Archives for category: Jim Lauderdale

Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale at Cannery

November 6, 2013 //

Buddy and Jim Live

Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller, Cannery Ballroom, Sept 2013, photo – Brad Hardisty

The most anticipated set at this years’ Americana Festival was Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale bringing their collaboration, Buddy and Jim to the Cannery Row in front of a packed house.

Buddy Miller, Cannery Ballroom, Sept. 2013, photo – Brad Hardisty

Buddy and Jim have both been mainstays since almost the inception of the Americana Music scene where both have one multiple awards starting in 2002 when Jim Lauderdale won both Artist of The Year and Song of the Year.

Buddy Miller at Cannery Ballroom, Sept. 2013, photo – Brad Hardisty

Buddy Miller was not to be outdone winning a duet album of the year in 2002 with his wife Julie Miller as well as Album of The Year as a solo artist in 2005 for Universal United House of Prayer.

Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller, Cannery Ballroom, Sept 2013, photo – Brad Hardisty

Jim Lauderdale has played host of the Americana Music Association Awards Show for several years running and if you want to get a hint of that check out the video of “ Hush Hush” by Pistol Annies where he was featured as a Preacher and Brenda Lee plays the Choir Director.

On the other hand, Buddy Miller has been leader of the house band for the Awards show for several years running.

Buddy Miller, Cannery Ballroom, Sept 2013, photo – Brad hardisty

Buddy Miller’s career really started taking off in the late 90’s and especially during the last decade with several High Tone and New West releases, but International acclaim outside of Americana circles came as bandleader on Robert Plant’s Band Of Joy album and subsequent tour. Although Band of Joy became a big tour and launched all over the world, The Americana Music Association featured Robert Plant with the project at the Awards show just prior to release as well as Robert singing a song from the release at the following year’s star studded show that also featured Gregg Allman.

Buddy and Jim had collaborated for nearly fifteen years off and on, but never sat down to do an album together until now.

Americana Music is a realm of collaboration and this was inevitable between two Artists that have worked with everybody from Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Elvis Costello, Ralph Stanley, James Burton to Grateful Dead Lyricist, Robert Hunter.

Buddy Miller, Cannery Ballroom, Sept 2013, photo – Brad Hardisty

Buddy and Jim are currently tastemakers on their Sirius XM Radio Show on Outlaw Channel 60 as well as Jim Lauderdale’s Radio Show on WSM 650 in Nashville.

Currently, Buddy Miller just produced The Devil Makes Three’s new release.

Jim Lauderdale released a new Bluegrass album in September entitled Old Time Angels.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridgeathotmaildotcom

Tags Americana Music Festival 2013

Categories Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Buddy Miller, Country Music, Jim Lauderdale, Nashville, Uncategorized

When IBMA Americana and Soundland Collide

September 10, 2012 //

2010, Corb Lund, Hayes Carll, Lucinda Willianms, Hayes’ parents.

September used to be back to school month, now that school starts early, September is not only when the CMA’s hit Nashville, but, when the world comes for Americana, Bluegrass and where Next Big Nashville morphed into Soundland and moved to October.

While Nashville may be known for the CMA’s , Eric Church and Taylor Swift, it is also known for what Rolling Stone called the “coolest music festival in the world”, The Americana Music Festival hits the city for the ultimate pub crawl from September 12^th-15^th.

Dan Baird with Brad, 2010, Cannery Ballroom, Stones Tribute

Past years have seen everybody from Don Was to Robert Plant to Nashville’s Own, Justin Townes Earle put on some great showcases. Last years’ awards show mashed up Gregg Allman, Robert Plant with The Avett Brothers, The Civil Wars and Mumford and Sons (sorry, the name reminds me of Sanford and Son). In fact, it seemed like a hybrid MTV awards show where music mattered and all sugar pop was left at the end caps in Wal Mart.

This year proves to be no exception, some notable sets will be Memphis night at The Rutledge featuring sets by Jim Lauderdale and the Mississippi All-Stars, okay, yes, I’ll say it again, Jim Lauderdale and The Mississippi All-Stars also a late set featuring an all-star jam playing the music of Big Star.

For those with a traditional view of what is “Americana”, Corb Lund will be at Mercy Lounge this Wednesday followed by a tribute to the late Levon Helm. In fact the line-up seems to be all inclusive with The Wallflowers, Mindy Smith, Chris Scruggs, Rodney Crowell among others playing all over the place for several nights.

As far as Americana goes, the easiest party route is to hang between Mercy Lounge and The Cannery Ballroom with an occasional run to The Basement for some harder to find sets.

Don Was, photo – Brad Hardisty

The problem is, this year, there are some great line-ups at The Rutledge and the Station Inn that will make that shuttle route a little difficult and may necessitate borrowing somebody’s 20-speed bike to get around each night.

Peelander-Z at Exit/In, NBN 2010 – photo – Brad Hardisty

The awards show at the end of the event, always proves to be a magical evening at The Ryman. This year should be no different. I am rooting for Alabama Shakes in the Emerging Artist category as well as Jason Isbell (Alabama represent!) & The 400 Unit with Album of the Year, Here We Rest.

The Dillards, IBMA 2010, photo – Brad Hardisty

Not to be outdone, IBMA’s World of Bluegrass Week runs from 24^th-30^th at, for convenience, The Nashville Convention Center and Renaissance Hotel. The IBMA Convention is not just about showcases, but, people are encouraged to carry around their guitars, fiddles, mandolins and join in the jam sessions that run almost till the sun comes up every night.

You could say Ricky Skaggs is our local Bluegrass patron Saint, with yearly residencies at The Ryman and a new album, Music to My Ears coming out this month, but, there are many new young artists playing traditional bluegrass as well as pulling in some modern ideas and pre-war non-bluegrass styles.

This is the real rebellion. While the music industry is finding a million ways to make computers sing and dance and auto-tune any Disney character into stardom, both the Americana Music Festival and the IBMA World of Bluegrass celebrate real musicianship, communal collaboration and a reason for a Luthier to keep honing his skills in search of the perfect tone wood.

This recipe continues to build both communities with younger generations every year.

After all, how many times can the music business reinvent the 70’s and the 80’s?

Mike Farris hanging at Mercy Lounge, Americana 2010, photo – Brad Hardisty

So, while commercial Country is now going to be shown every week in the night time soap, Nashville, basically re-spinning the movie Country Strong, “Americana,” which can claim anything from pre-war anthems to Red Dirt scene country and Bluegrass, New Grass and all its modern heirs are really the new cool. These two celebrations are really the underground cool.

As far as Soundland? What happened? Well, it’s now on October 6^th and after a peak year three years ago that featured major music business players talking about the next generation of music delivery and several days of new music, it is now one day down by the river with bands that already play Lollapalooza and other big festivals.

Wanda Jackson signing autographs at Mercy Lounge after Jack White produced album showcase, Americana 2010.

There are only a few locals, when Nashville could really do a Next Big Nashville with such a burgeoning Indie Rock and other type Music Scene, we get Soundland with just a couple of token Nashvillians, PUJOL and Nikki Lane. I guess we are going for national respect and now start-ups like Secret Stages in Birmingham are filling in the gap. Can I just say…huh?

– Brad Hardisty, Nashviille, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Alabama, Alabama Shakes, Alternative Music, Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Americana Music Festival 2012, Ardent Studios, Band of Joy, Big Star, Birmingham Alabama, Bluegrass Music, Buddy Miller, Cannery Ballroom, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Chris Scruggs, Corb Lund, Country Music, Country Strong, Dailey & Vincent, Gregg Allman, Guitar, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hayes Carll, IBMA World of Bluegrass 2012, Indie Music, Indie Rock, Jack White, Jason Isbell, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Jim Lauderdale, Justin Townes Earle, Lucinda Williams, Memphis, Mike Farris, Mindy Smith, Music, Nashville, Nikki Lane, Pujol, Ricky Skaggs, Rock Music, Rodney Crowell, Soundland 2012, The Avett Brothers, The Basement Nashville, The Civil Wars, The Mississippi All Stars, The Rutledge Nashville, The Ryman Auditorium, The Wallflowers, Uncategorized, Wanda Jackson

The Sound of Americana Nashville

October 25, 2011 //

Hayes Carll Americana Fest 2011 Mercy Lounge

After the Americana Music Association Carnival pulled out of Nashville, the big question is, what does Americana sound like? A friend of mine said that it would have at least one acoustic instrument in the mix, to give it that authentic roots thing. Jim Lauderdale as he hosted the Americana Awards did a spoof show tune, “That’s Americana!” It was hilarious and it was great because Americana is not a particular sound.

Americana is one of the strangest music references ever, at least when the word “grunge” came along, it meant one of the bands that came out of Seattle at a certain time. Americana is like a radio format for everything that doesn’t fit the current formats, yet, it is getting some of their artists like Mumford and Sons into the mainstream. Not to mention Will Hoge.

A mention was made by one of the show reviewers in Nashville Scene that they were glad that the “old farts in flannel shirts singing post Grateful Dead stuff” were gone and they could have the Exit/In back.

I get the feeling that a lot of people are stumbling onto Americana artists and not even knowing it, in Rolling Stone or when their friend says “listen to this” and pulls up something on their IPod by The Civil Wars or The Avett Brothers.

If you haven’t heard about these artists in the last year, then you live in a bubble. Americana is not only an award at the Grammys now, but, a launch pad, much like Indie format radio, where artists can get their “legs” as they mingle with legends like Gregg Allman and Robert Plant who are flying the banner.

One thing that Americana is not is electronic. Americana may have some roots in any American genre such as Blues, Soul, Gospel, Country, Folk and on and on, but it is definitely not about Kraftwerk or the modern Pop that is all made up on an Apple computer.

Blind Boys of Alabama Americana Fest 2011 Cannery Ballroom

Americana is as much about Red Dirt singer/songwriters like Hayes Carll as it is the roots gospel of The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Blind Boys of Alabama, Alabama Music Tribute at Cannery opening night

I guess if you are looking for a root to Americana you would probably have to go back twenty years in Nashville when about sixty California transplants started gathering to Nashville. Some of them became mainstream songwriters like Jeffrey Steele or Darrell Scott (most recently, Robert Plant & The Band of Joy). The one thing that did happen is they shook up the system.

Kenny Vaughan Americana Fest 2011 Mercy Lounge

Back in those days, Rosie Flores and Lucinda Williams would hang out all night, shutting down two or three bars only to meet up with Billy Block for breakfast. A good chunk of these people bucked the Country music machine at the time or made some changes to it. They stayed true to themselves and this whole Americana thing has kind of caught up with them and now they are riding a jetstream of new found respect and popularity.

People like Jim Lauderdale who can go from playing straight up bluegrass to roots country to writing Robbie Robertson style music with a Grateful Dead lyricist represent the diversity of what is currently happening. It’s like the alternate universe of “the music business as usual” with a handmade vibe.

Most of what Bob Dylan does nowadays such as Modern Times could be classified Americana. Many of the Americana Artists really jump from box to box, especially Mumford & Sons and Justin Townes Earle, who have as much Indie respect as they do Americana clout.

Kenny Vaughan packed it in then packed it back up at Mercy

The most interesting thing is that the genre has strong roots outside of the U.S. in places like Australia and Europe. Many of the artists make more money over there when they tour. This is nothing new, we as Americans many times pass on what is really cool about our culture and opt in for the corporate sell, “the spin.”

Americana is mainly artist and fan driven; it is really Indie at its core. If you like the Muscle Shoals era Dan Penn written songs alongside The Avett Brothers, more power to you. It really is the old saying, “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”

Robert Plant, Entertainer of the Year, The Ryman acceptance speach

You don’t have to buy into acoustic singer/songwriters or flannel shirts and old farts to find something there for yourself. Chances are you are listening to some Americana format music without realizing it. If you’re not sure where to start then it might as well be Buddy Miller, Robert Plant said he heard Buddy the first time when he toured with Emmylou Harris a few years ago and he seemed to embody everything American music, blues, gospel, rock, you name it. Robert said that Buddy will always be a part of whatever he does in the future. Emmylou Harris, at this year’s awards at The Ryman, said, they should call the Americana Award “The Buddy” because he has won so many of them.

By the way, a note to the Nashville Scene writer, when you refer to a group of music fans as old farts, just realize that you are probably being referred to as an old fart by somebody, it could be an 11 year old on a skateboard listening to some punk band out of California and thinking the same about you.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Alabama, Alabama Music, Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Band of Joy, Billy Block, Birmngham Alabama, Blind Boys of Alabama, Bluegrass Music, Buddy Miller, Cannery Ballroom, Country Music, Dan Penn, Darrell Scott, Donnie Fritts, Emmylou Harris, Gregg Allman, Guitar, Hayes Carll, Indie Music, Indie Rock, Jeffrey Steele, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, Justin Townes Earle, Kenny Vaughan, Lucinda Williams, Robert Plant, Rock Music, Rolling Stone, Spooner Oldham, The Avett Brothers, The Civil Wars, The Mercy Lounge, The Ryman Auditorium, Uncategorized, Will Hoge, Woodland Studios

World of Bluegrass Tuesday Night Wrap Up

September 28, 2011 //

Town Mountain on Mainstage

On the second night of World of Bluegrass, the boundaries were being stretched from groups influenced by Bluegrass music growing up, but, showing hardly a hint of a Bluegrass foundation to neo-modern traditionalists Town Mountain, the future of Bluegrass lies in a cross section of those that would hold high the Monroe flame at this celebration of the 100^th Anniversary of his birth to seeing if Pat Benatar can go well with a side of Mandolin.

The Farewell Drifters

The Farewell Drifters, with a fairly current Americana meets Pop Music took the stage, with two releases debuting in the top 10 of the Billboard Bluegrass charts, Zach Bevill and the crew were a push forward with varied influences. The fact that they have progressed this far shows that a younger generation is carrying acoustic music across the universe.

Nu-Blu backstage

Nu-Blu, featuring the beautiful voice of Carolyn Routh, premiered a great video for a strong number, “Other Woman’s Blues,” before playing live to the full house. The real strength of Nu-Blu is their songwriting, even though they finished the set with Dolly’s “Jolene” and a Pat Benatar rave-up of “Shadows of the Night,” they have some interesting stories of their own to tell.

Crystal Shipley, Joe Zauner and Jed Clark

If there was a particular theme, it seemed to be that just about any acoustic music was welcome. Even in the after hours, showcases, which featured the Gypsy Jazz / Old time Texas style swing of Casey Driscoll, Taylor Baker and Brennen Ernst playing “Blue Skies”, was really a bridge to the Americana Conference and Folk Alliance.

Backstage with Randy Kohrs

Jim Lauderdale had one of the strongest sets, playing songs from Reason and Rhyme, with Producer and Dobro shredder, Randy Kohrs and a hot band hitting all the right spots. Jim is a neo-traditionalist chameleon that works in tall bluegrass and with Grateful Dead songwriters in the same breath. Jim has such a volume of output; he wears me out just thinking about it.

Jim Lauderdale with WSM 650 staff

Town Mountain was a fitting finish, with great musicianship and a strong nod to Bluegrass. They were drawing in the lines and at the same time fresh faced.

Rodney & Beverly Dillard

Rodney Dillard of the generational Dillards (The Darlings, Andy Griffith Show) was taking a breather this year while his band was all about mixing it up.

Casey Driscoll, Taylor Baker and Brennen Ernst Showcase

The jams go late into the night. Some of the impromptu meet ups are what makes this fun. You could catch anybody from Crystal Shipley (The Dixie Bee-Liners), Joe Zauner on banjo and Jed Clark (The Roys) on guitar, just hanging on a cluster of couches talking instruments to see what happens.

Harry Fontana at Robert's

After hours, one could hang and catch the late night showcases or go grab a bite to eat down on Lower Broad in a couple of minutes at Robert’s listening to the three piece straight up Rock and Roll of Harry Fontana on “Rockabilly Boogie.”

Martin McDaniel at The Stage

A couple more doors down and the soulful country of Southern Alabama’s Martin McDaniel, with some of the most fluid guitar lines in town was at The Stage. Martin has been building a local audience ever since he arrived a few years ago, doing it the hard way, honky tonks and opening sets.

WAMU's Bluegrass Country Showcase

Music City; where music never sleeps.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Alabama Music, Americana Music, Bluegrass Music, Casey Driscoll, Country Music, Folk Alliance, Jazz, Jim Lauderdale, Lower Broad, Lower Broad Nashville, Martin McDaniel, Music, Nashville, Nu-Blu, Robert's Western World, Rock Music, Rodney Dillard, The Dillards, The Farewell Drifters, The Stage Nashville, Town Mountain, Uncategorized, World of Bluegrass 2011, WSM 650

Year in Music and My Top Ten 2010

December 7, 2010 //

A year in Exile

If there was any kind of recurrent theme this year, The Rolling Stones kept popping up on the radar. It started when I bought the Deadstring Brothers album Sao Paulo an obvious well done Stones influenced work of art. It would be in my Top Ten if it had come out in 2010 but it actually was released in 2009. It is a great album and when I saw them live at The Basement it came across really well.

It didn’t stop there; Exile on Main Street had been remastered with bonus tracks where The Stones actually brought in Mick Taylor to play his parts on some unfinished tracks. The Rolling Stones released a new single “Plundered My Soul” from the found tracks and released several versions of the album.

Grimey’s did a midnight screening of the Documentary Stones in Exile that took photographs, film, new interviews with the band as well as Bobby Keyes and others about recording Exile on Main Street in the south of France way back when at The Belcourt Theatre. “Exile” is now considered a pivotal record but at the time “Tumbling Dice” was considered a difficult single on a rather un-commercial record.

During the Americana Conference the Long Players augmented with Stones Sax Player Bobby Keyes, Dan Baird and several singers like Mike Farris, Grace Potter and others did the entire album live at The Cannery Ballroom.

The Theatre release Ladies and Gentlemen The Rolling Stones which was filmed during the Exile promotional tour in the States was remastered and released on DVD in the fall. The set featured many of the songs from Exile that are not played much by latter day Stones such as “Sweet Virginia”. The sound and film looked phenomenal and it was good to see Mick Taylor at his best, an integral part of The Stones during that period and in truth is really missed nowadays.

Finally, to finish off the year of The Stones, Keith Richard’s Autobiography Life was released in November along with a compilation of his X-Pensive Winos recordings from the late Eighties. The Rolling Stones managed to keep in the music news almost as much as Taylor Swift.

Original cover for Straight Up

It also seemed to be the year for catalog re-releases as Apple Records remastered most of the Apple back catalog of non-Beatles recordings by Badfinger, Mary Hopkins, James Taylor and released all of them at the same time.

FnA Records continued to not only re-release 80’s metal catalog but also unearthed several recordings that were set to release but never were by labels such as A&M and Geffen when the Seattle scene took over. There were several recordings by different artists from The Thirteenth Floor Elevators 45’s to Carnival Season vinyl that saw their material released on CD for the first time.

Janie Hendrix continues exquisite releases of all things Jimi Hendrix with the release of West Coast Seattle Boy that not only has yet another Bob Dylan song done by Hendrix but goes back to the background of what he was doing before going to England with expanded packages that include a disc full of Isley Brothers and other nuggets, pre-Experience as well as a DVD Voodoo Child that even talks about his Nashville days.

Country continues to sell big, but real, traditional or Texas Country has been swallowed up by the Americana scene. At least it has found a home. As far as innovation in current pop country the last leap forward was Miranda Lambert’s Revolution and that was released last year.

Here are few honorable no less worthy than the list:

Ratt – Infestation

Merle Haggard – I Am What I Am

Kort – Invariable Heartache

Charlie Louvin – The Battles Rage On

Marty Stuart – Ghost Train

Jim Lauderdale – Patchwork River

Crazy Heart – (Soundtrack) Various Artists

Okay, now for my Top Ten. In making my choices, I not only looked at material, but innovation and game changers, records that made things interesting.

10- Carnival Season / Misguided Promises / ARRCO

This represents not only a re-issue on CD for the first time of regional Birmingham band Carnival Season that features local legend Tim Boykin, but, painstakingly includes every recording the band made during their short time together as well as extensive liner notes that tell the whole story of the late 80’s rockers. It sits well on the shelf with bands like Redd Kross as well as The Replacements. The band has been doing occasional reunion gigs playing not only this set but some new stuff as well over the last couple of years. This was one of the first alternative rock bands out of Birmingham, Alabama.

Featured tracks: “Misguided Promises”, “Please Don’t Send me to Heaven”

9- Robert Plant / Band of Joy / Rounder –Esparanza

Robert was in the middle of recording the follow up to Raising Sand with Allison Krauss when he pulled the plug when he felt the magic wasn’t there. He retreated to Nashville and entrusted Buddy Miller to put together a band that features Darrell Scott, Byron House, Marco Giovino and Patty Griffin and secluded into Woodland Studio to see what they would come up with. The result is obscure covers as well as a Plant-Page piece from Walking into Clarksdale that shows some Zeppelin flavor with uncharted Americana territory which sonically could have only happened with Nashville session players in such a short time. The band gelled in the studio and continues to roll across Europe and Stateside. This is probably Buddy Miller’s best Production effort yet.

Featured tracks: “Angel Dance”, “You Can’t Buy My Love”, “House of Cards”

8 – Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses / Junky Star / Lost Highway

Ryan tends to write like a modern day Dylan but his voice is more like John Kay from Steppenwolf. Ryan who comes from the red dirt scene of West Texas and now lives in so-L.A. got national notice with the Grammy winning “The Weary Kind” from the Crazy Heart soundtrack defiantly writes about a drifter leaving behind a dead end life to go to California only to end up sleeping on the Santa Monica pier.

Featured tracks: “The Wandering”, “Junky Star”

7- Sweet Apple / Love & Desperation / Tee Pee

Put together by members of Dinosaur Jr. and Witch, this little known defiantly Hard Rock and other worldly idea collection of songs with its Roxy Music rip off style album cover is actually closer to something between an early Alice Cooper (when they were a band) and Ziggy Stardust era Bowie. The album kicks off like a Raspberries send off with Guidedbyvoices production and then the desperation begins with some morbid love lost desperation with a chugging Alice Cooper band style with lyrics like ”Looking out the window, watching people fall, how I wish I could fall to death”. It’s a rock and roll gem this year.

Featured tracks: “Do You Remember”, “I’ve Got a Feeling (That Won’t Change)”

6 – Preservation Hall Jazz Band / Preservation / Preservation Hall Recordings

What a fantastic album. A collection of well-known New Orleans Ragtime with this important Horn based band where the tuba still carries much of the bass part, mashes PHJB with an all-star cast of vocalists such as Andrew Bird, Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Ritchie Havens, Steve Earle as well as the sultry vocals of Memphis’ Amy LaVere. The band ended up on tour with Maroon 5 this year.

Featured tracks: “Blue Skies”, “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home”

5- John Mellencamp / No Better Than This / Rounder

Recorded for the most part at Sun Studios with one RCA 44 ribbon mic into vintage Ampex Analog gear, John not only sounds like the old Sun recordings, this sounds like old tape that had to be baked in a microwave to finally put it on digital media. It was not only a great idea with equal parts Cash country, Rockabilly and blues but probably his best album since Scarecrow. The T Bone Burnett produced masterpiece even got airtime on WSM.

Featured tracks: “No Better Than This”, “Coming Down the Road”

4- Justin Townes Earle / Harlem River Blues / Bloodshot

If you missed it, Justin just rolled a third strike in three years. Every album has been decidedly Justin with marked differences and excellent songwriting. This would be his “Ode to New York City” where he now calls his second home. Jason Isbell (Drive by Truckers, The 400 Unit) puts in guitar duties and gives this more of an edgy guitar feel as well as some straight up Rockabilly. It really would be cool to see a pure Rockabilly album in the future.

Featured tracks: “Move Over Mama”, “Workin’ for the MTA”, “Christchurch Woman”

3- Black Mountain / Wilderness Heart / Jagjaguwar

This album sometimes feels like Led Zep III and Deep Purple Fireball at the same time. The duality vocals of Stephen and Amber still remind me of a haunting Jefferson Airplane with the production sounding very early 70’s analog, sometimes acoustic but when they rock it’s got Jon Lord style Hammond B3 all over the place. Although the first album by this Vancouver band may have been a defining moment this is the one that makes me wants to crank the stereo full blast on road trips.

Featured tracks: “The Hair Song”, “Old Fangs”, “Let Spirits Ride”

2- Mike Farris and The Cumberland Saints / The Night The Cumberland Came Alive / Entertainment One

Recorded in just six hours just two weeks after the Nashville Flood in a downtown Nashville church just blocks from the flooding, Mike shows that his bluesy/gospel voice can sound fantastic over anywhere he wants to go. Mike has been everywhere from Indie Rock, Blues, Gospel, working with Double Trouble to now this pre-war Gospel Blues style gem working with The McCrary Sisters, Sam Bush, Byron House and members of The Old Crow Medicine Show, his originals mesh well with the rare covers. He showcased the album at Cannery Ballroom during the Americana Music Festival and it was electrifying.

Featured tracks: “Wrapped Up, Tangled Up”, “Down on Me”

1-She & Him /Volume Two / Merge

Zooey Deschannel & M. Ward are some kind of modern Indie Captain and Tennille and somehow it works. Zooey has a sunny California breeze running through her muse that translates into a digital era take on The Beach Boys versus Phil Spector. Even though the material is fresh it makes me daydream of being back on the beach in Santa Cruz when I was six with my Mom and little sister.

Featured tracks: “In The Sun”, “Don’t Look Back”,”Lingering Still”

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Ampex, Amy LaVere, Analog Recording, Apple Records, Badfinger, Black Mountain, Bloodshot Records, Buddy Miller, Byron House, Carnival Season, Charlie Louvin, Country, Country Music, Darrell Scott, FNA Records, Geffen Records, Grimey's, Hair Metal, Indie Rock, Jefferson Airplane, Jim Lauderdale, Jimi Hendrix, John Mellencamp, Kort, Lost Highway Records, Merle Haggard, Mike Farris, Music, Old Crow Medicine Show, Patty Grififn, Preservation Hall, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Robert Plant, Rock, Rock Music, She & Him, Sweet Apple, T Bone Burnett, The Rolling Stones, Tim Boykin, Uncategorized, West Coast Seattle Boy, WSM 650

Americana Music Festival Next Week in Nashville

September 2, 2010 //

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Americana Music Festival update. There will be an awards show on Thursday September 9th which will feature Buddy Miller and an all-star band, along with other diverse guests such as Carolina Chocolate Drops, Emmylou Harris, The Avett Brothers, Wanda Jackson and on and on. That will be at The Mother Church – The Ryman Auditorium starting at 6:30. The party will be all over town from September 8th through September 11th.

Elizabeth Cook at Grand Ole Opry

Elizabeth Cook will be at Station Inn on Wed. night at 9PM. Her song, “It Takes Balls To Be a Woman” should have been number one on country radio. No doubt her husband Tim Carroll, a phenomenal writer in his own right will be playing with her band.

There will even be an Exile on Main Street tribute going on at The Cannery Ballroom at 10:30 on the first day of the festival. It looks like I am going to have to tank up because I am going to be skipping from place to place. It is really cool how Americana is really taking on a wider view as time goes on.

Wanda and The King

Speaking of the Punk Scene, Exene Cervanka will be live at The Basement at 11PM which I want to really see, but this slot seems to be the big one all over town, competing with Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, not just any guitarist; being given the title C.G.P. by none other than Chet Atkins playing at The Rutledge and Wanda Jackson at Mercy Lounge all at the same time. This is like Baskin-Robbins 31 flavors. How can I decide? If I had to judge by line up on Thursday it would be the one-two-three punch of Dale Watson, Wanda Jackson and The Dex Romweber Duo at Mercy Lounge.

Talk about a line up. If I had to bet where Nashvillian Jack White will be if he is home, it will be at that show. He did do a single this past year on his Third Man Records of Dex Romweber Duo. There Cd on Bloodshot Records is fantastic.

Peter Case

I have not even got to Friday. I’ll just mention a couple, go to the schedule for the rest. Peter Case at 11pm at The Basement, Charlie Louvin of The Louvin Brothers (you can’t get more old school than that. You are almost going to back to The Carter Family) at The Rutledge at 10PM, Jim Lauderdale, the True King of Country Music today. In 2008 he did an album featuring Ronnie Tutt and James Burton from Elvis’ Band much like Graham Parsons did back in the 70’s. Everything he does is quality stuff at The Mercy Lounge at 10PM followed by the new trend in country music, new country indie artist, Shelby Lynne.

Saturday will cap off the weeks festivities with a few major stand outs, John Carter Cash, who has chosen to go the traditional route in the vein of his ancestors The Carter Family, playing at The Rutledge at 10PM. One of the greatest writers, Tony Joe White at Mercy Lounge at 11Pm.

Todd Snider

I only touched on a few of the artists performing during the four-day period, but, if you haven’t booked a flight yet, you should. It is going to be one heck of a party next week. I hope to get a few interviews, reviews and pics for The Nashville Bridge. Hope to see you there.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Charlie Louvin, Elizabeth Cook, Exene Cervenka, Jim Lauderdale, John Carter Cash, John Mellencamp, Music City Roots, Nashville Scene, Peter Case, Rounder Records, The Avett Brothers, The Ryman Auditorium, Todd Snider, Tony Joe White, Uncategorized, Wanda Jackson