Category Archives: Country Music

Shepard Fairey Unveils 15-Story Johnny Cash Mural

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American contemporary street artist and graphic designer Shepard Fairey is best known for his viral designs featuring wrestler Andre the Giant and his “Hope” poster featuring Barack Obama.

Last Saturday Fairey unveiled a 15-story mural of Johnny Cas in downtown Sacramento, CA., just over 25 miles from where his historic Folsom Prison performance took place. Fairey stated on his Instagram account that the event was to commemorate …”the 50th anniversary of Cash’s Live at Folsom Prison album, and I hope that this art will ignite a conversation around the need for incarceration reform.”

Johnny Cash was an outspoken advocate of prison reform.

Prints are available for sale here.

If you've been following updates this week, you know that I'm in #Sacramento for @WideOpenWalls. The crew and I just completed my 15-story #JohnnyCash at #FolsomPrison mural, which is my largest in the state of #California and my most technically ambitious mural ever. The art is based on a photo by @JimMarshallPhoto which I used originally as part of my #AmericanCivics series. I’m grateful to be able to create this image on such a large scale as a tribute for the 50th anniversary of Cash’s Live at Folsom Prison album, and I hope that this art will ignite a conversation around the need for incarceration reform. According to a recent in-depth study by the Prison Policy Initiative, America has the highest incarceration rate in the world with a shocking 2.3 million people currently imprisoned. On top of that, our prisons are disproportionately filled with poor people of color, in fact, African Americans are 13% of the U.S. population, yet 40% of the prison population in this country. More African American men are under correctional control today than there were slaves in the 1850s according to a Huffington Post piece by writer and civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander. A portion of proceeds from the Johnny Cash print I made, currently available through @ToyRoomGallery, will benefit @Cut50. Thank you to @WideOpenWalls, @BrandedArts, and my crew of assistants, Dan Flores, Nic Bowers, Rob Zagula, and Luka Densmore for the 11-hour days we worked this week in the intense heat to get this mural finished! 📷 by @jonathanfurlong

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Lucinda Williams Announces Tour to Commemorate ‘Car Wheels On A Gravel Road’ Anniversary

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Lucinda Williams - Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone

I was lucky enough to be living in New York City in 2007 when Lucinda Williams hit multiple venues to play her entire discography in reverse order. I caught “Essence” at Irving Plaza which, as extraordinary as that was, paled in comparison to the performance of ‘Car Wheels On A Gravel Road’ a few nights later at Town Hall.

Williams was joined on stage by Steve Earle and Jim Lauderdale, two key members of that grueling recording session. They joined a band, which included Williams’ current guitarist extraordinaire Doug Pettibone, to revisit an album that arguably is one of the most influential and groundbreaking albums that shaped what we now call Americana music.

Now others will be able to experience that magic as Williams will hit the road starting this Fall to celebrate her landmark masterpiece by playing it in its entirety. Williams will then perform a second set which will showcase other songs from her storied career.

Most tickets for the upcoming tour will go on sale Thursday, August 23rd. Find them at her website.

Here are the Car Wheels on a Gravel Road 20th Anniversary Tour dates:

November 2 – Collingswood, NJ @ The Scottish Rite
November 3 – Northampton, MA @ The Calvin Theatre
November 5-6 – Boston, MA @ The Paradise
November 7 – New York, NY @ The Beacon Theatre
November 9 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
November 10 – Norwalk, CT @ Wall Street Theater
November 11 – Lebanon, NH @ Lebanon Opera House
November 13 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
November 14 – Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix Concert Theatre
November 16 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
November 17 – Berwyn, IL @ FitzGerald’s *

Bobbie Gentry Box Set ‘The Girl From Chickasaw County-The Complete Capitol Masters’ To Be Released This Fall

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Bobbie Gentry 'The Girl From Chickasaw County'

Great news for classic roots music fans! The first major retrospective box set celebrating the pioneering and enduring legacy of Bobbie Gentry will be released by Universal Music on September 21st.

“The Girl From Chickasaw County” is an 8 CD collection which includes all of the studio albums recorded by the Mississippi singer-songwriter, including more than 75 previously unreleased recordings. These extras include Gentry’s “lost” jazz album, outtakes, demos, and rarities, as well as a disc of live performances taken from the series she hosted on the BBC in 1968 and 1969 which was part of a vinyl-only release this past Record Store Day.

The set features specially commissioned cover art by David Downton and an 84-page book containing a comprehensive essay, rare and unseen photos, eight postcards and a facsimile of Gentry’s original handwritten lyrics for her signature hit ‘Ode To Billie Joe.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9jSKfTOQZ0

Pre-order “The Girl From Chickasaw County” here.

‘The Girl From Chickasaw County-The Complete Capitol Masters’ track list:

*previously unreleased

DISC 1 – ODE TO BILLIE JOE

1. Mississippi Delta
2. I Saw an Angel Die
3. Chickasaw County Child
4. Sunday Best
5. Niki Hoeky
6. Papa, Woncha Let Me Go to Town With You?
7. Bugs
8. Hurry, Tuesday Child
9. Lazy Willie
10. Ode to Billie Joe

BONUS TRACKS

11. The Seventh Son [Demo]*
12. I Saw an Angel Die [Demo] *
13. Niki Hoeky [Demo]*
14. Papa, Woncha Let Me Go to Town With You? [Demo]*
15. Hurry, Tuesday Child [Demo]*
16. Mississippi Delta [Alternate version]*
17. Sunday Best [Alternate take]*
18. Show-Off [Stereo version]*
19. La Siepe [Original 7”]
20. La Citta E’ Grande [Original 7”]

DISC 2 – THE DELTA SWEETE

1. Okolona River Bottom Band
2. Big Boss Man
3. Reunion
4. Parchman Farm
5. Mornin’ Glory
6. Sermon
7. Tobacco Road
8. Penduli Pendulum
9. Jessye’ Lisabeth
10. Refractions
11. Louisiana Man
12. Courtyard

BONUS TRACKS

13. The Seventh Son [Band version]*
14. Feelin’ Good [Demo]*
15. I Didn’t Know [Demo]*
16. Morning to Midnight [Demo]*
17. Refractions [Demo]*
18. Louisiana Man [Demo]*
19. Sermon [Demo]*
20. Morning Glory [Demo]*
21. Jessye’ Lisabeth [Demo]*
22. Courtyard [Demo]*
23. Louisiana Man [‘The Tom Jones Show’ 06/07/1968]*
24. Ode to Billie Joe [‘The Tom Jones Show’ 06/07/1968]*

DISC 3 – LOCAL GENTRY

1. Sweete Peony
2. Casket Vignette
3. Come Away Melinda
4. The Fool on the Hill
5. Papa’s Medicine Show
6. Ace Insurance Man
7. Recollection
8. Sittin’ Pretty
9. Eleanor Rigby
10. Peaceful
11. Here, There and Everywhere

BONUS TRACKS

12. Hushabye Mountain [Original 7”]
13. Skip A Long Sam [Ode to Bobbie Gentry]
14. Conspiracy of Homer Jones*
15. Sweet Peony [Alternate Version]*
16. Cotton Candy Sandman [Demo] *
17. Hushabye Mountain [Demo]*

DISC 4 – BOBBIE GENTRY & GLEN CAMPBELL

1. Less of Me
2. Little Green Apples
3. Gentle on My Mind
4. Heart to Heart Talk
5. My Elusive Dreams
6. (It’s Only Your) Imagination
7. Mornin’ Glory
8. Terrible Tangled Web
9. Sunday Mornin’
10. Let It Be Me
11. Scarborough Fair/Canticle

BONUS TRACKS

12. All I Have to Do Is Dream [Original 7”]
13. Walk Right Back [Original 7”]
14. Sunday Mornin’ [Alternate version]*
15. Let It Be Me [Without strings]*
16. Scarborough Fair/Canticle [without strings]*
17. Love Took My Heart and Mashed That Sucker Flat [Duet with Kelly Gordon] [Defunked, 1969]
18. Fool on the Hill [Japanese language version] [Original 7”]
19. No me quiero enamorar [Spanish Language ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’] [Original 7”]
20. En Todas Partes [Spanish Language ‘Here There and Everywhere’] [Original 7”]

DISC 5 – TOUCH ‘EM WITH LOVE

1. Touch ‘Em with Love
2. Greyhound Goin’ Somewhere
3. Natural to Be Gone
4. Seasons Come, Seasons Go
5. Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing
6. I Wouldn’t Be Surprised
7. Son of a Preacher Man
8. Where’s the Playground, Johnny
9. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again
10. You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

Bonus Tracks

11. More Today Than Yesterday*
12. Spinning Wheel*
13. Touch ‘Em with Love [Stereo version]*
14. Glory Hallelujah, How They’ll Sing [Alternate take]*
15. Seasons Come, Seasons Go [Demo]*
16. Suppertime*
17. God Bless The Child*
18. Since I Fell For You*
19. Save Your Love For Me*
20. Here’s That Rainy Day*
21. Stormy [Ode To Bobbie Gentry]
22. This Girls In Love With You
23. Windows of the World [The Best of Bobbie Gentry: The Capitol Years]

DISC 6 – FANCY

1. Fancy
2. Delta Man
3. Something in the Way He Moves
4. Find ‘Em, Fool ‘Em and Forget About ‘Em
5. He Made a Woman Out of Me
6. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
7. If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
8. Rainmaker
9. Wedding Bell Blues

BONUS TRACKS

10. In the Ghetto [I’ll Never Fall In Love Again (UK)]
11. Fancy [Mono radio edit]*
12. Apartment 21 [Original 7”]
13. Away In A Manger [The Christmas Sound of Music, 1969]
14. Scarlett Ribbons [The Christmas Sound of Music, 1969]
15. Circle ‘Round the Sun*
16. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head [Alternate take]*
17. Wedding Bell Blues [Alternate take]*
18. Apartment 21 [Without strings]*
19. Scarlett Ribbons [Alternate version]*
20. If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody [Live on ‘Top Of The Pops’]

DISC 7 – PATCHWORK

1. Benjamin
2. Interlude 1
3. Marigolds and Tangerines
4. Interlude 2
5. Billy the Kid
6. Interlude 3
7. Beverly
8. Interlude 4
9. Miss Clara/Azusa Sue
10. Interlude 5
11. But I Can’t Get Back
12. Jeremiah
13. Interlude 6
14. Belinda
15. Mean Stepmama Blues
16. Your Number One Fan
17. Interlude 7
18. Somebody Like Me
19. Lookin’ In

BONUS TRACKS

20. Smoke [The Best Of The Capital Years, 2007]
21. Joanne*
22. Salome Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear*
23. Benjamin [Alternate take]*
24. Belinda [Alternate version]*
25. Smoke (Demo)*
26. The Girl from Cincinnati [Original 7”]
27. You and Me Together [Original 7”]

DISC 8 – LIVE AT THE BBC

1. Mississippi Delta [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
2. Papa Won’t You Let Me Go To Town With You [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
3. I Saw An Angel Die [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968]*
4. My Dog Sargent [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968] *1.15
5. Ode to Billie Joe [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/03/1968] *
6. Mornin Glory [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]* 3.15
7. Sunday Best [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]*
8. Hurry Tuesday Child [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/27/1968]*
9. Nikki Hokey / Barefootin’ [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
10. Penduli Pendulum [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
11. Ace Insurance Man [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
12. Chickasaw County Child [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 08/10/1968]*
13. Recollection [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
14. Sweet Peony [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
15. Refractions [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
16. Greyhound Goin’ Somewhere [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
17. Cotton Candy Sandman [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 07/16/1969]*
18. Open Your Window [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
19. Mother Nature’s son [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
20. Mr Bojangles [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
21. Your Number One Fan [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 02/01/1971]*
22. He Made A Woman Out of Me [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
23. Billy the Kid [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*
24. Wailing Of The Willow [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*

25. Belinda [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*

26. Circle ‘Round The Sun [Live on ‘Bobbie Gentry’ 03/08/1971]*

*Previously unreleased

Colter Wall Readies New Album Coming This Autumn – Hear Two New Songs – Announces Extensive Tour

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Colter Wall - Songs of the Plains, October 12
Photo credit: Little Jack Films

The only downside to hearing a work as stunningly perfect as Colter Wall’s eponymous 2017 debut is the dread that the proverbial sophomore slump will strike down any hopes of experiencing that satisfaction the next time around.

Well if the two released cuts off WaLL’s highly-anticipated forthcoming release “Songs of the Plains’ (October 12 – Young Mary’s Record Co.) is any indication of the flavor of the remainder of the album you can put those apprehensions to rest. The timeless simple beauty of the arrangements are there transporting Wall’s deep baritone across country music’s golden years.

The first is ‘Plain to See Plainsman’ a delicate 4/4 strummer paying tribute to his Swift Current home in the prairies in a new-traditional style reminiscent of Marty Robbin’ “El Paso” and “Big Iron period. The song has an extra layer of beauty as Mickey Raphael’s signature harmonica wails in the distance like a midnight train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlinDMsUOcQ&t=8s

The second cut is a version of ‘Calgary Round-Up’ by real-life Alberta cowpuncher and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame / Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Wilf Carter, better known in the lower 48 as Montana Slim, 1961 release. Though much more toned-down and missing the original’s signature yodeling, you can close your eyes and still get the sense of the prairies winds coming off the plains accompanied by the cry of Lloyd Green’s pedal steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnVxeeZlE2M

Colter Wall - Songs of the Plains

Recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A with Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Lori McKenna), the album features 11 songs, seven original songs written by Wall as well as versions of Billy Don Burns’ “Wild Dogs,” the aforementioned Wilf Carter’s “Calgary Round-Up” and two cowboy traditional songs, “Night Herding Song” and “Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail.”

In addition to Wall (vocals, acoustic guitar), the album also features Cobb (acoustic guitar), Lloyd Green (pedal steel), Chris Powell (drums, spoons), Jason Simpson (bass), Mickey Raphael (harmonica), Blake Berglund (vocals) and Corb Lund (vocals).

Pre-order “Songs of the Plains’ here.

The track list is:
1. “Plain to See Plainsman” (written by Colter Wall)
2. “Saskatchewan In 1881” (written by Colter Wall)
3. “John Beyers (Camaro Song)” (written by Colter Wall)
4. “Wild Dogs” (written by Billy Don Burns)
5. “Calgary Round-Up” (written by Wilf Carter)
6. “Night Herding Song” (Cowboy Traditional)
7. “Wild Bill Hickok” (written by Colter Wall)
8. “The Trains are Gone” (written by Colter Wall)
9. “Thinkin’ on a Woman” (written by Colter Wall)
10. “Manitoba Man” (written by Colter Wall)
11. “Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail” (Cowboy Traditional)

Wall also announced a series of new tour dates starting in October. His full schedule is:
July 28 – Newport, RI-Newport Folk Festival
Aug. 3-4-Happy Valley, OR-Pickathon
Aug. 18-Fort Worth, TX-Cody Jinks’ Loud and Heavy Festival
Aug. 24-Tonder, Denmark-Tonder Festival
Aug. 29-London, U.K. -Scala
Aug. 30-Manchester, U.K. -Gorilla
Sept. 1-Salisbury, U.K. -End of the Road Festival
Sept. 2-Stradbally, Ireland-Electric Picnic
Sept. 14-15-Athens, Ontario-Festival of Small Halls
Sept. 16-Lansdowne Park, Ottawa-City Folk
Sept. 23-Indianapolis, IN-Holler on the Hill Festival
Oct. 13-Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-O’Brian’s Event Centre
Oct. 16-Regina, Saskatchewan-Conexus Convention Hall
Oct. 18-Edmonton, Alberta-Union Hall
Oct. 19-Calgary, Alberta-Macewan Hall Ballroom
Oct. 21-Missoula, MT-Top Hat
Oct. 22-Bozeman, MT-The Rialto
Oct. 23-Billings, MT-Pub Station Taproom
Oct. 25-Omaha, NE-The Waiting Room
Oct. 26-Des Moines, IA-Wooly’s
Oct. 27-Maquoketa, IA-Codfish Hollow Barn
Oct. 28-Detroit, MI-Majestic Theatre
Oct. 30-Columbus, OH-A&R Music Bar
Oct. 31-Pittsburgh, PA-Club AE
Nov. 2-Somerville, MA-Somerville Theater
Nov. 3-South Burlington, VT-Higher Ground Ballroom
Nov. 5-New York, NY-Irving Plaza
Nov. 8-Charlotte, NC-Neighborhood Theatre
Nov. 9-Richmond, VA-Capital Ale House
Nov. 11-Carrboro, NC-Cats Cradle
Nov. 14-15-Nashville, TN-The Basement East
Nov. 16-Asheville, NC-The Grey Eagle
Nov. 17-Atlanta, GA-Variety Playhouse
Nov. 18-Charleston, SC-Charleston Music Hall
Nov. 24-Toronto, Ontario-Opera House
Nov. 28-Washington, D.C. -9:30 Club
Dec. 1-Madison, WI-Majestic Theatre
Dec. 2-Columbia, MO-The Blue Note
Dec. 10-Santa Fe, NM-Meow Wolf
Dec. 12-Solana Beach, CA-Belly Up
Dec. 14-Los Angeles, CA-El Rey Theatre
Jan. 19-Vancouver, British Columbia-Commodore Ballroom
Jan. 20-Seattle, WA-The Showbox @ The Market

‘King of the Road’ Roger Miller Tribute Recruits Alison Krauss, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson

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Roger Miller

Few people these days are aware of the gENius of Roger Miller. If he’s known at all it’s for his deceptively goofy sons like ‘Dang Me’ and Z”You Can’t Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd.” He was also the one of the greatest songwriters to ever work the country music genre snagging 11 Grammy Awards, a Tony Award for writing the music and lyrics for the Broadway play “Big River’ and was voted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995. He performed, and was friends with greats like Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

Speaking of Kris Kristofferson, Miller was also the to record and commercially release his “Me and Bobby McGee” a full year before Janis Joplin made it a classic.

Now his friends and new blood that owe him a debt have come together to pay tribute. ‘King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller,’ out Aug. 31 via BMG, pays long overdue respects to one of American music’s premier entertainers and songwriters. The two-disc collection contains new renditions of Miller’s songs by Ringo Starr, Dolly Parton, Eric Church, Loretta Lynn, John Goodman and more than two dozen others, including Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard on one track. Produced by Miller’s son, Dean Miller, and Colby Barnum Wright, ‘King of the Road’ offers a fresh look at the work of a creative giant who has been gone 26 years but whose genius continues to shape contemporary music in ways both overt and subtle.

Read more about the project in a new interview at The Tennessean: https://tnne.ws/2toJY7B

Before Miller’s premature death of cancer at age 56, the Country Music Hall of Famer had 31 Top 40 Billboard country hits (10 of which crossed over to the pop chart), including his signature songs “Dang Me” and “King of the Road.” He held the record for most GRAMMY wins in a single night until Michael Jackson and ‘Thriller’ broke it in 1984. Miller wrote songs and voiced a character for Walt Disney’s 1973 Robin Hood film. He also wrote the music and lyrics for the Tony-winning Big River, helping launch the career of actor John Goodman, who reprises the musical’s “Guv’ment” on ‘King of the Road.’ As Dean Miller writes in liner notes accompanying ‘King of the Road,’ “Roger Miller was too gigantic to be contained by genres and definitions.”

‘King of the Road’ includes versions of Miller’s biggest ’60s hits, like “Chug-A-Lug” (Asleep at the Wheel ft. Huey Lewis) and “England Swings” (Lyle Lovett), and lesser-known treasures from a catalog full of gems. As with Miller’s own output, the album contains plenty of unexpected turns — country superstar Eric Church’s playful take on Robin Hood’s “Oo De Lally,” for instance, or Starr’s selection of “Hey, Would You Hold It Down?,” a song from Miller’s long-out-of-print 1979 ‘Making a Name for Myself’ album. By any standard of measurement, Miller was “one of the greatest songwriters that ever lived” — even if he did say so himself. And he did, in the first of a handful of the album’s live-performance interstitials that capture the spontaneous wit of a mind that operated at a breakneck pace.

There is a television event in the works, more information coming soon.

The scope of material and performances on ‘King of the Road’ both capture Miller’s personality and convey an astonishing legacy that’s still felt today. “Roger Miller didn’t have to say much,” Dean writes in the liners. “You were simply drawn to him. He had a magnetic smile, and electric wit and a passion for life and music that transcended generations.”

‘King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller’ Tracklist:

Disc One
Greatest Songwriter (Banter)
Chug-a-Lug – Asleep at the Wheel ft. Huey Lewis (!)
Dang Me – Brad Paisley
Leavin’s Not the Only Way to Go – The Stellas/Lennon and Maisy
Kansas City Star – Kacey Musgraves
World So Full of Love – Rodney Crowell
Old Friends (Banter)
Old Friends – Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard
Lock Stock and Teardrops – Mandy Barnett
You Oughta Be Here With Me – Alison Krauss ft. The Cox Family
The Crossing – Ronnie Dunn, The Blind Boys of Alabama
In the Summertime – The Earls of Leicester ft. Shawn Camp
Fiddle (Banter)
England Swings – Lyle Lovett
You Can’t Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd – Various Artists
Half a Mind – Loretta Lynn
Invitation to the Blues – Shooter Jennings, Jessi Colter
It Only Hurts Me When I Cry (Live) – Dwight Yoakam

Disc Two
Hey, Would You Hold It Down? – Ringo Starr
Engine, Engine #9 – Emerson Hart ft. Jon Randall
When Two Worlds Collide – Flatt Lonesome
Oo De Lally – Eric Church
You Can’t Do Me This Way and Get By With It – Dean Miller ft. The McCrary Sisters
Chicken S#$! (Banter)
Nothing Can Stop Me – Toad the Wet Sprocket
Husbands and Wives – Jamey Johnson ft. Emmylou Harris
I Believe in the Sunshine – Lily Meola
Guv’ment – John Goodman
Old Songwriters Never Die (Banter)
The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me – Dolly Parton ft. Alison Krauss
I’d Come Back to Me – Radney Foster ft. Tawnya Reynolds
Reincarnation – Cake
One Dying and a Burying – The Dead South
Do Wacka Do – Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
King of the Road – Various Artists

Willie Nelson Abruptly Leaves The Stage During Charlotte NC Show – UPDATE

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Willie Nelson currently on the road headlining the Outlaw Music Festival left the stage abruptly without playing or singing a note Saturday night.

Live Nation issued a press release after 11 p.m. that same night: “Due to illness, Willie Nelson was unable to play tonight at the Outlaw Music Festival at PNC Music Pavilion Charlotte. Fans are asked to please hold on to their tickets until the new date is announced.”

A fan video from the concert shows the 85-year-old legend y onto the stage, picking up a guitar, setting the guitar back down, throws his hat into the crowd, then leaves the stage. (see below)

In January Nelson canceled several tour dates dude to “a bad cold or the flu.”

We will post more as we confirm.

UPDATE – A representative for Willie Nelson told TMZ he left the stage due to a “stomach bug” and will perform in Washington D.C. Sunday night. He also said Nelson make plans to go back to Charlotte for his fans.

UPDATE – Willie Nelson performed a full set on Sunday (May 27) in Washington, D.C.

Jim Lauderdale To Release Two Records This Summer

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The legend that is ‘Mr. Americana” Jim Lauderdale is set to release not one, but TWO releases. the albums are entitled ‘Time Flies” and “Jim Lauderdale and Roland White’ and both will be released Friday, August 3rd Yep Roc Records.

These 30th and 31st studio albums respectively will be followed by upcoming live dates, including headline shows and festival performances such as this Saturday’s Appalachia Rising event at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, VA (May 19) with additional dates to come.

“Time Flies” (cover above) sees Lauderdale doing what he does best, writing and performing classic Americana distinctively infused with striking notes of country and soul. Produced by Lauderdale and Jay Weaver at Nashville’s Blackbird Studio and House of Blues Studios, the album is among the most striking works of this one-of-a-kind artist’s three decade career, once again demonstrating his remarkable lyrical gifts and genre-agnostic musical approach. Songs like the stirring title track offer able evidence that Lauderdale’s creative mission continues unabated, his ability to rejuvenate his sound indomitable.

“Jim Lauderdale and Roland White’ is Lauderdale’s previously unreleased first full-length record, a collection of classic bluegrass recorded in the basement of Earl and Louise Scruggs’ Nashville home in the summer of 1979 and then lost for nearly four decades. Lauderdale was new to town at the time, while White was already a true bluegrass legend, known for his mastery of the mandolin and foundation of such iconic groups as The Kentucky Colonels and Country Gazette. Sadly the master tapes went missing for 39 years and were only recently rediscovered at the bottom of a box by White’s wife. As remarkable, energetic, and original today as it was when initially recorded, JIM LAUDERDALE AND ROLAND WHITE provides an intimate look into the nascent beginnings of a truly extraordinary American artist.

Hear the wonderfully wistful title cut from “Time Flies” below.

“Time Flies” (Yep Roc) Release Date: Friday, August 3

Tracklist

1. Time Flies
2. The Road is a River
3. Violet
4. Slow As Molasses
5. Where the Cars Go By Fast
6. When I Held The Cards
7. Wearing Out Your Cool
8. Wild On Me Fast
9. While You’re Hoping
10. It Blows My Mind
11. If the World’s Still Here Tomorrow

“Jim Lauderdale and Roland White’ (Yep Roc) Release Date: Friday, August 3

Tracklist

1. Forgive and Forget
2. Gold and Silver
3. (Stone Must Be The) Walls Built Around Your Heart
4. Six White Horses
5. I Might Take You Back Again
6. Try and Catch the Wind
7. Don’t Laugh
8. Regrets and Mistakes
9. February Snow
10. (That’s What You Get) For Loving Me
11. Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar
12. Nashville Blues

Jim Lauderdale Tour Dates

MAY
19 – Hiltons, VA – Appalachia Rising @ The Carter Family Fold
26 – Lafayette, LA – Warehouse 535
29 – Nashville, TN – Honky Tonk Tuesday Nights @ The American Legion
31 – Nashville, TN – The Station Inn

JUNE
29 – Chicago, IL – The Hideout
30 – Chicago, IL – The Hideout

JULY
19 – Buffalo, NY – Sportsman Tavern
20 – Trumansburg, NY – Trumansburg Fairgrounds
29 – White Sulphur Springs, MT – Jackson Ranch

AUGUST
25 – Black Mountain, NC – Pisgah Brewing Company

Lori McKenna To Release “The Tree” This Summer, Hear The Premier Track Now

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Lori McKenna "The Tree"
Album cover art: Sydney Clawson

GRAMMY, CMA and ACM Award-winning singer-songwriter Lori McKenna will release the follow up to her 2016 acclaimed ‘The Bird and the Rifle’ July 20 on CN Records via Thirty Tigers and is now available for pre-order.

The new album takes one of McKenna’s signature themes—family—and builds a tapestry of experiences she has lived and overheard, been told and dreamed up. Of the album, McKenna comments, “I love people’s stories about their families—the way they tic and the ways we’re all crazy and love each other. I hope my songs shine a little light on that for a second. Maybe our stories remind us of our families and what they give us. It’s beautiful, and sometimes we take it for granted.”

‘The Tree’ is McKenna’s eleventh studio album and second in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile). Recorded by Matt Ross-Spang over seven days at Nashville’s historic RCA, the 11-song album features McKenna (vocals, acoustic guitar), Cobb (acoustic/electric guitar, mellotron), Anderson East (electric guitar), Brian Allen (bass), Chris McKenna (mellotron), Chris Powell (drums, percussion) and background vocals from Kristen Rogers, Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey.

In celebration of the release, McKenna will embark on “The Way Back Home Tour” this summer. The headline tour kicks off June 29 at Annapolis’ Rams Head On Stage and includes stops at City Winery venues in Boston, New York, DC, Chicago and Atlanta as well as Philadelphia’s World Café Live and Nashville’s CMA Theatre among others. McKenna will also join Alison Krauss on two tour dates in Ohio this June. See below for complete tour dates. (alas no Texas dates…..yet)

Listen to the poignantly reflective track “People Get Old” below.

“The Tree” Track List
1. A Mother Never Rests (Lori McKenna, Barry Dean)

2. The Fixer (Lori McKenna)

3. People Get Old (Lori McKenna)

4. Young And Angry Again (Lori McKenna, Barry Dean, Luke Laird)
5. The Tree (Lori McKenna, Natalie Hemby, Aaron Raitiere)
6. You Won’t Even Know I’m Gone (Lori McKenna)

7. Happy People (Lori McKenna, Hailey Whitters)

8. You Can’t Break A Woman (Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose)
9. The Lot Behind St. Mary’s (Lori McKenna)

10. The Way Back Home (Lori McKenna, Luke Laird)

11. Like Patsy Would (Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose)

“The Way Back Home Tour”

June 14—Sylvania, OH—Centennial Terrace (supporting Alison Krauss)
June 15—Kettering, OH—Fraze Pavilion (supporting Alison Krauss)
June 29—Annapolis, MD—Rams Head On Stage
June 30—Northampton, MA—Iron Horse Music Hall
July 1—East Greenwich, RI—Greenwich Odeum
July 18—Boston, MA—City Winery
July 20—New York, NY—City Winery
July 21—Philadelphia, PA—World Café Live
July 22—Washington, DC—City Winery
August 3—Ann Arbor, MI—The Ark
August 4—Chicago, IL—City Winery
August 5—Minneapolis, MN—Dakota Jazz Club
August 15—Atlanta, GA—City Winery
August 16—Charlotte, NC—North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
August 17—Nashville, TN—CMA Theatre, Country Music Hall of Fame

Johnny Cash Museum Unveils ‘I Walk the Line’ Gold Record On Anniversary

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Cash’s first #1 I Walk the Line
Sun Records Sam Phillips presenting Johnny Cash with his first Gold Record for I Walk the Line – Credit: Johnny Cash Museum Archive

The Johnny Cash Museum premiered a special artifact today that has never previously been on public display despite being presented to Johnny Cash more than six decades ago.

Johnny Cash’s very first gold record to commemorate Cash’s first #1 I Walk the Line on what is the anniversary of the song’s release on Sun Records on May 1, 1956. Johnny’s siblings Tommy Cash and Joanne Cash-Yates joined Sam Phillips’ son Jerry Phillips on the site of the museum today as the award finally found a permanent home on exhibition at the museum, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year.

I Walk the Line remained on the Billboard charts for 43 weeks. Cash was inspired to write the melody of the song after hearing a reel-to-reel tape record during his Air Force days in Germany with what he thought were interesting chord changes. It turned out the reel had gotten turned around and all the chords were being played backwards. The strange, haunting sound inspired the melody to “I Walk the Line” which Cash wrote several years later, backstage before a show in Texas in 1956.

The song would become an American music standard and be credited with numerous accolades:

Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts selected it among the 365 titles chosen as“Songs of the Century.”
In 2000, NPR ranked it among the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th Century.
CMT included the recording in its list of the “100 Greatest Songs of Country Music.
In 2014, Rolling Stone ranks it as #1 on its list of the “100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time”
RIAA Double Platinum selling single with more than 2 million copies sold

Fans can view the article on display at the museum which is open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM CT.

Johnny Cash at Town Hall Party in 1958 singing “I Walk The Line”

Lera Lynn To Release Duets Album ‘Plays Well With Others’

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Lera Lynn - Plays Well With Others

Over her successful career, Lera Lynn has had the good fortune to share the stage with some of roots music’s beat (see her duet with John Paul White below covering Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty’s ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ below for evidence to that fact.)

On June 22 the Nashville-based singer-songwriter will make her collaborations formal by releasing an album of duets album entitled ‘Plays Well With Others.’

The record features songs written and performed by an impressive assortment roots musicians which include Peter Bradley Adams, Dylan LeBlanc, Andrew Combs, Rodney Crowell, Shovels & Rope, JD McPherson, Nicole Atkins and John Paul White, who’s record label ‘Single Lock Records’ is releasing the album which was recorded at White’s Sun Drop Sound studio in Florence, Alabama.

Of the project, Lynn says:
“Songwriting can be such a personal process; in the past I have tended to do it alone. With this record, I wanted to get outside of my own writing corner. I have access to a great community of writers and singers in Nashville, and it became an exciting challenge to sit down with some friends and say, ‘Let’s write a duet — one that maybe hasn’t been written before — and then record it together.’ This was an important thing for me to do as an artist: to open myself up to other people and have some fun.”

Check out the single “Lose Myself,” below featuring John Paul White.

See tracklist and tour dates below.

Tour Feat. Peter Bradley Adams and more:
June 22 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley – FEAT. John Paul White, Peter Bradley Adams, Nicole Atkins, Dylan LeBlanc, Rodney Crowell, and Andrew Combs
June 24 – Allison Park, PA – Hartwood Acres Amphitheater – FEAT. John Paul White & Peter Bradley Adams
June 26 – Alexandria, VA – The Birchmere – FEAT. John Paul White & Peter Bradley Adams
June 27 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom – FEAT. John Paul White & Peter Bradley Adams
June 29 – Arnoldsville, GA – Wildwood Revival – Feat. Peter Bradley Adams, Dylan LeBlanc, & Andrew Combs

Plays Well With Others track list
1.”Same Old Song” with Peter Bradley Adams
2. “Lose Myself” with John Paul White
3. “What Is Love” with Dylan LeBlanc
4. “Breakdown” with Andrew Combs
5. “Crimson Underground” with Rodney Crowell
6. “Wolf Like Me” with Shovels & Rope
7. “Nothin To Do With Your Love” with JD McPherson
8. “In Another Life” with Nicole Atkins
9. “Almost Persuaded” with John Paul White