With New Mistakes, Canada’s Terra Lightfoot offers up something rare: the kind of genuine document that can only come from a road-tested breed of songwriter and performer. Shot through with the guitarist-vocalist’s powerful, bluesy soul, vivid lyrics and ferocious six-string virtuosity, it’s an unforgettable outing. Produced by Gus van Go and Werner F , New Mistakes is a heady journey. As poignant as it is rollicking and vulnerable as it is rowdy, it cruises long and sometimes lonesome highways that lead everywhere from brokedown dive bars and endless prairie skies to mountain ranges and the Mojave Desert.

Built around Lightfoot’s killer live band — Maury LaFoy (bass), Joel Haynes (drums) and Jeff Heisholt (keyboards) — the session is their hungriest and most raw album to date. Lightfoot recently debuted another song from the project, "Norma Gale." She had this to say about the poignant story behind the song, which you can listen to below, 

"I was inspired to write this song after meeting a Canadian woman named Norma Gale who was a near-famous country star in the 1970s. She played all over the world but specifically had a great following in Nashville, played with Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty. This song is one of my first songwriter songs, I'd say. It chronicles the life of Norma as a musician in the ’70s, and trying to bring up her young son while she's gunning for sustainable success. I kept in touch with Norma and her son and let them know when I finally made it to Nashville to do some writing, but unfortunately she had passed away two weeks earlier."

I have been a fan of Eric Church for a very, very long time. And truth be told, because I have never put this out there, the winning essay that I wrote about him for CMT was the impetus for this entire blog. He is an amazing songwriter and performer whose shows are always electric, energizing, and engaging -- affecting me like no other live show I have ever been to. He has an incredible musical knowledge, truly loves and is thankful for his fans, and has always been kind and gracious.

On October 4th, Eric played the Opry and what he said there about the unfathomable carnage at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, and how he said it, was incredibly emotional. It was heartfelt, intensely moving, and real. The full transcript of what he said is below, then watch and listen to the song he wrote, "Why Not Me." You will be in tears.

From Facebook:
This past Friday, I played the Harvest Music Festival in Vegas. I was the headliner. I looked out there, at that crowd, in that place. It was our last show of the year and I watched them hold American flags up during “How ‘Bout You.” I watched them put an American scarf around my neck during “Springsteen,” they held records up when I played “Record Year,” they held boots up when I played “These Boots.” I was so moved by it, mainly because I looked at ‘em and went “This is my crowd. I’ve seen this crowd all year, they’re mine.” They came from all over the country because it was our last show, and I did something different on the last song on “Springsteen.” I jumped down on the speaker, and I went down, actually on the floor, it was a high stage so I actually jumped out on the ground. And there was a little row that split the crowd, and it went all the way to my front of house guy and it split the crowd on either side so, the crowd was on the right side, the crowd was on the left side. I went down the right side and I shook everybody’s hand and I told them “Thank you for coming, it’s been a heck of a year, it’s been a hell of a year actually.” And I went all the way down the right side, waved at my sound guy, came back up the left side, smiling faces, hands in the air, pictures being taken. I jumped back up on stage and played “Holdin’ My Own” and “A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young.” And 48 hours later, in those places that I stood, was carnage. Those are my people. Those are my fans.
I didn’t want to be here tonight. I didn’t want to play guitar. I didn’t want to walk on this stage, but last night, let me try to get this out, last night somebody sent me a video of a lady named Heather Melton and she was talking to Anderson Cooper on CNN and she had on our Church Choir Tour shirt. And he said, “what brought you to Vegas?” and she goes “We went there to see Eric Church because he was Sonny’s [her husband who died] it was his guy, and we went there to see his guy.” And then she said “We have tickets for the Grand Ole Opry tomorrow night.” And there’s a, over here, section 3, row F, if you’re there in row F, there’s some empty seats and that’s their seats. And, I’m gonna tell you something, the reason I’m here, the reason I’m here tonight, is because of Heather Melton and her husband Sonny, who died, and every person that was there. I’ll tell you something, I saw that crowd. I saw them with their hands in the air. I saw them with boots in the air. And what I saw, that moment in time that was frozen there’s no amount of bullets that can take away. None.
And that night, something broke in me, on Sunday night when that happened. And the only way I’ve ever fixed anything that’s been broken in me is with music. So I wrote a song...

(Press Release) On November 3, the Portland, OR-based Blitzen Trapper will release Wild & Reckless, a new album born of their staged musical of the same title and also a compaion to their 2008 breakthrough album Furr. Today, Consequence of Soundpremiered the album's title track and said "the song is the equivalent of an adrenaline shot of invincibility — the kind of anthem people turn up loud in the car as they’re speeding off to some unknown destination, the wind’s blow their only guidance."
 
Stream "Wild and Reckless" HERE

"Wild and Reckless is about looking back on the crazy days of youth and wondering how you survived those sketchy times with danger eternally nosing at your heels," explains frontman Eric Earley about the song. "And when you look back now there’s this feeling like, I’ll never be as alive as I was then. Reality will never seem that vibrant and embraceable. Whether that’s true or not isn’t important, it’s just a feeling, life’s intractable ability to hoodwink us into seeing the past as a shinning corona, even when there’s only darkness at the center."
 
Wild and Reckless is now available for pre-order via iTunes, Amazon, and their website.

Listen to "Whiskey Rollercoaster" HERE

October 6, 2017 (Nashville, TN Press Release) –  Nashville alt-country artist Jacob Thomas Jr. returns with "Whiskey Roller Coaster," the first single released from his upcoming second album, Electric Sex. "Whiskey Roller Coaster" is a rock-infused, alt-country journey that finds Thomas reflecting on his favorite vice. He describes this first single as, “That moment when you wake up hungover and tell yourself that you won't drink again. Then five o'clock rolls around and a little voice inside your head says 'what's one beer and a shot going to hurt?' Somehow five o'clock turns into 3am, the bars are closing, and you're too drunk to drive so you just sleep in your car behind the bar and you repeat that cycle for like… 10 years. Well, that's 'Whiskey Roller Coaster.’” 

Jacob’s debut album, Original Sin (2014), was a solo-acoustic dive into his past that explored the path that brought him to Nashville in 2008. On that brutally honest debut, we learned about his dramatic shift from Louisiana pastor to Nashville musician. After being fired by his own Parrish for spending too much time performing in bars, Thomas made the incredibly difficult decision to leave his wife and pursue music full-time in Nashville. If the bare-boned songs on Original Sin shone a light on Thomas' ability to pack a punch with little more than an acoustic guitar and a gorgeously ragged voice, then Electric Sex — full of heartfelt, anthemic anthems about getting laid, getting lost and getting left behind — shows the full range of his abilities. Electric Sex explores his life after the church, with Thomas telling us, “At 25 years old I said ‘fuck it all,’ and this album is me trying to reclaim my sexual identity after years of growing up in the church.”

10 years into his professional music career Thomas has played out with some of Nashville’s best country/rock artists including Rayland Baxter, Uncle Kracker, Sonia Leigh, Randy Montana, Logan Mize, Elise Davis, Goodbye June, and Danielle Bradbery to name a few. However, on Electric Sex he's a frontman, leading a studio band whose members include pedal steel wiz Drew Belk (Billy Currington, Midland), producer and keyboardist Jason Morant, bass player Jason Harris and drummer Jake Finch. Together, they make a sound that nods to rock & roll's biggest moments — from Fleetwood Mac to ELO to Silverchair's Diorama — while still pushing into new territory.

Listen to "Wild Western Windblown Band" via Soundcloud:
http://bit.ly/MillicanWWWB
 
The Austin, TX-based Reckless Kelly have announced that they will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album Millican with a limited edition vinyl release on October 20 via their own label No Big Deal Records. The double LP vinyl pressing of Millican is limited to only 1000 copies and includes two never before released songs, "Wild Western Windblown Band" and "Millican."
 
The two unreleased songs were remixed at Arlyn Studios in Austin, TX, where Reckless Kelly recorded the album more than 20 years ago, and the entire double LP set was re-mastered by Gavin Lurssen in Burbank, CA.

The album is now available for pre-order in the form of a limited edition "Tape Baking Bundle" that includes the Millican 20th Anniversary Remastered for vinyl double LP with unreleased bonus tracks, a digital download card, Millican CD, Millican anniversary T-shirt and a Millican Koozie. Starting on October 20 all of these products will be available individually via Reckless Kelly's merch website rkmerch.com.

With fifteen years under his belt and just as many chart topping singles to his credit, Casey Donahew is giving a gift to the throngs of fans who attend his shows weekly and sing his lyrics back to him and his band at sold-out venues all over the country. 15 YEARS, THE WILD RIDE, produced by Josh Leo and Donahew, releases on October 6th.  Fans can PRE-ORDER the new album for $5.99 and get Casey’s anthem “Stockyards” and two other songs immediately.  To order click HERE.  

 The album offers fifteen of Donahew’s biggest songs to date, including hits like; “12 Gauge,” “Double Wide Dream,” and “Fallen,” one of the first songs he ever wrote. And of course, no Donahew retrospective would be complete without his mainstay singalong hit, “Stockyards,” the ode to where it all began. The album also includes a new recording of “3 AM” (Matchbox 20), a staple of Casey’s live set.

While Casey’s original recordings withstood the test of time, the modest entertainer admits that they were not recorded under the most favorable conditions. “When I first started we didn’t have much money and really didn’t know what we were doing, but we knew we wanted to make something for our fans. So we went in and made Lost Days, our first record, and spent about $1500.00 doing one take with an acoustic guitar, bass and drums. We didn’t even have a lead guitar player, so we had a guy go in and go over the   top of the songs one time through. So there’s four instruments, one vocal, and no harmonies -- it’s about as basic as you could get,” says Donahew.  “These songs have been with me a long time and they’re a part of who I am. It’s been a lot of fun to go back in the studio to record them the right way and pay tribute to my fans and celebrate the years.”            

(Press Release) In the age of music on demand we are blessed with so much, perhaps too much, choice on who to support, follow and listen to. Singer/Songwriters have been churning out the tunes until we no longer know where to look and often when we do settle down to check on new talent it rarely satisfies as we would like. When it comes to Josh Wheatley, however, this issue never seems to arise. Now on his third single, this cherubic looking and sounding 21 year old from Nottingham keeps on presenting more assured and gratifying music with each and every release.
​
Having notched up support from eclectic tastemakers and industry folk alike from Clash to Radio 2, Music Week to The National Student, Josh Wheatley is fast becoming a contender to walk in the pantheons of the greats in British music.

On the new single Josh explains, “Chemicals, to me, is about the base instincts of attraction. The ideas of the brain emitting neurotransmitters which change mood so heavily. Thin the blood, expand the pupils and change the body so drastically. The thing I like most about the track is that the production is so juxtaposed to the lyrics. The sterile outlook on love silhouetted against brash, big guitars and lush synths.”

His musical obsessions ranging from Dan Croll & Haim to Death Cab For Cutie & Rhodes. This dark and brooding songwriter is carving out a lyrical prowess when it come to matters of the heart and soul with a knowing empathy rarely found in someone so young.

With such a keen ear for melody and what it takes to make a great song it’s no wonder that Josh gave up on his University path towards a career in law.

Continue to follow Josh as ‘Chemicals’ is the catalyst to the bright future he fully deserves.

Find Josh on social media
www.facebook.com/joshwheatleymusic
www.instagram.com/joshisok
www.twitter.com/joshisok

(Press Release) The team of the hit podcast series And The Writer Is… hosted their Season 2 kickoff party last night at the iconic Sound City Studio in Van Nuys before hundreds of songwriters and music industry executives.

The evening was highlighted by the show’s host Ross Golan and co-producer Joe London announcing the lineup of the new season -- which launched earlier that day with Golan’s interview with Jack Antonoff, who recently penned hits for Taylor Swift, Lorde, St. Vincent and his own band Bleachers. The duo was then presented gold plaques in commemoration of the podcast’s first season exceeding 500,000 downloads.
 
Season 2 guests will feature Julia Michaels, Charlie Puth, Claude Kelly, Dan Wilson, Sir Nolan, Babyface, Lindy Robbins, Mike Posner, David Israelite and a special country music week featuring Thomas Rhett, busbee, Nicolle Galyon, Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowell.