Artist:Bill and the Belles Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee Song: “Gotta Get Drunk” Album:To Willie From Billy Release Date: September 8, 2023 Label: Ditty Boom Records
In Their Words: “Our upcoming album, To Willie From Billy, is a tribute to Willie Nelson, released in honor of the icon turning 90. We like to think it’s a bold and playful meeting of our string band origins and genre-defying arrangements, and a celebration of Nelson’s songwriting and musical ethos. It is that musical ethos that ties Willie and Billy together: A commitment to timelessness and simplicity, with a good dose of rebellion. Picking out just 12 tunes from Willie Nelson’s catalogue proved to be tough if not impossible, but eventually we got there. Most of the tunes are lesser known cuts from Nelson with a few hits thrown in for good measure. ‘Gotta Get Drunk,’ a raucous bar shout, wobbles and sways right in the middle.” – Kris Truelsen
Welcome to the BGS Radio Hour! Since 2017, this weekly radio show and podcast has been a recap of all the great music, new and old, featured on the digital pages of BGS. This week, we bring you new music from John Hiatt and Jerry Douglas, Yola, and more from our Artist of the Month, Chris Thile! Remember to check back every week for a new episode of the BGS Radio Hour.
To kick things off on the Radio Hour this week is a new release from Johnson City, Tennessee-based Bill and the Belles. We caught up with them recently on our 5+5 series, where they discussed hosting the revived Farm & Fun Time series in Bristol, Virginia, as well as their musical influences and career-based mission statements. Between lead singer Kris’ songs, their great harmonies, and instrumental prowess, Bill and the Belles are just plain enjoyable.
When asked about his musical influences on a recent 5+5, Louisville-based Sam Filiatreau highlighted country greats John Prine and Guy Clark. Those influences combined with his classic twang shine through on “Wrecking Ball.”
Loose Cattle hope they’ve made Porter & Dolly, Johnny & June, and John Doe & Exene all equally proud with this track, written by their longtime friend and songwriter Paul Sanchez.
In this new live version of “Tin Man,” Miranda Lambert reminds us how moving a simple performance can be. The solo acoustic version of the track comes from a new album and film that Lambert and fellow songwriters (and proud Texas natives) Jack Ingram and Jon Randall have crafted. Titled The Marfa Tapes, the album features the recordings that are shown in The Marfa Tapes Film.
Our Artist of the Month, Chris Thile, has been the busiest man in bluegrass for a long time. Between hosting Live From Here, shows with the Punch Brothers, or Nickel Creek reunions, Chris didn’t get to slow down much before the pandemic forced him to. Recorded in an old church-turned-studio, his new album Laysongs reflects on his Christian upbringing and community, and how that relates to where he is now.
In the words of Turner Cody and the Soldiers of Love, “Lonely Days in Hollywood” is a “kind of meditation on the transactional nature of our culture of celebrity; how our dreams belie reality and nothing is for free.”
Tray Wellington originally wrote the main riff for “Pond Mountain Breakaway” on the electric guitar, but then realized it would be well-suited for an uptempo bluegrass tune.
For his latest record, famed roots singer and songwriter John Hiatt enlisted the help of the Jerry Douglas Band. Recorded in famed RCA Studio B in Nashville, Leftover Feelings returned Hiatt to his earliest days in town when he lived in a $15-a-week rented room on Music Row. Although the space could easily intimidate due to the amount of classics recorded there, Hiatt suggested that you don’t actually think about it, because it’s such a comfortable environment.
Paula Cole’s new album American Quilt showcases her impressive vocal range as she sings some of her favorite American standards. She chose “What a Wonderful World” to close the album intentionally, stating that the song “unifies people.”
We caught up with Drew McManus of Satsang recently, and he shared with us the touching story of “Malachi,” a song about his son, which he wrote in the hospital the night he was born.
“O Death” is the latest installment in Rhiannon Giddens ongoing collaborations with her partner, Francesco Turrisi, a gifted Italian multi-instrumentalist. Their new record, They’re Calling Me Home, was inspired by the year they spent together in Ireland, amidst the pandemic. They’re Calling Me Home echoes the many ways that a tumultuous 2020 had many of us yearning for the comforts of home, of the past, or of those that were called home from this world.
“Stand For Myself” is Yola’s newest single from her upcoming album, set to release in July. The track is a mix of “symphonic soul and classic pop,” and its message is universal — that real change can come from thinking, living, and standing for ourselves.
Tim Raybon & Daniel Grindstaff of Merle Monroe hope listeners will be captured by the classic sound and wonderful story line of “Shelby Tell Me.” In talking to BGS recently, they stated, “our intention is to move the listener emotionally through the lyrics and melody.”
When BGS spoke with Beau Roberson of Pilgrim about “Darkness of the Bar,” he shared that the song “…is about the dark struggles of life, and trying to see the light in those dark times.”
Photos: (L to R) Miranda Lambert by Jim and Ilde Cook of CookHouseMedia; Yola by Joseph Ross Smith; John Hiatt by David McClister
Artist:Bill and the Belles Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee Latest Album:Happy Again Personal Nicknames: I renamed myself Spike (inspired by the bulldog with a spiked collar in Heathcliff) in the first grade and all the kids called me Spike for a few months. That was a big win. — Kris Truelsen
My name can be tricky for people (it’s like Kahlúa, but “kuh-LEE-uh”) and nicknames weren’t much of a thing until Game of Thrones came out and Khaleesi happened. — Kalia Yeagle
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
It’s a no brainer: Jimmie Rodgers. He’s been one of our main inspirations for years. His effortless skill in combining the sounds of the blues, jazz, and country will forever be inspiring. My favorite songs from Jimmie are the syrupy love ballads with strings and horns that lean towards being straight pop music of the time like “The Hills of Tennessee” or “Miss the Mississippi and You.” Brilliant stuff. Though I still sing many of his songs, more than ever I use his music as inspiration to break rules and to find the courage to make something unique, not tied to genre or emulating somebody else, but rather trying to be original. — Kris
Jimmie Rodgers was a huge influence on this band. More broadly, that big field of “early country music” (or whatever else you want to call it) is so full of genre-busting sounds and earnest musical experiments. Forming this band, we were very inspired by the folks that used what they had in creative ways, and worked with real fervor. — Kalia
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
A little over six years ago at the opening of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Virginia, we shot the pilot episode of Farm and Fun Time, the PBS television show we host. At sound check I stood at the side of the stage and watched Ralph Stanley sing the entirety of “O Death” in an empty theater. It was literally just me, the sound engineer Josh, and Ralph Stanley in this tiny 100-seat theater. It was absolute magic. — Kris
Similarly, another impactful not-quite-on-stage moment for me was when we shot an audience-less Farm and Fun Time from Kris’s front porch during the pandemic. This was early on enough that folks were still figuring out how to get the most out of livestreams, but late enough that we were all feeling scared about what the pandemic meant for our families and communities, and what it meant for our relationship with live music. Sitting on Kris’s front porch listening to local legend Ed Snodderly sing his songs smacked me good, right in the heart. It had been months since I’d experienced live music, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so grateful and moved. — Kalia
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
I’m informed by art that says what it means, and simple, impactful works that don’t feel overwrought. That’s because my head’s a pretty busy place, and I sometimes struggle to distill my thoughts and emotions. I also think that artists can see art everywhere, so yes of course a beautiful piece of writing or gut-wrenching brushstroke can stir up the feels. And so can the chalk drawings neighbor kids make, the way this lampshade shoots light up the wall, or the angles this broom maker created when they gathered the bristles. I’m a pretty emotion-full person, but there have been periods of time when making music was just a motion and not emotion. I’m working on treating music-making more like those little moments of surprising beauty, by staying present and approaching things more playfully. — Kalia
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
Well, a lot of songs end up in the trash after being reworked to death, but I’m getting better at knowing when to move on and putting less pressure on myself to produce, which inevitably makes the work I do finish stronger. The toughest song I’ve ever written that successfully saw the light of day was probably a jingle I wrote for the regionally beloved soda pop company Dr. Enuf. It’s an herbal, lemon-lime sort of thing like Kentucky’s Ale-8. People in East Tennessee lose their minds for “the Dr.” Not to mention it’s got vitamins. It took me ages to get the jingle honed in just right, but when I did I really nailed it. The hook goes “It’s the lemon-in’, lime-a-nin’, rich in vitamin, original pick me up.” I’ve written over 50 jingles and this one is undoubtedly my favorite. — Kris
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
Write songs that defy boundaries, keep evolving, have faith, and quit working so damn hard all the time. — Kris
Ask, “How is your work serving others? How is it serving you?” And always celebrate growth and abundance. — Kalia
Artist name:Bill and the Belles Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee Song: “That’ll Be Just Fine”
In Their Words: “We’re excited to share a new side of Bill and the Belles, a bigger, moodier, more decade-ambiguous sound! We wanted to nod toward early R&B and girl group pop vocals (think early Sam Phillips-era Sun Records, the Shangri-Las), while growing our instrumental backdrop with the introduction of stride piano and drums. Working with Bristol’s Big Tone Records was a thrill: we’re no strangers to vintage recording methods, and we think the warmth and depth of recording to tape really suits us. In the glow of fluorescent lights in an unmarked building in Southwest Virginia, the Big Tone studio accomplishes something remarkable: each microphone, each piece of furniture, even the clock on the wall carries a story, and with ‘That’ll Be Just Fine,’ we’re working to carry that narrative forward.” –Bill and the Belles
Artist:Bill and the Belles Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee Album:DreamSongs, Etc. Release Date: August 24, 2018 Label: Jalopy Records
In Their Words: “DreamSongs, Etc. captures the sound we’ve worked tirelessly in developing over the past three and a half years incorporating influences from a variety of times and places that were once representative of country music. We think listeners will find these songs refreshing in their simplicity and delivery, and hope the joy we experienced in creating this record transcends to their listening experience. We hope timelines become blurred… that the music can speak for both the here and now yet remind us of our past bringing listeners a sense of comfort and familiarity in a time that’s anything but. The voices and songs of America’s past float around all of us up in the ethos and we do our best to remain conscious and aware of those sounds when they call. We try and take those sounds to turn them into something that will resonate with people today. More than anything we hope these songs lift your spirits.” — Bill and the Belles
April may be the cruelest month, but September is by far the coolest one because we get to head to Raleigh, North Carolina, for one of our favorite events — IBMA's World of Bluegrass. Taking place September 27 – October 1, the event brings bluegrass fans from around the globe together for the pickin'- and grinnin'-est party this side of, well, anywhere. If you're heading to Raleigh and struggling to get your schedule together — we get it, there's a lot to choose from! — allow us to do some of the heavy lifting for you and check out seven of the acts we can't wait to see.
10 String Symphony
Nashville duo 10 String Symphony, also known as Christian Sedelmyer and Rachel Baiman, are no strangers to the stage, with Sedelmyer a member of Jerry Douglas's touring band and Baiman having fiddled alongside the likes of Kacey Musgraves. Their project together, though, brings those individual talents together for an acoustic, genre-defying sound that is truly like no other.
Missy Raines and the New Hip
Missy Raines has more Bass Player of the Year IBMAs than anyone out there, and there's no better way to find out why that is than to watch her kicking bass and taking names on stage. She and her band, the New Hip, fuse elements of jazz and Americana with her more traditional bluegrass leanings.
Bill and the Belles
Johnson City, Tennessee, quartet Bill and the Belles pay homage to their mountain upbringings with Tin Pan Alley covers and Appalachian-inspired arrangements. They're a joy to watch live, and we bet you can't make it through their set without smiling.
Hot Buttered Rum
With a name like Hot Buttered Rum, the music better be good, and, sure enough, it is. Just like the drink, a live set from Hot Buttered Rum goes down easy and leaves you with a smile on your face.
Molly Tuttle Band
Nashville multi-instrumentalist Molly Tuttle has a sonic range unlike many musicians out there, able to captivate listeners with tender vocals just as easily as she is with virtuosic guitar chops. This full band set should deliver, as the kids say, all the feelings.
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
If one of the greatest living mandolin players doesn't tickle your fancy, well, you just might be at the wrong festival. Whether you've never seen Skaggs live or this will be your 12th rumble with Kentucky Thunder, this is a set you won't want to miss.
Greensky Bluegrass
Just over a decade-and-a-half into their career, Greensky Bluegrass has never sounded better. Their forthcoming album, Shouted, Written Down and Quoted, is a sure sign that bluegrass is still alive and well.
Since its inception eight years ago, Music City Roots has become an institution — for Nashvillians, it's one of the best places in town to catch amazing live music; for the United States, it's perhaps the only way to enjoy the best and brightest roots musicians from the comfort of home, whether online or, since 2013, on PBS. Now the famed show is bringing you yet another way to enjoy great roots music: their new live album series.
Kicked off in June with a release from Johnson City, Tennessee, band Bill and the Belles, the series brings listeners a handful of songs recorded at a recent Music City Roots broadcast. The inaugural release features seven songs and is available across a variety of digital platforms, including Spotify and iTunes.
According to Music City Roots associate producer Ashlee-Jean Trott, whose background prior to joining the Music City Roots team in 2010 was in artist management and music festivals, the idea came to life after she attended DelFest and saw fans' excitement over getting to purchase live festival recordings shortly after they happened. "We have so much content every week, and we have a very large fan base that comes to the shows every week and watches online," Trott explains. "They always want to hear the music afterward."
Trott and her team decided that the series would be selective, with a goal to release one album every two months instead of releasing recordings from each week's show. She hopes that frequency can increase to once a month in 2017.
"I book the bands for the show, so usually I know what all the bands sound like before," she says. "Usually, the bands that blow me away or blow our crew away at the show are the ones that we choose. So, this first band that we did — Bill and the Belles — I had heard them at IBMA and I really liked their music and I booked them on the show. But when they played at the show, it was one of those moments that I’ll never forget. It was just so good and the audience gave them a standing ovation. Those are the kind of bands we want to do a live album on, some kind of special moment we had on the show. "
The process for artists selected for live albums is simple enough, with Music City Roots and each artist splitting revenue from digital streaming and sales 50-50, after the cost of mixing is taken into account. "The cost is very low because we’re already recording it at the show, so that isn’t a cost," Trott says. "It’s just mixing. Once that cost is covered, we split the money down the middle with the artist for digital sales. We also give the artist the option to print the album physically for free. If they want to print it, they have to pay for the printing, but we don’t take any money from that."
Currently, the Music City Roots team doesn't plan to release physical versions of the albums themselves. They're hush-hush about which artists they plan to tap for future live albums, but Trott assures they're exciting picks. And with the hundreds of submissions Trott receives from hopeful artists on a monthly basis, there's no shortage of material to cull from. She cites the live album series as being "all about artists and making their careers explode," a feat they've already accomplished numerous times through their regular weekly shows and broadcasts.
"I saw St. Paul & the Broken Bones in Birmingham," Trott says. "I grew up in the same town as Paul Janeway, so I already knew the band, but I didn’t know the music. I saw them at a club called the Bottletree Café in Birmingham before anybody knew who they were. There were maybe 30 people in there. I went up to the bass player and said, ‘Y’all need to come play Music City Roots.’ And he said, ‘No, no, we aren’t ready.’ I booked them on the show a couple months later and I invited a bunch of people out and they ended up getting signed on that show with Traci at 30 Tigers. They were opening for John Mayer a couple months later."
So keep an eye out for the next live release from Music City Roots … it just might be the next great album from the next big thing.
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