cruise


Also: The Love Junkies (singer-songwriters Lori McKenna, Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey) played an engaging show, performing songs made famous by bigger names in Nashville. These included McKenna’s “Humble and Kind” (Tim McGraw), Lindsey’s co-write “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (Keith Urban) and “Girl Crush” (written by all three and recorded by Little Big Town). The trio got support from Cary Barlowe and Ruston Kelly. It’s always fun to hear songs performed by the people who wrote them, without the usual studio trappings. Extra points to Rose for pushing through despite a case of laryngitis.


Tuesday, Feb. 21: The Songs of Protest show, hosted by Nashville singer-songwriter Gretchen Peters and featuring several Cayamo newcomers, was one of the emotional high points of the cruise. Performances included a powerful rendition of Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody” by soul powerhouse Sarah Potenza; Allen Toussaint’s joyful “Yes We Can Can,” by Amy Helm; Randy Newman’s “Political Science,” sung by Peters’ husband, keyboardist Barry Walsh, from the viewpoint of the new U.S. president; and Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now,” sung with intensity by Gurf Morlix and Potenza. Peters’ selections included a beautiful rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee.”


Will Hoge


Also: A pool-deck tribute to Guy Clark tribute featured contributions from longtime Clark associates (Rodney Crowell, “Stuff That Works”; Emmylou Harris, “Immigrant Eyes”) as well as more recent acolytes (Sarah Jarosz, “Boats to Build”; Brian Wright, “Coyote”). Oddly missing from the set was the iconic “L.A. Freeway,” but Crowell and Steve Earle teamed up to close with “Desperadoes Waiting for a Train.”


Wednesday, Feb. 22: Fans might have expected the basics in a show called Buddy Miller’s Guitar 101; what they got was far more advanced. Singer-songwriter and producer Miller alternated between describing his own journey to guitar mastery and using his laptop to play snippets of six-string artistry by predecessors such as James Burton, Link Wray and Jimi Hendrix. Things got even better when Miller brought out his guests. Tasjan ripped through a terrific acoustic rendition of “Streets of Galilee,” which incorporates his own musical autobiography. Nashville session player Tom Bukovac played a funky/jazzy bit of electric improvisation that had Miller and Tasjan grinning and shaking their heads. North Mississippi Allstars frontman Luther Dickinson talked about his band’s mission in the blues world (“There’s a responsibility to respect the repertoire”) and demonstrated his mastery of both the acoustic six-string and a two-string instrument made from a coffee can. Finally, the legendary Richard Thompson talked a little about having played with Hendrix and executed a beautiful acoustic take on “Turning of the Tide,” along with an instrumental piece he described as “an Irish tune with Scottish variations.”


Also: Nashville singer-songwriter Will Hoge’s show in a well-packed Spinnaker Lounge, in which he talked about burning out and leaving music a few years ago before rediscovering his craft and returning to the road. The set featured the kind of confessional songs you’d expect, plus some favorites such as the funny but pointed “Jesus Came to Tennessee.” Hoge is a very funny guy, but also an intense performer, and his powerful songs and playing often had the sometimes-rowdy Spinnaker crowd listening in dead silence.


Sarah Jarosz on Cayamo music cruise


Thursday, Feb. 23: Against the backdrop of a nice Caribbean sunset, Kacey Musgraves and her band serenaded the sail-away from Roatan on the pool deck. The set list included a well-chosen mix of originals (“This Town,” “Merry Go ’Round,” “It Is What It Is”) and interesting covers (Weezer’s “Island in the Sun,” Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk”). There was also a fun and witty reworking of the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo,” with lyrics tailored to the Cayamo experience and a laid-back vibe that suited the occasion perfectly. Musgraves closed with her anthemic “Arrow.”


Also: Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz, another Cayamo music cruise rookie, still looks about 17, but she sings and plays like she’s been onstage forever. Accompanied by bassist Jeff Picker and Australian-turned-Austinite guitar ace Jedd Hughes, Jarosz played a lovely set highlighted by the powerful (and Grammy-winning) “House of Mercy,” co-written with Hughes. Jarosz seems able to play anything with strings; her instruments in this show included acoustic and electric guitars, banjo and her unusual octave mandolin, an eight-stringed instrument the size of a small guitar.


Friday, Feb. 24: If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to play rock ‘n’ roll at 10 a.m. on a cruise ship, the answer is, “It is if you’re the North Mississippi Allstars.” Playing to a nearly capacity crowd in the Jade’s largest indoor venue, the Stardust Theater, the Allstars (Luther and Cody Dickinson, plus bassist Dominic Davis, who played with several artists) featured a mix of acoustic blues and all-out boogie. Cody, usually the Allstars’ drummer, yielded the


Richard Thompson


skins to Brady Blade, also from Miller’s band, to step out front on guitar and vocals for the traditional “Deep Ellum Blues.” The set closed with a fine rendition of the classic “Sitting on Top of the World,” featuring Luther and his coffee-can guitar.


Also: Singer-songwriter and Cayamo music cruise first-timer Aoife O’Donovan played a mostly original set, by turns quiet and loud, in the Spinnaker. She was assisted by guitarist Anthony da Costa and drummer Steve Nistor, along with guests Stuart Duncan on fiddle and Sarah Jarosz (who has played in the folkie trio I’m With Her with O’Donovan and former Nickel Creeker Sara Watkins). O’Donovan closed with a lovely rendition of Steve Winwood’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” that might have drawn a few tears from those old enough to remember Blind Faith’s version.


Saturday, Feb. 24: The gospel show has become a well-loved Cayamo tradition. This year it took the form of a songwriter round rather than a succession of artists as in the past. Featured were country singer turned soul belter Bonnie Bishop, Nashville songwriters and performers (and spouses) Lari White and Chuck Cannon, and Sarah Potenza. Lending support were guitarists Ian Crossman, who’s married to Potenza, and Ford Thurston, who plays with Bishop, and bassist Patrick Blanchard). The show featured some traditional gospel, or at least gospel-ish, songs such as “I Shall Be Released” and “Power in the Blood,” as well as spiritual offerings such as Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody” and (perhaps inevitably in the wake of Leonard Cohen’s passing) a slow, intense rendition of “Hallelujah” by Potenza.


Bonnie Bishop


Also: The Wainwright Family, featuring patriarch Loudon Wainwright III and various descendants, exes and others, performed an excellent and eclectic set in the Stardust, kicking off with a team-effort “Meet the Wainwrights” to introduce the players. The cast included Wainwright’s son, Rufus Wainwright; his daughters, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche; Lucy’s mother, Suzzy Roche, and Wainwright’s sister, Sloan Wainwright. Guests included Emmylou Harris, who performed a song in honor of Wainwright’s former wife, the late folksinger Kate McGarrigle; Brandi Carlile, with the Hanseroth twins; fiddler-mandolinist David Mansfield, and guitarist Stephen Murphy. The show closed with an all-hands-on-deck sing-along on Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” and a nice solo piano rendition of “Hallelujah” by Rufus Wainwright.


Honorable mentions on the Cayamo Music Cruise: Oklahoma folk-blues prodigy Parker Millsap, Mississippi rocker Paul Thorn, Nashville neo-diva Angaleena Presley, Colorado bluegrass outfit Trout Steak Revival, Nashville country-pop band Skyline Motel, North Carolina rockers American Aquarium, soulful Nashville singer-songwriter Sam Lewis, singer-songwriters Beth Wood and Patty Griffin, Nashville country traditionalist Lee Ann Womack, former Civil Wars member John Paul White, rising country artist Ryan Hurd, Nashville songstress Ruby Amanfu, former Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips, young singer-songwriter Brian Dunne, new country star Maren Morris, Cayamo t’ai-chi master and clotheshorse Jim Lauderdale, Alabama folkie-rockers The Mulligan Brothers, and former Sea Level keyboardist and saxophonist Randall Bramblett.

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
New: Mavericks, Rodney Crowell, Drew Holcomb

	

		 in Americana Music, Nashville music, New releases	

			    

				    








			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Americana Music Grammy award nominees announced

	

		 in Americana Music	

			    

				    

Basic CMYKThe Recording Academy has announced this year’s nominees for Grammy Awards and the roster of Americana artists is rich and familiar. The nominees for both Best Americana Album and Best American Roots song are almost identical, with Jason Isbell, the Mavericks, Punch Brothers and  Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell appearing in both categories.


Winners will be announced on Feb. 15 in Los Angeles.




Best Americana Album


Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher’s Daughter


Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, The Traveling Kind


Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free


The Mavericks, Mono


Punch Brothers, The Phosphorescent Blues




Best American Roots Song


The Mavericks, “All Night Long”


Don Henley & Merle Haggard, “The Cost of Living”


Punch Brothers, “Julep”


Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, “The Traveling Kind”


Jason Isbell, “24 Frames”




Best American Roots Performance


Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, “And Am I Born to Die”


Buddy Guy, “Born to Play Guitar”


The Milk Carton Kids, “City of Our Lady”


Punch Brothers, “Julep”


Mavis Staples, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”






Best Bluegrass Album


Dale Ann Bradley, Pocket Full of Keys


Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, Before the Sun Goes Down


Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, In Session


Ralph Stanley & Friends, Man of Constant Sorrow


The Steeldrivers, The Muscle Shoals Recordings




 Best Folk Album


Norman Blake, Wood, Wire & Words


Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn


Rhiannon Giddens, Tomorrow Is My Turn


Patty Griffin, Servant of Love

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
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.



			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Cayamo Day 3: Richard Thompson, John Prine, Rodney Crowell

	

		 in Americana Music, Festivals, Music Cruise News	

			    

				    
By Paul T. Mueller 


Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson


Legendary British folkie and guitar monster Richard Thompson played the first of his three sets at 1:00 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, in the Norwegian Pearl’s Stardust Theater. Backing him in his Electric Trio were bassist Taras Prodaniuk and drummer Michael Jerome, and the result was for the most part a thunderous affair – too loud for at least a few attendees, in fact. But the musicianship was excellent as expected and the sound was clean, as the trio ripped through such Thompson favorites as “Sally B” (with a little Pete Townshend jump at the end), “You Can’t Win” (featuring an extended solo), the jazzy “Al Bowlly’s in Heaven,” and “Wall of Death,” another long jam. There were also some new songs – “Josephine” and “Amsterdam,” both acoustic tunes, and “Guitar Heroes,” a tribute to Thompson’s role models. Called back for an encore, Thompson showed his country side on “Tear Stained Letter.”


Rodney Crowell, a second-timer on the cruise, followed with an excellent set featuring guitarist Steuart Smith. Crowell opened with a new song, “East Houston Blues,” before moving on to more familiar territory, including “Sex and Gasoline,” “Moving Work of Art” and “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight.” He described the inspiration for a couple of songs dealing with HIV, both from his fine 2001 album The Houston Kid, and then played both – “I Wish It Would Rain,” mostly as a solo effort, and “Wandering Boy,” accompanied brilliantly by Smith. The anthemic “Still Learning How to Fly” and the sing-along favorite “Pancho and Lefty” followed, and Crowell finished with the moving “Til I Can Gain Control Again.”


Lyle Lovett’s Q & A show Monday at 5:00 was a mix of music and dry comedy. The questions, from audience members, covered such diverse topics as Lovett’s recovery from injuries suffered during a run-in with a bull some years ago (he had high praise for his doctors); his experiences as a young artist playing in New York; what it’s like to have legendary drummer Russ Kunkel in his band, and even a question about how he stays so fit, from guest vocalist Shawn Colvin. The music included a fine rendition of “Friend of the Devil,” which Lovett recorded with Kunkel for a 1991 Grateful Dead tribute album; “Sleepwalking,” in response to a question about its enigmatic writer, Willis Alan Ramsey, and the inevitable “If I Had a Boat.”


Kacey Musgraves and John Prine
Kacey Musgraves and John Prine


Monday evening’s “Blind Faith” show was one of the week’s highlights. Admission was restricted to Cayamo 2014 passengers who put down deposits on this year’s cruise before the lineup was announced. Monday’s performers, whose identity was kept secret right up until showtime, turned out to be veteran singer-songwriter John Prine and rising country star Kacey Musgraves. It was an inspired pairing – each brought an impressive list of songs and the chemistry between them was (to borrow a word from the loquacious Jim Lauderdale) palpable. Prine’s selections included “Spanish Pipedream,” “Fish and Whistle,” “One Red Rose” and “That’s the Way the World Goes Round” (complete with a funny story about a fan who misheard a lyric as “happy enchilada”). Musgraves’ offerings included “The Trailer Song,” “Merry Go ‘Round” and “Follow Your Arrow” and a couple of new songs, “Biscuits” and “Pageant Material.” Most were funny and all carried a serious message along with the wordplay. Prine and Musgraves teamed up on the Prine classics “In Spite of Ourselves” and “Angel from Montgomery,” but the best moment might have come when Musgraves sang her own “John Prine,” in which she confesses a desire to “burn one with John Prine,” and Prine followed with his pot paean “Illegal Smile,” with help from the audience on the choruses. It was a classic Cayamo moment. Prine closed the show with a nice rendition of his environmental anthem “Paradise.”


A quick visit to the pool deck found Lucinda Williams and her band finishing up their show with a soulful reading of Gregg Allman’s “It’s Not My Cross to Bear,” followed by the rocking “Joy” and “Get Right with God.”


Soundcheck winner Amy Speace played the first of her three sets in the Spinnaker Lounge. She wisely brought along two of her East Nashville neighbors and friends, guitarist Tim Easton and fiddler Megan Palmer, and they did a fine job on such excellent tunes as “The Fortunate Ones,” “The Killer in Me” and “Hunter Moon.” Many of Speace’s lyrics deal with relationships, often troubled ones, and her sharp writing and world-class voice make for an emotionally moving performance. The seemingly omnipresent John Fullbright put in a guest appearance for the lovely “The Sea and the Shore.” Speace ended her set with “Hymn for the Crossing,” a funeral song, but one with a joyous message. “Don’t need a golden box for my bones/Don’t need your weeping and wailing,” Speace sang. “Don’t need my name carved into stone/Just sing me a hymn for the crossing.”


Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Michelle Malone has a reputation for being a fiery rocker, but she’s equally at home with quieter material. Toward the end of her Monday night Atrium show she performed a cool, jazzy take on the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” taken from the introspective Acoustic Winter album from last year. Things got livelier with the new song “When I Grow Up,” a fun and hopeful anthem; the Stratocaster-fueled “Teen Lament,” on which she got help from Black Lillies frontman Cruz Contreras and Alabama singer-songwriter Kristy Lee, and “Feather in a Hurricane.”

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Review: Rodney Crowell’s “Tarpaper Sky”

	

		 in Americana Music, Nashville music, Reviews	

			    

				    
TarpaperBy Ken Paulson


I was listening to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1979 album An American Dream the other day and was reminded of the beauty of the title track, written by Rodney Crowell and included on his first solo album Ain’t Livin’ Long Like This” in 1978.


“American Dream,” ‘Til I Gain Control Again” and “Shame on the Moon” were all big hits in the hands of other artists, a reminder of just how resonant – and yes, commercial – a songwriter Crowell could be.


Crowell has had extraordinary success as an artist in recent years,  including striking collaborations with Mary Karr on KIN and Emmylou Harris on Old Yellow Moon. His last four solo albums have been autobiographical, topical and sometimes stark.


In contrast, Tarpaper Sky, ( New West) his latest, is not a concept album or project and its tone is often joyous and adventurous. It has more of the spirit of Crowell’s  early recordings, possibly due to the co-production of his ‘80s collaborator Steuart Smith.


The album opens with the soaring “The Long Journey Home,” followed by the jaunty “Fever on the Bayou” (When she gets a hold me/Mucho me-oh-my-oh”) and the full-throttle love song “Frankie Please.” This one’s fun.


The reflective Crowell is still here, with the Karr co-write “God I’m Missing You” and the sentimental “Grandma Loved That Old Man.”


Closing out the album are two tributes: “The Flyboy & the Kid,” a tip of the hat to friend and mentor Guy Clark, and “Oh What a Beautiful World,” a nod to John Denver.


It’s been too long since Sex and Gasoline, Crowell’s outstanding and largely overlooked  2008 solo album. Tarpaper Sky is a welcome addition to his rich body of work.


Follow Sun209 on Twitter at @Sun9com.

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Americana Music Festival releases 2012 line-up

	

		 in Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Nashville music, Reviews	

			    

				    
Americana Music News – The Americana Music Association has announced an impressive line-up for the Americana Music Festival & Conference September 12-15 in Nashville , with more performers to be named later.


As usual, the roster includes a good mix of accomplished veterans and emerging artists.


Among the biggest names: Billy Joe Shaver, the Punch Brothers, Brandi Carlile, Richard Thompson, Sara Watkins, John Hiatt, Steve Forbert and Rodney Crowell.


Also booked are newer artists who have enjoyed extensive airplay on Americana music radio, including honeyhoney, John Fullbright, The Deep Dark Woods, Shovels & Rope and Eilen Jewell.


The full list: American Aquarium, Amy Helm, Andrew Combs , Angel Snow, Anthony da Costa, Bearfoot, Belle Starr , Bill Kirchen, Billy Joe Shaver, Black Lillies, Blue Highway, Blue Mountain, BoDeans, Brandi Carlile, Brennen Leigh, Buddy Miller, Buxton, Caitlin Harnett, Chastity Brown, Corb Lund,Cory Branan, Darrell Scott, The Deep Dark Woods, Della Mae, Derek Hoke, the Dunwells, Eilen Jewell, Felicity Urquhart, Fort Frances, Gretchen Peters, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, honeyhoney, Humming House, Immigrant Union, Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Jill Andrews, Jim Lauderdale, Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition, John Fullbright, John Hiatt, Jordie Lane, Julie Lee, Kasey Anderson and the Honkies, Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, Kevin Gordon, Lera Lynn, Lydia Loveless, Mandolin Orange, Mary Gauthier, the Mastersons, Max Gomez, McCrary Sisters, Mindy Smith, Nicki Bluhm and The Gamblers, Phoebe Hunt, Punch Brothers, Reckless Kelly, Richard Thompson, Robert Ellis, Rodney Crowell, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, Sara Watkins, Shovels and Rope, Sons of Bill, Sons of Fathers, Star and Micey, Starr Anna, Steep Canyon Rangers, Steve Forbert, Teresa Williams, Larry Campbell, Tift Merritt, Turnpike Troubadours, Two Gallants, Wheeler Brothers, Whitehorse, The WoodBrothers and The World Famous Headliners.


You’ll find more details on the Americana Music Festival on their home site.


Follow Sun209: Americana Music News at @sun209com.



			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
New to chart: John Fullbright, Brandi Carlile

	

		 in Americana Music, Reviews	

			    

				    
Americana Music News – The top two slots in this week’s Americana Music Association radio chart hold steady, with JD McPherson’s Signs and Signifiers and Willie Nelson’s Heroes running 1-2.


New to the chart this week are John Fullbright’s From the Ground Up at #33 and Brandi Carlile’s Bear Creek at #40.


Most added this week to Americana music radio: Kin: Songs by Mary Karr and Rodney Crowell, Bear Creek,  Seth Walker’s Time Can Change, Chris Smither’s Hundred Dollar Valentine and the Honey DewDrops’ Silver Lining.


You’ll find the full Americana Music Association radio airplay chart here.


For daily Americana music news updates, follow us on Twitter @sun209com.

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
JD McPherson, Willie Nelson top Americana music chart

	

		 in Americana Music	

			    

				    
JD McPherson’s Signs and Signifiers moves to the top spot on the Americana music radio chart, followed closely by Willie Nelson’s Heroes.  Justin Townes Earle,  on top of the chart for many weeks, drops to third with Nothing’s Going to Change The Way You Feel About Me.


New to the chart: Kin: Songs by Mary Karr and Rodney Crowell at #29, Americana from Neil Young and Crazy Horse at #33  and Shawn Colvin’s All Fall Down at #38.


Top adds at Americana radio stations: Chris Smithers’  Hundred Dollar Valentine, Americana,  Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Ashes and Roses and  O ’Be  Joyful  from Shovels and Rope.


You’ll find the full Americana music radio chart here.


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

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
New to Americana chart: Grant Peeples, Jerry Douglas, Rhett Miller

	

		 in Americana Music	

			    

				    
Justin Townes Earle remains at the top position in Americana music radio with Nothing’s Going to Change The Way You Feel About Me, with JD McPherson’s Signs and Signifiers in the second slot.


New to the Americana music chart: Grant Peeples’ Prior Convictions at #37, Jerry Douglas’ Traveler at #39 and Rhett Miller’s The Dreamer at #40.


Most added on Americana music radio stations: KIN: Songs by Mary Karr and Rodney Crowell, Langhorne Slim’s The Way We Move, Shawn Colvin’s All Fall Down and the Honeycutters’ When Bitter Met Sweet.



Americana music news can be found on Twitter at @sun209com.

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

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

	

		 in Americana Music	

			    

				    
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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Follow Sun209: The Americana Music Journal on Twitter (sun209com) and Facebook.

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Bangles, Crowell, Ray headline 30A Songwriters Festival

	

		 in Songwriters	

			    

				    
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.

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, John Hiatt and a new generation

	

		 in Americana Music, Nashville music	

			    

				    
One of those only-in-Nashville evenings: On Dec. 19, 3rd and Lindsley will host the Generations Against the Death Penalty benefit concert. The idea is to pair famous parents with their talented kids in support of the cause.

The line-up includes:


– Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell and their daughter Chelsea Crowell

– John Hiatt and daughter Lilly Hiatt

– Gail Davies and son Chris Scruggs

– Ranger Doug and son James Green.


Proceeds will benefit Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Tickets are available online.

			    

			    
						

			

		

			

	

				

			

				

						
	
“Imagine No Gun Violence:” Nashville Lennon tribute

	

		 in Americana Music, Nashville music	

			    

				    
One of the best annual music events in Nashville each year has been the “Imagine No Handguns” concert, a celebration of the music of John Lennon and an effort to build awareness about gun violence. The show ran in Nashville from the mid-’90s through 2005, and is now back after a six-year break with the updated “Imagine No Gun Violence” title.

We first caught up with the show in 1999 at the Exit In, where we saw an impressive line-up of performers, including Rodney Crowell and Allison Moorer. It’s always a great show, featuring some of Nashville’s top talents.


The show is at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville on Friday, Dec. 9. Cover is $10, exactly what we paid in 1999.


This year’s roster includes:


Alcohol Stunt Band


Steve Allen


Bright Little Field


Austin Edwards 


Craig Krampf 


Jonathan Carpenter and Grayson Crouch 


Katie Cook and Roger Cook


Dez Dickerson


Jason Eskridge


Rosie Flores


Matt Friction 


James ‘Hags’ Haggerty 


Tommy Keenum


The Kingston Springs


Carey Kotsinois


Bill Lloyd


The Nobility


Dave Paulson


Chris Scruggs


The Jack Silverman Ordeal


Allen Thompson


Kenny Vaughan


Tommy Womack