Wanted! – Notable Americana and Roots Music Releases for 2017

Wanted! - Notable Americana and Roots Music Releases for 2017

2016 was another great year for Americana and roots music, and 2017 shows signs that the great music will continue to come our way. As our Cream of the Crop favorites from last year makes plain we might be experiencing a new golden age of roots music/ Both as a growing influence on our contemporary culture and also as a viable, business for young and old artists to sustain themselves and thrive.

That last part is crucial as it provides economic and influential seed corn for the future ‘Cream of the Crop’ year-end best of collections.

The list below is a collection of known 2017 notable Americana / roots releases. Some anticipated releases from artists like Ray Wylie Hubbard, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell and The Secret Sisters have no release dates yet, but when I become aware of them and others I will be updating the list throughout the year and will send word through my twitter account when I do.

If you know of a release not listed yet please leave it in the comments.

One thing is for sure, it’s going to be a great year folks.

January 13th –
The Band of Heathens – ‘Duende’
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings – ‘Kings and Kings’
Otis Gibbs – ‘Mount Renraw’

January 20th –
Kasey Chambers – ‘Dragonfly’
The Show Ponies – How It All Goes Down’
Rayna Gellert – ‘Workin’s Too Hard’

January 27th –
Delbert McClinton – ‘Prick Of The Litter’
Tift Merritt – ‘Stitch of the World’
Valerie June – ‘The Order of Time’
Bankesters – ‘Nightbird’
Dead Man Winter – ‘Furnace’

February 3rd –
Ags Connolly – ‘Nothin’ Unexpected’
Gurf Morlix – ‘The Soul & The Heal’
Mitch Dean –‘Suburban Speakeasy’
Rose Cousins – ‘Natural Conclusion’
Caroline Spence – ‘Spades & Roses’

February 10th –
Kris Kristofferson – The Austin Sessions (Expanded Edition)

February 17th –
Alison Krauss – ‘Windy City’
Nikki Lane – ‘Highway Queen’
Pegi Young & The Survivors – ‘Raw’
Son Volt – ‘Notes Of Blue’
Son of the Velvet Rat – ‘Dorado’
Blair Crimmins – ‘You Gotta Sell Something’
The Gibson Brothers – “In The Ground”

February 24th –
Curtis McMurtry – ‘The Hornet’s Nest’
Rhiannon Giddens – ‘Freedom Highway’
Old 97s – ‘Graveyard Whistling’
Scott H. Biram – “The Bad Testament”
Shinyribs – “I Got Your Medicine”
Aaron Watson – “Vaquero”

March 3rd –
Grandaddy – ‘Last Place’
Beth Bombara – ‘Map With No Direction ‘

March 10th –
Sunny Sweeney – “Trophy’
Pieta Brown – “Postcards”

March 24th –
Jessi Colter – ‘The Psalms’
Samantha Crain – ‘You Had Me At Goodbye’

March 31st –
Rodney Crowell – ‘Close Ties”
David Olney – “Don’t Try To Fight It”
Dead Soldiers – “The Great Emptiness”
Shoddy Blacktooth — “Don’t Forget To Die”

April 7th
Malcolm Holcombe – ‘Pretty Little Troubles’
Andrew Combs – “Canyons Of My Mind”

April 14th
Evening Darling – “Evening Darling’

April 21st –
Angaleena Presley – ‘Wrangled’

May 5th
Chris Stapleton – ‘From a Room: Volume 1’

May 19th
Builders and the Butchers – ‘The Spark’
Pokey LaFarge – ‘Manic Revelations’
Tom Russell – ‘Play One More: The Songs Of Ian And Sylvia’

May 26th
Justin Townes Earle – ‘Kids in the Street’

June 2nd –
Bobby Osborne – ‘Original’

June 9th –
The Secret Sisters – ‘You Don’t Own Me Anymore’
Shannon McNally – ‘Black Irish’

June 16th –
Sammy Brue – ‘I Am Nice’

June 23rd –
The Deslondes – ‘Hurry Home’
Slaid Cleaves – ‘Ghost on the Car Radio’

July 7th –
Randall Bramblett – ‘Juke Joint At The Edge Of The World’

July 14th –
Cale Tyson – ‘Careless Soul’

July 21st –
Whiskey Shivers – ‘Some Part of Something”

August 4th
Tyler Childers – ‘Purgatory’

August 18th
Loretta Lynn – ‘Wouldn’t It Be Great’ POSTPONED
Ray Wylie Hubbard – ‘Tell the Devil I’m Getting There as Fast as I Can’

September 8th
Caroline Reese – ‘Two Horses’ EP

September 15th
Willie Watson – ‘Folksinger Vol. 2’
The Lone Bellow – ‘Walk Into A Storm’

September 22nd
Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers – “The Long-Awaited Album”
Billy Strings – ‘Turmoil & Tinfoil’

September 29th
Anna Tivel – “Small Believer”

October 6th
Whitney Rose – ‘Rule 62’
JD McPherson – ‘Undivided Heart and Soul’
Becca Mancari – ‘Good Woman’

October 13th
Hellbound Glory – ‘Pinball’
Caleb Cladry – ‘Invincible Things’

October 16th
Gill Landry – ‘Love Rides A Dark Horse’

October 20th
Turnpike Troubadours – ‘A Long Way From Your Heart’
Dori Freeman – ‘Letters Never Read’

October 27th
Lee Ann Womack – ‘The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone’
Ronnie Fauss – ‘Last of the True’
The Wailin’ Jennys – ‘Fifteen’
The Deep Dark Woods – ‘Yarrow’

October 31st
Year of October – ‘Trouble Comes’

November 3rd
Samantha Fish – ‘Belle of the West’
Anna St. Louis – “First Songs’
Scott Miller – ‘Ladies Auxiliary’

November 17th
Mavis Staples – ‘If All I Was Was Black’

December
Chris Stapleton – ‘From a Room: Volume 2’

December 8th
Robert Ellis and Courtney Hartman – ‘Dear John’

Modern Outlaws to Pay Tribute to Waylon Jennings

waylon-trib

On July 6th at Austin’s Moody Theater some of country and roots music’s most independent spirits will convene to pay tribute to a musical and cultural pioneer that helped blaze a trail they all travel, Waylon Jennings.

Two days after Willie Nelson’s Picnic many in Austin for Willie’s already fantastic event will gather with others to pay tribute to Jennings who died in his sleep in 2002 of diabetic complications.

The level of talent makes the ticket prices easier to swallow, $150 to $400, which go on sale at acl-live.com at 10 a.m. on Waylon’s birthday, Monday, June 15.

Ticket buyers also have an opportunity to purchase tickets to an exclusive after-party, proceeds which benefit “the United Way and earmarked to help Central Texas residents most affected by the recent Memorial Day floods,” according to a statement on the ACL Live website.

The lineup of “Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jennings”:

• Willie Nelson • Kris Kristofferson • Sturgill Simpson • Jamey Johnson • Kacey Musgraves • Toby Keith • Lee Ann Womack • Ryan Bingham • Eric Church • Chris Stapleton • Billy Joe Shaver • Jessi Colter • Shooter Jennings

Shooter Jennings announces new label, Black Country Rock – Releases from Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Shooter forthcoming

Screen-Shot-2013-10-20-at-6.53.29-PM

Shooter Jennings has been hard at work forming his new label Black Country Rock, and now the fruits are being brought to bare.

Shooter Jennings acts as President while Jon Hensley handles Vice Presidentdal dutys. Lee Joines is responsible for Artist & Repetoire (A&R,) Mick Gray heads Promotions and the extraordinarily talented Keith Neltner (Hank III, Unknown Hinson (Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers) wrangles Art & Design

Black County Rock is a ” multi-format recording company is complete with satellite divisions in Los Angeles, CA and Nashville, TN as well as an active online community at bcrmedia.com

Also from the press release: “BCR does not discriminate against formats and will release music, film and other creative projects by way of vinyl, compact disc, cassette tape, digital download, DVD, VHS and more. BCR fearlessly embraces and supports both the continuing accessibility of the technology of the present and also the preservation of tangible goods, no matter their age or obscurity.”

BCR inaugural releases, available worldwide November 29th, will be :

Waylon Jennings “Right for the Time (Remembered)”, a fully analog remaster of Waylon’s memorable 1996 album “Right for the Time”, available on Limited Edition translucent yellow Vinyl & Cassette, CD & Digital Download (stream “The Most Sensible Thing” from “Right for the Time (Remembered)” below)

Jessi Colter “Live from Cain’s Ballroom”, Jessi’s first live record ever, recorded in September of 2013, shows that soul never fades. This release is available on limited edition baby pink Vinyls & Cassettes, CD & DIgital Download

Shooter Jennings “The Other Live”, Shooter’s 2nd live record featuring unique-to-format tracks spread across translucent blue Vinyl & Cassette, CD and Digital Download. There are at least 2 unique songs on each different format making each version a different experience for the listener. True die hard fans will need to get all three to get them all, and with all of these albums, digital downloads will be included with the analog formats.”

Also to be released are “Mystery Releases.” “Printed on a splattered grey & black vinyl and cassette, this release will definitely be the surprise of the year!
A brand new website and web store will carry each of these items. Digital versions of each record will be available online November 26th, 2013. All physical copies will be available November 29th, 2013.”

George Jones Posthumous Album “Amazing Grace” To Be Released

george jones gospel

Before he could complete his final “The Grand Farewell Tour” tour, country music legend George Jones died last April. Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson, Patty Loveless, Vince gill and others paid tribute to Jones during his funeral at the Ryman auditorium and and Randy Travis and Joe Nichols have released tribute tracks in tribute. Now we can look forward to a new release from The Possum himself.

On September 10, two days before what would have been his 82nd birthday, “George Jones – Amazing Grace.” will be released. Jones recorded all the gospel songs on the album in 2002 with producer Billy Sherrill with the exception of “Great Judgment Morning,” which was produced by Brian Ahern in 1994. “Great Judgment Morning” includes vocals by Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Travis Tritt, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith.

The album will be released on Bandit Records, which Jones established in 2000 with his widow, Nancy. The country music star had to convince longtime collaborator Sherill to come out of retirement to make the recordings. One song on the album, Great Judgement Morning, featuring guest vocals by Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Travis Tritt, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, was produced by Brian Ahern in 1994.

“I’ve always said that if I could have made a living some way in gospel music, I would have loved to had that break,” Jones said in early 2000, “but it never was offered to me, a job in that field, so naturally, I got lost on that other road.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1pb11N4eo4

Happy Birthday Waylon Jennings!

Here’s to one of the saviors of country music and the pride of Littlefield, Texas, Waylon Arnold Jenning, who would have been 75 today. Be sure to check out the local cerebrations in your town, like the first annual Waylon Jennings Birthday Bash starting today to be held in Whiteface, Texas. Featuring Shooter Jennings, Whiskey Meyers, Jackson Taylor & the Sinners, William Clark Green, Rowdy Johnson Band, Jimmy Miles, Sergio and the Outta Luck Band, and Tommy Jennings. The event will benefit the Waylon Fund for Diabetes Research at TGen.

Here’s 5 of the finest from “The Hoss.” Hoist a cup and give proper respect.

“Lonesome, On’ry And Mean” on the Cowboy jack Clement’s TV show.

Willie  & Waylon – “Good Hearted Woman”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNHg_dUSeMs

Travis Tritt & Waylon Jennings – “I’ve Always Been Crazy.”

Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter – “Storm Never Last”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtOrSdcArDI

“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnEtRUcKGwc

News Round Up: Cross Canadian Ragweed 4th Annual Red Dirt Roundup

  • The line-up for Cross Canadian Ragweed’s 4th Annual Red Dirt Roundup has been announce,  and the roster is filled with names that make any Texas music lover proud – CCR, Charlie Robison, Robert Earl Keen, Johnny Cooper, The Gourds as well as the alt rock of The Wallflowers. The festival will be held on two stages at the Historic Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday, Sept. 6. on the former cattle pens – the “North Forty” fields just east of Billy Bob’s Texas. Check the Red Dirt Roundup site for ticket and time information.
  • The Americana Music Association conference is right around the corner (Sept 16-19) and it’s shaping up tto be a great one. Amy Speace is the newest addition to the already excellent roster (The Station Inn -  Sept 16 @ 10 PM) You can nor keep up with the AMA on twitter for up to the minute information about the Festival and Conference, including ticket giveaways and behind the scenes info. If you’re going drop me a line!
  • Southern-rock stalwarts  the Kentucky Headhunters will release The Kentucky Headhunters Live/Agora Ballroom – Cleveland, Ohio – May 13, 1990 (Mercury/UMe) on on September 22, 2009, the 20th anniversary of 1989 debut album, Pickin’ On Nashville.

Miranda Lambert Stripped

I knew that title would get ya. Miranda Lambert does a fine job of going “unplugged” with some of her tunes from her new release “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and first release “Kerosene.” Lambert does “Famous In A Small Town”, “Desperation”, “Kerosene”, “New Strings” over at Stippedmusic.com. The native Texan also does a nice cover of Jessi Colter’s Storms Never Last.