Tag: Fonda Theatre

Top 10 Sitch Sessions of the Past 10 Years

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Since the beginning, BGS has sought to showcase roots music at every level and to preserve the moments throughout its ever-developing history that make this music so special. One of the simplest ways we’ve been able to do just that has been through our Sitch Sessions — working with new and old friends, up-and-coming artists, and legendary performers, filming musical moments in small, intimate spaces, among expansive, breathtaking landscapes, and just about everywhere in between. But always aiming to capture the communion of these shared moments.

In honor of our 10th year, we’ve gathered 10 of our best sessions — viral videos and fan favorites — from the past decade. We hope you’ll enjoy this trip down memory lane!

Greensky Bluegrass – “Burn Them”

Our most popular video of all time, this Telluride, Colorado session with Greensky Bluegrass is an undeniable favorite, and we just had to include it first.

Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris – “The Traveling Kind”

What more could you ask for than two old friends and legends of country music reminiscing on travels and songs passed and yet to come, in an intimate space like this? “We’re members of an elite group because we’re still around, we’re still traveling,” Emmylou Harris jokes. To which Rodney Crowell adds with a laugh, “We traveled so far, it became a song.” The flowers were even specifically chosen and arranged “to represent a celestial great-beyond and provide a welcoming otherworldly quality … a resting place for the traveling kind.” Another heartwarming touch for an unforgettable moment.

Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan – “Some Tyrant” 

In the summer of 2014, during the Telluride Bluegrass Festival we had the distinct pleasure of capturing Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan’s perfectly bucolic version of “Some Tyrant” among the aspens. While out on this jaunt into the woods, we also caught a performance of the loveliest ode to summertime from Kristin Andreassen, joined by Aoife and Sarah.

Rhiannon Giddens – “Mal Hombre”

Rhiannon Giddens once again proves that she can sing just about anything she wants to — and really well — with this gorgeously painful and moving version of “Mal Hombre.”

Tim O’Brien – “You Were on My Mind”

Is this our favorite Sitch Session of all time? Probably. Do we dream of having the good fortune of running into Tim O’Brien playing the banjo on a dusty road outside of Telluride like the truck driver in this video? Definitely.

Enjoy one of our most popular Sitch Sessions of all time, featuring O’Brien’s pure, unfiltered magic in a solo performance of an original, modern classic.

Gregory Alan Isakov – “Saint Valentine”

Being lucky in love is great work, if you can find it. But, for the rest of us, it’s a hard row to hoe. For this 2017 Sitch Session at the York Manor in our home base of Los Angeles, Gregory Alan Isakov teamed up with the Ghost Orchestra to perform “Saint Valentine.”

The Earls of Leicester – “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town”

In this rollicking session, the Earls of Leicester gather round some Ear Trumpet Labs mics to bring their traditional flair to a modern audience, and they all seem to be having a helluva time!

Sara and Sean Watkins – “You and Me”

For this Telluride session, Sara and Sean Watkins toted their fiddle and guitar up the mountain to give us a performance of “You and Me” from a gondola flying high above the canyon.

Punch Brothers – “My Oh My / Boll Weevil”

The Punch Brothers — along with Dawes, The Lone Bellow, and Gregory Alan Isakov — headlined the 2015 LA Bluegrass Situation festival at the Greek Theatre (a party all on its own), and in anticipation, the group shared a performance of “My Oh My” into “Boll Weevil” from on top of the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood.

Caitlin Canty feat. Noam Pikelny – “I Want To Be With You Always”

We’ll send you off with this delicate moment. Released on Valentine’s Day, Caitlin Canty and Noam Pikelny offered their tender acoustic rendition of Lefty Frizzell’s 1951 country classic love song, “I Want to Be With You Always.”

Dive into 8 of our favorite underrated Sitch Sessions here.

BGS 5+5: Field Medic

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Field Medic
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Latest album: fade into the dawn

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

One of the first big shows I ever played was at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. One of my friends was joking with me the night before, saying that I should ask everyone to put their phone lights on and sway them back and forth at the show. Apparently he had told our other band friends to try this, but no one wanted to because it’s kind of a ridiculous thing to do. Since I was the opener and didn’t really have anything to lose… and I suppose also because I’m kind of a ridiculous person, I asked the crowd to do it during my song “Do a Little Dope” and the whole room lit up. The show was sold out so there was a lot of lights and it felt so cool and surreal, especially being one of my first experiences playing to a room that big. There’s a video taken from side stage of that moment and you can hear my friend screaming while laughing, “It’s a good bit!!! It’s a good bit!!”

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

Reading informs a lot of my music. I love to read novels and poetry. I find that reading every day brings me general peace of mind while also filling my head with words and metaphors and symbols which tend to come out subconsciously later on when I’m writing a song.

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

When I had no room & was crashing between my girlfriend’s place in San Francisco and my friend’s house in LA in between tours, songwriting became quite difficult because I was never alone.

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

In the studio I like to track a song exactly three times without listening in between takes. Sometimes I’ll move the microphone around for each take as well. After I track, I like to step away and maybe smoke a cigarette or go for a walk and just get on with my life. Then hours later I’ll listen back and choose which take to use. it’s usually the first or the second.

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

Conscious, not precious.

Photo credit: Stephen Beebout