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…
Tag: Music
Bluebird Cafe: Amy Grant,Vince Gill,Don Schlitz,Richard Marx
[cincopa AIEAi062EkEs] By Ken Paulson Like Carole King’s appearance at the Bluebird Cafe earlier this month, tonight’s in-the-round featuring Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Richard Marx and Don Schlitz at the same Nashville venue was truly something special. Among the highlights at this benefit for Alive Hospice: – A guest turn by Jenny Gill, singing the touching “I Couldn’t Have Been More Wrong,” a…
Little Willies at #1; Gretchen Peters, Cash Box Kings, Elders enter chart
The Little Willies’ For the Good Times moves into the top spot on the Americana Music Association Airplay Chart this week, and the hottest album may be Nashville singer-songwriter Darrell Scott’s Long Ride Home (Full Light), which entered the chart last week at at #21 and moves up to #5. Gretchen Peters, another talented Nashville songwriter (whose Twitter feed we…
San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival set for Feb. 10
The 10-day San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival begins its ten-day run Feb. 10 in the Bay area. The 13th annual event consists of more than 30 shows at clubs in the region. Here’s the festival’s list of performers: Foghorn Stringband, Jeff Kazor & Lisa Berman, Anne and Pete Sibley, Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit, The Brothers Comatose, Emily Bonn…
Review: Chris Ronald’s “Turning Tides”
By Joe Ross Vancouver-based singer/songwriter Chris Ronald is usually heard in intimate listening environments where there is ample stage space, cold beer and good burgers. Restaurants, music circles and open mics are great places for small, attentive audiences to experience his music in its purest, unamplified form. In concert, he also talks about his influences, song ideas, inspirations, and the…
30A Songwriting Festival: Rodney Crowell, Steve Forbert and the Bangles
By Ken Paulson Seaside, Florida – The third annual 30A Songwriters Festival, closed out its three-day run today, wrapping up an ambitious and entertaining celebration of songs. Very similar in scope and approach to Nashville’s’ Tin Pan South Festival, run by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, 30A showcases a wide range of artists and genres in both open-air and intimate…
Bangles showcase great songs and writers
By Ken Paulson –Seaside, Fla. — As headliners at the 30A Songwriters Festival, the Bangles proudly proclaimed their founding three decades ago. Both the band and their music have held up remarkably well. There’s some irony in the Bangles being the biggest names at the festival because while they’ve written a good part of their material, some of their biggest…
Matthew Sweet at 30A Songwriters Festival
Matthew Sweet opened the afternoon show at the 30A Songwriters Festival with a set that drew heavily from his breakthrough 1991 album Girlfriend. Sweet joked that the girlfriend was now 21 and old enough to drink. It was a tough setting for Sweet. Most of the crowd had come to see the Bangles, and though there’s some stylistic common ground,…
30A Songwriters Festival begins
Sun209 is headed for Santa Rose Beach, Florida to cover the 30A Songwriters Festival this weekend. Watch for updates on Twitter (sun209com) and on this site. The News Herald of Panama City previewed the festival today. You’ll find the full story by Tony Simmons here, but here’s a preview: Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles described the event as “a series…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…