Artist:Kelly Hunt Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee Song: “On the Bayou” Album:Ozark Symphony Release Date: September 8, 2023 (single); October 13, 2023 (album) Label: Compass Records
In Their Words: “I see this song as a kind of modern-day adaptation of the ‘Evangeline’ tale, a centerpiece of Louisiana folklore, which I first encountered through Longfellow’s poem by the same name. This particular song emerged just a couple weeks before heading down to make this record with producer Dirk Powell at his Cypress House studio in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. I felt compelled to revisit the ‘Evangeline’ poem and was struck anew by how deeply her story resonated with me and seemed to mirror my own. On a whim, we ended up cutting it for the record, and I went on to film an accompanying music video for it in the bayou-strewn countryside close to where the album was made. The chorus is an invocation of sorts: ‘Evangeline, tell me what you know…’ A plea for guidance across time and space from one lovelorn woman to another, and a summoning of the same lodestar that, as the story goes, led Evangeline to the live oak on the banks of Bayou Teche where her search was fulfilled.” – Kelly Hunt
Artist:Steve Lewis Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Tale of Woe” Album:Exit to Mystery Release Date: September 8, 2023 Label: Broken Hip Records
In Their Words: “This song was written while I was in the group King Wilkie and while we did record it, it didn’t fit the winsome vibe of the album at the time. We did pitch it to Levon Helm & co. during the Dirt Farmer era, but they were all set for material. Happily, we have a new (better) recording of a song with a lot of history and a lyric about being distant from the modern fast-paced world – and we can all relate to that.” – Steve Lewis
BGS is proud to announce a special AmericanaFest event in partnership with Queerfest, the Good Ol’ Queer Country Jamboree, to be held at Soho House Nashville on Saturday, September 23, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the 23rd annual Americana Music Festival & Conference. Featuring curated performances by a world-class selection of queer country artists, the Soho House event will only be open to members of the private club and hotel as well as AmericanaFest conference passholders.Space is limited; RSVP here. It’s a rare opportunity for non-member attendees of AmericanaFest to access the gorgeous, exclusive facilities of Soho House Nashville in the burgeoning Wedgewood Houston neighborhood.
In celebration of BGS’ expansion and creation of a new vertical, Good Country (coming in early 2024), our team has collaborated with QueerFest – winners of the Nashville Scene‘s Best New Music Festival recognition in 2022 – and Soho House Nashville. Together, we’ll bring you this exclusive gathering celebrating the very best LGBTQ+ talent in the Americana and country spheres, and the campaign launch of Good Country, an all-new country music-centered Substack and editorial channel coming from BGS in 2024.
During the three-hour showcase hear music from Black Opry member and big-voiced singer-songwriter Jett Holden. Plus, the writer and performer of viral leftist country track “Blueneck,” Chris Housman. BGS and Queerfest alumni, vibey bluegrass and Americana duo Amanda Fields & Megan McCormick will perform their Virginia- and Alaska-inspired music, and critically-acclaimed non-binary storyteller and song spinner, Adeem the Artist, will round out the slate of performers. Special guests and surprise appearances are in store, too – it’s AmericanaFest, after all!
The Good Ol’ Queer Country Jamboree is just one of many AmericanaFest events, official and grassroots, that will highlight the ongoing community crafting and momentum building of LGBTQ+ folks in Americana, country, folk and beyond. Do not miss this superlative AmericanaFest event, brought to you by Queerfest, Soho House Nashville, and BGS.
The Good Ol’ Queer Country Jamboree featuring Adeem the Artist, Amanda Fields & Megan McCormick, Jett Holden, Chris Housman, and more. Saturday, September 23, 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Soho House Nashville RSVP Here.
The 2nd Annual Earl Scruggs Music Festival was held over Labor Day weekend at the Tryon International Equestrian Center just outside of Tryon, North Carolina, in Mill Spring. The gorgeous festival grounds, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, were the perfect setting for the sunny and warm event, featuring glamorous cabins, manicured campsites, brick-and-mortar restaurants and shops, horse-jumping demonstrations, workshops and two stages chocked full of bluegrass, old-time and roots music. The festival is a partnership between Tryon International, roots radio station WNCW and the Earl Scruggs Center just down the road in Shelby, North Carolina, the county seat of Cleveland County – Scruggs’ ancestral home. Over four days, the event showcased the broad, varied and lasting influence Scruggs and his playing have had on American roots music as a whole, especially in North Carolina.
BGS returned to ESMF for its second year, once again sponsoring the very special, fan favorite Earl Scruggs Revue tribute set, hosted by Tony Trischka – and his band, Michael Daves and Jared Engel. Listeners and fans packed the plaza surrounding the Foggy Mountain gazebo stage to hear Trischka and many special guests – such as Della Mae, Michael Cleveland, I Draw Slow, Twisted Pine, Tray Wellington, Greensky Bluegrass, Jerry Douglas and more – pay tribute to Earl’s and his son’s groundbreaking and innovative group, the Earl Scruggs Revue, and their Live! From Austin City Limits album.
Enjoy a collection of photos from the Earl Scruggs Music Festival below and make plans to attend the 3rd Annual edition of this first-class event in 2024 – the dates are set and tickets are already on sale for the August 30 to September 1, 2024 edition of ESMF!
Flint Hill Stage photo by Reagan Ibach
Horse jumping demonstrations were held daily at the festival, held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center. Photo by Rette Solomon.
Earl Scruggs Music Festival host Jerry Douglas on the main stage. Photo by Cora Wagoner
Sister Sadie perform on the Flint Hill Stage. Photo by Cora Wagoner
Deanie Richardson, fiddler and band leader of Sister Sadie, on the Flint Hill Stage. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
The Infamous Stringdusters perform with Jerry Douglas during their headline set. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
Tryon International's Silo Bar, festively lit. Photo by Eli Johnson
Del McCoury smiles during his headline set on the Flint Hill Stage at Earl Scruggs Music Festival. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
Greensky Bluegrass on the Flint Hill Stage for their headline set. By Eli Johnson
Jake Blount and band step off the stage to perform among the crowd when technical difficulties interrupted the beginning of their set. Photo by Cora Wagoner
Della Mae cover Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" during the Earl Scruggs Revue set. Photo by Eli Johnson
Tony Trischka and Tray Wellington perform "Earl's Breakdown" during the Earl Scruggs Revue tribute set. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
Tony Trischka embraces Kathleen Parks of Twisted Pine during the BGS-sponsored Earl Scruggs Revue tribute set. Photo by Eli Johnson
Della Mae and Michael Cleveland join Tony Trischka and band during the Earl Scruggs Revue set. Photo by Eli Johnson
Anh Phung of Twisted Pine with Michael Cleveland at the Earl Scruggs Revue tribute. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
Paul Hoffman of Greensky Bluegrass and Jerry Douglas perform during the Earl Scruggs Revue tribute show. Photo by Cora Wagoner
Twisted Pine perform on the Foggy Mountain Stage. Photo by Cora Wagoner
Della Mae performed a main stage set at Earl Scruggs Music Festival. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
Della Mae's rousing late night set on the Foggy Mountain stage, complete with an appearance by BGS managing editor Justin Hiltner on banjo. Photo by Eli Johnson
Rissi Palmer on the Flint Hill Stage by Rette Solomon.
Zoe & Cloyd on the Foggy Mountain Stage by Eli Johnson
Emmylou Harris joined by many special guests during her set to close out the festival. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
Brooke Aldridge, Rissi Palmer, and Darin Aldridge sing background vocals with Emmylou Harris. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
Emmylou Harris shines and sparkles on the Flint Hill Stage. Photo by Cora Wagoner.
Photos courtesy of Earl Scruggs Music Festival. Lead image credit: Devon Fails All other photos:Reagan Ibach, Eli Johnson, Rette Solomon, and Cora Wagoner.
Artist:Zander Schloss Hometown: Place of birth is St Louis, Missouri; Hometown is Los Angeles, California Song: “Play Me a Happy Song” Album:California’s Burning Release Date: October 13, 2023 Label: Blind Owl
In Their Words: “These days, it seems the ground beneath us is made of eggshells. One has to be very careful about what they say. I find myself wondering, what happened to ‘you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette?’ If I was a diner, I would serve breakfast all day.” – Zander Schloss
Artist:Katie Curley Hometown: Brooklyn, New York; originally from Home, Washington Song: “Lucky In Love” Album:Penny For My Heartbreak Release Date: September 8, 2023
In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Lucky In Love’ while driving through Kansas with my husband and bandmate, guitarist Brendan Curley. Actually, he was driving, and I was listening to the Rolling Stones on the car stereo and watching the flat roll by. By the time we got to St. Louis, I had everything but the second verse. I’m incredibly honored that Mary Lee Kortes agreed to sing harmonies for this song on the album. Blue Betty, the ’79 baby blue Ford pickup in the video, was a dream to drive and her owners are also lovely people. I borrowed Brendan’s guitar and cowboy hat to add a bit of a magical element to the storyline, and I think it works well with director Michael Bartolomeo’s quirky, cool style.” – Katie Curley
Artist:Buddy & Julie Miller Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “I’ll Never Live It Down” Album:In The Throes Release Date: September 22, 2023 Label: New West Records
In Their Words: “This is a song about capricious love and the heartbreak it brings. Sometimes Julie will write a song for me and I need to live in it a while – both as a singer and guitar player. We recorded the ‘demo’ in the upstairs studio that pocket doors open into from our bedroom. Julie couldn’t help but hear as I learned and tried to develop the song and she was quick to correct me when I strayed from her melody – even the tiniest bit. She’s usually not like that, but with this song she wanted the melody exactly how she wrote it. I normally honor the melody, every note is there for a reason, but sometimes a little turn or flourish sneaks in. Not on this song. It took me a while to get a guitar/vocal I could listen back to without cringing. Not cringing is my measure of success. I don’t like listening to myself sing.
“I added a simple piano and I was OK enough with this upstairs ‘demo,’ and didn’t think I could beat it. I am accustomed to recording ‘live’ in a room with all the musicians. I dig looking at and responding to each other as the track is recorded. But not this time, I let my ‘demo’ play back while Viktor Krauss, Tim Lauer and Fred Eltringham played to it. I sat in the control room with Mike Poole and Julie and listened. A different experience for me and actually more enjoyable. There’s all kinds of ways to make a record. That’s how we made this one. I hope you like it.” – Buddy Miller
Artist:The Handsome Family Hometown: Chicago, Illinois Song: “The Oldest Water” Album:Hollow Release Date: September 8, 2023 Label: Loose Music
In Their Words: “The world’s oldest water resides miles down a Canadian mine. It is 2 billion years old and teeming with life. What better to sing about?” – Rennie Sparks
I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and I was raised primarily in San Francisco, but we lived in Havana and Amsterdam before settling in Kentucky, ancestral homeland of my maternal grandfather. My family on my grandmother’s side were Roma and Jewish, my grandfather’s, Scotch Kentuckian. My mother took after hers, and we moved around a lot while she made documentaries and wrote poetry.
Latest Album:Forever Home (out September 22, 2023)
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Sadwick, Dadwick, Sandwich, Shadooby, sometimes I am Henry, and so on. We have many names and take many forms.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
If I’m doing my job well, I don’t really retain memories of being onstage… The “I” disappears into the music. Of course, if something goes badly, I will remember it for the rest of my life. But my dearest onstage memory is from recently at a festival in Wisconsin – a tattooed dad and his two punk-rocker daughters were all singing along to every word of our songs. That felt really special… I may have cried about it. I definitely cried about it.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I remember being five years old, dancing in the mirror with my plastic guitar and ripped jeans to my mother’s Bruce Springsteen records. She likes to remind me of that memory. I guess I have always known. Even though there are many career paths that I would like to explore in other lives – baker, teacher, postman, monk – this one is for songs, and I am rich with them. Laden, even.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
Sing from the heart. Don’t take it too seriously. Remember to have fun, and to be kind. That’s pretty much it! We have a tendency to overcomplicate things, when the simplest answers are often the truest.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
I love to watch trees. We are rich with trees in Kentucky, and out where we live on the farm (just outside Louisville). The last few years I have been trying to learn all of their names, their leaf shapes, their bark textures. A favorite hobby of mine is foraging – black walnut, mulberry, gingko. Mushrooms, too. This year we got lucky with the morels. Last year I missed morels, but was lousy with the butteriest chanterelles, from a hillside near Greenbo Lake in Eastern Kentucky.
I have always felt connection in nature, in a spiritual sense. Nurturing that connection is essential for my mental health, and, I believe, also for our survival as a species. Our dominant culture would have us believe that humankind is separate from nature, but of course we know that’s not the case. We are wholly of the Earth, our larger body. It is this imaginary separation that allows us to objectify and exploit her, which of course has brought about this very real existential threat that is the climate crisis.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
This is such an interesting dance, as a writer – the one between subject and object. Every time we perform, we are creating a character for the purpose of communicating this particular story. When I was a younger songwriter, I would tend to write about things that had really happened to me – heartbreaks, epiphanies, tribulations and such. Nowadays, I don’t find my autobiography to be quite so interesting. And although there are many such personal narratives on Forever Home, the “I” and the “you” are ultimately “us,” and the perspectives of “writer” and “listener” can be interchangeable in that same way: telling the stories of the human heart and mind, that are universal in more ways than they are disparate. So yes, very often, because in the end, there is only us; only One consciousness experiencing our human and cosmic dramas through the infinite and beautiful forms we take.
Artist:Tom Heyman Hometown: San Francisco, California Song: “The Mission Is On Fire” Album:24th Street Blues Release Date: October 6, 2023 Label: Bohemian Neglect Recording Works
In Their Words: “I have lived on the Eastern end of 24th Street in San Francisco’s Mission District around the corner from SF General Hospital for more than 20 years now. I work at a bar near the corner of Mission and 22nd Street and a number of years ago (pre-pandemic), there were a series of devastating fires on Mission Street — two of them practically next door to my workplace, and another about three quarters of a mile south at 29th Street. Fires in a densely-populated city full of attached wooden houses are scary enough, but add in the scarcity of affordable housing, the simmering resentments around the huge influx of tech workers, and the white-hot real estate market and the overall effect was pretty unsettling.
“The phrase, ‘The Mission is on fire’ popped into my head and I knew there was a song there. I chased it down until I thought I had it. Around the time that I wrote it, I had another record coming out that it wasn’t really right for, but I knew that it was going to fit squarely into the group of songs that made up my new record, 24th Street Blues. It seems that San Francisco is in the news often these days and is struggling with all the things that an awful lot of cities are struggling with, but I deeply love my neighborhood – and most days I find it difficult to imagine living anywhere else.” – Tom Heyman
Photo Credit: Lauren Tabak
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