 Photo & Design: Joey Brodnax
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Zander Hawley is psyched to share the lead single off his forthcoming debut solo record, When I Get Blue, due May 12th. Produced by Marshall Vore (drums for Ryan Adams), the single, “Don’t Call Me Back” is the album opener, on which 19-year-old Hawley sings that “disappointment fades with wine” against the backdrop of a driving alt-country sound and swells of gang vocals on each resounding refrain. Hawley will be playing select live dates this spring in Nashville and Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more announcements and releases in the coming weeks. Stream the song after the jump.
1 Comment
 Rodney Crowell’s highly anticipated new album Close Ties is out today via New West Records and is available now digitally, on compact disc, and LP Here. The 10-song set is the multi-Grammy Award winning troubadour’s first album in over three years and follows The Traveling Kind, his lauded collection of duets with longtime collaborator Emmylou Harris. The album has already gained considerable critical acclaim with The Wall Street Journal raving, “[Close Ties] proves energizing, engaging and often fascinating;” and the Associated Press adding, “The set ranks among his best.” The Los Angeles Times calls it “exceptional,” while No Depression notes, “Whether he’ll accept it or not, [Crowell has] now assumed the mantle of the late Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, two poets who could zero in on our emotions by telling wry, straight-as-an-arrow stories about the desiccated desolation of the failures or triumphs of relationships, or the battered denizens of small towns searching for truth, comfort, love, or refuge in their own halting ways.” Co-produced by Jordan Lehning and Kim Buie, Close Ties features a duet with Sheryl Crow on the haunting “I’m Tied To Ya,” and a vocal collaboration with Crowell’s ex-wife Rosanne Cash and John Paul White on “It Ain’t Over Yet.” In celebration of the album release, Crowell will be joined by Cash and White for a performance on CBS This Morning Saturday tomorrow, April 1st. It is the first time the trio have performed the song live and Crowell also sat down for a conversation with CBS Senior National Correspondent Anthony Mason for the show as well (Check Local Listings).
 Photo Credit: Olena Lysenko NASHVILLE, TN (March 31, 2017 Press Release) – With over 140 million YouTube views and counting, Columbia Records’ HOME FREE is back again with their latest cover video for Keith Urban’s chart-topping smash, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” exclusively on FOX411 Country today (3/31). The all-vocal quintet’s harmony-rich, Motown spin on the critically acclaimed song can be heard on their current spring tour, which launched last week in Midland, TX (3/21).
Directed by Jimmy Bates, the music video takes Home Free to a whole new level as a group with smooth doo-wop inspired moves created by long-time collaborator and choreographer Kristin Denehy who helped the band set a throwback to a 1960’s school dance complete with a black and white checkerboard floor, shimmering gold fringe and upright microphones.  (Press Release) In the olden days of American music, before radios, television, highways, and the internet homogenized everything, regional styles and traditions reigned. And yet, the rich regionalism of America continues today, fighting against the Walmart-ization of American culture. Columbia, MO trio The Hooten Hallers are out front of this charge, reclaiming the heritage of their Missouri roots. With their new self-titled album (to be released April 21, 2017 on Big Muddy Records), they continue their decade-long search for these roots, drawing from the surrounding agricultural lifestyles, the river communities, the college kids and the tweakers that roam Columbia, Missouri, all in the looming foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Other bands would have jumped ship for a metropolitan city long ago, but there’s a sense of pride in these stubborn personalities that tie The Hooten Hallers inextricably to their place. Their regional foundation inspires their music, from pre-war blues to New York Dolls-inspired punk rock to Legendary Shack Shakers-esque Americana Gothic, all of it tying them to the Missouri river and the new regional traditions being made every day. As they say in Missouri, it’s not quite the Midwest and it’s not quite the South. In the same vein, the Hooten Hallers’ music isn’t quite Americana and it’s not quite punk, but a bit of both, fused together in a drunken tangle.
 Featuring Guest Musicians:
Dale Ann Bradley, Becky Buller, Amanda Smith, Missy Raines, Mike Compton, David Grier, Jeremy Garrett, Shad Cobb, Stephen Mougin, and Chris Jones & The Night Drivers Buy it on iTunes, Amazon, cdbaby or directly from Ned at www.nedski.com/take-five Nashville, TN (Press Release)-- Ned Luberecki’s new album, Take Five, is independently released TODAY, March 31, 2017. A master of his instrument and adept in multiple styles Ned recorded at The Rec Room, Ben Surratt’s studio in East Nashville this self produced, the 14-track album is a mix of originals and covers and clocks in at just under 45 minutes. Take Five is a reflection of Ned’s musical diversity, presenting fiddle and banjo tunes, instrumentals, and traditional bluegrass interspersed with jazz standards, classic Buck Owens, and even the theme to Star Trek. Many of Ned’s musical friends from all walks of bluegrass make appearances, making Take Five a sort of retrospective, reminding us that however we know Ned Luberecki - sideman, teacher, on-air radio personality - that he is respected as both a traditional and progressive player with a style perfectly his own - a harlequin combination of the diverse artists, musicians, and genres he’s ingested. Take Five is stacked with a remarkable lineup of guest musicians including Missy Raines and the New Hip, Jeremy Garrett of The Infamous Stringdusters, Becky Buller, The Helen Highwater Stringband (Mike Compton, David Grier, Missy Raines, and Shad Cobb), Chris Jones and The Night Drivers, Dale Ann Bradley, and Amanda Smith. Also appearing on the album, Stephen Mougin, guitarist of Sam Bush Band and the other half of Nedski & Mojo, calls it “a sonic glimpse inside the mind of Nedski [that] showcases Ned’s brilliant banjo skills in a diverse range of material, from old-time to bluegrass to jazz and beyond. Way beyond!”  LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Press Release)— Following up 1987’s album Lolita Nation (whose reissue appeared on numerous year-end “best of” lists for 2016) would be no easy task for Game Theory. But Scott Miller and company were certainly up to the challenge. Re-teaming with producer Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush), 2 Steps From the Middle Ages was released in 1988, and showed the band had no shortage of energy, experimentation, and excellent material.
This reissue, due out June 9, 2017 on Omnivore Recordings, contains the original 13 songs supplemented with a whopping 11 bonus tracks -- including eye-opening, unvarnished album demos, live performances, Scott Miller’s solo covers of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America,” Let’s Active’s “Bad Machinery,” and more — all previously unissued. The translucent-orange first pressing of the LP (on vinyl for the first time since its initial release) contains a download card for the entire CD/Digital program.  Nashville, Tenn. (March 30, 2017 Press Release) — The music video to singer/songwriter James Robert Webb's most recent single, "Six Strings & The Truth" premiered today. The new tune from Webb's forthcoming sophomore album, Honky Tonk Revival (Bison Creek Records), was featured by iTunes as one of its top pre-sale tracks. Watch the video HERE.
"Six Strings & The Truth" was penned and produced by Webb and co-produced by Daniel Kleindienst. The music video is directed by Brock Howard of Mankind Films. The song can be downloaded HERE. Webb earned two Top 40 hits on the Music Row Country Breakout Chart with his 2016 singles, "How That Feels," and "Makin' Love Tonight," both cuts from his debut album, Pictures. For more information on James Robert Webb, visit www.jamesrobertwebb.com.  MUSIC ICON KEITH RICHARDS AND GRAMMY®-AWARD WINNING
SINGER-SONGWRITER SHERYL CROW ADDED TO ALL-STAR LINEUP TO HONOR MERLE HAGGARD AT ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME CONCERT CELEBRATION NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Press Release) – Legendary Rolling Stones' guitarist/vocalist Keith Richards and GRAMMY® Award-winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow have been added to the lineup of Sing Me Back Home: The Music Of Merle Haggard, an all-star concert event taping at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. CT in honor of what would have been Merle’s 80th birthday and the one-year anniversary of his passing. The new additions to the lineup join previously announced performing artists Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, John Mellencamp, Dierks Bentley, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams Jr., Toby Keith, The Avett Brothers, Alison Krauss, Ronnie Dunn, Alabama, Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Jamey Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Lucinda Williams, Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Anderson, Bobby Bare, Connie Smith and Ben Haggard.  Watch the video for "Shine On Me" HERE
Nine-time GRAMMY–winner Dan Auerbach will release Waiting On A Song, his second solo album, on June 2 via his new label, Easy Eye Sound. The album is Auerbach’s much anticipated follow-up to 2009’s Keep It Hid and is a love letter to Nashville. As such, he recruited some of Nashville’s most respected players to write and record his latest, including John Prine, Duane Eddy, Jerry Douglas, Pat McLaughlin and Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman of the Memphis Boys. Auerbach said about working with his musical heroes: “Living in Nashville has definitely changed the way I think about music and the way that I record it. I didn’t have all of these resources before. I am working with some of the greatest musicians that ever lived.” Waiting On A Song is available for pre-order on CD, vinyl, and digitally. The album will also be available in limited-edition bundles, including an exclusive 8 track and a vintage 8 track player signed and customized by Auerbach, a seat cushion and various autographed and colored vinyl sets. Pre-order the album on all formats here.  Started in conjunction with Secretly Group and 30 Songs, 30 Days, Our First 100 Days aims to raise funds for organizations supporting causes under threat, thus far raising over $80,000.
As part of the project, Courtney Marie Andrews and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's Will Oldham joined forces to duet on Nina Simone's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free." Andrews and Oldham trade vocals on Simone's civil rights anthem, the hope seeping into every lyric and flourish. You can check it out HERE and head over to Bandcamp for the whole list of artists involved. Visit here for information on the project. Andrews and Oldham had this to say about choosing this specific song to fit our times: Courtney Marie Andrews says ""I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free" is an amazing gospel tune that the incomparable Nina Simone covered and it became an important song for the civil rights movement in the 60s. A lot of these issues are still relevant today and I wanted to sing a song that had a palpable voice for those issues. I'll never know what it was like to walk the rocky path that Nina did, but her power and unyielding strength was and is something to aspire to. “ "We figured to make a song that would keep folks' minds, tongues & fingers in motion. James Baldwin: 'This is not the land of the free. It is only very unwillingly & sporadically the home of the brave.’” - Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy |
BLOGROLL
B-Sides and Badlands Hitting All The Right Notes Key Music News Dreamspider's Blog Farce the Music TJ Music Archives
October 2024
|
RSS Feed
