By Ken Paulson — The 1861 Project Volume 2 is a worthy and well-crafted sequel to the first edition, a remarkable collection of original songs about those who endured the Civil War. The new volume is sub-titled “From the Famine to the Front” and focuses on Irish immigrants of the era. That’s a niche subject, but the music here is…
Category: Reviews
Review: Kathryn Caine’s “When I Was His Wife”
By Paul T. Mueller –Singer-songwriter Kathryn Caine’s fifth album is a nice showcase for her fine songwriting and expressive singing, and she helps her own cause by acting as co-producer. Caine is from Charlottesville, Virginia, so it’s not surprising that the 12 songs on When I Was His Wife (10 of them written and one co-written by Caine) feature a…
Reviews: Jack Tempchin, Maura Rogers, Alvin Lee
By Ken Paulson— Catching up with recent and worthy releases: The CD/DVD set Live at Tales From the Tavern captures Jack Tempchin performing some of his best-known songs and a few other quirky originals in front of an audience. Tempchin’s contributions to the Eagles catalog included “Already Gone” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling. He also wrote big hits with Glen Frey,…
Diana Lawrence’s “To: Aging Children”
Americana Music News — We’re still making our through CDs that were handed to us during the Americana Music Association conference and are enjoying Diana Lawrence’s To: Aging Children. Lawrence has a compelling voice and her themes about growing up are universal. Kudos, too, for the inventive packaging: An envelope with a letter inside, which doubles as liner notes. Definitely…
Americana music showcased in Brite video series
Americana Music News — As we count down to the Nov. 10 national broadcast of the Americana Music Festival Award show, you’ll want to check out a cool series of videos produced by Brite Revolution during the festival in Nashville. Here’s the kick-off video featuring honeyhoney: Follow Sun209:Americana Music Journal News at @sun209com.
Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul in Nashville Oct. 26
Americana Music News — Eileen Ivers, an extraordinary violinist best known for her performances with Riverdance, comes to Nashville on Friday, Oct. 26, for a concert at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s James K. Polk Theater. It should be a good fit. Just as Nashville has outgrown its country music roots, Ivers has moved past her reputation as a Celtic…
Brandi Carlile news: Conan and new tour dates
Americana Music News — Lots of news from the Brandi Carlile camp today: She’s set to perform Nov. 8 on Conan, has a new Daytrotter recording available and begins a new tour in Spokane tomorrow: October 11 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory 12 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory 14 – Fort Collins, CO @ Lincoln Center 16 –…
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings at the Franklin Theatre Oct. 20
Americana Music News — Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, a much-admired Americana Band from Canada, will perform at the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, TN on Oct. 20. The band, which is touring behind the new deluxe edition of Kings and Queens, will be joined by guest artists, including the McCrary Sisters and Chelsea Crowell. The Franklin Theatre, a terrific venue…
Kathy Mattea, Ry Cooder enter Americana Music Chart
Americana Music News — John Hiatt’s Mystic Pinball remains in the top spot in the Americana Music airplay chart, followed by the latest albums from Dwight Yoakam, Rodney Crowell and Bob Dylan. The new entries in the chart this week are particularly thought-provoking: Kathy Mattea’s Calling Me Home, an album about mining and life in West Virginia, and Ry Cooder’s…
New to chart: Mumford & Sons, Iris DeMent, Ben Sollee
Americana Music News — Experience shows on the Americana Music Association Airplay Chart this week. John Hiatt remains at number one with Mystic Pinball, followed by Rodney Crowell’s Kin, Bob Dylan’s Tempest and Dwight Yoakam’s Three Pears. New to the chart: Iris DeMent’s Sing the Delta, Ben Sollee’s Half-Made Man and Mumford and Sons’ Babel. Among the most added non-charting…
Trouble in the Fields: An Artists’ Tribute to Nanci Griffith
Americana Music News — It’s about time Nanci Griffith had a tribute album. After all, she’s been generous in her contributions to other tribute collections, celebrating the careers of Townes Van Zandt, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, among others. The new album ,Trouble in the Fields: An Artists’ Tribute to Nanci Griffith on Paradiddle Records, is due Nov. 6, Here’s the…
Concert review: Martina McBride at the Ryman
By Ken Paulson — Eleven is the title of Martina McBride’s latest album, and those digits began the onscreen countdown for her performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville tonight. That bit of stagecraft foreshadowed a generous two-hour set spanning most of her hits and a surprising number of covers. Martina told the audience from the outset that this would…
Concert review: Nick Lowe both classic and current
By Ken Paulson —Nick Lowe has been a regular in Music City in the last year or so, opening for Wilco at the Ryman Auditorium and being feted at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Still, it was a real treat to see him deliver a decades-spanning acoustic set at the Mercy Lounge Saturday night. The 64-year-old Lowe has aged…
Concert review: John Prine and Alejandro Escovedo
By Paul T. Mueller — If you happened to be looking for an outstanding demonstration of the art of musical storytelling, there was no better place to find it on Sept. 21 than the John Prine-Alejandro Escovedo concert at Houston’s Cullen Performance Hall. Prine and Escovedo, among the finest singer-songwriters working today, approach their craft from somewhat different angles, but…
Review: David Grissom live at Under the Volcano in Houston
By Paul T. Mueller — Houston guitar fans got a rare treat this week when super sideman-turned-bandleader David Grissom came to town for a show at the Under the Volcano club. The near-capacity crowd – maybe 200 or so, most of them standing – was treated to a 13-song set featuring highlights from various phases of Grissom’s fine career, plus…
New to chart: Dylan, Calexico, Steve Forbert, Chris Knight
Americana Music News — Rodney Crowell holds onto the number one spot again this week on the Americana Music Airplay Chart with Kin, followed closely by the fast-rising Mystic Pinball from John Hiatt. It’s no surprise that Bob Dylan’s new album Tempest jumped into the chart at number six, almost doubling its number of spins in a week. Other new…
Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott: “We’re Usually a Lot Better Than This”
By Paul T. Mueller — Acoustic music, especially folk and bluegrass, has been described in some circles as “picking and grinning.” Here’s how it works with the new album by Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott: They did the picking, you’ll do the grinning. We’re Usually a Lot Better Than This, scheduled for release Oct. 9, is a live album drawn…
Americana music: Jason Isbell, Civil Wars named top artists
A diverse and groundbreaking group of artists were honored at tonight’s Americana Honors and Awards event at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, with 2011 emerging artist nominees the Civil Wars being named duo/group of the year. The album of the year was This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark, a project produced by Tamara Saviano and Shawn Camp,…
Steve Forbert’s “Over with You”
By Paul T. Mueller —Steve Forbert has been around for a long time – can it really have been more than 34 years since Alive on Arrival? – and there’s some weariness showing on his latest album, Over With You. Most of the 10 songs deal with the difficulties of relationships – maintaining one (“Baby I Know,” “All I Ask…
At the Bluebird Cafe: Kathy Mattea’s “Calling Me Home”
By Ken Paulson –Kathy Mattea revisited her roots on multiple levels tonight at the Bluebird Café in Nashville. She reminisced about appearing at the Bluebird 30 years ago and the performance that led to her first recording contract. But she also explored far deeper roots at this album release show for Calling Me Home, a collection of Appalachia-infused music, building on…