Tag: Country Music

WATCH: The Western Express, “Honky Tonk Saints”

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Artist: The Western Express
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Honky Tonk Saints”
Album: Lunatics, Lovers & Poets
Release Date: August 5, 2022

In Their Words: “‘Honky Tonk Saints’ was one of the first country songs I wrote after playing church music for many years before. One night while I was riding home in an Uber, I thought, ‘What if the honky-tonk were our church? How would we take communion at the honky-tonk? What would the praise songs be? Who would be the saints of the honky-tonk?’ I originally wrote it for people like Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, and Kitty Wells. But in 2020 and 2021, James Hand and James White died — two Austin honky-tonk heroes who were larger than life to me. James White owned the Broken Spoke, and gave us our start by booking us in the very beginning. We recorded a great music video at that venue, and it’s dedicated to our two local heroes, Hand and White.” — Stephen Castillo, The Western Express

Photo Credit: Eryn Brooke

LISTEN: Nick Nace, “The Harder Stuff”

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Artist: Nick Nace
Hometown: Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. Currently in Nashville.
Song: “The Harder Stuff”
Album: The Harder Stuff
Release Date: July 29, 2022
Label: North/South

In Their Words: “Every country/folk singer needs a drinking song and this is my spin on the well-worn topic. The title is a play on words. It encompasses the trials and tribulations of everyday life and the comforting notion that at the end of the day whiskey is one thing that never seems to go bad. I also thought it was a fitting title for the album overall as the last couple years have really brought us all face to face with what I call the harder stuff.” — Nick Nace

NickNace · The Harder Stuff

Photo Credit: Nick Nace

BGS 5+5: Stacy Antonel

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Artist: Stacy Antonel
Hometown: San Diego (now based in Nashville)
Latest Album: Always the Outsider
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Ginger Cowgirl

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Tori Amos. I don’t think my music sounds anything like hers, but she was a very formative musical influence for me. I didn’t write my first song until my late twenties, long after I’d stopped listening to her, but I find it hard to believe that her melodic sensibility hasn’t influenced me as a songwriter. Willie Nelson is up there as well, and his effect on my music is much more discernible on this record.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

In a vague way, I always wanted to be a musician, but I never actually did anything to move the dream forward. I didn’t go to school for music, I didn’t try to write songs, and it wasn’t until I lived in Argentina in 2010 that my career took its first steps. I had randomly gotten a job singing jingles for Jeep and MTV that aired throughout Latin America, and that led to me singing with a friend’s band. I had a ton of stage fright and it was 4 a.m. at a house party, but that performance gave me a feeling that I was finally doing what I was supposed to be doing.

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

My mission statement is simply to get better at my craft, and to know myself more intimately as I pursue it. I want to get better at singing, I want to get better at being in the moment onstage, and I want to write interesting and meaningful songs. For my next record, I particularly want to be more collaborative, both in the writing process and the production and recording process. Collaboration doesn’t really come easily to me because I’m simultaneously a control freak and hesitant to speak my mind when there’s a strong personality in the room. So that’ll be a challenge for me, but hopefully it’ll serve the music.

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

I think the advice of not judging your music while you’re still in the act of creating it is really important. I struggle with that a lot, and it results in very inhibited writing. Recently, I got the advice that too many artists are concerned with making every record their best-ever body of work, and really we should take it less seriously and just release what we create. I see the validity in that, but my curatorial urge is a bit too strong to swallow it whole. It can be a difficult balance between creating art for yourself and also asking people to listen to it. I think a lot about the intersection of art and commerce lately.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

The most memorable is from my last show in Argentina, the night before I moved back to the States. I’d been crying for days about leaving, and after my last song the crowd chanted my name until I got back onstage for an encore. It was that rare show where the entire crowd was fully present for the experience. Everyone was just being super kind and generous with each other. It’s the only time people have chanted my name and I’m still kinda chasing that feeling.

Photo Credit: Natia Cinco

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings Join a Stunning John Anderson Tribute Album

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Upon hearing the upcoming tribute album to his remarkable career, John Anderson simply had this to say: “Listening to everybody do their own takes on the songs shows how the songs really come through. And I thought to myself, ‘You might have been young and foolish back then, but you sure did pick some good songs.’ It’s very gratifying to know that some things really do not change, and a great country song remains a great country song. Any one person on the record would be a real tribute, but all of them together? It’s a pretty big deal for me personally.”

Something Borrowed, Something New: A Tribute to John Anderson comes out in August via Easy Eye Sound. Produced by Dan Auerbach and David Ferguson, it features a plethora of artists giving their renditions of selections from Anderson’s rich catalog. Auerbach explains, “We weren’t trying to piddle around and make the normal tribute record. It had to be the best singers with the best songs and the best arrangements, and they had to come into the studio. This wasn’t like, ‘Mail me the song, and we’ll put it together.’ I think it makes this record unique. I don’t think most tribute records are done like this. I think that’s why it sounds like a cohesive album. It feels like an amazing mix tape.”

The lineup speaks for itself. The roster of artists paying homage includes John Prine, Brent Cobb, Tyler Childers, Luke Combs, and more. To build anticipation for the album, Easy Eye released Gillian Welch & David Rawlings’ track early. Although they don’t appear in the video, they do give an inspired performance of “I Just Came Home to Count the Memories” over footage of scenic desert landscapes and historically rich communities that inhabit them. The single sets the table beautifully for what promises to be a stunning tribute to a legendary singer. Watch the video below.

Photo Credit: Henry Diltz

LISTEN: Kimberly Morgan York, “Another Lover”

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Artist: Kimberly Morgan York
Hometown: Athens, Georgia
Song: “Another Lover”
Album: Keep on Goin’
Release Date: July 22, 2022

In Their Words: “You know rock ‘n’ roll and marriage is a difficult combination and always a little messy. This song was inspired by a workplace romance that occurred during a long separation from my then-husband. I was ready to leave the marriage, but we decided not to give up…to work things out. When we did, I had to put an end to the affair. The object of my short-lived affection was very quick to find my replacement….who happened to be another musician. I’m pretty sure that romance didn’t go very far or last very long either, but it broke my heart a little bit. The marriage for which I left the tryst also did not last.” — Kimberly Morgan York

Team Clermont · Kimberly Morgan York – “Another Lover”

Photo Credit: Adam Smith

LISTEN: Zach Willdee, “Lately”

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Artist: Zach Willdee
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Lately”
Album: Heart That Ain’t Tame
Release Date: May 6, 2022

In Their Words: “This song is one of my favorites from the standpoint of writing. I wrote it to sound like a love song; a discussion between two people trying to figure out why they aren’t good for one another even though they’re still together. In a more literal sense, I drew inspiration during the 2020 presidential election. I wrote from my own perspective about my dislike of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and how I wasn’t happy with the two choices we were left with for the leader of our country. I don’t consider myself an overly-political person, and I definitely don’t usually broadcast those feelings in my work — I prefer to let the listener decide what they want the song to be about rather than putting them in a box.” — Zach Willdee

Zach Willdee · Lately

Photo Credit: Andrew Reese

WATCH: Sarah Jane Nelson, “I Wish I Missed You”

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Artist: Sarah Jane Nelson
Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas
Song: “I Wish I Missed You”
Album: Shelby Park
Release Date: April 29, 2022

In Their Words: “I wrote this song very honestly after a breakup that felt so right. When it was time to create the music video, I decided to create something very stylized and fun with an amazing location in East Nashville called House of Adora. It had this incredible pink porch and pink kitchen and I was inspired to do something with a 1950s theme. My mom was a hairstylist in her youth and specialized in updos, so I let her go to town with my hair for this video. I made my first Jell-o mold and found some retro TV dinners and lined the plastic dish with foil to make it more authentic. I love producing and directing my videos and this was perhaps the most fun of any that I’ve made. I hope the end result feels empowered, sincere, and hopeful as I was when I wrote this song.” — Sarah Jane Nelson

Photo Credit: Kurt Ozan

BGS 5+5: Joshua Hedley

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Artist: Joshua Hedley
Hometown: Naples, Florida
Latest Album: Neon Blue
Personal Nicknames: Mr. Jukebox

Which artist has influenced you the most…and how?

I found Bob Wills at a very young age. Probably 10 years old or somewhere around there. I was instantly obsessed. He really struck a chord with me. Something about the blend of country and jazz resonated with me and particularly inspired me to be better at my instrument. I would lock myself in my parent’s bathroom with a CD player and my fiddle and just wear out this Bob Wills greatest hits CD for hours, trying to learn all the fiddle parts and solos and stuff. It really strengthened my ear at that age when you just soak up knowledge like a sponge. I probably wouldn’t be playing at the level I’m at today if I hadn’t discovered Bob Wills when I was so young.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

Honestly, it’s almost like I was born into it. I don’t remember the first moment I knew. I just always did. I asked my parents for a fiddle when I was 3. They told me to ask again when I was older, and I did, five years later. They got me one when I was 8 and I just took to it almost instantly. I just knew that’s what I was going to do with my life from then on. I started playing for real, professionally in bands, when I was about 12 and after that it was all over. That was it. I decided then I was going to move to Nashville and play country music for the rest of my life.

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

I always have a tough time writing. More specifically with finding inspiration and focus. I had this brief period of inspiration when I wrote Mr. Jukebox, but before that and ever since, I’ve always had a hard time writing. I struggle with ADHD, so it’s hard for me to stay focused on a single idea long enough to write a whole song. There’s also a level of self confidence needed to be a great writer that I lack. I can recognize a great song that someone else wrote, but even if other people tell me how much they love my songs, I always second-guess them myself. I always feel embarrassed playing my own music.

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

Don’t read your press. Especially the reviews. Good or bad, they’ll affect your ego negatively. Someone once told me when I was just a kid, “You’re never as bad as they say you are, but you’re never as good as they say you are either.” You can’t control what people write about you. If it’s negative, it can crush you, but if it’s positive, it can inflate your ego too much. Neither of those things are good for you. Staying away from your own press seems like good advice to me, even if I don’t always take it.

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

You can probably tell just by looking at me that I enjoy food. I like everything from Michelin Star to Taco Bell. My buddy Sean Brock is absolutely crushing the food game in Nashville right now. It’d be cool to do a show where he catered it. Maybe do a bunch of traditional Florida foods like gator tail, smoked mullet, frog legs, Cuban sandwiches, key lime pie — stuff like that. Then me and Elizabeth Cook and Wade Sapp can play a bunch of country music from Floridian artists like Mel Tillis, Pam Tillis, Slim Whitman, Vassar Clements, John Anderson, Terri Gibbs, Gary Stewart (not actually Floridian, but we claim him), etc. Actually…I kind of want to make that happen now.

Photo Credit: Joshua Black Wilkins

Willie Nelson Ushers in ‘A Beautiful Time’ With a Ballad by Crowell & Stapleton

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Some people would take it easy after an incredible career in the music business, winning countless awards, making over 100 albums, and pioneering a unique style of music. For one Willie Nelson, that isn’t enough. The legendary singer-songwriter has more to give, and his latest endeavor is a studio album on Legacy Recordings titled A Beautiful Time.

The lead single for the album is a tune penned by Rodney Crowell and Chris Stapleton called “I’ll Love You Till The Day I Die.” Like most of his records, the single is an instant classic, drenched in the glow of country music lore. Willie’s straight delivery marries perfectly with the song, which is a ballad about unfaltering love. Trigger’s distinct “voice” can be heard in places over the steel guitar, fiddle, and harmonica, adding a gut-wrenching, nostalgic element.

The country icon wrote five of the songs on A Beautiful Time with producer Buddy Cannon. He also covers the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” and Leonard Cohen’s “Tower of Song.” The collection is set for release on April 29, which coincides with Willie’s 89th birthday, a milestone that would usually accompany a peaceful retirement. Fortunately for us, the Red Headed Stranger continues to work his magic behind the microphone and guitar.

Photo Credit: Pamela Springsteen

BGS Top 50 Moments: SXSW Brooklyn Country Cantina

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

It was a collaboration that quickly became one of our favorite events of the year (and definitely the best part of every marathon SXSW week): The Brooklyn Country Cantina was held for five years at Licha’s Cantina in East Austin in partnership with BGS. Featuring an ever-evolving rotation of talent, it was a launch pad for so many artists in the BGS fam, and a special laid-back underplay for those buzzworthy artists wrapping up a crazy week.

Instead of being another schmoozy networking event at SXSW, the BCC was always a reprieve away from the chaotic cacophony of downtown Austin or Congress Street — an all-ages affair where artists and fans alike got to see their friends, take a breather, and eat some really good tacos.

Below, rediscover some of our favorite moments from the Brooklyn Country Cantina, as captured by BGS photographers: