“Day By Day” with the Downbeat Project

Over at VirginiaWineTV, we pair our wine videos with local Virginia based artists and for September, Charlottesville based The Downbeat Project is the featured artist. We first heard this band playing at the Devils Backbone Brewery during The Festy, and spent some time in the brewpub enjoying their funky sound over a few pints of ale. Fast forward to today and our subject at CrossKeys Vineyards & Estates requested The Downbeat Project provide the intro music to their video. We readily agreed and after sampling and then downloading their latest EP, “Day By Day”, decided to feature the band for our remaining videos of the month. We used the third track, In Your Arms, because of it's crystal clean opening; but this is a powerful song throughout. And to understand the rockin'-side of the band, listen to Shakedown - it's easy to discover why the Downbeat Project rocks out live shows. The EP is just $5 online - so this is a no brainer. Cheers to local wine and local music.

Melody Walker - Gold Rush Goddess

We recently received Gold Rush Goddess, a very cool release from Melody Walker that we can only subscribe as soothing vocals with a bad-ass attitude.  Just listen to the title track; the blues-infused Get Back; or the a capella turned bluegrass ramble in Do What You Love Blues. You want soothing; then check out the mini-lullaby in Stars Align, the hypnotic Martinez, and the only cover, Dreaming. Ms. Walker and partner Jacob Groopman fuse Appalachia with various West Coast sounds to form a very impressive set of music.

Album Review: River City Extension - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger

This week we learned about an exciting eight person band out of New Jersey,  River City Extension, and their completely entertaining CD Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Your Anger. I mean, this release has everything; a little Americana, Rock, Funk, Pop-Rock -> no two songs are the same. And there's even a rhythm section here and there as well as a simulated fife and drum corp (see Lord, I Have Changed - a favorite). There's love songs; apologizing songs, semi-gospels -> all with nice melodies, tight instrumentals,  and interesting songwriting - courtesy of front man Joe Michelini. When I first started listening, Michelini vocals reminded me of Justin Townes Earle and then when Golden Tongue (Thanatopsis) came on, the song could have been right out of The Good Life or Yuma. I was hooked.There's a lot more to be hooked on; the harp in There & Back Again; the subtle horns in the title track; and the final track, Lord, I Have Changed, seems a perfect closing. Get this CD.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Danny Clinch
Mike Costaney, Dan Melius, James Ramirez,
Patrick O'Brien, Joe Michelini, Jenn Fantaccione, Sam Tacon, Nick Cucci

Caroline Herring's CAMILLA coming August 28th

On August 28th, country -folk singer Caroline Herring will release her 6^th CD, CAMILLA - ten songs that will depress, inspire, and reflect. They are songs of injustice, but also beneficence. "The album is filled with stories of people traveling long hard journeys who are ultimately rewarded by self-worth, resolution, or the promise of kindness." The CD is worth the cost simply for Traveling Shoe, a gospel hymn aiding by Mary Chapin-Carpenter and Aoife O’Donavan.  Simply Beautiful. As is Flee As A Bird.  The bravery of the 1961 Freedom Riders are encountered in White Dress, out right brutality in the title track, and kindness and perseverance in Black Mountain Lullaby. The agreeable and dis-agreeable nature of the human existence. The simple fact is that Herring is one talented songwriter and has the vocals to move the listener.

John Prine & Emmylou Harris Duet at WolfTrap

Last night John Prine and Emmylou Harris were the co-bill for an awesome show at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap. The night featured each artist performing separately with their bands, but also included duets between Prine & Harris with In Spite of Ourselves, Angel from Montgomery, and in the encore, Paradise. What a duo - I would love to hear an entire evening of them performing together - Prine's powerful songwriting and simple melodies combined with the angelic voice of Harris. Will Kimbrough sitting in again on the banjo would be an added bonus. Prine started the evening off like last time with Spanish Pipedream and made sure he included Lake Marie and on the complete opposite side - Lets Talk Dirty In Hawaiian. The most moving song in Harris' set was her tribute to Gram Parsons and when John Starling, formerly of The Seldom Scene and now fronting John Starling and Carolina Star joined her onstage. Thanks to both artists for appearing in the DC area.

Here's the only video I was able to capture last night before told to put the camera away.


Update:emmylunatic has posted a couple videos of the show on YouTube such as Angel from Montgomery.

2012 Music on the Mountaintop Rounding the Corner

Time to start planning another trip to the mountains, this time to Boone NC and the 2012 Music on the Mountaintop - held August 24-26 at the Grandfather Campground. General admission tickets for the three days are $99.00 + fees with %50 single day tickets available for Friday\Saturday and $40 Sunday.

Those are the basics, here's why you should go. The host band is Railroad Earth and not only will the guys be performing, but they will be leading musical workshops throughout the weekend. The remaining lineup consists of Dr. Dog, Sam Bush, JJ Grey & Mofro, Greensky Bluegrass, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Futurebirds, The Hackensaw Boys, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, The Black Lillies, River Whyless, Rose’s Pawn Shop, Naked Gods, SalemSpeaks, and Monroeville.

We really look forward to seeing Holy Ghost Tent Revival, particularly after our MyJoogTV episode.

The Drive-By Truckers Friday Night at Floydfest

The main attraction for me at Floydfest this year was the one of the Friday night headliners - The Drive-By Truckers. Here's three songs from their awesome set.





The Drive-By Truckers At Floydfest XI - "Let There Be Rock"

The Drive-By Truckers At Floydfest XI - "Carl Perkins Cadillac"

The Drive-By Truckers At Floydfest XI - "Too Much Sex, Not Enough Jesus"

Floydfest XI - The Confluence of Music and Mountains

Another Floydfest, another short storm, and another long weekend of inspiring music and stories. I was hesitant planning a trip to the Blue Ridge this year, but the Friday night headliners of The Drive-By Truckers and Leftover Salmon were more than enough inducement to plan a road trip. And neither disappointed with the Truckers playing many old favorites - even when sometimes it seems recollection of the lyrics were a bit difficult.  But it didn't matter. Their sound was spot on, they looked relaxed and having fun - and we have Patterson Hood's solo CD Coming soon. Also seen on Friday were the rock n' roll of American Aquarium and Ha Ha Tonka as well as the folk music of Molasses Creek - a group that we saw many of their members the previous week in Ocracoke.

Saturday was geared towards Scott Miller, the former V-Roys leader who has returned to the Commonwealth in order to spead the word of Virginia's greatness - and to run the family farm near Stanton. I love Miller's songwriting, music, humor, mojo, etc - so I made sure I was present for his early start on the Virginia Folklife Stage and in the Pink Floyd Beer Garden. It references an extremely sullen moment, but "Appalachian Refugee" is a must listen. Sandwiched between Miller at both stages were Doug & Telisha Williams, Justin Jones, Morwenna Lasko & Jay Pun, and Chris Thile. Add in Danny Knicely, Corey Ledet and His Zydeco Band, David Wax Museum, and Hoots & Hellmouth and its no wonder I never made it to the Dreaming Creek Main Stage all day. Why couldn't I hang for Anders Osborne?

The same held true on Sunday. The culprit was Darrell Scott who was performing at the Virginia Folklife Stage and then the Hill Holler Stage a little later. Also at these stages were Ricky Scaggs (with and without the Kentucky Thunder) and the Steep Canyon Rangers. Add in Glory on the Floor and Yarn in the beer garden and I never ventured to half the grounds all day. Getting back to Scott, he was as weary as us having just arrived from a flight from Scotland. Pretty relevant since his music resonates with the Scots-Irish traditions of the Appalachians. At the folklife stage he described his songwriter process in terms of "Double-Headed Eagle" and "East of Gary". Later we heard these songs and many more on the Hill Holler - showing why A Crooked Road is a must purchase with songs like "A Father's Song", "Long Wide Open Road", and the title track.

Ricky Scaggs was even more moving on the Folklife porch describing his days with Ralph Stanley, meeting Bill Monroe, and the life and times of PeeWee - his historic mandolin once owned by "PeeWee" Lambert of Stanley Brothers fame. Scaggs also talked about how relevant bluegrass music is today, and used Barry Gibbs of the BeeGees as an example. Gibbs appeared with him last weekend in Nashville at the Opry and Ryman and Scaggs is recording one of Gibbs songs on his upcoming CD.

Awesome weekend. Already thinking about next year. Here's Darrell Scott performing "Double-Headed Eagle".

Album Review: Town Mountain Rips Out "Leave The Bottle"

One of our favorite acts at The Festy a few years back was Town Mountain and now the band is back on our radar with their upcoming release, Leave The Bottle. And this CD reminds me why we loved their "original bluegrass and roots country" in the first place. Start with the title track. Written by Jesse Langlais, the song showcases their tight harmonies and individual musicianship in a classic country song. They then plow ahead with Robert Greer's Up the Ladder and hit deeper roots with Phil Barker's Lawdog - perhaps my favorite track. Or is it Bobby Britt's instrumental Four Miles or Langlais' Away From Home? As fans of the band will notice, these are all original tunes with the only cover provided by the Wood Brothers in Loaded.  These last two songs illustrates the band's easy transition from bluegrass to alt-country. Don't Go Home Tonight without listening to these songs. The CD will be officially released September 4th, 2012.

Kasey Chambers Inspires Us with Storybook

You miss the old styled country vocals of Patsy Cline or Loretta Lynn? Well there's a contemporary artist who sounds quite similar, Australian Kasey Chambers. And on Monday July 30th, Sugar Hill Records releases her latest CD, STORYBOOK, a " fifteen song release of songs that inspired Kasey to become a musician".  There are several "iconic" songs from Gram Parsons (Return Of The Grievous Angel), James McMurtry (Too Long In The Wasteland), John Prine (Leave The Lights On), and Townes Van Zandt (If I Needed You) - among many others. Even Cyndi Lauper and True Colors; Chambers' vocals are something special with that song. My favorite, though, is Fred Eaglesmith's Water In The Fuel; but then there's Paul Kelly's Everything's Turning To White - quite the powerful song. And then Kelly joins her on Hank Williams' classic I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. An unbelievable duet.  Okay, there's something special with every song on this CD. Check it out. And for those in the Washington-Baltimore area she will be performing at the The Birchmere on August 10th and the Rams Head Onstage August 13th. Hope to see you there.

Preview Patterson Hood's "Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance" this weekend

Here's a press release via Thirty Tigers that we wanted to share.

Athens, GA – Patterson Hood will be releasing his third solo record, Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance, on September 11^th on ATO Records. Hood co-produced the album with long time Drive-By Truckers’ collaborator David Barbe, who also plays bass on the album. All of his DBT band mates make appearances on the record (Mike Cooley, Jay Gonzalez, Brad Morgan and John Neff) as does Scott Danbom and Will Johnson from Centro-matic and Kelly Hogan. Hood’s father, famed Muscle Shoals bassist, David Hood also plays on the record.

Hood originally started out writing a book that was a half-assed fictionalization of a very turbulent period of his life when he was 27. The book eventually stopped coming but the songs continued to pour out. Most of this album comes from a short period of time between February and June of 2011. Hood says, “The songs begin in the period that the book was set in, but don't end there, as they really just were the impetus for writing about the life I am living now and contrasting it with the troubled times of two decades ago. It is in some ways the most personal album I've ever made. There has always been a lot of me in all of the albums we've done, but usually semi-disguised as character sketches and stories, but the first person narrative in this one is pretty firmly rooted in autobiography, albeit in two dramatically differing time periods.”

“I co-wrote this song with my dear friend Kelly Hogan, who also came in to sing it with me. She began the lyrics as a song for our late dear friend Vic Chesnutt and I re-wrote it with the intention of her recording it for her album. She ended up letting me put it on my album and it's a highlight to me.”

 

Hood and Downtown Rumblers will be previewing songs from the record with shows this weekend at XPoNential Music Festival in Philadelphia and the Bell House in Brooklyn. Their fall headline tour will be announced soon.

July 20           Winston-Salem, NC     Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art*

July 21           Camden, NJ                  XPoNential Music Festival*

July 23           Brooklyn, NY                Bell House*

Aug 03           Charleston, SC             Pour House**

Aug 16           Lexington, KY               Lexington Opera House** w/ Todd Snider

Sep 14            Pinnacle, NC                Jomeokee Music & Arts Festival*

Oct 12            Austin, TX                     ACL FESTIVAL*

*denotes shows with Patterson Hood and the Downtown Rumbers

**denotes Patterson Hood solo shows

Sam Bush Becomes a Senior on SBTV

Legendary minimalist Sam Bush turned 60 last month (remember when you thought sixty years old was OLD) and celebrated by participating in Freshman Senior discount shopping days at the Kroger in Bellevue, Tennessee. You can check out these videos as well as his musical videos at SBTV. Love the video on his Gibson mandolins and the classic Bluegrass vinyls. 

Fairfax County Summer Entertainment Series

It's summer which means another season of excellent music courtesy of the Fairfax County Park Authority and generous contributions from local businesses and corporation.. The concerts are held in parks throughout the county and the performers range from big band, jazz, bluegrass, rock, classical and world music. My favorite park is Nottoway Park - only a few miles away - which features the strongest lineup. We are talking Ted Garber, The Seldom Scene, Andrew McKnight, Toubab Krewe, and Cathy Ponton King. Yes, Toubab Krewe - playing in Vienna on their trip down to Floydfest. Other significant artists are Ryan Montbleau Band, Cheryl Wheeler, Larry Sparks & the Lonesome Ramblers, The Nighthawks, and Sierra Hull and Highway 111.Here are some highlights:

• Nottoway Park - Vienna, VA
• Ted Garber - 6/28/2012
• The Seldom Scene - 7/5/2012 
• Andrew McKnight - 7/19/2012
• Toubab Krewe - 7/26/2012
• Cathy Ponton King - 8/16/2012
   
• Royal Lake Park - Fairfax, VA
• Cheryl Wheeler 6/29/2012
• Rick Franklin & His Delta Blues Boy - 7/6/2012 
• Honor by August - 7/13/2012
• Junkyard Saints - 8/3/2012
• Veronneau - 8/10/2012
• The Grandsons - 8/25/2012 
• Janine Wilson  - 8/31/2012
• Lee District Park Amphitheater - Franconia, VA
• Ryan Montbleau Band - 7/18/2012
• Larry Sparks & the Lonesome Ramblers  - 8/1/2012
• The Nighthawks - 8/8/2012
• Grist Mill Park  - Alexandria, VA
• Sierra Hull and Highway 111 - 8/17/2012 

David Lowery (Cracker) Responds to NPR

One week ago, David Lowery (Cracker) wrote an essay titled Letter to Emily White at NPR All Songs Considered in response to an NPR blog post I Never Owned Any Music To Begin With in which an NPR intern describes how she never pays for music downloaded online. All Songs Considered's Robin Hilton published a "review" of the discussion, somewhat excusing Ms. White's non-payments as "everyone does it" - but also links to resources that explain "Where To Buy Music To Get More Cents On The Dollar To The Musicians".  I agree more with Lowery's argument - and encourage all readers to take time to digest the entire topic.

2012 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Rolls Out Awesome Lineup

I know many of you (like us) haven't even planned your summer concert itineraries, but get ready for Fall - or September at least when the 2012 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion rolls out their strongest lineup yet. Tickets range from $40-$60 - depending on when purchased and that gets you three days of listening to this awesome lineup. Bristol has a long music tradition from the Carter Family through the Stanley Brothers to contemporaries such as Ed Snodderly and Roger Rasnake. You can check out our previous coverage of this festival here. And as always, expect great food and beer.


 

• Robert Earl Keen  
• City and Colour  
• Sam Bush  
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver  
• Dr. Dog  
• Delta Spirit  
• Pam Tillis  
• Billy Joe Shaver  
• Tift Merritt  
• The SteelDrivers
• Carrie Rodriguez  
• Dale Watson
• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Dex Romweber Duo
• Red Molly
• The Gibson Brothers
• The Black Lillies
• Zach Deputy
• Chris Thomas King
• Hey Rosetta
• The David Mayfield Parade
• Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons
• Bearfoot
• Sol Driven Train
• Slaid Cleaves
• Dale Ann Bradley
• Kenny Vaughan
• David Wax Museum
• The Deep Dark Woods
• The Boxcars
• Anne & Pete Sibley
• Hot Club of Cowtown
• Sierra Hull & Highway 111
• April Verch
• Josh Phillips Folk Festival
• Elephant Revival
• Pert Near Sandstone
• Balsam Range
• Dale Jett
• Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers
• Ha Ha Tonka
• Folk Soul Revival
• Della Mae
• ETSU Old Time Band
• ETSU Celtic Band
• ETSU Bluegrass Band
• Shovels & Rope
• Girls Guns and Glory
• Spirit Family Reunion
• Jonny Corndawg
• Sam Lewis
• James Justin & Company
• Delta Reign
• JP Harris & The Tough Choices
• MilkDrive
• Lydia Loveless
• Megan McCormick
• Buxton
• Angel Snow
• Jonathan Scales Fourchestra
• Onward, Soldiers
• Josh Oliver
• Todd Grebe & Cold Country
• The Whiskey Gentry
• VW Boys
• Ed Snodderly
• Uncle Lucius
• If Birds Could Fly
• These Undowners
• Wise Old River
• Carl Anderson
• Alli Epperson
• Amazed by Grace
• Amythyst Kiah
• Annabelle's Curse
• Anthony Keys & Chris Rose
• April Taylor
• Beth Snapp
• Bill Mize with Beth Bramhall
• Blakley Leonard
• Box Set
• Breaking Tradition
• Cahalen and Eli
• Calico Moon
• Corklickers
• The Crooked Road Sinners
• Daisi Rain
• Dave Eggar
• The Dismembered Tennesseans
• Duty Free
• Earth by Train
• Eric Brace & Last Train Home
• Erin McDermott
• The Fiddlin' Carson Peters Band
• Fifthstring
• Gerald Sheppard
• Girls with Guitars
• Good Rocking Sam
• The Grass Cats
• Hard Times
• The Harlow Experience
• The Harris Brothers
• The Hey Boys
• Holston Mountain Boys
• Hundred Acres
• Humming House
• Impeach Dixon
• JP Parsons
• J.P. Stallard & Neal Huff
• Karen Poston
• Kim Lyons
• Kristen Minor
• Leigh Beamer
• Lore
• Matt Flinner
• Megan Jean and The KFB
• The Milk Carton Kids
• Mountain Music School
• Mountain Park Old Time Band
• My New Favorites
• Nu-Blu
• Paper Bird
• Rambling Rose
• Rebekah Jean
• Red June
• Relacksachian
• Republik Steele
• Rex Montgomery & Mike Jessee
• Roan Mountain Moonshiners
• Roger Rasnake
• Ron Short & the Possum Playboys
• Sapling Grove
• The Shadow Drifters
• Sigean
• Skeeter & The Skidmarks
• Susan Brown and Friends
• Tara Mills and Strings Attached
• Time Sawyer
• Underhill Rose
• This Mountain
• William Walter & Tucker Rogers