Few could have produced the Mavericks’ creative resurgence after reuniting in 2012 that led to being voted the top Americana Music Band of 2015 by the voters of the Americana Music Association. Raul Malo talks about the band’s return to glory, their new label and other exciting new projects.
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By Ken Paulson
One of our biggest surprises in 2017 came near the end of the year with a performance by a young artist named Liz Brasher.
She was on the bill with Americana household names like Raul Malo, Will Hoge and Sierra Hull at the WMOT Roots Radio Holiday Party at the City Winery in Nashville. She was to be the third act onstage and I’m sure everyone anticipated making that phone call or heading to the restroom as this unknown artist made her way to the microphone. Except they didn’t.
From an opening song that could only be described as funky Ventures to sultry soul and a compelling cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Liz Brasher captivated the room, leaving with a standing ovation. Her debut album is due this spring on Fat Possum Records.
We were intrigued enough to ask for a brief interview, but we were only packing an iPhone, so her audio is much better than ours (which is as it should be.)
We began by asking her where her sound comes from:
Jon Latham delivered a great set for WMOT in Murfreesboro, Tennessee to encourage residents to support downtown businesses after a planned white supremacist rally wiped out business the previous weekend. In this interview with Americana Music News, he talks about the influence of Bruce Springsteen.
Billy Burnette has a fun new album “Crazy Like Me” that chronicles his career in music, including his years in Fleetwood Mac. We caught up with him at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville.
We’re written here about the terrific Dylan tribute “Positively Bob.” Here he tells how the album came about and reveals his granddaughter’s favorite Dylan song:
Americana Music News – The Band of Heathens have just topped the Americana Music Chart with Duende, their fifth album. The album bumped Jamestown Revival out of the top spot.
We had the opportunity to visit with the band’s Ed Jurdi on Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches Cruise two weeks ago:
One of the most buzzed-about bands on the recent Sandy Beaches cruise was the World Famous Headliners. We talked onboard with Shawn Camp about the group’s new album and his colorful bandmates Al Anderson, Pat McLaughlin, Michael Rhodes and Greg Morrow.
By Ken Paulson
Hemming may well have been the youngest artist on the Sail Across the Sun cruise (other than the School of Rock students), but won over audiences in her shows in the ship’s atrium.
Hemming
Hemming is the alter ego of Candice Martello, a singer-songwriter based in Philadelphia. Her appearance on Make or Break: The Linda Perry Project gave her solo career a jump start, and a debut album is in the works. She cites Cat Power and M. Ward among her influences.
We spoke with her just before the cruise ship left Miami.
Her thoughts on her music and emerging career:
We caught up with Greg Trooper on his return to Nashville after leaving the city in 2008. The Basement was packed with fans and friends, including a contingent from Boston. His almost two-hour show was a prime example of an artist capturing the room with just an acoustic guitar, striking songs, irreverence and energy.
In one of our Three-minute Interviews, Trooper talks about the “tawdry” cover of his new album Incident on Willow Street and life as a touring artist:
We loved Incident. You’ll find our review here.
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By Ken Paulson
Will Kimbrough is on a roll with his solo album Sideshow Love and band project Willie Sugarcapps both in this week’s Americana Music Association airplay chart.
We talked to Will about juggling multiple musical ventures and the unique cover on Sideshow Love, due for release on Feb. 18.
Follow the latest in Americana music news on Twitter at @Sun209com.
By Ken Paulson
Americana Music News — Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott have teamed up again for an impressive new album called Memories and Moments.
This is their second studio album, with songwriting duties split between the pair, and a powerful new collaboration on “Keep Your Dirty Lights On,” a powerful environmental message.
We had the chance to talk to Tim about the new album at the American Music Festival in Nashville.
Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @Sun209com.
Jim Lauderdale has hosted the Americana Music Festival awards show for more than a decade and is one of the genre’s biggest boosters. His thoughts on the music and on his friend and collaborator Robert Hunter:
Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter @Sun209com.
By Ken Paulson
Chip Taylor regularly attends the Americana music Festival and it’s always great to catch up with him. He wrote classic pop songs like “Angel of the Morning,” “I Can’t Let Go” and Wild Thing” and then carved out a country career in the early ’70s that was truly a precursor to what we now call Americana. Here’s Chip on his most recent work:
By Ken Paulson
Kim Richey has been all over the Americana Music Festival and it’s been great to see her showcase her fine new album Thorn in My Heart. Here’s a quick interview on the new album and her return to Nashville:
Sun209 – We caught up with Randall Bramblett at the Americana Music Festival. He played a great, but short set to open the evening at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville. Here’s Bramblett on his career and new album The Bright Spots:
By Ken Paulson
—Kevin Gordon is one of the most respected singer-songwriters in Nashville, which is saying something. Gloryland, his latest album, elicited rave reviews in the New York Times, USA Today and the Tennessean. Here he talks about the album and “Colfax,” a song about both his school marching band and courage in the face of adversity:
Larry Weiss, the songwriter behind “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Bend Me, Shape Me” appeared at this year’s Tin Pan South Festival along with Roger Cook and Peter Yarrow. In this interivew, he talks about writing his biggest hits.
Kenny Vaughan on "Outlaw Country"
Suzy Bogguss is appearing this afternoon at the Country Music Hall of Fame, performing Christmas music, songs she recorded with Chet Atkins and presumably material from her latest album, American Folk Songbook.
Songbook is an ambitious collection of traditional songs that have resonated with several generations. Boggus keeps it simple, singing warmly and with obvious affection for songs like “Shenandoah,” “Sweet Betsy From Pike” and “Red River Valley.” A companion book tells the stories behind the songs.
In this interview, Bogguss explains how the project came about:
I Love: Tom T. Hall’ Songs of Fox Hollow is one of those rare kids’ albums that will enchant children and adults in equal measure. We reviewed it enthusiastically in April and it’s great to see this salute to Tom T. and the original Fox Hollow album nominated for a Grammy for best children’s album..
Eric Brace of Last Train Home and Peter Cooper co-produced the album.
Here Brace talks about the Grammy nomination and the people who made it possible: