It’s an unusual week on the Americana music airplay chart, with no new entries in the top 40. The Chimes of Freedom Dylan tribute and Gretchen Peters’ Hello Cruel World are among the biggest gainers, with both breaking into the top 10. The real action is on the most-added list with Anais Mitchell’s Young Man in America, Otis Taylor’s Contraband,…
The classic roots-rock of Springfield, Missouri
By Bruce Rosenstein – If I could be magically transported to any roots-rock gig, I’d pick wherever guitarist D. Clinton (Donnie) Thompson and bassist Lou Whitney are playing, in whatever band configuration. For nearly 35 years, these Springfield, Missouri musicians have led excellent bands with a revolving cast of members under the names The Skeletons, The Morells and The Symptoms.…
Richard Thompson times 3 on Cayamo
Richard Thompson was a solo artist on Cayamo this week. And a member of a duo. And a member of a trio. And it was all good. Thompson teamed with Loudon Wainwright for a reprise of Loud and Rich, playing a few originals, but largely covers of songs ranging from Bob Dylan to Charlie Poole. He also played two…
Lucinda Williams on Cayamo
Lucinda Williams seemed to take a while to get accustomed to playing on a cruise ship, with her shows getting stronger throughout the week on Cayamo. She acknowledged her growing comfort level at the outset of her third and final show, saying it takes a while to get your bearings on board and that she was excited to play the…
Cayamo Week in Tweets
Celebrating Leo Kottkes’ debut album http://t.co/fvzY2lia # Opening night on @Cayamo: Brady and Manning vs. Lovett and Hiatt. # There are big names on @Cayamo – John Prine, Lucinda – but we’re also looking forward to some newcomers, particularly @thebellebrigade # Monday on @Cayamo: @thecivilwars, @sarawatkins,@thebellebrigade, Loudon Wainwright and Richard Thompson Trio. # We’ve spent a lot of time at…
Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale celebrate George Jones
Jim Lauderdale dropped in on Buddy Miller’s first show on Cayamo, a music festival on a cruise ship. Dressed in bright red slacks and shirt worthy of the Opry, Lauderdale apparently inspired Miller to do a three-song tribute to George Jones, a man both artists admire. Lauderdale even portrayed Jones in a production at the Ryman in Nashville a few…
John Prine on Cayamo
By Ken Paulson Four of the best minutes in a week full of great music on Cayamo came as Iris DeMent joined John Prine on “in Spite of Ourselves,” their very funny duet from the album of the same name. Prine is always a professional, and his shows with Dave Jacques and Jason Wilber are well-paced, spanning his best work…
Civil Wars rebound on Cayamo
The Civil Wars had to cancel a show due to John Paul White’s seasickness, but rebounded for a pair of shows on Tuesday. Their harmonies were pristine, despite the medical setback. The set was essentially their Barton Hollow album, plus reconstructions of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” White thanked an onboard doctor…
Belle Brigade dance party
Americana music fans are good listeners, but it’s rare for a dance party to break out in their midst. The best dancing on the Cayamo cruise this week has been at any show by the Belle Brigade. The young band opened the music cruise with a set on the pool deck on Sunday and then followed up with a late…
John Hiatt, Lyle Lovett on Cayamo
Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt left their bands behind on this Cayamo trip and instead teamed up as an acoustic duo. They’re touring together this year and are obviously comfortable with each other. Lovett is the prodder, throwing out seemingly spontaneous comments and questions, and Hiatt is his wry equal. It’s a measure of their chemistry that you leave…
Ben Kweller, Kevin Gordon enter Americana music chart
There are just two new albums on this week’s Americana music airplay chart, as the Little Willies continue to hold onto the number one slot with For the Good Times. New to the chart: – Ben Kweller’s Go Fly A Kite at #34 – Kevin Gordon’s Gloryland at #37 (Gordon’s Gloryland album release party is scheduled for Feb. 17 at…
Cayamo 2012: A floating music festival
By Ken Paulson Cayamo, a Sixthman music festival on a cruise ship, is about to launch from the Port of Miami, with a boat full of musicians and Americana music zealots. This is a distinctly different cruise, one on which the passengers give far less thought to destinations than their seat locations at dozens of different performances. The line-up boasts…
Celebrating Leo Kottke’s “6- & 12-String Guitar”
By Marv Wells No singing. No backup band. No accompaniment of any kind. Just exactly what the album cover says… 6- & 12-String Guitar. Pure and simple. Forty-three years ago, a young Leo Kottke recorded his second album, his first and only for Takoma Records, an obscure label founded by an eccentric master of the guitar, John Fahey. Who knew…
Review: Bill Monroe 100th Year Celebration: Live At Bean Blossom
By Joe Ross – A CD sampler of live cuts from a bluegrass festival can rarely capture the real feeling and spirit of those special musical moments when bands play their hearts out to thousands of fans. However, second best to actually being there, some favorite LPs of mine were those double-disc sets with an array of professional bluegrass bands…
Sun209: The week in Tweets
New Townes Van Zandt biography captures his spirit and legacy http://t.co/QpwyXcCe # Feb. 3, 1959: Remembering Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. http://t.co/vlUte1wF # Sun209 will be reporting from @Cayamo this week. Watch for news and photos. http://t.co/Q1ICrTZT #cayamo #
Feb. 3, 1959:The music lives on
By Marv Wells “Clear Lake/Mason City” the highway sign reads. How many times have I driven past this exit on 1-35 over the past 30+ years and said “Someday I’ll check it out?” “It” was the site of Buddy Holly’s plane crash in 1959. Somehow I’d gotten the impression that Clear Lake was a ways off, thirty miles or more.…
Guy Clark tribute #1; Ani DeFranco, Orbo & Longshots, Sons of Fathers enter chart
This One’s For Him, the outstanding double-CD tribute to Guy Clark, lands in the #1 spot this week after a steady run up the Americana Music radio airplay chart. You’ll find our review here. New to the chart this week: – At #17, the massive Chimes of Freedom tribute to Bob Dylan. The album, with a generation-spanning line-up of artists (Patti…
Review: Carolina Road’s “Back to My Roots”
By Joe Ross It’s been about five years since I reviewed Carolina Road’s two releases on Tom T. Hall’s Blue Circle Records label. I found the hardworking band from North Carolina to be fully dedicated to presenting a traditional bluegrass sound with a copious amount of contemporary charisma. Now associated with Rural Rhythm Records, Back to My Roots is the band’s…
Review: I’ll Be Here In The Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt
By Terry Roland I’ll Be Here In The Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt by Brian T. Atkinson Published by Texas A&M University Press. The question comes to mind when first picking up Brian Atkinson’s new book, I’ll Be Here In The Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt: Do we need another book or really any…
Review: Danny Barnes’ “Rocket”
By Ken Paulson – Danny Barnes’ album is best listened to and not described. After all, how many would flock to hear an album by a banjo player, with Dave Mathews on background vocals and a T.Rex cover in the mix? What do you file that under? A driving force behind the Bad Livers, Barnes is never predictable. His Rocket,…