Tag: Adam Wright

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From EZRA, Lonesome River Band, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Okay, we say it every week, but really– You Gotta Hear This! Our weekly premiere and new music roundup includes bluegrass, the blues, Americana, indie, bebop influences, and so much more.

LA’s American Mile kick us off with a music video for “Waiting on a Sunday,” which is equal parts roots rock and alt country – into Tom Petty vibes? This one’s for you! The song was inspired by a mundane gas station encounter on a silent pandemic Sunday. Singer-songwriter Meir Levine also launches “I Wish It Was Over,” an indie rock-tinged Americana track with poppy textures that considers closure, moving on, and looking ahead.

Unfortunately, two of our string bands below have the blues this week! EZRA, a talented new acoustic quartet with bluegrass roots and a stacked roster of pickers, bring us a performance video for “Basically a Blues,” where they turn a typical 12-bar blues progression inside out and upside down with acrobatic, virtuosic picking. Plus, Lonesome River Band’s new single, “Blues,” is an Adam Wright-written song featuring Rod Riley on Telecaster. That track is from their upcoming project, Telegrass, and we’re receiving the message loud and clear.

Singer-songwriter Mac Cornish covers Danny O’Keefe’s “The Road” with a deliciously retro, twangy ’70s sound that’s appropriately melancholic and full of life, too. Elsewhere in our roundup, you’ll hear Julia Sanders, who’s also inhabiting grief, sadness, and nostalgia in a video for her new single, “Star Stickers,” during which her listeners will certainly be able to picture glow-in-the-dark decorations stuck haphazardly to their childhood ceilings.

Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom, though, as you won’t want to miss “Foxology” from Tokyo’s Thompson the Fox, an exciting newgrass quartet with an uncommon lineup: banjo, bass, drums, and xylophone. It’s fantastic music, bebop and jazz influences leading to sonic surprises around every twist and turn of the original melody. When this one arrived in our inboxes, we were immediately charmed and entranced. You will be, too.

It’s all right here on BGS and, simply– You Gotta Hear This!

American Mile, “Waiting on a Sunday”

Artist: American Mile
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Waiting on a Sunday”
Album: American Dream
Release Date: May 2, 2025 (single); June 6, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “When I was writing ‘Waiting on a Sunday,’ I was on a couch in Vermont. It was silent and my thoughts were the only thing around. It was 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and I walked to the gas station up the street, ’cause nothing was coming to me in that silence. There was a lady at the gas pump trying to wrestle her kids into the car and pump gas at the same time. I thought I recognized her from high school, so I helped her pump her gas while she dealt with her kids. She told me a little bit about her life and the struggles of being a single mom; she was heading to church that morning. It all kind of flooded into my mind at that point and I wrote most of the lyrics that day. I thought to myself, ‘We’re all in a way waiting for a Sunday,’ whatever that means to us.” – Eugene Rice

Mac Cornish, “The Road”

Artist: Mac Cornish
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Road”
Release Date: May 1, 2025

In Their Words: “‘The Road’ by Danny O’Keefe has been one of my favorite songs for years, because of Danny’s melancholic but beautiful lyrics about life on the road. Danny’s writing in general has always been important to me, but as time has passed and I’ve toured more, this song keeps resonating with me more. I started covering it with my backing band about a year ago and it quickly became a staple in our set and a favorite of our audiences. This past December we went into the studio and recorded the whole thing to tape, really trying to emulate the early ’70s sounds of this song, but also give our own spin on it. Our two acoustic guitars lay as the foundation for our version of the song. The bass and drums drive the song forward, but never distract from the delicate Travis picking. The pedal steel weeps through the whole song, emphasizing certain lyrics and complementing the vocal melody. I’m proud of my take on this ’70s classic and am excited to add my name to the list of artists who have covered this song.” – Mac Cornish

Track Credits:
Mac Cornish – Acoustic guitar, vocals
Bailey Warren – Acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Trevor Stellflug – Pedal steel
Jacob Miller – Bass
Hunter Maxson – Drums

EZRA, “Basically a Blues”

Artist: EZRA
Hometown: Oberlin, Ohio
Song: “Basically a Blues”
Album: Froggy’s Demise
Release Date: May 9, 2025
Label: Adhyâropa Records

In Their Words: “‘Basically a Blues’ takes the standard chords used in a 12-bar blues and flips them upside down. All the well-known bluesy harmonies become diminished when doing this, and I found the sound to be fairly intriguing. I especially love the solos and trades that Max [Allard] and Jake [Jolliff] take over this quirky tune and have to give major kudos to Craig [Butterfield] who burns constant 8th notes for the duration.” – Jesse Jones, guitar

Track Credits:
Jacob Jolliff – Mandolin
Max Allard – Banjo
Jesse Jones – Guitar, composer
Craig Butterfield – Double bass

Meir Levine, “I Wish It Was Over”

Artist: Meir Levine
Hometown: Upstate & Brooklyn, New York
Song: “I Wish It Was Over”
Album: Long & Lonely Highway
Release Date: June 6, 2025
Label: First City Artists

In Their Words: “‘I Wish It Was Over’ came in one of those exceedingly rare moments, where I woke up one morning and the song was already fully formed in my head. The song covers a pretty simple message I think, about the things that we can’t seem to let go of, that we seek out just to feel something – even if it’s bad or harmful to us.” – Meir Levine

Track Credits:
Meir Levine – Songwriter, vocals, guitars
Andrew Freedman – Producer, piano, keyboards
Will Graefe – Electric guitars, acoustic guitars
Jeremy McDonald – Bass
Mike Robinson – Pedal steel, guitars
Jordan Rose – Drums

Lonesome River Band, “Blues”

Artist: Lonesome River Band
Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Song: “Blues”
Release Date: May 2, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “We’ve all had the ‘Blues’ in our lives, but this Adam Wright song sees the ‘Blues’ in a whole different light. It’s a lighthearted break from the sad songs – one that we have a ton of fun with. Featuring our good friend Rod Riley on the Telecaster, it comes from our upcoming Telegrass project.” – Sammy Shelor

Track Credits:
Sammy Shelor – Banjo, harmony vocal
Jesse Smathers – Acoustic guitar, harmony vocal
Mike Hartgrove – Fiddle
Adam Miller – Mandolin, lead vocal
Kameron Keller – Upright bass
Rod Riley – Electric guitar

Julia Sanders, “Star Stickers”

Artist: Julia Sanders
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “Star Stickers”
Album: Dark Matter
Release Date: May 16, 2025

In Their Words: “Usually my songwriting process is the same. I start with a melody and then lyrics start to unfold as the idea of the song becomes more distilled. With this one, the chorus came lyrics, melody, and all, as I was laying in bed getting my daughter to sleep one night. I had been asking myself, ‘What am I avoiding writing about?’ and maybe more than any other theme, was my challenging and painful relationship with my own mother. My mother struggled with mental health her whole life and in her own pain, she hurt those around her. Just before I started working on this album, she was diagnosed with ALS. Her physical decline was very quick and heartbreaking. The grief was heavy, complicated, and messy. Lying in my daughter’s bed that night, watching the yellow-green glow of star stickers on the ceiling, I felt like I was time-traveling – to my own childhood bedroom, needing my mother to be different than she could be, then back to this room, trying hard to be a different kind of mother for my own children, and then to the future, where nothing is known except that none of this lasts.” – Julia Sanders

Track Credits:
Julia Sanders – Vocals, songwriter
John James Tourville – Guitar
Steve Earnest – Baritone guitar
Landon George – Bass
Bryce Alberghini – Drums

Video Credit: Ashlyn McKibben

Thompson the Fox, “Foxology”

Artist: Thompson the Fox
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Song: “Foxology”
Album: The Fox In Tiger’s Clothing, vol. 1: FOX
Release Date: May 3, 2025
Label: Prefab Records

In Their Words: “We’re a Tokyo-based instrumental quartet with a unique lineup – xylophone, banjo, bass, and drums. Each member comes from a different musical background: Rie Koyama (xylophone) from classical music, Tomohito Yoshijima (drums) from jazz, and Akihide Teshima (bass) and I (banjo) from bluegrass.

“Writing tunes for such an unconventional instrumentation always feels like an experiment. I’ve long had the idea that the rapid melodic lines and complex syncopation of bebop would suit the xylophone and banjo. So I wrote this tune with strong influences from Charlie Parker – which is why I named it ‘Foxology.’

“It was a lot of fun coming up with the A section melody that can be played in melodic style on the banjo, so is the B section featuring a double-stop chromatic scale played on the xylophone with four mallets. We hope you enjoy our new album!” – Takumi Kodera, banjo

Track Credits:
Rie Koyama – Xylophone
Takumi Kodera – Banjo, composer
Akihide Teshima – Bass
Tomohito Yoshijima – Drums

Photo Credit: EZRA by Tanya Rosen-Jones; Lonesome River Band by Sandlin Gaither.

Mark Knopfler’s ‘Shangri-La’ Rearranged Adam Wright’s Artistic DNA

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

(Editor’s Note: No Skips is a brand new feature from BGS that asks artists, songwriters, musicians, and industry professionals what albums they regard as perfect, with every track a masterpiece – i.e., No Skips!

For the first edition of the column, songwriter-artist-musician Adam Wright highlights Mark Knopfler’s seminal album, Shangri-La, as we look ahead to Wright’s own upcoming project, Nature of Necessity, coming later this year.)

There are only a few times in your creative life when someone’s work hits you so hard it rearranges your artistic DNA. I could probably count those moments for me on one hand.

Shangri-La was a big one. It told me that you can write away from the outside understanding of things. That you can start from the inside of your own knowledge and continue inward. It also taught me that you can write about anything you find interesting. That being understood is not as important as whether or not you’ve put something down worthy of working out for whomever decides to try to understand it. And that there are so many things to write about that are not falling in and out of love. (People probably could have stopped writing love songs in 1950 and we still would have too many.)

The depth and perspective of the storytelling, the crafted excellence of the writing and the sublimely tasteful musicianship make it, to me, Knopfler’s masterpiece. He’s done this on all of his albums, they all include brilliant gems of songs, but Shangri-La is just perfection from top to bottom. – Adam Wright

“5:15 AM” (Track 1)

Like all of the songs on this album, “5:15 AM” is exquisitely written and recorded. It is the story of a coal miner on his way home from the night shift discovering a murder victim who turns out to be involved with organized crime. It is chock-full of lingo and references to specifics about gambling machines, nightclubs, and lots of mining terms. The way Mark weaves all of this language into lyricism and brings it back to the tragic lives of the coal miners at the end is exceptional and beautiful writing. The recording is gorgeous and still somehow earthy as dirt. Just a masterclass in songcraft.

“Boom, Like That” (Track 2)

“Boom, Like That” is about the rise of Ray Kroc from a milkshake salesman to a fast food emperor. Like “5:15 AM,” there are plenty of specific references in this one. “Going to San Bernardino, ring a ding ding. Milkshake mixes, that’s my thing now.” You’re in the middle of the beginning of a story right off the bat. I love songs from the character’s perspective and few writers do that as well as Knopfler.

The movie The Founder was filmed in my hometown of Newnan, Georgia. I noticed the town when I saw it, so I looked it up and read a bit about the filming. While the song was inspired by the book about Kroc, I’d read the movie was actually inspired by the song. Even if the song weren’t so well-written, the riff at the end of the chorus is enough to keep any guitar player happily busy for days.

“All That Matters” (Track 11)

Much of Shangri-La is written from the perspective of the characters in its songs. The title track and “All That Matters” seem to be more personal. “All That Matters” is just a sweet, simple song from a father to his children. Again, beautifully written and pretty as porcelain. It has some surprising chordal and melodic turns in the B section to juxtapose the nursery rhymey-ness of the verses. Just perfect. And a nice respite from the mostly cynical tone of much of the album.

“Stand Up Guy” (Track 12)

“Brew the coffee in a bucket/ Double straight man and banjo/ If you don’t got the snake oil/ Buster, you don’t got a show.”

Again, you’re right smack dab in the middle of someone’s story. This time it’s a musician in a group of traveling, Victorian-era pitchmen. They apparently have teamed up with “the Doctor” who peddles snake oil medicine to townspeople and does it well enough to keep them fed on beefsteak and whiskey. Just wonderfully interesting, both lyrically and musically.

If you wanted to become a very good songwriter (or musician or producer, for that matter), you could only study Shangri-La for years and get a very long way toward the goal. I’ve been mining this album for inspiration for twenty years. It always gives me something more.

Photo Credit: Jo Lopez

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Adam Chaffins, and more

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

We’re excited to kick off October with a mighty New Music Friday and our first edition of You Gotta Hear This for the month.

You’ve simply gotta check out new music videos from folks like Darin & Brooke Aldridge (who pay tribute to Byron Berline with a track featuring Vince Gill), Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle (who’ve brought us a charming animated music video), Claire Hawkins (who wrote her selection, “Oh Daisy,” while living in France), and Rachel McIntyre Smith teams up with Janelle Arthur to premiere her Honeysuckle Friend Sessions with a live cover of “Strawberry Wine.”

Plus, Darren Nicholson premieres his bluegrass track, “Windows Have Pains,” and singer-songwriter, vocalist, and bassist Adam Chaffins feels capable of anything on “Little Bit At A Time.” Our longtime friends Jamie Drake and Justin Wade Tam have teamed up on a brand new single as well, entitled “Free.”

To wrap up, don’t miss our final Yamaha Session in our latest series with the brand. It features Jack Schneider performing his original song, “Don’t Look Down.”

It’s all right here on BGS and You’ve Gotta Hear This!

Darin & Brooke Aldridge, “A Million Memories (A Song For Byron)”

Artist: Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Hometown: Cherryville, North Carolina
Song: “A Million Memories (A Song For Byron)”
Album: Talk of The Town
Release Date: October 4, 2024 (video)
Label: Billy Blue Records

In Their Words: “We’ve all had people in our lives who have believed in us, loved us, taught us, and guided us, hoping that we could see in ourselves what they have always seen. It isn’t just about teaching and shaping someone, it’s about helping them discover what they can do from within themselves. For us, it is one of our greatest joys to invest time and encouragement to those who come behind us. It is one way to pay forward the gifts given to us from our own heroes and mentors, to help bring out the best in younger people in the same ways someone did for us.

“We were reminded of these truths the first time we heard ‘A Million Memories (A Song for Byron).’ It was written by our friend Vince Gill in honor of fiddler extraordinaire Byron Berline, who was one of Vince’s closest mentors and dearest friends. Byron invited a young Vince to play banjo and guitar in his band, Byron Berline and Sundance, in the late ’70s, and took the clearly talented Gill under his wing. They remained close until Byron’s death in 2021.

“We’re incredibly honored to share the music video for ‘A Million Memories (A Song for Byron).’ As the song is extra special to us, for the meaning behind it and having the chance to sing it with a special mentor and friend. We will always treasure this opportunity to make ‘A Million Memories.’ We hope the video brings back cherished memories to those that watch the video and hear this incredible song.” – Darin & Brooke Aldridge

Track Credits:
Darin Aldridge – Vocal, mandolin, guitar
Vince Gill – Vocal
Brooke Aldridge – Vocal
Mark Fain – Acoustic Bass
Stuart Duncan – Fiddle
Brent Rader – Percussion, piano

Video Credit: Produced and directed by Jenny Gill.

Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle, “Vagabond’s Lament”

Artist: Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Song: “Vagabond’s Lament”
Album: Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle
Release Date: October 24, 2024

In Their Words: “‘Vagabond’s Lament’ is an homage to so many places we know so well. The personification of each location lets the song read as a lost-love song in a way, which is a fun take on the visuals the tune lays out for the audience. It’s also a fun one to play; upbeat rhythm and driving solos get the crowds moving.

“One thing this ‘Vagabond’s’ showcases for the group is our affinity for harmony. It’s a real throwback to the sounds I personally grew up with – rich, churchy voices, the breathy ritardando at the end of the tune followed by a four-part harmonic crescendo into the final phrase, and that driving stomp of a beat. This tune really wraps up so much of what we do into three and a half minutes.

“The song fits perfectly with the overall mood and atmosphere of the album; old-time influence with modern flair. It’s a toe-tapping number that could be a hundred years old if you heard it on AM radio, which fits our style nicely. It’s something that will appeal to folkies and bluegrassers alike.” – Casey Campbell, drummer, vocalist

Track Credits:
Produced and engineered by Alex Lusht at Mind Ignition Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mixed and mastered by Alex Lusht.
Bill Baldock – Bass, guitar, vocals, banjo
Scott Risner – Mandolin, vocals, banjo
Matt Wabnitz – Guitar, vocals
Casey Campbell – Drums, vocals

Video Credits: Animation by Evan Hand; Fiddle and final image by Alex Hand.

Adam Chaffins, “Little Bit At A Time”

Artist: Adam Chaffins
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee via Louisa, Kentucky
Song: “Little Bit At A Time”
Release Date: October 4, 2024

In Their Words: “I started writing ‘Little Bit at A Time’ with Adam Wright in the fall of 2020, socially distanced on my front porch on a chilly, rain-drizzled day. The song was pretty much finished, but we both felt it was missing some more truth. The next summer, I went on a trip to the Colorado Rockies with some new friends, and, on a whim, we decided to hike a 14,000-foot mountain before the sun came up. I still remember the surreal feeling of standing on that peak after scrambling over boulders and hiking for hours to get to the top. The air was so thin above the treeline and the surroundings felt otherworldly. It was one of the most emotionally jarring events of my life. On the steep hike back down, I felt as if I were leaving a trail of lies behind me with each step. I had just totally surpassed any physical feat I ever thought I was ever capable of, making a monumental truth out of a lifetime of lies I had told myself. I felt capable of anything. In the fall of 2021, I got married and found the truth in love. I now have some new perspectives in life and, perhaps, the missing pieces to that song about delayed gratification.” – Adam Chaffins

Jamie Drake & Justin Wade Tam, “Free”

Artist: Jamie Drake & Justin Wade Tam
Hometown: Los Angeles, California (Jamie Drake); Nashville, Tennessee (Justin Wade Tam)
Song: “Free”
Album: So Many Melodies
Release Date: October 4, 2024
Label: Soundly Music

In Their Words: “‘Free’ was written over a Zoom session in 2021 as pandemic restrictions were beginning to lift. We talked about how this historical time had affected us — how the idea of ‘connection’ had taken on a whole new meaning and how we as humans had become more disconnected from ourselves and from nature in the process. For most, the need to stay connected to technology had become imperative as well as required; a reality that continues today. Maintaining a healthy relationship with our screens is an extremely difficult balancing act. ‘Free’ is a bit of a wake up call to remind us to take a break when we feel the call, to get back into nature and live in a more balanced way, connected to each other in the present moment instead of the narrative on our screen.” – Jamie Drake & Justin Wade Tam

Track Credits:
Written by Jamie Drake and Justin Wade Tam.
Justin Wade Tam – Vocal, acoustic guitar
Jamie Drake – Vocals, acoustic guitar
Juan Solorzano – Electric guitars
Ross McReynolds – Drums
Alec Newnam – Bass
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Jordan Lehning.
Mastered by Casey Wood.
Additional engineering by Reid Sorel.

Claire Hawkins, “Oh Daisy”

Artist: Claire Hawkins
Hometown: New York City, New York
Song: “Oh Daisy”
Release Date: October 4, 2024 (video)

In Their Words: “‘Oh Daisy’ was one of the first songs I wrote during my time as an artist-in-residence in France. That time abroad really inspired me to think about my own hometown and what it means to identify as a New Yorker. In writing ‘Oh Daisy,’ I thought back to my earliest memories of wanderlust as a child growing up in New York City. Children see the world through such a different lens and it was interesting to explore how much my worldview has evolved, thanks to the time I’ve gotten to spend with different cultures around the world. When it came time to shoot the music video, I really wanted to capture a certain light-hearted free-spiritedness, but balance it with a feeling of internal conflict. Working with Meg, I think we were able to reflect the challenge of the comforts of home fighting against the curiosity that pulls us away from what we know.” – Claire Hawkins

Track Credits:
Written and performed by Claire Hawkins.
Produced by Hana Elion.

Video Credit: Directed and edited by Meg Mann.

Rachel McIntyre Smith & Janelle Arthur, “Strawberry Wine” (Honeysuckle Friend Sessions)

Artist: Rachel McIntyre Smith & Janelle Arthur
Hometown: Oliver Springs, Tennessee (both Rachel and Janelle)
Song: “Strawberry Wine” (Deana Carter cover)
Release Date: October 5, 2024

In Their Words: “The Honeysuckle Friend Sessions are a companion video series to go along with my latest EP, ‘Honeysuckle Friend.‘ In this series, I invite my friends who are talented musicians to cover a song with me. I was over the moon when Janelle Arthur said that she would join me for this series! Having the opportunity to sing with Janelle was such a cool experience because we are both from the same hometown (Oliver Springs, TN) and I have admired her and her artistry since I was really young. I grew up watching her perform, voting for her on ‘American Idol,‘ and listening to all her music. Her voice is incredible, and so is she. I love ‘Strawberry Wine’ by Deana Carter, so I was very happy when Janelle suggested it. I especially love the incredible riff that Janelle so effortlessly sings at the end of the song!“ – Rachel McIntyre Smith

“Rachel is so talented and dedicated to her craft. I was excited to collaborate and finally get to sing with my hometown girl! ‘Strawberry Wine‘ is such a classic and just felt like the right song to sing for this series.“ – Janelle Arthur

(Editor’s Note: Follow the Honeysuckle Friend Sessions series on Rachel McIntyre Smith’s YouTube Channel.)

Track Credits:
Written by Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison.

Video Credit: Filmed and edited by Rachel McIntyre Smith.

Darren Nicholson, “Windows Have Pains”

Artist: Darren Nicholson
Hometown: Haywood County, North Carolina
Song: “Windows Have Pains”
Release Date: October 4, 2024
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “What can I say? I love sad songs. I have since I was a small child. In an odd way, sad songs bring me comfort and happiness. I’m drawn to things that evoke emotion. When I first heard these words as a kid, I loved them. I never forgot how the hook and spirit of the song impacted me as a listener. The song was originally written by Wes Buchanan and all these years later, Mark Bumgarner and myself got down and dirty and wrote an additional verse to complete the song for us. I love this one. If you like ole timey music and enjoy your hurtin’ – this one’s for you.” – Darren Nicholson

Track Credits:
Darren Nicholson – Mandolin, octave mandolin, lead vocal, harmony vocal
Tony Creasman – Drums
Kristin Scott Benson – Banjo
Zach Smith – Upright Bass
Deanie Richardson – Fiddle
David Johnson – Acoustic guitar, Dobro
Jennifer Nicholson – Harmony vocal

Yamaha Sessions: Jack Schneider, “Don’t Look Down”

Our latest series of Yamaha Sessions concludes with a final performance from guitarist, songwriter, and producer Jack Schneider. (Watch the full series of videos, which include performances by Trey Hensley as well, here.)

For his second Yamaha Session, Schneider picks up his Yamaha FS9 R acoustic guitar to perform “Don’t Look Down,” an original song from his 2022 album, Best Be On My Way. While the studio version features Schneider’s longtime friend, Liv Greene, the track certainly shines solo in this context, as well.

Gentle fingerstyle picking gives way to tender vocals, text painting a long-suffering image with an ultimately hopeful tinge. It’s a song about keeping your chin up, literally and figuratively. Written during the turmoil of the pandemic, the message in the lyrics is certainly not one of toxic positivity, making the moral within them even more resonant. It’s easy to tell Schneider is not just speaking to his listeners, but also to himself.

More here.

Photo Credit: Darin & Brooke Aldridge by Kim Brantley; Adam Chaffins by Natia Cinco.

LISTEN: Balsam Range, “What the Years Do”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Balsam Range
Hometown: Haywood County, North Carolina
Song: “What the Years Do”
Release Date: March 24, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I have been a fan of this Adam and Shannon Wright song for many years. I have been waiting for the right time to record and release it, and that time feels like now! It is exciting to be back in the studio recording and releasing new Balsam Range music. Starting our 16th year with such an extremely talented and incredible group of guys, I am so excited to continue growing our musical legacy and setting new goals for our musical journey. ‘What the Years Do’ is such a meaningful, lyrical song and it fits into where we are as a band, as friends and individuals. It reminds us that life has a way of changing our focus, our needs, our desires and with each year, we grow as individuals. We will all experience different chapters of life and each of those will mold us and shape us to become our best. It’s pretty amazing how the heart grows!” — Buddy Melton, Balsam Range

Crossroads Label Group · What The Years Do – Balsam Range

Photo credit: Courtesy of Balsam Range

LISTEN: Lonesome River Band, “Love Songs”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Lonesome River Band
Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Song: “Love Songs”
Release Date: February 19, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Love Songs’ is another great song written by our friend Adam Wright. It tells the story of a songwriter who has had bad experiences with love and can’t find ways to be positive about it. The lyrics depict the songwriter’s frustration: ‘They say write in what you know / And all I really know is the losin’ and the leavin and the left.’ Adam puts a comedic twist to selling sad songs, and Brandon Rickman, our guitarist and vocalist, portrays it in his unique way.” — Sammy Shelor, Lonesome River Band

Photo credit: Anthony Ladd

LISTEN: Adam Wright, “Darlene”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Adam Wright
Hometown: Newnan, Georgia
Song: “Darlene”
Album: I Win
Release Date: October 9, 2020
Label: De Casa

In Their Words: I don’t really remember how this song started. Most of my character songs come from something I see or hear and then develop in the notebook later. My grandfather was a mechanic and I guess I have a bit of an affinity for them. I have several songs where the character works on cars. I just like this guy’s attitude. He badly needs this girl to make him feel better. He’s just had it with everything. I can relate. ” — Adam Wright

Photo credit: Shannon Wright

WATCH: Waylon Payne, “All the Trouble”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Waylon Payne
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “All the Trouble”
Album: Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me
Release Date: Sept. 11, 2020
Label: Carnival Recording Company/Empire

In Their Words: “I had just made the jump in November and moved back to Nashville [from Los Angeles] in 2015. The house I had rented was cool, but I had no sooner signed the lease before my friend Lee Ann asked me to join her on a writing weekend up in the Hamptons. I had not been there in many years, but Adam Wright and I flew to somewhere and met the bus and woke up on Long Island. There was a chill in the air and there was a good feeling going.

“Lee Ann Womack has been my friend for many years. I hold her and her family — Frank, Aubrie, and Anna — as my family and it has always been that way. She had set us up in a huge mansion with stellar views and fireplaces in each room. An added bonus came from a foul-mouthed top chef named Sylvia, who continually supplied (or plied) us with delicious five-course meals — every meal. The evenings were often wrapped with a hot toddy, full of bourbon and butter. We were there for almost a week and the songs started flowing. Adam, Lee Ann, and I wrote a song called ‘All the Trouble’ and another song called ‘Pictures.’ We also wrote some other songs with the band and Ethan Ballinger. The week felt like a success, and we all returned to Nashville just before the Thanksgiving holiday…” (Read more below.)

“…Later, Frank asked if I would like to go with them to Houston to record Lee Ann’s new album. He also asked if I would play guitar on the session. I am a lot of things, but no one has ever really referred to me as a guitar player. [My dog] Petey and I loaded up in a rental car and took off to Houston. The session was electric, and it was amazing to be there with my extended family to make music. Later, when the album came out, I had four songs on it. A few months later, I was sitting in the audience and nominated with Lee Ann and Adam for a Grammy. We didn’t win, and I didn’t mind that we lost to Brandi Carlile.

“As we were cutting this album, I had not planned on including ‘All the Trouble’ until Frank and Eric Masse suggested I give it a shot. I am proud to say it is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Thank you Lee Ann for including me on this fun journey!” — Waylon Payne

Photo credit: Bridgette Aikens

Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis: In Service of the Song

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Although their individual careers have been moving in different directions over the last few years, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis have circled back closer to each other and put together a group of songs — a mix of originals, carefully selected covers, and choice vintage nuggets — for their newest project, Beautiful Lie. “We were just ready to make another album,” Willis says. “Enough time and space had passed and it felt fresh, and we had all these ideas that we wanted to work on.”

On Beautiful Lie, Willis’ crystalline vocals wind around Robison’s grizzled voice and float along a river of pedal steel, piano, and guitar, creating a pure beauty that the couple is so adept at calling forth when they work together. While it’s never easy to find time to record, the two have fun and feel the joy of their union when they can come back together for a project, even though they both love their solo work, too.

Last year Willis released her first solo album in more than a decade, Back Being Blue, and she’s just come off the road from a mini-tour with Dale Watson. In 2017, Robison released Bruce Robison & the Back Porch Band, which he recorded in his own studio, The Bunker, in Lockhart, Texas, near the couple’s home base in Austin. He’s also been producing artists for his Next Waltz record label, including future singles from William Clark Green, Carrie Rodriguez, Flatland Cavalry, Shakey Graves, Wood & Wire, and Willis Alan Ramsey. “We have this core group of musicians there now,” he says, “and it’s a place where people can come to record this kind of music that you can hear on this album. We’re still growing and developing a lot.”

“For this album, we just got the machinery up and roaring,” Willis says. “It’s funny because we make music together and then go out and play solo. When we’re playing together, we miss playing solo; when we play solo, we miss playing together. We miss making music together.”

Robison and Willis have been married since 1996, but this is only their fourth album of duets, including a holiday collection. Robison observes, “It’s always been great that we had our own careers. I’ve always seen the stuff we did together as magical stuff.”

For the new album, they collected songs along the way and they “would just sit down and start singing them,” says Willis. They know when to sing, when to pull back, when to add that special verse, and when to put a song aside for another album.

“I love his instincts for me,” Willis says. “I have a hard time communicating my musicality. We’re able to enhance and understand each other. It’s sort of a natural undertaking. I’ve always really understood his music and wanted to add something to it.”

Willis isn’t credited as a songwriter on any of the album’s ten tracks but her interpretative stamp can be heard throughout Beautiful Lie. As Robison says, “Kelly and I have creative differences in a way that is helpful. Take a song you like and stick with it and give it to her. Sometimes she loves the melody, or she gets into it and changes it all up.”

Willis points out that those creative differences can sometimes be challenging, but the choices they make are ultimately in service of the song: “When we do music together, it’s different from doing a solo album. I might bring in a song I really want to do, but if it’s not working—no matter how much I try to make it work—we’ll put it aside.”

The couple’s dynamic vocals define the project, with each singer taking lead on songs that fit their own vocal approach perfectly. “We messed around with each song to see who would sing the lead,” Willis says. “Ninety-five percent of the time it sounds better for the female to sing lead. Sometimes Bruce will say, though, that for a certain song he thinks it works better with a male lead.”

The material on Beautiful Lie ranges from the aching title track (an Amazing Rhythm Aces cut) to the rollicking Robison original “Brand New Me.” Adam Wright contributed three songs including the skittering “Can’t Tell Nobody Nothin’,” written with his wife Shannon Wright. Meanwhile, Robison and Willis deliver a stunning cover of “Lost My Best” from Uncle Walt’s Band, as well as the skate-across-the-sawdust-floor Del Reeves classic “One Dime at a Time.”

Perhaps the best getting-over-a-breakup song in either artist’s sizable repertoire, the wry “Nobody’s Perfect,” also by Adam Wright, celebrates the freedom that comes with discovering just how much better it is to be with nobody than with somebody who’s always leaving. The loneliness settles in the hollow of absence at first, but not for long. With brilliant use of a mundane phrase, which cuts several ways in the song, “Nobody’s Perfect” turns the meaning of its titular phrase on its head.

A native Texan, Robison even found a muse in the Astrodome, which he’s been going to since he was 4 years old, when the Houston landmark was still new and shiny: “It was this arena where I saw demolition derbies and circuses.” Following a recent visit, he recalls the tiles dropping from the ceiling and how the once-golden palace of his memories has fallen apart – an observation that inspired a wistful song simply called “Astrodome.”

“Jack Ingram and I wrote the song,” he says. “I had fun looking back into my past and remembering going to the Astrodome. The song’s a tribute to a lost past.” The jaunty, dancehall tune belies the sadness of the song, even as the lyrics celebrate the bittersweet nature of life: “I’m gonna go on down and sit in the Astrodome/Just me and you and all of them blue and faded memories/Yeah I’m gonna go on down and sit in the Astrodome/And wonder whatever ever became of me.”

Capturing the overwhelming power of love, “Coming Down” opens with guitars floating over a subdued steel and blossoms into a straight-ahead country love ballad. Robison carries the song with an honest, plaintive vocal that’s elevated on the chorus by Willis’ harmonies. “I don’t write love songs,” Robison says. “If you went and listened to the other 200 songs in my catalog, you wouldn’t find a love song. I was [at] the songwriters’ festival in Key West a few years ago, and I wrote this song out real quick. I can’t fake the feelings in this song.”

As Willis points out, “I love his songwriting and his songs. I think the mark of a great songwriter is the ability to turn a phrase, and he is great at it.”

Photo Credit: HAAM

BGS 5+5: Adam Wright

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Artist: Adam Wright
Hometown: Newnan, Georgia / Nashville, Tennessee
Latest Album: Dust

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

Whatever I’m reading at the moment usually has some impact on what I’m writing. Especially if it’s a writer that is new to me. If it’s good, it’ll spark a lot of little ideas. They’re not usually directly related to the book, but it will just get the ideas coming. Reading good writing is good for creativity. I don’t feel the same about movies. I enjoy them, but they don’t spark ideas for me the way reading does.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

It’s really fun to work hard on a song you know is going to be good. And it’s not hard work to write a bad song that you know is bad. The real drudgery is working on a mediocre song. You have to use all your tools as though you were writing something good, but they don’t work the same and you know the result is going to be lackluster. It’s draining. I try not to get into that situation. I don’t like to settle in to the work unless I think I can land something worthwhile. Sometimes in a co-write you don’t have that luxury. You just have to push on and get it done.

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

I want to have contributed to the elevation of the art of songwriting. I want to entertain people. I want to be the best singer-songwriter I can possibly be. And I also want to make a decent living. Because without the means, you can’t give it everything you’ve got. And being your best means giving it everything you’ve got.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Mexican food, particularly huevos rancheros, is kind of a hobby of mine. There is a place close to where we live that plays great Mexican music. A lot of ’60s Latin pop. Some Mariachi. It’s always good. You’d have to work pretty hard at it to not feel good when you’re eating that food and hearing that music. We went to a newer Mexican place for my birthday not long ago, and it had marble floors and chandeliers and they were playing the shiniest, slickest, newest, American pop music. The food was good but the vibe was so wrong that it ruined the experience. We all ate as fast as we could and got out.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

I write quite a bit in character. It’s a lot more fun for me. I’ve never been much of a “confessional” songwriter. I’m much more interested in what someone else might do in a situation. I like to tell stories. I like to drop in on a particular moment in the life of a character and write there. Some of my favorite songwriters do that. And not just folk-song writers. Chuck Berry was a fantastic storyteller. And he made it rock and roll. Even as a kid when I listened to his songs, I didn’t have the impression that he was singing about his life. I had the impression that he was a clever writer and he was entertaining me. “Born To Dream” is probably the only song on the new album that is written from my perspective. And “The Banker,” I guess, but it’s not really about me. Shannon, my wife, says “Born To Dream” is the most Adam song on there.

https://open.spotify.com/user/adamwrightofficial/playlist/4ynVBSEIlt81if2t7sTZ8p?si=uDUH1sE4TcuaB_Ta0Zykww

Photo credit: Bret Pemelton

WATCH: Balsam Range, “The Girl Who Invented the Wheel”

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Artist: Balsam Range
Hometown: Haywood County, North Carolina
Song: “The Girl Who Invented The Wheel”
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I’m a fan of great lyrics and great writers, and Adam Wright’s ‘The Girl Who Invented the Wheel’ is a creative example of taking a song subject such as relationship struggles to a new and engaging place. A fun and upbeat song, ‘The Girl Who Invented the Wheel’ portrays a masterful character in the art of breaking up and like her previous partner, you must appreciate and recognize her skills while she leaves you wanting more.” – Buddy Melton, Balsam Range

Photo credit: David Simchok