In March, when artists, businesses, and schools were stepping into a new normal built around public health and safety, New Orleans folk singer Sabine McCalla was preparing for a feature on the popular roots music series Western AF. She selected “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” a tender ballad written to a fleeting foreigner after a whirlwind romance. McCalla gently sings what many could not bear to say, and does so with a hypnotic look in her eyes.
Like the Mona Lisa, McCalla wears a beautiful calmness, seeming at times to hold a soft smile that veils other emotions. The New Orleans based singer/songwriter is joined by an entourage of collaborators who add whimsical, airy harmonies to the fondest portions of the song. The physical arrangement of the group — they sprawl over a couch, spilling into each other’s laps and arms — instills a sense that McCalla is sharing a painful memory with friends, in conversation. Western AF creates a window into a fragile musical moment as Sabine McCalla delivers a raw performance of this striking song.
Soulful songbird Margo Price is making the most of her quarantine with an inventive music video for “Letting Me Down” from her latest album, That’s How Rumors Get Started. It’s the singer-songwriter’s debut project for Loma Vista Recordings and first collection of new music since 2017’s All American Made.
On “Letting Me Down,” Price harnesses her inner badass with the cutting hook, “You have a way of letting me down.” That’s How Rumors Get Started is an encapsulation of Price’s energetic live show, which is wrought with the same high-flying spirit and tenacity seen in this artfully-captured music video. Already respected as a country singer, this project from exudes rock ‘n’ roll and firmly places Price in a category with other country rockers.
The video’s director Kimberly Stuckwisch drove an RV from Los Angeles to Nashville to film in Margo’s home and an abandoned hospital. She recalls, “We bought a cheap ’80s travel trailer with a bathroom, kitchen, and a propane-powered refrigerator, so we wouldn’t have to go inside anywhere for food or bathrooms. We were able to abide by the six-feet social distance CDC recommendation as we set up a remote head for the camera that we operated from a closet outside of the room. We wore masks the entire time and Margo supplied us with multiple bottles of hand sanitizer and spiked seltzers. We parked our RV in her driveway and worked solely out of there and the room we were filming in. We wanted to speak to what was going on at that moment, to a world that was/is shut down, to the fear we all feel, and to the hope of breaking free.”
Molly Tuttle and Old Crow Medicine Show have combined their voices to bring attention to a terrible byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic. Together the BGS favorites cover Neil Young’s “Helpless,” spreading awareness and raising funds for WhyHunger, which works to eradicate hunger through community solutions rooted in social, environmental, racial and economic justice.
The accompanying music video for “Helpless” shares eye-opening statistics detailing what the coronavirus has meant to families and individuals facing food insecurity in the U.S. and around the world. WhyHunger aims to establish an understanding of food as a basic human right and to address structural inequities that cause varying degrees of access to food. Tuttle and Old Crow are further supporting WhyHunger by donating all proceeds collected from this track to the organization.
Watch “Helpless” right here, and consider giving to WhyHunger to support this critical work.
Following his newest record, Home, Billy Strings has sustained his success and enjoyed a rising position among the modern bluegrass ranks. With each subsequent release, he cements himself as a consummate bluegrasser, wowing audiences with his picking, singing, and writing.
“Enough to Leave” is a ponderous number, and Strings calmly delivers a performance wrought with apparent unrest; as the song moves through wonder and doubt, his firm guitar playing matches with a lead that slowly incorporates a distorted tone, adding dimensions to the theme of reflection in the song. Words can only do so much to describe Strings’ artistry — the real thrill of it has to be heard to be properly experienced. Watch the in-studio performance of “Enough to Leave” on BGS.
If you find yourself stuck in the late-winter blues, this video is for you. Ten-time IBMA Guitar Player of the Year Bryan Sutton visited Live From Here with Chris Thile recently, and the result was nothing short of breathtaking. Sutton and Thile teamed up on a classic bluegrass number, “Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar,” but there was nothing ordinary about the performance. The in-the-moment communication between Sutton and Thile is truly a sight to behold as they trade blazing leads, soulful harmonies, and curious facial expressions. From the moment it kicks off, the audience is treated to an experience that only two prodigious instrumentalists like these can provide. If you’re in need of a little extra to get through the day, week, or month, look no further.
The beautiful voices of I’m With Her paid special tribute to the illustrious icon Dolly Parton in their latest visit to the studio for Live from Here. In an intimate performance, I’m With Her sing “Lover’s Return,” originally a Carter Family song, which Dolly, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt revived only a few years before the turn of the century on Trio II. Now as a new decade is settling in, I’m With Her look back and remember, breathing new life into music that inspired so many — including Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins, and of course, Dolly herself.
At BGS HQ one of our favorite, most-used phrases is “the BGS family.” Roots music is all about community, the people who coalesce around these genres and the spaces they inhabit being just as integral as the actual music-making itself. We always enjoy turning the spotlight on these communities, and one of the ways we do this best is by celebrating and lifting up the folks who’ve always been part of our BGS family, while constantly being on the prowl for new faces and stories to bring into the fold.
This year one of the most tangible representations of our BGS family through our content and coverage was our Friends & Neighbors column, simple features of must-see videos by artists, songwriters, and musicians we consider family (and friends and neighbors!) Y’all were on board. So many of our F&N posts were our most-popular, most-engaged with, and most-enjoyed music of the year! Thank you for being another essential part of our BGS family and for seeing what we’re trying to accomplish here and making that happen. Enjoy our best of Friends & Neighbors from 2019.
Boyz II Men and Steep Canyon Rangers, “Be Still Moses”
Boyz to bluegrass?! You read that right. R&B legends and vocal virtuosos Boyz II Men collaborated with North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers for this stunning reproduction of the bluegrass group’s 2007 song,“Be Still Moses.” During a Boyz II Men performance at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, twelve members of the Asheville Symphony joined the Rangers for this video, capturing what may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime performance of the song.
Rhiannon Giddens, Tiny Desk Concert
Former Carolina Chocolate Drops leader and old-time music maven Rhiannon Giddens has the uncanny ability to sing through an audience. In May, she released her third full-length, studio album, there is no Other, with Nonesuch Records. In this new chapter, Giddens collaborated with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, who is known for his virtuosity on percussion and jazz piano. Giddens, Turrisi, and bassist Jason Sypher stopped by NPR to perform some music from the latest record; watch as they stun the audience huddled around the Tiny Desk.
The Highwomen, “Redesigning Women”
Four world-class artists, one incredible supergroup — what’s not to love? The Highwomen have been taking the world by storm as they bring together some of country and Americana’s finest singers and songwriters. It’s no wonder their album has made many a year-end “best of” list — including our Top Moments of 2019.
Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlile, and Tenille Townes, “Delta Dawn”
Three generations of country music come together in one performance: Tenille Townes, a newbie on the country block; Brandi Carlile, a soon-to-be modern legend at the peak of her career; and Tanya Tucker, a legendary performer whose album, While I’m Livin’, was one of our favorites of the year. Together, the trio performs “Delta Dawn,” one of Tucker’s signature songs.
Molly Tuttle, “Take the Journey”
It’s been a huge year for Molly Tuttle. She’s blazed a trail through modern bluegrass, become one of the most prominent pickers around, and now she’s taking on roots music realms further and further from the string band territory in which she grew up. Feel the rhythm and energy in Tuttle’s national television debut performance of “Take the Journey,” our most popular Friends & Neighbors post of the year!
Photo of Molly Tuttle courtesy of Compass Records Photo of Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlile, and Tenille Townes courtesy of Cracker Barrel
As one year leads into the next, it’s worth a few minutes to pause and enjoy one of 2019’s most breathtaking performances from a legendary performer in bluegrass, country, and acoustic music.
In this emotional video, Alison Krauss performs “Amazing Grace” on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for the 30th National Memorial Day Concert. She returned to Washington six months later to accept a much-deserved National Medal of Arts and Humanities at the White House.
On behalf of the Bluegrass Situation, best wishes for 2020.
Musical matriarch Mavis Staples is as active as she has ever been. Fresh off an Americana Award nomination for Artist of the Year, Staples was recently featured as a guest performer on Live From Here with Chris Thile. Her latest album, a release from May 2019, is a collaborative work with another extraordinary singer-songwriter and blues icon, one Ben Harper. The new record, titled We Get By, features Staples’ sultry singing over Harper’s compositions, and like so many magical musical matchups, the total of the project is somehow far more than the sum of its parts.
Speaking to the writing, Staples had high praise for her junior collaborator. “When I first started reading the lyrics Ben wrote for me, I said to myself, ‘My God, he’s saying everything that needs to be said right now,’” she remembers. “But the songs were also true to my journey and the stories I’ve been singing all my life. There’s a spirituality and an honesty to Ben’s writing that took me back to church.”
Staples’ performance on the Live From Here is just that — it’s like going to church. Watch as she performs the opening number from her newest record here.
Alabama Shakes alumnus and Bluegrass Situation Artist of the Month, Brittany Howard has maintained a steady course through her journey in blues and roots music. Driven by a resilient spirit and equipped with a stout voice, Howard has seen her fair share of peaks and valleys. From tragically losing a sister to cancer to breakout success and Grammy nods with Alabama Shakes, Howard has faced more in her 31 years than most of us will see in our whole lives.
After playing founding roles in two other rock bands (Bermuda Triangle and Thunderbitch), she decided it was time to take a step forward and release an album as a solo artist. The debut record was a tribute to Howard’s sister and was also named after her; Jaime was released this past September.
Howard’s addendum to the record offers some insight to the music: “Every song, I confront something within me or beyond me. Things that are hard or impossible to change, words and music to describe what I’m not good at conveying to those I love, or a name that hurts to be said: Jaime.” Brimming with emotion and truth, Jamie is available now, as are tickets to her tour. Watch her Tiny Desk concert here, on BGS.
Photo credit: Danny Clinch
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