Tag: Birmingham

BGS 5+5: Early James

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Artist: Early James
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
Latest Album: Strange Time to Be Alive
Release Date: August 19, 2022
Label: Easy Eye Sound

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

I’d say almost never. I have trouble writing about myself and not being honest. It’s gotta be known it’s me or else it isn’t therapeutic anymore.

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

Chet Atkins and chitlins.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I’d say Fiona Apple because her music is so honest and raw. I’ve always wanted to write melodies and lyrics like her.

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

Before a show usually a couple beers or a shot of whiskey and a cigarette. In the studio coffee, cigarettes, and before a vocal take a shot of honey and hot sauce.

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

Video games, honestly. There’s so much good music that I heard as a child before I ever had an understanding of genres or culture. Hearing it made it just a feeling. Now I can never go back to that because I know where the music comes from, but back then it was just magic.

Photo Credit: Jim Herrington

WATCH: Banditos, “Here Tonight”

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Artist: Banditos
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama; now in Nashville
Song: “Here Tonight”
Album: Right On
Release Date: May 20, 2022
Label: Egghunt Records

In Their Words: “We’ve been in Nashville about 10 years now, but all came up in Alabama — the outskirts of Birmingham mainly. When we moved we all made the jump together. We were staying in a band house to cut cost of rent & be able to tour more, so naturally we moved into a house all together in Nashville. Our dear friend, Joshua Shoemaker, who grew up with us in those Birmingham outskirts, also lived in those houses & made that jump with us as well. He pushed us to make the move as he was expanding his career as a filmmaker. We had our friends’ bands come stay with us at our house. Banditos would play shows with them. Joshua would film videos. It was simpatico.

Long story long we adore this man & he does incredible work. He’s done several live videos with us over the years, but never a narrative. It’s always been a dream to make it happen & I think the excitement shines through. We had an amazing team, hired some really star actors from Facebook & it turned out beautifully. The song itself kind of throws back to our Birmingham days where we’d be at a bar & you’d see the lonely & ornery drink themselves dry at the end of the table. This one is about finding hope in those dark places & letting yourself love yourself despite life’s circumstances.” — Mary Beth Richardson, Banditos

Photo Credit: Citizen Wayne Kane

WATCH: St. Paul & The Broken Bones, “Love Letter From a Red Roof Inn” (Live)

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Artist: St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
Song: “Love Letter From a Red Roof Inn”
Album: The Alien Coast
Release Date: January 28, 2022
Label: ATO Records

In Their Words: “The album was birthed through the idea of falling asleep in a hotel and having a sequence of nightmares, then waking up and missing home so badly. … I remember writing sketches for this song on some hotel notepad. I was lost in thought while looking at the ceiling and just missing home. I was trying not to write in clichés but ended up doing it anyway. The song is meant to sound like someone talking softly over a telephone call. A very hard song to sing because it has to be so delicately done.” — Paul Janeway, St. Paul & The Broken Bones

Photo Credit: Bobbi Rich

WATCH: Ramblin’ Ricky Tate, “Drifting”

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Artist: Ramblin’ Ricky Tate
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
Song: “Drifting”
Release Date: July 30, 2021

In Their Words: “Everyone has lost a love or felt homesick, I’d bet a lot of those people have reached for a whiskey glass a time or two as well. ‘Drifting’ is a tune I wrote about just that. This song is about having hope for better days to come when you feel down. Recorded and filmed field recording style on location in a 140-year-old building, this song has a natural reverb unlike anything you will hear in a studio. I put my heart into this song and I love how the video turned out and I’m honored to share it with y’all.” — Ramblin’ Ricky Tate

Photo credit: Jordan Hudecz

LISTEN: Steel City Jug Slammers, “Make That Money”

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Artist: Steel City Jug Slammers
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
Song: “Make That Money”
Album: Hot Butter
Release Date: October 31, 2019

In Their Words: “It’s hard sweating it out, every day, down in the working class. You stand so long your feet always hurt, hands work so hard they don’t even feel. Every day you get home, shower, and the salt from your sweat runs down your face and burns your eyes. When you finally make it to the comfortable place you’ve been thinking about all day, breathe in your favorite flavor of smoke, sip something to ease your aching muscles, then you’re glad you did it. Because if you didn’t, somebody else would, and you’d be in the ditch.” — G.W. Henderson, Steel City Jug Slammers

Photo credit: T.J. Burks

LISTEN: Sarah Lee Langford, “Growing Up”

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Artist: Sarah Lee Langford
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
Song: “Growing Up”
Album: Two Hearted Rounder
Album Release Date: November 8, 2019
Label: Cornelius Chapel Records

In Their Words: “‘Growing Up’ is borne not only out of huge changes in my life, but also of some friends grieving the loss of a child. It speaks of how people frequently don’t know how to relate to others when they’re in pain, and how we have to carry on and learn to thrive again in the face of adversity. Put those lyrics on top of minor chords, guitar twang, pedal steel from outer space, and a shuffle beat and you’ve got ‘Growing Up.’ Growing up ain’t for the weak, but it beats the alternative.” — Sarah Lee Langford

Photo credit: Brandon Brown

BGS Preview: The Long Road Festival in the UK

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As this is being written, we’re on our way to the UK to prepare for our FIRST EVER international stage takeover, taking place next weekend at The Long Road Festival, in Leicestershire (near Birmingham). It’s a milestone event for BGS, and part of a larger initiative to reach our dedicated audience outside North America and shed light on some incredible talent that is putting their own spin on folk and roots traditions from other parts of the globe.

To prepare for The Long Road, held Sept. 7-9, we’ve summed up the top stuff we can’t wait to see and do while we’re in town. Hope some of you can join us to check out these highlights too:

1) That lineup tho…
With main stage appearances ranging from Carrie Underwood and Lee Ann Womack to Billy Bragg and Joshua Hedley, TLR is representing a variety of talent from commercial [read: Pop] Country to Americana with a capital A. The lines between roots and country music seem a bit more blurred over here, and we can’t wait to see how it all comes together.

2) Birmingham
Less than an hour from the festival lies the city of Birmingham. What was once a hardened industrialist town is now a breeding ground for creatives and start-ups, fostering one of the youngest populations in Europe (nearly 40 percent of the population is under 25). There’s plenty to discover here — from the old Custard Factory market to four (4!) Michelin-starred restaurants — so it’s a great stopover before or after the festival weekend.

3) AMA-UK stage takeover
Friday kicks off the fest with our friends at Americana Music-UK curating a stage featuring their freshest crop of British Americana talent. (Stay tuned to the BGS site for an announcement highlighting an upcoming collaboration with that team very soon….)

4) Moonshine + whiskey tastings?!
Say no more. You can find us in the Honky Tonk for more than just the BGS stage…

5) Stanford Hall
This is not your mama’s country festival. TLR is held on the grounds of Stanford Hall, a 400-year-old stately home in the heart of Leicestershire, sitting on over 700 acres of expansive parkland. Not too shabby!

6) Born in Bristol film screening
Produced and presented by the Birthplace of Country Music, retracing the 90 years since the recording of the original Bristol Sessions the resounding impact that music has had on the world, the documentary features the likes of Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Eric Church, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Marty Stuart, Sheryl Crow, and Doyle Lawson. Special screenings of the film will take place on site at TLR.

7) The Bluegrass Situation Takeover at the Honky Tonk stage on Sunday, September 9 (DUH!)
Featuring a cavalcade of fierce females from three different continents, our BGS-curated stage highlights everything ranging from bluegrass (Cardboard Fox) to country (Ashley Campbell, Angaleena Presley) to folk (Dori Freeman, Worry Dolls) to Americana (Danni Nicholls, Ruby Boots). It’s gonna be great. You can check out the full day’s schedule below:

13:05-13:45: Danni Nicholls
14:10-14:50: Ashley Campbell
15:15-15:55: Worry Dolls
16:20-17:00: Angaleena Presley
17:25-18:05: Cardboard Fox
18:30-19:10: Ruby Boots
19:35-20:15: Dori Freeman

Discover more about The Long Road and stay in the know by liking our BGS-UK Facebook page.

Purchase tickets for The Long Road.