Tag: Americana

WATCH: Hannah Kaminer, “Heavy on the Vine”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Hannah Kaminer
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina (technically Black Mountain, North Carolina)
Song: “Heavy on the Vine”
Album: Heavy on the Vine
Release Date: November 17, 2023 (single); January 5, 2024 (album)

In Their Words: “Over the last few years I started gardening and going to the community garden to learn whatever I could. One day in late summer I showed up and the gardener in charge told me we had to take out all the tomatoes and summer plants. I was stunned because all of those plants were still going strong, in full bloom. She gently let me know that it was time: If we did not take the summer plants out, there would be no fall planting and no fall harvest. Pulling the tomatoes out was a spiritual experience – letting go of one thing so another could grow – but it’s a lot harder when it’s not just tomatoes that you have to let go of. This song is about those moments when your vision narrows and you realize that only a few things in life are actually important, and you find yourself bargaining with the universe for the one thing you want but can’t have.” – Hannah Kaminer

Track Credits: Hannah Kaminer – vocals, guitar
Kevin Williams – keys
Ross Montsinger – drums
Melissa Hyman – bass, harmony vocals
Jackson Dulaney – pedal steel

Photo Credit: John Dupre
Video Credits: Produced by Old Home Place Recordings
Director – Aaron Stone
Audio Engineer – Mike Johnson
Photography – John Dupre
Executive Producers – Tim & Susan Griffin

WATCH: Autumn Nicholas Performs “Baggage” for From One to Tenn

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Autumn Nicholas
Hometown: Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, living in Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Baggage”

In Their Words: “To be able to share our music in such an incredible, intimate way, in such a breathtaking setting was pure joy for us and we hope that comes through with the recordings. We are grateful to From One to Tenn. for including us in this series and are excited to share our music as part of the program.

“We’ve had the pleasure of working with Pilot Moon on a few other projects and it’s always an amazing experience, they are uniquely able to capture emotion in a raw, unfiltered, and honest way.

“Opportunities to help lift and amplify our music, such as the One to Tenn. series, are invaluable to us as artists and humans, as it allows us to connect more broadly with new people in a very compelling way.” – Autumn Nicholas

“John, Dave, and I have been coming to AmericanaFest for a few years to sit back, relax and enjoy the music.  Last year, we decided that, in 2023, we would set something up that’s fun, helps musicians, and benefits the AMA. It was important to us that we dream up something big that would inspire the musicians and offer them an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often. Once the Schermerhorn [Symphony Center] agreed to rent us the venue, we knew this series was going to be special.” – Joel Malizia, Pilot Moon Films

Video Credits: Filmed by David Allison, John DeMaio, and Joel Malizia, Pilot Moon Films / Islander Entertainment
Audio captured – Brett Blandon
Mixed/Mastered – John Kelly
Special thanks to Helene Cronin & Victoria O’Campo

Photo Credit: Video stills courtesy of Pilot Moon Films

LISTEN: The FBR, “Empty Room”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: The FBR
Hometown: Franklin, Tennessee
Song: “Empty Room”
Album: Ghost
Release Date: January 19, 2024

In Their Words: “Tim and I had hardly spent any time apart at all for nearly two years during the pandemic. There are times, especially in the winter, that I seem to struggle spending time on my own. I don’t like being left alone with my thoughts too long. He was heading out of town for a long weekend in Colorado, and I found myself riddled with the same old apprehension and anxiety about being alone for four days.

“I usually get kind of moody/cold and distant, so a few days prior, as the feelings began to surface, I communicated that I was struggling. I asked him to work on some sad lyrics for me to write music to while he was gone, so it would give my unwanted energy an outlet. I came home from a day of running around to the words of a tune, at the time titled ‘An Empty Room,’ sitting on the piano.

“He said the first thing that came to his mind when sitting down to write was quite literally an empty room, kind of symbolizing that loneliness. The first night he was gone I sat at the piano just reading the words over and over, and trying to find the right chord progression.

“It is really cool listening back to the earliest phone recordings I took that weekend, and slowly hearing the song come to life. It was a monumental moment for me, being able to be vulnerable enough to express my struggles and for both of us to be able to communicate it through a song.

“After he returned, we both felt the song needed a bridge, so we worked on the music and lyrics together to wrap it up. A few months later, while at rehearsal, the guys were upstairs taking a break, and I had asked Brandon (our keys player) to run through the song with me, as I had pictured it as a piano ballad up to that point.

“After the first verse, the guys were inspired, came quickly back downstairs and jumped in at the perfect time on the perfect beat, and we had what I call a ‘Holy Shit!’ moment. The intensity was so awesome that we all knew that is how it needed to be recorded!” – Malarie McConaha

Track Credits:

Lyrics by Tim Hunter
Music by Malarie McConaha
Produced by Tim Hunter, Malarie McConaha
Mixed by Jim Scott
Lead Recording Engineer – Kevin Willis
Assistant Mix Engineer – Martin Cooke
Vocals – Malarie McConaha
Background Vocals – Malarie McConaha, Zachary Goforth, Tim Hunter
Drums – Mike Malinin
Bass Guitar – Chopper Anderson
Rhythm Electric Guitar – Kevin Willis
Lead Electric Guitar – Evan Opitz
Acoustic Guitar – Tim Hunter
Keys – Brandon Mordecai

Photo Credit: The FBR

From “Alligator Bait” to “Gospel Blues,” Joy Is Central on Robert Finley’s ‘Black Bayou’

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Been around the world, seen some of everything, but what I like about it the most is the joy that I bring…

– Robert Finley, “Livin’ Out A Suitcase”

Whether it’s at home or abroad, Robert Finley’s youthful exuberance has a knack for not only lighting up rooms, but people’s faces as well. On his latest batch of songs, the former sharecropper and carpenter – who got his start in music during a stint in the Army – continues that trend with 11 stories pulled from his Louisiana upbringing that include everything from the poignant “No One Wants To Be Lonely” to the cheeky and overly embellished “Alligator Bait.”

Pulling from rock, soul, blues and a whole lot of gospel, Black Bayou is easily Finley’s most personal and sonically developed record to date. His third project with Dan Auerbach and Easy Eye Sound, the record is one that came about organically, feeding on the artist’s energetic live performances with lyrics and arrangements put together on the spot in the studio with no pre-fabricated blueprint.

“When we did this album there was no pencil or paper in the room,” Finley tells BGS of the process. “The band was free to jam what they felt and I had the freedom to say what I felt. Nothing was written beforehand, it all came to life in the moment.”

Born in Winnsboro and now based in Bernice, a North Louisiana hamlet only thirty miles from the Arkansas border, Finley has excelled at living in the moment despite the fast moving world around him. That essence is what accelerates his storytelling throughout Black Bayou, particularly on songs like the aforementioned “Livin’ Out A Suitcase” and “Nobody Wants To Be Lonely,” the latter of which has the artist crooning about the elderly sitting at nursing homes around the country with no family wanting or able to keep in touch or care for them. It’s a topic that Finley doesn’t just sing about from the studio, though. He visits nursing homes in his community on a regular basis to serenade its residents.

“So many people have been forgotten,” says Finley. “Their kids drop them off and go on with their lives. I go down occasionally and perform at the old folks home in Bernice. Just take my guitar and play for 30 minutes or so, try to get them to dance, try to bring some joy to them.”

Whether in those homes or the local clubs, Finley is determined to use his platform to give back to the community that made him. In addition to never turning down a conversation or photo op, he also aims to lift up the next generation of musicians, offering support and guidance to those cutting their teeth and in need of a role model as they pursue their own musical dreams.

“I always go back whenever I’m not on tour, simply because that’s where I got my start,” says Finley. “It also gives me a chance to encourage the young artists there to pursue their dreams, because I can share how I started busking over there on the corner eight years ago and now I’m touring the world. Had I not made that first step, then nobody would even know what I was capable of doing.”

As listeners have come to expect from Finley, Black Bayou is full of lust, love, spirituality, and humor as well. Tunes like “Sneakin’ Around,” “Miss Kitty,” and “Can’t Blame Me For Trying” showcase Finley’s flamboyant and flirtatious side, which goes hand in hand with his center-stage shimmying and shaking at live shows. On the flip side, cuts like the swampy album closer, “Alligator Bait,” unravels as a spoken word recollection of a formative day on the bayou with his grandfather with a gnarly and always evolving backbeat oozing with attitude.

Together these stories make a patchwork quilt of sounds, emotions, and stories that only Finley could piece together. Calling into his North Louisiana home, we spoke with Finley — our November Artist of the Month — in detail about Black Bayou, making music with his family, the similarities between performing and preaching, and more.

What has busking taught you about performing and holding an audience’s attention?

I’ve learned that you don’t need to put all of your eggs in one basket. I’m always trying to shake it up and introduce new things to the crowd at my shows, because no matter how good a movie is, if you watch it two or three times you’re going to know exactly what happens next. It doesn’t mean it’s not a great movie, it just means you’re not going to watch something that you already know the result of. I don’t want to rehearse and be programmed to do the same thing over and over, I need to have the freedom of the spirit of the moment.

Your daughter Christy Johnson and granddaughter LaQuindrelyn McMahon both joined you on this record. What’s it mean to you to share your love for music with them?

It’s great being able to have three generations of Finleys singing together. I’ve always admired Pop Staples and The Staple Singers for him and his daughters. I have two other daughters as well, but they both work in the medical field and can’t just uproot and follow me around the world. My oldest is a licensed beautician, but put it on hold to help me pursue my career due to my sight being bad. She saw that I was determined to do it either way, so she sacrificed hers to make sure I wasn’t alone. Because of that I want to share the spotlight with her every chance I get.

She first came on during the audition process for America’s Got Talent, which was her introduction to the world. The label loved her so much that they were willing to use her on the albums. Soon we needed a second background singer, so I let Dan [Auerbach] know about my granddaughter. He and the label were immediately supportive and have been willing to [incorporate] as much of my family as possible into my career. This is mostly just me trying to open a gateway for them, because they have the potential to be bigger and better successes than me. Or at least it won’t take them 69 years to get discovered.

You’re often referred to as a bluesman, but Black Bayou could also just as easily be described as a gospel album. What are your thoughts on the dynamic between the two genres and how you’re able to tie them together on the record?

The only difference between the gospel and the blues is really the choice of words you use. The same music that you hear in the club is being played in the church and the same music that we grew up on in the church is being played in the clubs. The only difference is that if you want blues you sing “oh baby” and if you want gospel you sing “oh lord.” Other than that, a lot of the rhythms and dances are the same.

What’re your thoughts on continuing to make this type of music in the modern age?

I don’t even look at it as gospel or blues anymore. I look at it as just saying the truth. Regardless of what you’re going through, there’s someone else who’s somewhere who’s been through the same thing. The fact that they made it through gives hope that you can do it, too.

As artists, we’re blessed with fans that will pay to come see you and even take your advice home with them. The same people who go to church will not remember a thing the preacher talked about, but if they like your song they’ll remember it word for word. If you’re really trying to reach people, you’ve got a better chance to reach a lot more folks by singing than you would preaching. Nobody wants to listen to an hour and a half or two hour sermon, but they will stay around a concert for an encore. That’s why it’s so important when you have the world’s attention to tell them something positive with it.

It almost sounds like you view yourself performing on stage like a minister preaching from the pulpit?

That’s it. I can get a bigger crowd than the average preacher even though church is always free, but even then people will flock to the clubs. I’ve also sang “Amazing Grace” in nightclubs and had people put down their glasses, sing-a-long, and go to church with me. You just don’t know what people will do. Everyone’s going through something. If you stop the church people from going to the club then the club will shut down, because most of the people frequenting there are church folks from the other side of town. The problem is that while there they’re not getting the truth. They’re getting the water, but not the wine.

There’s not a better song on the album that ties these influences together than the aptly named “Gospel Blues.” Are you hypothesizing what you’ll do in heaven on it?

I’m trying to tell people not to be so judgmental. That’s why I sing, “I do drink a little whiskey, and I’ll take a little shot of wine” – because it’s better to be real with people than to try and fool them. Whether I have some whiskey [or not] isn’t going to have anything to do with whether or not I go to heaven or hell.

Another song I’ve been captivated by is “Alligator Bait.” Is that a true story?

That song was actually designed more or less as a joke. I never met my grandfather on either side, but I did hear stories when I was sitting around with my dad and his brothers about things like that. It seemed like I had a cruel, cruel grandfather, but that wasn’t the message I was trying to convey. I was trying to prove that any song where you think you’re right needs to be like you just read a novel. It needs to tell a story. It’s more about being a convincing writer than deceiving.

On the cover of Black Bayou is the pond that I used to swim in and got baptized in. For a while it’s just been deserted, but we went back there, because it conjured up a lot of those childhood memories. Even just standing there taking photos my mind flashed back to the things we used to do there like swimming on one end and fishing on the other. Us jumping in the water would scare the fish over to the other side where they could get caught easier, which in many ways is similar to how the alligator is lured in the song.

What has music taught you about yourself?

It’s helped me to find and be myself. I used to try imitating everyone from James Brown to Ray Charles, but soon I realized that the only person I could be the best version of was myself. Nobody can beat you being you. If you just be yourself then you’re automatically different from everybody else anyway. Being real with myself and my music has opened so many doors for me, because of that.

Photo Credit: Jim Herrington

Hurray for the Riff Raff Announce New Album, ‘The Past Is Still Alive,’ with Music Video

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Alynda Segarra, creative and frontperson extraordinaire of Hurray for the Riff Raff, has announced a brand new album for the Americana/indie folk-rock group that they have spearheaded for now more than 15 years. The Past Is Still Alive (out February 23, 2024 on Nonesuch Records) was heralded last week with a new music video – watch above. “Alibi” showcases a tender, more subdued, and more country-fied sound following the anger and passion of 2022’s LIFE ON EARTH. Segarra has always made their home directly in American roots music, even while they and their ensemble have played most often in its fringes and margins. The Past Is Still Alive feels a bit like a return to the bread-and-butter genre aesthetics that first launched HFTRR into the upper, superlative reaches of indie Americana.

The Past Is Still Alive also showcases Segarra’s incredible talent for processing and displaying all of the beautiful and hideous facets of grief and loss – this time, losses and griefs much more personal than those highlighted on recent albums and songs.

“The Past Is Still Alive is an album grappling with time, memory, love and loss, recorded in Durham, NC a month after losing my father,” Segarra explains via press release. “‘Alibi’ is a plea, a last ditch effort to get through to someone you already know you’re gonna lose. It’s a song to myself, to my father, almost fooling myself because I know what’s done is done. But it feels good to beg. A reckoning with time and memory. The song is exhausted with loving someone so much it hurts. Addiction separates us. With memories of the Lower East Side in the early 2000s of my childhood, mixed with imagery of the endless West that calls to artists and wanderers.”

Even with subject matter as heart-stopping and human as this, it’s difficult to anticipate this new album with anything other than excitement. Segarra is a master of transparent vulnerability, painting and evoking with their queerness, their identity, their cultural background in ways that complicate internalized narratives and stereotypes – while also contextualizing all of these intellectual explorations in a down-to-earth, everyday fashion. That The Past Is Still Alive will engage this sort of exploration within country, Americana, and string band sounds – however experimental or mainstream or “normative” or genre-blending – adds up perfectly.

Photo Credit: Tommy Kha

See Our List of 2024 GRAMMY Nominations in American Roots Music & Beyond

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

This morning via livestream the Recording Academy announced the full list of nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards, which will take place on Sunday, February 4 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Viewers will be able to tune into the 66th Grammy Awards via CBS and Paramount+.

Roots music is well represented across the nominations list – and not just in the Country & American Roots Music Field. Jon Batiste and boygenius are both up for Record of the Year and Album of the Year; Noah Kahan and The War & Treaty both made the final round for Best New Artist; Jessie Jo Dillon and Shane McAnally – both in-demand Music Row songwriters – are each in the running for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical; and throughout this year’s categories we find exemplary roots musicians representing the nearest and furthest branches, boughs, and ecosystems of these traditions we hold so dear.

This year’s Best Bluegrass Album nominees are a stout collection of records including Radio John: Songs of John Hartford by Sam Bush, Lovin’ Of The Game by Michael Cleveland, Mighty Poplar by Mighty Poplar, Bluegrass by Willie Nelson, Me/And/Dad by Billy Strings, and City Of Gold by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – the reigning winners in the category.

Below, find a full list of this year’s Grammy nominations in the Country & American Roots Music Field, as well as selected categories from the greater nominations list featuring roots musicians within and adjacent to our BGS family. (See the entire, exhaustive list via the Recording Academy here.)

Record Of The Year

“Worship”
Jon Batiste

“Not Strong Enough”
boygenius

“Flowers”
Miley Cyrus

“What Was I Made For?” [from the motion picture Barbie]
Billie Eilish

“On My Mama”
Victoria Monét

“Vampire”
Olivia Rodrigo

“Anti-Hero”
Taylor Swift

“Kill Bill”
SZA

Album of the Year

World Music Radio
Jon Batiste

the record
boygenius

Endless Summer Vacation
Miley Cyrus

Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Lana Del Rey

The Age Of Pleasure
Janelle Monáe

GUTS
Olivia Rodrigo

Midnights
Taylor Swift

SOS
SZA

Best New Artist

Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War & Treaty

Best Rock Performance

“Sculptures Of Anything Goes”
Arctic Monkeys

“More Than A Love Song”
Black Pumas

“Not Strong Enough”
boygenius

“Rescued”
Foo Fighters

“Lux Æterna”
Metallica

Best Country Solo Performance

“In Your Love”
Tyler Childers

“Buried”
Brandy Clark

“Fast Car”
Luke Combs

“The Last Thing On My Mind”
Dolly Parton

“White Horse”
Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

“High Note”
Dierks Bentley featuring Billy Strings

“Nobody’s Nobody”
Brothers Osborne

“I Remember Everything”
Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves

“Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)”
Vince Gill & Paul Franklin

“Save Me”
Jelly Roll With Lainey Wilson

“We Don’t Fight Anymore”
Carly Pearce featuring Chris Stapleton

Best Country Song

“Buried”
Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters (Brandy Clark)

“I Remember Everything”
Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves)

“In Your Love”
Tyler Childers & Geno Seale, songwriters (Tyler Childers)

“Last Night”
John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak, songwriters (Morgan Wallen)

“White Horse”
Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)

Best Country Album

Rolling Up The Welcome Mat
Kelsea Ballerini

Brothers Osborne
Brothers Osborne

Zach Bryan
Zach Bryan

Rustin’ In The Rain
Tyler Childers

Bell Bottom Country
Lainey Wilson

Best American Roots Performance

“Butterfly”
Jon Batiste

“Heaven Help Us All”
The Blind Boys Of Alabama

“Inventing The Wheel”
Madison Cunningham

“You Louisiana Man”
Rhiannon Giddens

“Eve Was Black”
Allison Russell

Best Americana Performance

“Friendship”
The Blind Boys Of Alabama

“Help Me Make It Through The Night”
Tyler Childers

“Dear Insecurity”
Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile

“King Of Oklahoma”
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit

“The Returner”
Allison Russell

Best American Roots Song

“Blank Page”
Michael Trotter Jr. & Tanya Trotter, songwriters (The War & Treaty)

“California Sober”
Aaron Allen, William Apostol & Jon Weisberger, songwriters (Billy Strings featuring Willie Nelson)

“Cast Iron Skillet”
Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit)

“Dear Insecurity”
Brandy Clark & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile)

“The Returner”
Drew Lindsay, JT Nero & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)

Best Americana Album

Brandy Clark
Brandy Clark

The Chicago Sessions
Rodney Crowell

You’re The One
Rhiannon Giddens

Weathervanes
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

The Returner
Allison Russell

Best Bluegrass Album

Radio John: Songs of John Hartford
Sam Bush

Lovin’ Of The Game
Michael Cleveland

Mighty Poplar
Mighty Poplar

Bluegrass
Willie Nelson

Me/And/Dad
Billy Strings

City Of Gold
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Best Traditional Blues Album

Ridin’
Eric Bibb

The Soul Side Of Sipp
Mr. Sipp

Life Don’t Miss Nobody
Tracy Nelson

Teardrops For Magic Slim Live At Rosa’s Lounge
John Primer

All My Love For You
Bobby Rush

Best Contemporary Blues Album

Death Wish Blues
Samantha Fish And Jesse Dayton

Healing Time
Ruthie Foster

Live In London
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

Blood Harmony
Larkin Poe

LaVette!
Bettye LaVette

Best Folk Album

Traveling Wildfire
Dom Flemons

I Only See The Moon
The Milk Carton Kids

Joni Mitchell At Newport [Live]
Joni Mitchell

Celebrants
Nickel Creek

Jubilee
Old Crow Medicine Show

Seven Psalms
Paul Simon

Folkocracy
Rufus Wainwright

Best Regional Roots Music Album

New Beginnings
Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band

Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers

Live: Orpheum Theater Nola
Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Made In New Orleans
New Breed Brass Band

Too Much To Hold
New Orleans Nightcrawlers

Live At The Maple Leaf
The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.

Best Roots Gospel Album

Tribute To The King
The Blackwood Brothers Quartet

Echoes Of The South
Blind Boys Of Alabama

Songs That Pulled Me Through The Tough Times
Becky Isaacs Bowman

Meet Me At The Cross
Brian Free & Assurance

Shine: The Darker The Night The Brighter The Light
Gaither Vocal Band

Best Global Music Performance

“Shadow Forces”
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily

“Alone”
Burna Boy

“FEEL”
Davido

“Milagro Y Disastre”
Silvana Estrada

“Abundance In Millets”
Falu & Gaurav Shah (featuring PM Narendra Modi)

“Pashto”
Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia

“Todo Colores”
Ibrahim Maalouf Featuring Cimafunk & Tank And The Bangas

Best Music Video

“I’m Only Sleeping”
(The Beatles)

“In Your Love”
Tyler Childers

“What Was I Made For”
Billie Eilish

“Count Me Out”
Kendrick Lamar

“Rush”
Troye Sivan

Best Instrumental Composition

“Amerikkan Skin”
Lakecia Benjamin, composer (Lakecia Benjamin featuring Angela Davis)

“Can You Hear The Music”
Ludwig Göransson, composer (Ludwig Göransson)

“Cutey And The Dragon”
Gordon Goodwin & Raymond Scott, composers (Quartet San Francisco featuring Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band)

“Helena’s Theme”
John Williams, composer (John Williams)

“Motion”
Edgar Meyer, composer (Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain featuring Rakesh Chaurasia)

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella

“Angels We Have Heard On High”
Nkosilathi Emmanuel Sibanda, arranger (Just 6)

“Can You Hear The Music”
Ludwig Göransson, arranger (Ludwig Göransson)

“Folsom Prison Blues”
John Carter Cash, Tommy Emmanuel, Markus Illko, Janet Robin & Roberto Luis Rodriguez, arrangers (The String Revolution featuring Tommy Emmanuel)

“I Remember Mingus”
Hilario Duran, arranger (Hilario Duran And His Latin Jazz Big Band featuring Paquito D’Rivera)

“Paint It Black”
Esin Aydingoz, Chris Bacon & Alana Da Fonseca, arrangers (Wednesday Addams)

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Recording Academy.

WATCH & LISTEN: Two Tracks from John Leventhal’s “Debut” Album

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Earlier this week renowned guitarist, producer, and engineer John Leventhal announced his debut album, Rumble Strip, to be released on RumbleStrip Records, a label founded with his wife and collaborator Rosanne Cash that will be distributed by Thirty Tigers. Yes, you read that right, a man known for his nearly 50-year, multi-hyphenate career in roots music is releasing his first ever proper solo album. Leventhal made the announcement with the release of two tracks, an instrumental guitar piece entitled “JL’s Hymn No. 2” and a gritty, rockin’ Americana duet with Cash called “That’s All I Know About Arkansas.”

“JL’s Hymn No. 2” showcases the guitar prowess that has made Leventhal such an in-demand sideman and session player across his entire career. On both of these tracks, his playing reminds of such country and roots renaissance men as Marty Stuart, Buddy Miller, David Bromberg, and Larry Williams with each of his constituent musical skills – as engineer, producer, and picker – on full display. “That’s All I Know About Arkansas” is like a post-modern “brother” duet, with Cash stepping into the role of Buddy’s Julie Miller, or Larry’s Theresa Williams, bolstering and supporting her musical- and life-partner in a touching and artistically successful role reversal for the pair. You can hear the passion they have for each other’s music, for each being members of each other’s “bands.”

With a resume and career as exhaustive and expansive as Leventhal’s, it’s remarkable that he’s only reached this pivotal, “debut” milestone at this late-stage point. And, more remarkable still, is that Rumble Strip is clearly another opportunity for Leventhal to challenge himself, break new ground, experiment with new sounds and textures, and continue to grow, morph, and develop as a quintessential musician-producer. It’s engaging and exciting to hear him turn his studio control room magnifying glass onto his own music, his own record.

Rumble Strip will be released on January 26. Enjoy these two tracks from the project now, right here on BGS.

Photo Credit: Wes Bender

Out Now: Liv Greene

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

For this edition of Out Now, we’re honored to introduce an artist I’ve known for years. Liv Greene and I met in 2017 at Interlochen Arts Academy. It’s incredible to watch artists like Liv, who have been dedicated to their craft for years, develop careers in the industry. Following our time at a small arts school in Northern Michigan, Liv and I both moved to Boston. After a year at Tufts, grappling between following a traditional path or following her intuition, she transferred to New England College of Music. And we both eventually found ourselves in Nashville.

I have known a small handful of individuals who took this path – following music and intuition from their teen years into adulthood. That kind of persistence and dedication is rare.

I’ve known Liv from before they were out to even their closest friends to now, a time when they are publicly vocal about their identity. To some, these things may seem small. But to teens, up-and-coming artists, and the queer community, it’s incredibly important.

Liv has long been one of the most talented artists I’ve known – even in their teen years. But years of persistence and dedication to their craft have sculpted their music and work into something polished, professional, and bound to take off if they continue on this path. If you don’t know their music, you’re in for a treat: sophisticated guitar lines soaring melodies and reflective lyrics. We are so proud to present Liv Greene for Out Now.

Why do you create music? – What’s more satisfying to you, the process or the outcome?

Liv Greene: The process! I think I make music because I have an ever-burning curiosity and desire to learn new things. Ever since I was 11 and first discovered my ravenous appetite for learning songs on the guitar, my passion has burned brightly and shifted focus a number of times. Recently, the process of recording is really fascinating to me. I am quite new to it overall, and I feel lucky to have some mentors that have really helped me wrap my head around the daunting mystery of it. My first record was produced by my friend and mentor Isa Burke, (you may have heard her shred electric guitar and fiddle with Aoife O’Donovan), and watching her work, as both a session musician and producer on that record, was beyond inspiring. This past year I’ve been lucky to work on a record with legendary engineer Matt Andrews. Matt’s become a friend as well as a mentor and the process of making music with him has taught me more than I can even put into words.

What is your current state of mind?

Recently, it’s not the most positive. With the accelerating climate crisis, I’ve been grappling with big picture plans and visions and considering how it all may need to change in a different world. For example, touring, while once a main dream for my career, now doesn’t feel like the most important thing to me anymore, especially given all the carbon emissions from flying and the gasoline needed to drive. While connecting with people over sharing music on tour feels really sacred to me, I think being intentional about it and how often I’m doing it feels like the only thing that makes sense. With how scary things are these days, I’ve been trying to zoom in on the close-range and try to make it better. Brighten a corner in the space I’m already in now. I’ve been focusing on the things that have always held me, and trying to be the best I can in return to them. My loved ones, family and friends, and my craft.

What would a “perfect day” look like for you?

As much as I love the road, a perfect day would probably be an off day at home. The groundedness of home is unparalleled. I’d wake up around 9, have some coffee and avocado toast, read my book (right now I’m reading this stunning queer novel, Swimming in the Dark), then go out for my favorite 6-mile skate route through the woods near my home (I love rollerskating, particularly trail skating), then come home, and get ready for the day. Once dressed for the day, I’d play some guitar, work on a half-written song or two.

My favorite way to work on songs is to pick up drafts and ponder them by improvising on them every few weeks until they take form. A perfect day of this would probably lead to a completed song and a demo, which I do on cassette on my Tascam portastudio 424mkii with an Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina mic. Four track demo-ing makes my heart happy. Something about the constraints, and the warmth and imperfection of tape, really helps to rise above the minutia and get to the heart of the song. I’d probably enjoy something tasty for lunch, maybe meet a friend or two for some antiquing or thrifting, and then end the day over delicious food with dear friends. Sharing songs, crafting, and drinking wine or tea on a night in, or dancing my boots off to motown or honky-tonk if on a night out in Nashville.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

There are two in particular that come to mind. The first is songwriting related, and it’s something I first heard when I was 16 at Interlochen songwriting camp in northern Michigan. My instructor at the time, an amazing North Carolina-based songwriter and community builder named Cary Cooper, shared with us the words of Mary Gauthier: “Sing the song that only you can sing.” That message has stuck with me ever since, for its sobering simplicity and its reminder to look for the story you can tell best, the one on your own heart.

In terms of non-song-related advice, my friend Jack Schneider introduced me to the Stephen Covey quote, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” This applies to production work, when you need to zoom out and make sure you haven’t lost the heart of the song, but also to life in general. If I’m ever getting too tied into or stressed over the details of something I try to remind myself, “It’s just music, focus on the music, enjoy it.”

Who are your favorite LGBTQ+ artists and bands?

This answer changes monthly, maybe even weekly, as we are so blessed to have so many artists who are out and proud these days. Growing up it was Brandi Carlile, and she will always be a huge influence for me not only as a writer and musician, but just as a person. Recently, it’s been a lot of my old friends/new friends/mentors, Jobi Riccio (killer classic-style songwriting meets honest new perspectives and modern production), Chappell Roan (kitschy, campy, brilliant pop artist), Olivia Barton and Corook (you may know the smash TikTok hit, “If I Were a Fish“), Mary Bragg (brilliant songwriting, production, and stunning vocals), Melissa Carper (queer woman queen of western swing/classic country), Rosie Tucker (brilliantly clever indie magic), and Izzy Heltai (indie-americana sad boy music that gets to the heart of it). For more pop, MUNA is also one of my all-time favorite bands, period, Saves the World being the record that got me into them. Their live shows are always a religious experience.

What does it mean to you to be an LGBTQ+ musician? And what are your release and touring plans for the next year?

Man, being an out LGBTQ+ musician means the world to me. Being queer is beautiful, it’s a blessing and a gift to be able to access the fullness of who you are without limitations, and I think it’s particularly special to me given how I am able to be proud of it after years of shame around it. Representation matters. I remember seeing Brandi Carlile when I was 14 and didn’t have any other tangible people I saw myself and my queerness in. In a lot of ways, seeing her live at such a young age helped me realize that it was ok to be me.

As for touring plans, you can catch me on the road this fall with fellow queer Americana artist Brittany Ann Tranbaugh, who just released an EP produced by Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham) that’s damn good, as well as a couple shows in Tennessee in late October opening for one of my favorite songwriters, Margo Cilker. For release plans, I recently finished work on LP #2 and am burning with anticipation to get it out. It’s looking like spring of 2024. Good things take time.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Liv Greene.

On Western White Pines (Deluxe), Colby Acuff Gives Country Roots an Idaho Spin

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

There was a time when “Western” influence was a pillar of what we knew as country music. Now, the genre’s center of thematic gravity has shifted to the Southeast, and with that shift the Western influence has waned – but artists like Colby Acuff still uphold this mantle.

The thing is, Acuff’s version of “Western” life may not be what you envision.

A native of Idaho, Acuff is more at home in the craggy hills, tall pines and high-mountain streams than out on the open plain. The trails he sings of are often logging roads, and the dust on his clothes comes from mining operations. But the mystique of the Western U.S. is still just as intoxicating, especially to a back-east audience.

For years Acuff balanced regional tours with a side gig as a fly-fishing guide, but these days, the bait he’s throwing is old-school country and what he’s catching is some nationwide, early-career momentum. One of the few major label Nashville artists with a traditional sound and style, this year has seen Acuff release his debut album (Western White Pines), make his Grand Ole Opry debut, and tour with fellow breakout artists like Charles Wesley Godwin – paying his van-life dues along the way.

In mid-September, Acuff added six more tracks to the album with a deluxe edition release – every bit as rootsy and Western as the initial project – and next year he’ll hit 13 stadiums with superstar Luke Combs. While he was in Nashville for this year’s AmericanaFest, BGS caught up with Acuff about his growing platform and why he’s all about a view of the American West most people have never seen.

How are things going on the road? Your world looks pretty exhausting at the moment, but also a lot of fun – and I dig the gas station food reviews. What do you think you’ll remember most from this season of paying dues?

Colby Acuff: Well, hopefully all of it. I mean, I think it’s kind of like anything else – the things that stick with you are either the really good things or the really bad things, and fortunately, we haven’t had any really bad things. I think I’ll just remember the good times. Driving almost 65,000 miles this year in a van with six or seven guys? What’s not to remember? [Laughs]

We’ve been really, really fortunate to where every year it just seems like it’s getting a little bit bigger. For me just being a kid from Idaho, I don’t know if I ever saw it getting out beyond the county line, so I’m very happy and very pleased.

You made your Grand Ole Opry debut this summer. What was that experience like?

That was surreal. It’s still crazy to me that I got to do it. I’ve always said I’m typically the last person who you’d invite to anything. I mean, we don’t get invited to too many things – we just keep doing our own thing, and that’s great. But it means anytime we do get invited to something like that, I’m always pretty shocked. To have the first one out of the gate be the Opry, who not just included us but also include us with such kind words and open arms, it was an amazing experience.

It is interesting they were one of the first institutions to recognize you – but then again, it makes sense. You have a style very rooted in traditional country and Western sounds – even some bluegrass. That kind of clashes with the modern scene, right?

Everything we’ve done has a ton of grassroots, a ton of bluegrass influence in it, but it is really country/country folk. Our biggest thing is we haven’t really ever been defined – and I don’t know if anybody actually really knows where to put us! My whole goal is to make music that’s different and that’s good, music that means something, and we’ve found fans in that. I wouldn’t tell anybody that we’re a bluegrass band by any means, but I would say that if you’re a fan of bluegrass, there’s definitely stuff in our catalog you will enjoy.

The new deluxe version of the album has six new songs, for a total of 16. You’re singing about nature and Western life, but also chasing dreams – and even what happens when you catch the dream. Where did these new songs come from?

I think this whole record is Western music, and a lot of times people think that’s cowboys and that kind of situation. But I’m not a cowboy. I am from the West. I grew up in a very Western household from Idaho. But I’m from a mountain town, not from the plains. There’s cattle and stuff where I’m from, but it’s mostly loggers and lumber and paper mills and mining, and it’s a totally different side of the West that I don’t think a lot of people realize is up there. I mean, the neck of the woods I’m from is very similar to Kentucky, just more pine trees. It’s big on fly fishing and a lot of rivers, big lakes and big trees. And that’s a side of the West I want to represent, so I tried to basically form an entire record around it. This is potentially unknown to many people, but this is where I’m from.

“Movin’” is such a feel-good, timeless country track – where did that track come from?

My favorite part about “Movin’” is definitely the fact that it’s super easy on the ears, and at face value, it doesn’t seem as deep. But really the song is super deep to me because it’s about everybody who has decided to chase the dream with me. It’s a lot to ask somebody, to chase a dream with you. And not only myself and my girlfriend, but my whole band and their families have all moved to Nashville to do that. Don’t let the rear view make you sad. We’ll get there, we’ll figure it out. That whole thing is based around the fact that we’re all going and we’re looking forward, not backwards.

Speaking of dreams, tell me about “Livin’ Too Close to the Dream.” What’s this one about?

When we started out, before I even moved to Nashville, I’d go out to the local bar or whatever in Idaho with my friends and I’d run into people who’d be like, “Man, you’re really doing it. Congratulations, blah, blah.” They’d be like, “You must be out there living the dream.” And I’d be like “Wellll, I’m really close.” And then it turned into a joke where when you’re living too close to the dream. You’re living in limbo, you’re trying to climb up the mountaintop, but the road conditions are shitty. … We’re living too close to the dream now. [Laughs]

You’ll be touring with Luke Combs and doing some stadiums next year. That’s got some living the dream potential, right?

Oh God. I mean, I can’t thank Luke enough. I just couldn’t believe we got the phone call. There’s not a bad time to go play 13 stadium shows.

Are you guys going to work up a special stadium sized set, or how does that work for a roots band?

We will go out there and wave our flag. We’ll do our thing. Every single stage that you play, you got to earn that stage. I don’t care what it is. If it’s a sold out a stadium or some empty bar, you don’t walk on stage owning that stage. You got to put that set in to earn it and they got to give it to you. So we’ll do that just like we do every night.

Are you still getting time to fish?

Not as much, obviously. I mean, shit, my quota used to be 120 days on the river. Now I might get 15 or 20. We did a run with Charles Wesley Godwin, and he was kind enough to set up a fly fishing trip, and to invite me. We went out in Wyoming and caught a ton of fish, which is super nice. I’m fitting it in when I can.

A lot of cool stuff has happened to you this past year, but there’s still lots of people getting to hear you for the first time. What do you hope they take away from Western White Pines (Deluxe)?

I just hope they like the music, really. I hope it does something for ’em. I think for me personally, I never got into this because I wanted to be famous. I got into this because I wanted to make music that truly helps people. So I hope that they like it.

Photo Credit: Matthew Berinato

WATCH: Youth in a Roman Field, “Might As Well Have Gone to the Movies”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Youth in a Roman Field
Hometown: Queens, New York City, New York
Song: “Might As Well Have Gone To The Movies”
Album: Get Caught Trying (Extended Edition)
Release Date: November 10, 2023
Label: Better Company Records

In Their Words: “This song – and the phrase – illustrate my takeaway after what felt like another let-down of a relationship; a ‘wise-mind,’ more poetic interpretation of ‘well, damn, that didn’t work out either.’ The lyrics center the conflict between fantasy and reality, confronting the parts of my romantic nature that lend themselves to delusion and magical thinking. ‘Going to the movies’ represents the alternative life and relationship I had envisioned for myself, and has come to represent the alternative world many of us find ourselves in, looking for answers or easier narratives than actually exist. I also meant it literally, as in: ‘I could’ve seen this coming, shoulda just gone to the movies and saved myself all this heartache.’ It ultimately accepts the disappointments of unrequited romantic love, which paves the way to accept ourselves despite mistakes we’ve made or cycles we’ve repeated.” – Claire Wellin, Youth in a Roman Field

Track Credits:

Performed by Youth in a Roman Field:
Claire Wellin – vocals
Tiffany Topol – vocals
Cassidy Stirtz – vocals
Scott Stangland – guitar
Jamie Mohamdein – upright bass

Photo Credit: Saw Photography
Video Credit: Directed by Claire Wellin, Tiffany Topol, Cassidy Stirtz, Scott Stangland, and Jamie Mohamdein. Edited by Scott Stangland and Tiffany Topol.