WATCH: Daniel Rodriguez, “Mixtape”

Artist: Daniel Rodriguez
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Song: “Mixtape”
Album: Vast Nothing
Release Date: March 1, 2023

In Their Words: “I wrote this song in the passenger seat of a Chevy truck on a road trip from Idaho to Colorado. The world was slowly opening back up from those strange days. We found ourselves rediscovering the joys of a good, honest road trip. Rediscovering the joys of the open road. We were fixed up with the perfect ingredients: good company, a good playlist, and the here and now.

“The video was directed and edited by my friend, Jesse Borrell. He had me up at 4 a.m. a few times, headed to particular locations in order to get the right light and angles. I love what he created.” – Daniel Rodriguez


Photo Credit: Jesse Borrell

MIXTAPE: Daniel Rodriguez’s Songs of Authenticity

I love all types of music and song. How beautiful a thing to hear the invisible insides of someone shared outwardly. A culmination of dynamic forces, experiences and sensibilities dialed into pulsating, Pythagorean waveforms, giving color to the space in between. The only catch is we have to trust what we’re hearing is authentic. Whether it’s the tonal intention of a singer or the specific touch of an instrumentalist, the song has to move me in some way or else I’m changing the station. Authenticity is subjective to each listener where no authority exists, though goosebumps, tears, movement, lofty notions and inspiration have always been my litmus tests to playing something thrice or more.

Here’s a list of songs that have moved me in some way worthy of mention. Also, if you’re so moved, check out my album Sojourn of Burning Sun out on August 28. — Daniel Rodriguez

Bill Monroe – “Uncle Pen”

From what I hear, this song is Bill giving gratitude and paying tribute to his actual uncle, Pen [James Pendleton Vandiver]. Pen played the fiddle at family gatherings and inspired Bill to join the musical world. The song structure of “Uncle Pen,” though only a few chords, is kind of complex. It’s a jubilant song with a great melody and has those goosebumping, Appalachian harmonies that Bill and his band often showcased. Probably what I like most about the song is that it appears to skip a beat before the head of each verse. It happens during a G run directly after the chorus that impossibly lands at the head of the next section. Simple genius.

Gregory Alan Isakov – “Amsterdam”

I like pretty much all of Gregory’s songs and his recordings. Catching his band live or him solo is a remarkable experience. I’m lucky to call him a longtime friend and I keep my fandom of his music separate from that. Gregory paints imagery that is most times not specific, which leaves you, as a listener, more in an abstract state of mind. Yet he threads a powerful emotion throughout, which his voice and arrangements unavoidably invoke. He uses imagery of a woman often, which comes across as more a mythical character of the sacred feminine, rather than one of a romantic endeavor. This is apparent in “Amsterdam”: “That howling wind, she’s waving hi, her other hand’s in mine.” The song ascends towards the end in some epic way when Greg moves his voice up an octave and sings “Churches and trains, they all look the same to me now / They shoot you some place, while we ache to come home somehow.” Goosebumps to follow.

Bruce Springsteen – “Youngstown”

The Boss has never failed to paint us the pictures of the struggling American working class. Our popular culture seems to only highlight the celebrities and billionaires, and yet The Boss celebrates and sheds light on the untold stories of the common man, the backbone of our culture. His stories are always rich with the American story, full of its hypocrisies and triumphs. “Youngstown” paints a very real picture of the uphill and endless bogging down of industry and war. The arrangement has a suiting Americana feel, stripped down and intimate. The pedal steel and fiddle give an eerie voice to the emotion of the character in the story who sings, “My sweet Jenny, I’m sinking down, here darling in Youngstown.”

John Prine – “Lake Marie”

When John Prine passed on earlier this year I cried constantly for three days. I’ve been lucky enough to catch him live more than a few times at festivals that we both played. The authenticity in his delivery has healing properties that only a few possess. John touches on all the hidden sadnesses and joys of humanity, and gives color to the seemingly opaque hidden corners of the human condition. “Lake Marie” is a special song with all the ingredients: New love, tenured love, relationship struggles and cold-blooded murder. John delivers this story in a very light-hearted and humorous way. He speaks the verses and accentuates certain parts, which become vital to the song’s DNA. The chorus is maybe the best chorus ever written, beautiful and joyous, juxtaposed with a very brutal and tragic story.

Levon Helm – “The Mountain” (written by Steve Earle)

Just like any song that Levon sings of someone else’s, he makes it his own. That is very much the case with “The Mountain” by Steve Earle. Steve recorded a great version of this song with Del McCoury, but my favorite version is the one Levon sings. It’s about the coal industry brutalizing the natural wonder of a homeplace. Removing mountaintops from where once majestic mountains stood. Filling in swimming holes that you once could cool off from the summer’s heat within its cool mountain runoff. Levon brings you there to those mountains, and he takes you to that swimming hole, and then he shows you the pain of it being no more.

Gillian Welch – “Everything is Free”

When speaking of Gillian’s songs it would be prudent to also mention David Rawlings. The line is blurred when trying to understand who wrote what — and it’s fitting that their voices in harmony become an entity of grace and grit that is alive and well. “Everything Is Free” is a song that hits home for the majority of musicians and artists who are at large suffering in an age where the fruits of their labors are taken for granted. This is certainly reflected by our culture, which would ironically feel the worth of music in its absence. In regards to this, Gillian sings: “If there’s something that you wanna hear you can sing it yourself.”

Leon Bridges – “River”

I’m not a religious person, but I am spiritual. Even though Leon uses biblical terminology in this beautiful song of yearning, and being cleansed from your sins — it’s the intention of the song that shines through and transcends all the negative connotations that might come with organized religion. It’s the true Christian values that are evoked here, of actively wanting to become a better person. It sounds like it was recorded live around one mic in a big room and really captures a beautiful moment of music.

Bob Dylan – “Murder Most Foul”

Bob is my favorite artist and songwriter. I love all the phases of his expression. I don’t subscribe to picking a favorite era or compare everything he creates to what he produced in the 1960s. This brings us to “Murder Most Foul,” a recent release of his. It is a nearly seventeen-minute song that talks about the day and days that followed the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Bob beautifully describes this tragic and heightened moment in history, giving us a stream of consciousness of images peripherally and directly happening around the time of the assassination. The production of this song is very minimal which allows the lyrics to be absorbed and breathe.

Mandolin Orange – “Wildfire”

Growing up and residing in the hills of North Carolina, Mandolin Orange has lived and been more than aware of the culture that exists below the Mason-Dixon Line. Not buying into the rhetoric of those holding on to the nostalgia of the Confederacy, Mandolin Orange gives a historical and psychological look at the wildfire that unfortunately still is fueled today. “Wildfire” is a bit of medicine to us all, and carries a hope that some who might need the medicine most. Listen to this song that is served in the musical genre of its commonplace.

The Del McCoury Band – “Hot Wired” (written by Shawn Camp)

This song is a hoot. It’s very well-written, witty and might even spark a belly laugh or two. It talks about all the things the author’s girlfriend is capable of hot-wiring. My favorite lyric is “She might hot wire your Chevy, she might hot wire your Ford / And if she ever gets to Heaven she might hot wire the Lord.” Del breaks the bluegrass rules on this song and introduces an electric guitar after singing about his girlfriend hot-wiring his acoustic guitar to play like the “doggone Rolling Stones.”

Billie Holiday – “Strange Fruit” (written by Abel Meeropol)

This song is so powerful. Billie Holiday recorded it in 1939. The emotion and dynamics of her timing are delivered in a powerful and haunting way. The fruit that hangs from the trees is not fruit at all. [The song’s titular analogy references lynchings of Black folks.] It is perplexing to me that humanity can stoop so low to such an evil as to think one is inferior to another, where murder is rationalized within such a vitriolic mindset. In this specific case it is rationalized within the minds of pale complexion below the Mason-Dixon line. How those trees still stand and the fruit still hangs, though embedded within policy, social structures, the psychology of an unexamined people and history books with whole chapters missing. Music and song throughout time has been utilized to pass stories down and convey emotions. This is a song that passes down and conveys a traumatic truth; its shockwaves still crash on the shores of our everyday.

Josh Ritter – “Girl in the War”

This is one of my favorite songs. I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to play a bunch of shows with Josh and actually back him up on this song with my old band. I’ve heard him say in an interview that this song is about America. I’ll take his word for it. I’m not quite sure what the song is about myself, but I do know it’s a goosebumper. The recording of the song is stunning and I sure do like to play this song around the fire at gatherings.


Photo credit: Jesse Borrell

MIXTAPE: Fruition’s Songs About Time

“I put together this playlist with a theme of ‘time.’ This theme is wide open, so it has the potential to be vastly vague, or momentarily specific. I’ve chosen some of the former and the latter; seasons changing, or that one chapter of a changing relationship. I’m drawn to songs that lyrically take me not just to a certain space, but a certain time that I understand.” — Mimi Naja, Fruition

Bahamas – “All The Time”

A deep, honest, smooth breath of fresh air. Of presence. I end up using this song to get into a sort of meditation sometimes, when things are moving too fast and I can’t keep up. “I’ve got all the time in the world…”

Erykah Badu – “Next Lifetime”

Anyone that’s been in a committed relationship, met someone new, felt that spark and stayed true understands this theme.

Elephant Revival – “Season Song”

Paints a gentle and weighted picture of the clock ticking and the seasons changing.

Fruition – “Turn Your Love”

This one paints a few different pictures in the verses, but the chorus comes back to the same idea. We have the power to take the time to direct our energy where we choose. “Turn your love to the ones you ain’t had time to take time to think of.”

Bob Marley – “Waiting In Vain”

This is a familiar position — the push and pull of romantic endeavors, being willing to be patient but also wanting to make sure things are moving forward. Waiting in vain. Spot-on.

The Frightnrs – “Gonna Make Time”

When you recognize that being busy had you overlooking the love you’ve already got.

Simon & Garfunkel – “April Come She Will”

Evokes some tender reflection. Seasons turning can always do this. This is one of the most well-known songs of this nature, and it’s incredibly short, which is impressive.

Sade – “In Another Time

A very subtle consolation to a woman’s overlooked feelings that imply hope that her dude might eventually figure it out…

Erykah Badu – “Time’s A Wastin”

An anthem of acknowledging the endless mystery and it being a given to be your best, just because.


Photo credit: Dustin Chambers

LISTEN: RJ Cowdery, “Girl in the War”

Artist: RJ Cowdery
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Song: “Girl in the War”
Album: What If This Is All There Is
Release Date: May 17, 2019
Label: GoosePie Music

In Their Words: “The first time I heard ‘Girl in the War’ was by Elephant Revival on YouTube. I wasn’t aware that Josh Ritter was the writer at the time, just that it was a compelling song. I was drawn to what felt like this uncertainty about the world we live in within a love story. I instantly connected with the song and knew I wanted to cover it. I love sharing this song and making it my own.” — RJ Cowdery


Photo Credit : HenrY Leiter

LISTEN: Daniel Rodriguez, “Johnny”

Artist: Daniel Rodriguez
Hometown: In His Van, USA
Song: “Johnny”
Release Date: December 14, 2018 (Single); February 15, 2019 (New Album)

In Their Words: “‘Johnny’ was recorded live with everybody in the same room, so we were able to achieve a big room sound. We fell into a fun Latin groove and went with it. The story in the song follows Johnny, who steps outside the box of society, the neighborhood block, the bounds of pavement, electric wires and cell phone towers. It’s a getting lost is being found kind of song. Featuring Tyler Thompson and Jeff Leonard of Fruition, Darren Garvey of Elephant Revival, Sam Trump of Sidewalk Chalk and Lewi Longmire.” — Daniel Rodriguez


Photo credit: Meleah Shavon Photography

Best of: Music City Roots

There really is nothing quite like live music, and what would Wednesday nights be without Music City Roots live from the Factory? If you aren’t lucky enough to be in Nashville, be sure to catch the live stream each week at 7 pm CT. In the meantime, we’ve scoured the MCR YouTube channel to pull together this collection of must see performances you don’t want to miss:

BGS Favorite: Elephant Revival, “Grace of a Woman”

Get ready to sing along to this high-energy song by Elephant Revival. Although no longer a member of this band, Sage Cook’s electric banjo solo is not to be missed, and everyone could use a little more washboard in their lives!

Fresh off the Press: Dori Freeman, “You Say” 

Twenty-five-year-old Dori Freeman made her MCR debut recently with a performance of “You Say.” This live rendition showcases what we at the BGS have already praised Freeman for: an honest voice and lyricism that wrenches right at the heart.

Blast from the Past: Pokey LaFarge, “In the Jailhouse Now” 

Before the Factory, there was the Loveless Café. This 2011 rendition of the blues and vaudeville standard is titled “In the Graveyard Now” on LaFarge’s album Riverboat Soul. The only question we keep asking is why didn’t we learn how to play the harmonica like that!

Seeing Double: The Brother Brothers, “Cairo, IL” 

Part of the beauty of the Brother Brothers lies in the simplicity of their instrumentation and the haunting harmonies that result from the similarity of their vocal tone. Can you tell who is who in this live performance of “Cairo, IL” from December?

The Jam: Nashville Jam, “I’ll Fly Away” 

One of the most popular jams to celebrate the collaborative spirit of Music City is a rendition of the spiritual and bluegrass standard “I’ll Fly Away” performed by host Jim Lauderdale with guests Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings, Sierra Hull, Liz Longley, Maureen Murphy, and T Bone Burnett. Make sure to watch til the end for an amazing guitar solo by Rawlings on his classic 1935 Epiphone archtop.

WATCH: Elephant Revival, ‘Petals’

Artist: Elephant Revival
Hometown: Nederland, CO
Song: “Petals”
Album: Petals
Label: Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “For me, the song ‘Petals’ is an exploration through many ideas of one’s self to reveal a more constant essence of what we are that continues to develop through ceaseless changes. When someone I love has died, I find an insatiable wonder of what they have become without their body and a deep desire to recognize whatever new form of presence might be there, be it a warmth reminiscent of the nearness of them or a kind of wind I can almost touch. So, in short, this song is a search for that presence in others and in my own self through a kind of letting go.

The making of this video, with such an abstract idea at its core, had many uniquely creative minds with varying interpretations coming together to bring it into visual form, so the first step for director Laura Goldhamer became an art of weaving together visions. In effect, the making of this video felt like some kind of deep dream work. The kind I hope that people can relate to on some level and enjoy.” — Bonnie Paine


Photo credit: Lisa Sicilliano Photos

Gig Bag: Elephant Revival

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Elephant Revival's Daniel Rodriguez gives us a look at what the band has to have handy when they're out on the road.

Bowerman Dreadnought Guitar: My friend Jayson Bowerman made me a fabulous guitar that I have been playing on stage and at home. It sounds really incredible.

A nice hat: I never think about how my hair looks, and seldom do I look in a mirror. So a nice hat is an easy problem solver in this case. “Oh, you have bed head at 8 in the evening? Put a hat on.” Come to think of it, that's probably why every singer/songwriter I have ever seen wears a fedora. It may be a little trendy, but it looks nice, is a great problem solver, and you could busk with it if you have to.

A book: There’s a lot of drive time out there on the road, and a good book can help stir the mental forces. It’s a great activity before passing out in your bunk, too.

Some good albums: I always like to BUY new albums before hitting the road, because I know I’ll have the time to listen in and get inspired. There’s a great deal of good music out there, from the past and present, and it feels good to buy records. 

Headphones: Not earbuds, but some good over-the-ear headphones. It's a superior way to listen to those albums.


All photos by Daniel Rodriquez, except lede photo, courtesy of the artist.