By Joe Ross – Eclectic singer/songwriter Mark W. Lennon is a transplanted tarheel guitarist who now makes his home in Los Angeles, so he’s probably encountered a little upheaval in life’s routines. Lennon points out that we can always count on the river to stay the same. A connection with The Songwriting School of Los Angeles is helping Lennon to…
Bangles, Crowell, Ray headline 30A Songwriters Festival
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…
Glen Campbell’s return to the Ryman
We reported here about Glen Campbell’s November 30 show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, but a return performance on Dec. 5 was postponed due to illness. Campbell made up that date this week. Here’s what Dave Paulson of the Tennessean said about the show: “Little appeared to be impeding his performance Tuesday night. Teleprompters set up at the edge of…
Carole King at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe
By Ken Paulson – Carole King performed some of her biggest hits in the relatively small confines of the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville Monday night, a memorable evening even in a city known for them. King’s “Troubador” tour with James Taylor was an enormous success, but the remininiscing was largely scripted, with the same photos and anecdotes appearing night after…
Will Kimbrough’s “Lick of the Day”
Sun209 contributor Will Kimbrough plays a piece of “Piece of Work” in the first Lick of the Day of 2012.
Rounder, New West, Lost Highway top Americana labels
Among the joys of Americana music is the range of artists and labels. Indie labels often break through, leading to dark horses and pleasant surprises. Yet this year’s Americana Music Association list of the top 100 albums from November 16, 2010 through November 14, 2011, serves as a reminder that the bigger labels still play a major role. An analysis…
Review: Mary Z. Cox -“Girl with the Banjo Tattoo”
By Joe Ross – Mary Z. Cox is an accomplished player, teacher (and collector) of banjos and mountain dulcimers. At last count, she has 17 banjos and 12 dulcimers. The Florida-based artist’s seventh album, Girl with the Banjo Tattoo is a solo project with Mary playing one or two instruments on each of the 14 tracks. On one cut, “Chickens…
Review: All the Real Girls’ “Tinsel Town”
By Joe Ross – The aching vulnerability of young people coming of age is the rootsy musical territory explored by All the Real Girls on their 5-song EP, Tinsel Town. Many songs have been inspired by life’s journeys and struggles, and this folk-rock project doesn’t succumb to cliches. Rather, the thoughtful music was written by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Peter Donovan…
John and Sheila Ludgate: “Running Through the Innocent Years”
By Joe Ross In “Payback Road,” the opening cut on Running Through the Innocent Years, Ontario-based folk duo John and Sheila Ludgate tell us that “everybody’s got to do their time, it separates the survivors from the cheap talk kind, and the scars they show through.” John plays guitar and harmonica; Sheila is a bass guitarist. And if anyone’s done…
Reviews: Dirt Drifters, Chris Isaak,Verlon Thompson, more
By Ken Paulson – As we close out 2011, there’s still a stack of CDs we’ve been meaning to write about. Here’s a quick round-up of noteworthy 2011 Americana music releases: The Dirt Drifters – This Is My Blood: We first came across the Dirt Drifters at a free-speech benefit in Nashville in 2009; they had tremendous energy on stage…
Lick of the Day: Will Kimbrough’s “Life”
Will Kimbrough wraps up 2011 with a nod to his parents’ 53rd wedding anniversary and a song called “Life.”
Americana music 2011: No Depression’s 50 favorites
No Depression has released its list of the Top 50 favorite albums of 2011, as voted by its fan community. It’s an interesting mix, with Gillian Welch’s The Harrow and the Harvest at the top, followed by a remarkable range of artists, genres, styles and ages. Some have complained that it’s a surprisingingly mainstream list for an alt-country site, but…
Review: Chicago Kingsnakes’ “Blue Mosaic”
By Joe Ross – As with any album I review, it’s usually the cover that first catches my eye. The Chicago Kingsnakes chose some artwork by modernist painter Marc Chagall to grace the cover of their new CD, “Blue Mosaic.” Like Chagall’s work in which his colors attract and capture attention, The Chicago Kingsnakes blend tones and graduated perspectives into…
Review: Michael Johnathon’s “Front Porch”
By Joe Ross – Michael Johnathon’s signature “folkestral” music is a pleasing blend of nicely-arranged, mostly original songs that incorporate his guitar and banjo along with occasional orchestral strings into pretty little ditties with downhome messages. Besides a Kentucky homeplace, he now owns a cozy little log cabin deep in the woods, and Front Porch is about his “search for…
Ricky Skaggs interview: Staying true to faith and music
By Terry Roland – Ricky Skaggs has made several critical transitions in both his musical and spiritual lives. Although few can argue with his success, there have been some detours and U-turns along the way. This is one of the many things that make Ricky Skaggs such a compelling and enduring figure in American music. As a carrier of the…
Jody Miller on Epic: Remembering the “Queen of the House”
“Answer” songs rarely launch careers. These records — far more common in the ’60s than today — “answered” hit records of the day, responding to a current hit in theme and sound in hopes of riding the coattails of an established record. Most of these novelty songs vanished quickly, but there were rare exceptions. Kitty Wells’ “It Wasn’t God Who…
Chuck Leavell: From Sea Level to tree level
By Bruce Rosenstein One of the best examples of a multi-dimensional person living in more than one world is Chuck Leavell. He is probably best known as a top-level pianist who has played with The Rolling Stones for nearly 30 years and was with the Allman Brothers Band before that. He has also led his own band, Sea Level, and…
Chuck Mead goes “Back to the Quonset Hut”
One of the coolest sites in Nashville is rarely seen by the public. The legendary Quonset Hut was once the most prominent studio on Music Row, the home of such recordings as “King of the Road,” “Crazy” and “I Fall to Pieces.” In the ‘80s, it was converted into office space, a disturbing fate for what was once a magical…
Tin Pan South Festival dates in Nashville announced
Tin Pan South, the annual songwriters’ festival, wil be held in Nashville March 27-31, according to the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Festival passes will go on sale on March 7 at the festival’s site. 2011 highlights of this always entertaining festival included Tom T. Hall’s appearance at the Bluebird Cafe, an all-Texas night at the Hard Rock Cafe and the…
Kenny Vaughan on “V”
Kenny Vaughan, guitarist for Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives, had a nice run on the Americana music radio chart with V, his solo debut. He says Stuart encouraged him to record the album so he would have something to sell at shows. In this interview backstage at the very noisy Mercy Lounge in Nashville, Vaughan talks about how he put the…