The reunited Foster and Lloyd
There’s plenty of time-tripping to be done tonight as the Americana Music Festival opens in Nashville.
It’s a measure of the genre’s wide embrace that performers who first hit their stride in every decade since the ’60s – and songs that were written years before that – are in the mix of showcase performances.
At the Rutledge at 9 p.m., country music legend Connie Smith will perform. She had her first number one record in 1963 with “Once A Day” and just released a new album, “Long Line of Heartaches.”
Marshall Chapman, playing at 8 p.m. at the Station Inn, began her recording career in 1977, and has long been one of Nashville’s most respected and irreverent songwriters and storytellers. Some of her performances include readings from her very entertaining books. The latest is “They Came To Nashville.”
The reunited Foster and Lloyd (pictured) emerged in the mid-’80s, when they brought a fresh sound to country music with songs like “Crazy Over You” and “What Do You Want From Me This Time?” Their new album “It’s Already Tomorrow” may be their best.
You get the idea. Just look at the line-up at the Cannery Ballroom tonight. From the Muscle Shoals tribute to The Blind Boys of Alabama (founded in 1939), to the very contemporary breakout duo The Civil Wars, the bill and the festival cut a wide swath across American music.