WATCH: Chris Silver and Scott Liebers, “Tico-Tico no Fubá”

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Artists: Chris Silver and Scott Liebers
Hometowns: River Falls, Wisconsin (Chris) and Farmington, Minnesota (Scott)
Song: “Tico-Tico no Fubá” (Live at Reverb and Echo)

In Their Words: “I grew up primarily on bluegrass, country, and rock. Later in life, I was drawn to Latin music, specifically Brazilian Choro. The syncopated rhythms and unique melodies capture my ear. I’ve been studying the style for a few years on my own. My good friend and musician extraordinaire Chris Silver is well-versed in many styles, including Latin. It was an honor to play ‘Tico’ with him.

“I’ve been building acoustic guitars and mandolins for over 20 years. The first 10 years or so it was a hobby. Eventually, instruments I built for myself were bought by friends, or people that played them at a jam. I’d use that money to buy more wood and tools. Things evolved from there. My first commissioned custom guitar was around 2013. My first commissioned custom mandolin was in 2015 by Chris Silver. In the video for ‘Tico,’ Chris is playing that instrument, which features traditional processes and woods such as a red spruce top, hot hide glue construction, and oil varnish finish with a French polished shellac top coat.

“I strive to build in the vintage traditions of the Loar-era mandolins with a few modern innovations such as dual action truss rods and carbon fiber reinforcement in the necks. Those provide ultimate stability in the extreme climates we endure in the Northern states. I’ve built 20 mandolins to date and 24 guitars. My mandolin was built in 2019. It features the same building process and materials, differing only in the top being German spruce rather than red.” — Scott Liebers

“This tune is a great example of the cross-section of American roots music and what may be the most popular Brazilian tune. Scott hits the traditional Choro on the mark while I pull a little Jethro Burns into the mix. It’s a great example of the sound that two Liebers F-style mandolins can create. It’s always a joy to pick with Scott.” — Chris Silver

Photo Credit: Carter Brice

WATCH: Sean Rowe and Alisa Amador Cover Tom Waits on ‘Can I Eat This?’

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In each episode of the new series Can I Eat This?, singer-songwriter and avid forager Sean Rowe is joined by a musical guest with whom he ventures out into the woods surrounding the artfully designed grounds of AutoCamp’s Catskills resort where wild food abounds. In addition to finding, harvesting, and preparing their haul, Rowe and his guest record a song together. In the second episode, he performs Tom Waits’ “Hold On” with Alisa Amador.

“You really never know what kind of chemistry you’re going to have with another artist on set,” Rowe says. “I’d never performed with Alisa before and in fact, hadn’t even met her before she showed up for the shoot! I love the risky element of improvisation where you just don’t know what to expect, but Alisa’s positive energy on the set was palpable and infectious.”

Among other wild foods-based programs, which tend to be serious in tone with an emphasis on survivalist themes, Can I Eat This? stands out. Rowe’s enthusiasm is infectious and welcoming to anyone who wants to learn more about this increasingly popular pursuit. The developing interest in foraging can be attributed to a number of factors including a flood of books and documentaries detailing the alarmingly negative health and environmental impacts of America’s fast-food/factory-farmed-based diets. Also, after more than two years spent in an emotionally-charged state of isolation, many are seeking out the space and quiet serenity of nature. Taken in combination, the series is a gentle and inviting respite from modern life and provides viewers with relatively simple methods of making positive changes in their lives.

Editor’s Note: Watch Episode 1 with musical guest Taylor Ashton.

LISTEN: Aoife O’Donovan, “Drover” (Bill Callahan Cover)

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Artist: Aoife O’Donovan
Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts
Song: “Drover” (Bill Callahan Cover)
Release Date: January 9, 2023
Label: Yep Roc Records

In Their Words: “In 2011, Bill Callahan released Apocalypse, a collection of seven perfectly-crafted songs. As a longtime fan of his music, released both under his own name and as SMOG, I was immediately smitten with the record. There was something about the solitude in his voice that gripped me.

“I’m an obsessive listener. I once spent the entire four-hour drive from Boston to New York, listening to ‘One Fine Morning’ on repeat. I bought a ticket to his show at Lincoln Center and went by myself — I didn’t want to sully my experience with any social obligation whatsoever. Pure music.

“While holed up in the studio in 2021 after we had just finished mixing Age of Apathy, I came up with my own arrangement of ‘Drover,’ the lead track on Apocalypse. I play every instrument — guitars, keys, bass — and sing all of the vocals. I had so much fun recording this song and hope you enjoy listening to it.” — Aoife O’Donovan

Photo Credit: Omar Cruz

LISTEN: Mike Stinson & Johnny Irion, “Working My Way Down”

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Artist: Mike Stinson & Johnny Irion
Hometown: Mike: from Virginia, living in Houston; Johnny: Berkshire, Massachusetts
Song: “Working My Way Down””
Album: Working My Way Down
Release Date: March 24, 2023
Label: Blackwing Music

In Their Words: “When Mike and I joined forces again during the pandemic to start Working My Way Down, I had no idea what would become of it, I didn’t even know if we’d get through the sessions, but some albums will take on a life of their own if you allow it to happen. This album is a homage to David Briggs and of course Mr. Andy Jones, the spirit of rock and roll, and some unfinished business Mike and I had started in LA in the late nineties. All recorded in my home on The Studer Tape Machine I moved from Jackson Browne’s studio.” — Johnny Irion

Blackwing · Working My Way Down – Mike Stinson & Johnny Irion

Photo Credit: Brian Barnicle

Singing About Canada’s Cypress Hills, Colter Wall Plots a Winter U.S. Tour

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The whimsical world of the North American West has been the subject of countless stories, songs, and other pieces of art. Following the footsteps of many before him, Colter Wall continues to synthesize the lifestyle, culture, landscape, beauty, and complexity of the contemporary cowboy into song. Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, Wall often writes about the northern ends of the great plains, but the delivery of his music through folky instrumentation and a rich, sultry voice steps right in line with classic cowboy music of the American West.

In two singles released last fall on La Honda Records, Wall pulls no punches in songs about the realities of the modern Wild West, which are not always as romantic as pop culture may portray. His songs are earthy and rich, telling the hard truths about the beauty, isolation, comfort, and desolation surrounding his home and ranch in Southwest Saskatchewan. The two releases — an original titled “Cypress Hills and the Big Country” and a cover of Cowboy Jack Clement’s “Let’s All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)” — follow his 2020 album, Western Swings & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs.

With the focus on strings and his resonant baritone, Wall recorded and produced the songs at Jereco Studios in Bozeman, Montana, with engineer Luke Scheeler. The sessions also included familiar musicians Patrick Lyons and Jake Groves, who have been frequent collaborators and have toured in Wall’s band, The Scary Prairie Boys. Kicking things off in Texas, Wall embarks on a sold-out tour across the United States in January and February with support from Brennen Leigh, Zach McGinn, and Vincent Neil Emerson on various dates. Meanwhile, check out his two newest releases below.

Photo Credit: Little Jack Films

International Folk Music Awards Reveal Nominees, Lifetime Achievement Winners

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Folk Alliance International (FAI), the foremost global nonprofit for folk music and the producers of the International Folk Music Awards, have announced the recipients of numerous honorary awards as well as nominees for Album, Artist and Song of the Year.

The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented each year to honor the cultural impact of legendary folk music figures: one Living, one Legacy, and one Business/Academic. This year’s honorees are lauded songwriter and performer Janis Ian; the late folk and blues singer Josh White; and Oh Boy Records, the independent record label co-founded by John Prine in 1981.

The awards show will be held February 1 in Kansas City, Missouri, on the opening night of FAI’s 35th annual conference, and will be broadcast online. Appearances are confirmed by Folk Alliance International Conference keynote speaker Valerie June; The Milk Carton Kids; IFMA honoree Leyla McCalla; and Sam Lee.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Rounder Records)

Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee by Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder
Marchita by Silvana Estrada
Queen of Sheba by Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf
Anaïs Mitchell by Anaïs Mitchell
Crooked Tree by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Aoife O’Donovan
Jake Blount
Janis Ian
Leyla McCalla
Prateek Kuhad

SONG OF THE YEAR

“Udhero Na” written by Arooj Aftab, performed by Arooj Aftab featuring Anoushka Shankar
“Vini Wè” written and performed by Leyla McCalla
“Bright Star” written and performed by Anaïs Mitchell
“How” written by Marcus Mumford and Brandi Carlile, performed by Marcus Mumford featuring Brandi Carlile
“B61” written and performed by Aoife O’Donovan

The People’s Voice Award is presented to an individual who unabashedly embraces social and political commentary in their creative work and public careers. As an artist, Leyla McCalla has always traveled through time and space, opening the channels between lost or hidden touchstones of roots music and the present day. As a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters and in her solo work, the multi-instrumentalist and composer brings immediacy to long lost stories and shows how they survive and adapt through the flexible agents of rhythm, language, and intimate human connection. Her work is political and warmly welcoming, cerebral, and highly danceable. Based in New Orleans after growing up in a Haitian family in New York, McCalla makes music that adds detail to music’s maps and gives voice to people whose struggles and triumphs define its diasporic evolution. In 2022 she released the album Breaking the Thermometer, the culmination of her most complex project yet — a multimedia performance telling the story of the first independent radio station in Haiti. Breaking the Thermometer made Best of 2022 lists at NPR Music, PopMatters, and Mojo, in addition to former President Barack Obama’s list of favorite music for 2022.

The Rising Tide Award was launched in 2021 to celebrate a new generation (under 30) artist who inspires others by embodying the values and ideals of the folk community through their creative work, community role, and public voice. Award recipient Alisa Amador points folk music toward its future — a future that’s cosmopolitan, multifaceted, and multilingual; qualities that have in fact been at the community’s heart all along. Amador, who comes from a folk music family, grew up in Boston, Maine, Puerto Rico, and Argentina, and her songs show the influence of all of those places. A native Spanish speaker who’s spent most of her life in the States, Amador moves easefully between the two languages in her songwriting. As a high schooler, she studied jazz, and is known for sometimes scatting during performances. Amador’s ability to blend all of these influences within sharply rendered yet gently flowing songs helped her win NPR Music’s prestigious Tiny Desk Contest and Folk Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards.

Shambala Festival will receive the Clearwater Award, presented to a festival that prioritizes environmental stewardship and demonstrates public leadership in sustainable event production. Shambala Festival is a four-day contemporary performing arts festival in Northamptonshire, England. The festival is completely and utterly committed to being sustainable, circular, regenerative, net positive, earth and life respecting, and future thinking. They have reduced the festival’s carbon footprint by over 90%; achieved 100% renewable electricity; became meat, fish, and dairy-milk free; and eradicated single-use plastics. They’ve received many awards for their sustainability work, including the Innovation Award at the 2018 UK Festival Awards, the International A Greener Festival Award, the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Creative Green Awards in 2017, and more. The festival is Creative Green Certified and has committed to measuring and transparently reporting all of their impacts to provide an honest evaluation of their efforts. They work with independent third parties like Julie’s Bicycle to assess their performance and carbon footprint. The Clearwater Award is sponsored by Levitt Foundation.

The Spirit of Folk Awards are presented to honor and celebrate people and organizations actively involved in the promotion and preservation of folk music through their creative work, their community building, and their demonstrated leadership. This year’s recipients are as follows:

Steve Edge has been presenting folk music in Vancouver as a DJ on CiRT since 1985, and concerts and festivals throughout the city since 1986, initially independently, and then as a co-founder of The Rogue Folk Club in 1987 where he continues to present Celtic, folk, and roots music as its artistic director. Steve was an inaugural member of FAI in 1989, is an inductee into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the Unsung Hero award from the Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Amy Reitnouer Jacobs is a founder and the executive director of L.A.-based the Bluegrass Situation, an online music destination and promoter of roots, folk, and Americana music and culture. She joined the board of FAI in 2015 and was instrumental in refining and codifying the recruitment process for board elections as chair of the Nominations Committee. Amy served as board president through the pandemic and supported FAI’s recent strategic plan and executive director transition.

Marcy Marxer is the creator of All Wigged Out, a poignant and witty musical theatre production (and now film) recounting her harrowing triumph over breast cancer. Painfully funny, it is an example of the power of music and humor to inform and heal. Marxer, along with her partner Cathy Fink, is a multi-Grammy Award nominee and recipient, and together they have been recognized with over 60 Washington Area Music Association Awards for their folk, bluegrass, and children’s music recordings.

Adrian Sabogal is an acclaimed musician, producer, and researcher who founded Marimbea, an organization dedicated to the well-being of the Afro-Colombian communities from the country’s South Pacific coast. By arranging music-centered cultural tourism excursions, Marimbea strives to generate alternative sources of income, knowledge exchanges, and support networks for artists in marginalized and remote communities. Adrian’s work has had an impact on the economic development in the region, and the preservation of a vibrant and unique musical tradition.

Pat Mitchell Worley is the President and CEO of the Memphis-based Soulsville Foundation, which oversees the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy, and The Soulsville Charter School, all with a mission to perpetuate the soul of Stax Records. She is the longtime co-host of Beale Street Caravan, a syndicated roots radio show broadcast, and she regularly hosts artist Q&As for the Grammy Museum Mississippi and Oxford American. She is a former development director for the Memphis Music Foundation, and a past employee of the Blues Foundation.

The Folk DJ Hall of Fame was established to recognize radio DJs who have made an outstanding contribution to the preservation, promotion, and presentation of folk music, and who have demonstrated and inspired leadership in the broadcast field. Inducted DJs include the following:

Robert Resnik has been the host of All the Traditions, Vermont Public Radio’s folk and world music program, since 1996. Hooked on music since the 1960s, Robert previously spent many years on-air at WRUV at the University of Vermont. All the Traditions is as eclectic as Robert’s musical taste, but is dedicated to promoting music created by people living in the VPR broadcast area, which includes all of Vermont and parts of New Hampshire, New York, and Quebec. Robert also plays more than 25 instruments, and has performed and recorded CDs with a variety of musical combos for kids and adults.

Marilyn Rea Beyer hosted her first concert in junior high as the school band emcee. She got on board The Midnight Special listening to WFMT as a Chicago teenager. She has had careers in education, PR, and high tech. In 1995, Marilyn became on-air host and music director at Boston’s premiere folk station, WUMB-FM, and served on the board of the legendary Club Passim. Returning to Chicago, Marilyn joined WFMT in 2020, hosting The Midnight Special and now Folkstage. The Midnight Special launched in 1953 and maintained legendary status under Rich Warren’s stewardship. She says that judicious risk-taking, nurturing artists, and falling in love with new music make the job fun.

John Platt has hosted the Sunday Supper (formerly Sunday Breakfast) for 25 years at WFUV, New York, and has curated On Your Radar, a monthly showcase for emerging artists at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City for 17 years. He has founded the not-for-profit New Folk Initiative, which has extensive resources for the folk community at newfolk.org. He began his career at WMMR Philadelphia in 1969, programmed WXRT Chicago and WRVR New York, worked at WNEW-FM and WNYC, and produced national radio programs.

Harry B. Soria Jr. was known as a radio personality and walking encyclopedia of Hawaiian music history. The musicologist, award-winning liner notes writer, and record producer was the son of prominent local broadcaster and songwriter Harry B. Soria Sr. Ironically, Harry B.’s interest in Hawaiian music was sparked by hearing “cool” old records far from Hawaiian shores while at college in San Francisco. Upon returning to Hawai’i, he bonded with his dad over his vintage Hawaiian records. Harry B.’s passion for music from this period led to guest spots on KCCN in 1976 and his weekly Territorial Airwaves radio show of recordings from his personal collection. In 2019, Territorial Airwaves became the longest-running Hawaiian music show in radio history. Soria’s record collection and archives are being donated to the Hawaii State Archives.

Pictured, top row: Leyla McCalla, Molly Tuttle, Taj Mahal, Prateek Kuhad, Anaïs Mitchell. Bottom row: Jake Blount, Janis Ian, Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf, Aoife O’Donovan, Anoushka Shankar.

LISTEN: The Gibson Brothers, “One Minute of You”

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Artist: The Gibson Brothers
Hometown: Ellenburg Depot, New York
Song: “One Minute of You”
Album: Darkest Hour
Release Date: January 27, 2023

In Their Words: “I’m the proud father of three kids — Jack, Annie and Joey. They are everything to me. As involved in a family as a dad can be, I guess he can still be surprised by the ones he’s closest to. My daughter Annie is a marvel to me. When she was a little girl, she was one of the shyest kids I’ve ever seen. I never expected her to become so gregarious. And to watch her grow into the active and involved young woman she’s become is such a gift. So here’s my song for Annie Gray. We’ll be playing ‘One Minute of You’ in each of our upcoming shows. It’s quickly become one of my all time favorite songs to sing.” — Leigh Gibson, The Gibson Brothers

Photo Credit: Allen Clark

After 100 Shows, Madison Cunningham Broke Through Barrier of Stage Fright

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Madison Cunningham isn’t afraid to open up. Her latest album, Revealer, finds the singer-songwriter, well, revealing glimpses into her innermost thoughts, whether she’s musing on the push-pull of big dreams and life on the road in “All I’ve Ever Known” or grappling with mistakes on acclaimed single “Hospital.”

“What’s fun about writing is when you get to the place where you can make yourself laugh, or you’re excited about what’s happening,” she says. Lately, there’s a lot to be excited about. Revealer has earned the 26-year-old California native two Grammy nominations: one under Best Roots Performance for album track “Life According to Raechel,” and one for Best Folk Album. And while she’s long been a regular presence on big stages (BGS fans may recognize her from appearances on Chris Thile’s Live from Here as early as 2017), Cunningham continues to reach new audiences with wide-spanning tour dates and late-night appearances on shows like The Late Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.

Even when she’s bearing vulnerable parts of herself with deeply confessional lyrics, Cunningham seems like a natural on the stage. But despite a nearly lifelong devotion to songwriting and guitar, sharing her work with the world hasn’t always come easy.

“A lot of my life I felt like, as a performer, I wasn’t fully representing myself because of my nerves,” she admits. Stage fright kept her from performing for much of her adolescence, and the confident singer we see today had to work hard to overcome her own reservations. “I am proud of the live music element to what we accomplished in the last year,” she adds. “I mean, that’s most of what I did in 2022—playing shows. My band and I put a lot of time and effort into making these songs translate to a live setting.”

After playing an even one hundred shows in 2022, Cunningham unlocked a new kind of conviction on stage—one that makes the future for this young talent all the more exciting. “I worked on things that I felt like I got better at—stage presence and engaging with an audience—and my voice sounded comfortable,” she says. “I’ve always been very hard on myself for those things, and this time I felt like I broke through some barriers.”

BGS caught up with Cunningham, our BGS Artist of the Month for January, about her musical upbringing, her broad definition of folk music, and the careful balance between believing in yourself and inviting others on your creative journey—both in the studio and on the stage.

BGS: What are your first memories with music?

Cunningham: Apparently, as a kid I really wanted to play guitar at around 4 years old. I didn’t actually start playing until I was 7 and that’s when I can remember falling in love with the guitar. My dad would teach me all the chords that he knew at the pace that I was able to keep up. And then, it grew. I started taking piano lessons but I just kept getting drawn back to guitar. Those are probably my earliest memories, my dad playing and me wanting to be able to join in with him.

How did that evolve into a career as a performer?

It took a long time because I was really shy. I had a terrible case of stage fright, starting when I was a kid. Even though there was a love for it that was brewing behind the scenes, I never pictured myself doing it in front of people. So, that took a really, really long time for me to get over. I was probably 12 when I started really singing from the stage, but there was a whole new phase when I started playing my own music; I was deathly afraid to play it in front of people. I was 17 or 18 when I started to work through that and get over it. All I really knew is I loved writing songs.

You’ve been writing songs for a long time, but you’ve also found new fans through the covers you released during the height of the pandemic. What value did you find in recording music from other artists and songwriters?

It broke down certain barriers that I had for myself as a songwriter. That’s what’s so important about keeping your mind and your heart open to music that challenges you and inspires you. It opens up new ways for you to express yourself and new ways of playing and thinking about music. That’s what those covers were for me: They were linchpin artists who taught me about what it was that I loved about music. Being able to actually step inside of those songs and play them for myself taught me more about what I loved about songwriting in general, and how I wanted my songs to live on beyond myself and the moment in which they were created.

“All I’ve Ever Known” is the first song on the album, and you’ve said it was the first one you wrote for the album. How did the production come together?

That’s the one song on the album where I played everything. But initially the concept of the record was to do that for every song. Things changed; I didn’t want to be stuck in my own echo chamber of ideas and I wanted someone else to bring their unexpected artistry to this. But for whatever reason, with that song, I kept trying to redo it and invite some of my favorite musicians on it, but it just kept pulling the song in a direction that was not how it started and not where it was supposed to end. I think things should always be able to be redirected, and I’m a huge fan of course-correcting, but it felt like the spirit of the song lived in this version that was created by me. So, I left it. I added the production elements that I felt would elevate it. I’d let it sit for a little bit. At one point, I’d added too much and had to go back and turn some things off. [Laughs] But the production of that song was really just an element of me following my curiosity and having the most fun doing it.

You’re nominated for Best Roots Performance for “Life According to Raechel.” But you’ve said that you were actually deeply afraid to record that song. Why?

I was afraid that I was going to complicate it—not be brave enough to let it be the simplistic song that it was. I had recorded a version of it at home that was very much a demo, and we were going to enhance the quality and redo it and add strings. To find the balance between sincerity and theater can be really difficult, but I felt like the song needed both. Tyler Chester, who produced that song, never let me try to get too impressive with it. He kind of slapped my hand if I wanted to add something that was too frivolous or add anything that took away or pulled against the narrative of the song. A song like that is so personal. I was afraid that I would saturate it with sappiness. It was kind of on this tightrope.

The song is about losing your grandmother. Is there anything you wish she could witness about your journey since you wrote it?

I think everybody’s biggest fear, when you think about death and when you think about leaving, is feeling like nobody’s going to care, or that people will soon forget, or that everything that you worked for in your life is a loss. I would love her to see that a story about her in a song has seemingly helped other people through their own versions of grief. I think that would’ve been an impactful thing for her to see—maybe even a bit of closure. Who knows? I don’t know where she is now. Does she even need closure in any way? I don’t know. These are all questions that none of us could ever have the real answers to. But I find it fascinating that death is such a universal reality, but still it’s this massive mystery.

Revealer is nominated for Best Folk Album, but it’s clear that your music is influenced by so much more than just one genre. What elements of folk do you feel have most influenced your music?

Folk music is at the heart of the way we view songwriting today. Folk, to me, is almost just another word for singer-songwriter. The great mothers and fathers of folk like Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan… all of those people brought to the table some real lyrical awakening. They put so much of themselves into the songs. The veil between their emotions and their lyrics was completely translucent. The melody component in folk, too, is incredibly inspiring to me. But folk is just a small word for a very, very large genre packed with so many different ideas. And people have taken it in so many different directions. I’ve been excited about a lot of it.

You struggled with stage fright in the beginning. If you could go back and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?

Probably to not worry so much about the rules around music, or the rules that people set in place. But sometimes, I would like her to come and give me advice, because there was so much less that I was thinking about back then. So much comes into play as you get older, as you’re more aware of the way that life works. I feel like the sort of oblivion, the ignorance that I got to live in at that time was so good for art.

Photo Credit: Claire Marie Vogel

LISTEN: Howdy Glenn, “I Can Almost See Houston”

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Artist: Howdy Glenn
Hometown: Inglewood, California
Song: “I Can Almost See Houston”
Album: I Can Almost See Houston: The Complete Howdy Glenn
Release Date: January 20, 2023
Label: Omnivore Recordings

In Their Words: “In 1977, country singer Morris ‘Howdy’ Glenn, a Black performer based in Inglewood, California, spent six weeks on the Billboard Country Singles chart with his recording of Willie Nelson’s ‘Touch Me’ on Warner Bros. Records. That same year, he was nominated for the Top New Male Vocalist award by the Academy of Country Music, alongside Vern Gosdin, Mel McDaniel, and winner Eddie Rabbitt. Despite the high-profile nomination, the release of multiple singles for a major label, and a second Billboard country charter in 1978, he disappeared from the music scene in the early 1980s. Today, virtually no one — even among diehard classic country fans — has even heard of Howdy Glenn.

“Country music, in the popular imagination, has traditionally been regarded as white folks’ music. That was particularly true for the 1970s environment from which Howdy emerged. Fortunately, recent years have seen a proliferation of articles seeking to correct the narrative by highlighting African American contributions to the genre throughout the 20th century. As these stories are re-examined, it’s time for another look at Howdy Glenn, and his historical significance. His recording career began with ‘I Can Almost See Houston,’ an independent recording from 1975. Other than a questionable soprano background vocal on the chorus, ‘Houston’ was a solid record that sounded like something Merle Haggard might have released in that era. By the fall of that year, it was a Top 10 hit in several regional markets, and spent eight weeks in the #1 spot on KENR, a popular country station in Houston, Texas. It was the start of a promising singing career for Glenn that took a number of twists and turns before ending in disappointment. With Omnivore’s release of his complete recordings on CD, accompanied by an in-depth essay on his life and career, Howdy Glenn’s place in the country music story can finally be re-examined.” — Scott B. Bomar, co-producer and liner notes author

BGS 5+5: Whitehorse

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Artist: Whitehorse (Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland)
Hometown: Toronto, although the band was conceived while we were living in Hamilton, Ontario — and we’re temporarily living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for a year. I know… simple question; complicated answer.
Latest Album: I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying (out January 13, 2023)
Rejected Band Names: Yellowknife (also a city in the north of Canada)

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Our band and this record in particular (I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying) was really informed and inspired by our long love affair with Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, which began in earnest when we were living in Nashville over a decade ago. We’ve made lots of detours into different corners of the Americana landscape since then, and now maybe for the first time, we’re tying ourselves back to that time and place. There’s a sort of Beauty and the Beast element to Gram and Emmylou that we have always related to — or sought solace in. His vulnerable warble and her impossible majesty bring the songs to life in a way that is hard to define but there’s something beautiful in that juxtaposition. We’ve gleaned a lot from them over the years.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

We have a fairly simple pre-show ritual and that is: one drink; no more, no less. There’s a sweet spot where you’re just loose enough to get lost in the songs and make brave choices but not so loose your playing stinks. And yeah, maybe bring one on stage with you…

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

We are spending a year living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, or “Winter-Peg, Man-it’s-cold-out” where as I write, the temperature is a frosty -20°C. We are a walking family — we don’t own a car — so we all have excellent winter parkas and boots to trundle across the frozen prairie city. Manitoba is also a sun bathed province so a blanket of snow and a vast bright blue prairie sky can make for a rare kind of beauty and mystery. We find ourselves leaning on that big sky ambience in the production choices we employ in the studio. Reverb-drenched guitars, midtempos and big spaces are all tributes to the Canadian winter. You hear them in records by Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Blue Rodeo, k.d. lang, Colter Wall and The Sadies, too. Coincidence? Dunno.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

The best career advice actually came from a running coach on the eve of my (Luke’s) 2013 Boston Marathon race: “The hay is in the barn” is what my coach Tanya Jones offered me when I called her in a panic over my impending pre-race insomnia. She reminded me that the work had been done, the miles had been logged, and that the difference between success and failure would come down to training and hard work — which I had done. Add a dollop of adrenaline and a sleepless night won’t matter, since “the hay is in the barn,” i.e., the harvest had been collected. She was right (2:55:11, meaning I finished my race a full hour before the horrifying detonation of the two bombs that marred the event that year) and that advice has helped me (and us) ever since.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

Follow the muse wherever she wanders, know that this game is a long one, spend more time on the finer points than you think you need to, assume your fans to be smarter than you and never forget that if you’re lucky, the very act of playing the show is tantamount to stopping to smell the roses.

Photo Credit: Lyle Bell