Tag: Friends & Neighbors

On “Radio Silence,” The Highwomen’s Natalie Hemby Lets Her Voice Be Heard

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Natalie Hemby’s new single “Radio Silence” puts her cunning sensibility as a songwriter on full display, while drawing on the strengths of co-writers Rosi Golan and Daniel Tashian. No slouches themselves, Golan is an accomplished songwriter whose music can be heard on countless TV shows and films, and Tashian is a writer and producer in Nashville with credits such as Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour.

With this dream team in support, Hemby’s weighty single encapsulates the anxiousness of being cut off from a friend — a true story that hits close to home. “This song is basically about being ghosted by a friend, only not because of a fallout, but because your friend doesn’t want to drag you into their struggles, so they shut down,” says Hemby. “I was the friend, and Rosi Golan was the one reaching out. We wrote the song with Daniel Tashian.”

An acclaimed writer and two-time Grammy Award winner, Hemby will releasing her first major label record as a solo artist, following her work with the Highwomen, the collaborative group with Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. “Radio Silence” and lead single “Heroes” precede Pins And Needles, an album that leans on her rock and roots musical influences, due out October 8 on Fantasy Records. “Pins And Needles is the record I never got the chance to make and I always wanted to,” she adds. “It’s the late 90’s sound, which is the sound of my young adult life.”

Photo credit: Alysse Gafkjen

Emmylou Harris Revisits “Roses in the Snow” in Lost Concert, Vintage Video

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The year was 1990, and after more than a decade with the celebrated Hot Band, Emmylou Harris hit the road with a group of bluegrass all-stars — Sam Bush, Roy Huskey Jr., Larry Atamanuik, Al Perkins, and Jon Randall Stewart — and called them the Nash Ramblers. Although the group represents only a small portion of Harris’s decorated career, the music they made was exciting and powerful. After the band’s first year together, they recorded At the Ryman, a 1992 project that not only won a Grammy but also helped bring about a second life for the Ryman Auditorium as a premier concert venue.

It was in the band’s earliest days, at the conclusion of their first tour in 1990, that the Nash Ramblers made their Nashville debut. The performance was recorded at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on September 28, 1990, and until now, has never been released to the public. In September, Nonesuch Records issued it after its discovery by Rhino Records’ James Austin. The live album, titled Ramble in Music City: The Lost Concert features a slew of songs that were not performed on At the Ryman.

Harris says, “When James Austin, in my humble opinion, the world’s best and certainly most devoted music archeologist, unearthed the tapes of this ‘lost’ concert, I was taken aback by their very existence, like finding some cherished photograph misplaced so long ago the captured moment had been forgotten. Then the memories came flooding in, of the Nash Ramblers, hot off the road from our first tour, ready to rock and bringing their usual A-game to the hometown turf.”

She continues, “It only took one listen to realize not a single note was out of place or in need of repair, a truly extraordinary performance by these gifted musicians. What a joy it was to share the stage with them.”

In promotion of the album release, Austin City Limits shared its own video of the ensemble performing “Roses in the Snow” on the celebrated Texas stage in 1993. (The title track from Harris’ 1980 beloved bluegrass album leads the live record, too.) Enjoy this vintage video from Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers and their timeless musicianship.

Photo credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images, circa 1997

Grace Pettis, With Support From the Indigo Girls, Reconnects With “Landon”

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Grace Pettis tells a dramatic story of regret in “Landon,” as she carefully weaves together her account of what happened in small-town Alabama when her childhood best friend came out of the closet. Instead of finding the loving support of a close friend, the song’s subject found judgment and scorn.

“Landon needed somebody to be on his side. He trusted me. And I let him down,” she says. “Instead of listening and responding with love and acceptance, I replied with a lot of canned answers taken from my Christian belief system, what the church taught me to say. Years of soul-searching, prayer, and information gathering led me to a very different place. I knew that I had wronged Landon in a way that I could only explain in a song.”

Years down the line and now based in Austin, Texas, Grace Pettis wrote her heart’s sorrow and contrition into a song that can only suggest the emotional complexity of her experience. But this story doesn’t end here. Thankfully, the subject of the song heard her words and the two have mended their fences. “We are in a great place now,” she says. “He’s forgiven me, and we get to be close in a new way, now that we’ve made peace with ourselves. We’re both living a true story now.”

In July, Pettis released a new version of the song (after the original acoustic video premiered on BGS), this time backed by the Indigo Girls. In addition, the new music video features the very friend who inspired the song. Take a look at “Landon.”

Photo credit: Nicola Gell

With Clawhammer Banjo, Gregory Alan Isakov Covers the Lumineers

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Happy birthday, Dualtone Records! The Nashville-based indie music label is celebrating a tremendous milestone this year, commemorating the 20 years they’ve been in the business of bringing us beautiful albums from an array of classic Americana, folk, and indie artists. To mark the occasion, they have issued a compilation album cleverly titled Amerikinda: 20 Years of Dualtone. The album features many of Dualtone’s artists from the past and the present performing each other’s songs in a whimsical, jovial tribute to the work and achievements of the beloved record company. Upon announcing the album in April, the label released vice versa recordings by Gregory Alan Isakov and the Lumineers, each performing a song written and made famous by the other.

Isakov and the Lumineers are just two of the artists on Amerikinda; they share the liner notes with powerhouse names like Shakey Graves, Langhorne Slim, Drew & Ellie Holcomb, and more. In the video below, hear Isakov’s ghostly rendition of the introspective Lumineers number, “Salt and the Sea.” (The Lumineers also contribute a cover of Isakov’s “Caves.”)

“The Lumineers have been our friends and local comrades here in Colorado for years, and when Wes sent me the premaster of their last record, I was instantly drawn into every song,” Isakov said. “The song ‘Salt and the Sea’ particularly spoke to me, lyrically, along with that haunting melody. I collaborated with my bandmate Steve Varney to pluck out Jeremiah’s piano part with clawhammer banjo. What a beautiful song. I hope we did it justice.”

Upon the album reveal, Isakov added, “Not only are they incredibly good at table tennis, Dualtone is an astounding team of humans. I had never worked with a label before, other than my own label, and it’s been an absolute pleasure teaming up with Dualtone. They are such a hardworking, collaborative, kind-hearted group, and it’s an honor to be a part of their 20th anniversary compilation.”

Label co-founder and CEO Scott Robinson says, “From the very start, we’ve tried to build this safe, encouraging space for artists to experiment and create, and it’s just so cool to see how deeply these bands have connected with each other and to hear the influences and friendships that stretch across the whole history of the label. At the end of the day, there’s something special about the energy of Dualtone, and it’s not because of me or Paul [Roper, President/Partner] or any other individual. It’s because of the way that everyone, artists and staff alike, come together as a community.”

Photo credit: Rebecca Caridad

Jim Lauderdale Envisions the “Memory” of Friend and Co-Writer, Robert Hunter

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Jim Lauderdale’s new album Hope has a sound reminiscent of dreamy ‘70s folk rock records and largely centers around themes like perseverance, with much of the music bred from his 15-month hiatus from touring and performing. One of its most eloquent tracks celebrates the legendary Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, a longtime friend and collaborator of Lauderdale’s who died in 2019. As one of the final songs they wrote together, “Memory” arrived on June 22, just one day before what would’ve been Hunter’s 80th birthday. In addition, the album cover and packaging feature paintings by Maureen Hunter, Robert’s wife. About his dear friend, Lauderdale says, “Losing Robert just before the pandemic was so hard, but he left the perfect lyric, to sum up my feelings about him and to honor all the people we’ve lost since.”

In the light of Hunter’s companionship and storied career as a writer and musician, “Memory” is a perfect song to celebrate his life and work. Meanwhile, Hope features a cast of musicians who just get it when it comes to traditional country and folk rock. Chris Scruggs, Russ Pahl, and Kenny Vaughan are just a few who grace the record with their classic sounds. “I wanted to get a musical message out there during this time of what we’ve all been going through, about the hope for better days ahead,” Lauderdale says. “If we can find any glimmers of hope, that really helps get you through another day.”

Photo credit: Scott Simontacchi

With an Acoustic Guitar in Hand, Joy Oladokun Sings “Judas”

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Joy Oladokun, a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, has had a long journey to get to where she is now. The daughter of Nigerian immigrants and the first of her family to be born in the US, Oladokun is fresh off the release of In Defense of My Own Happiness (Complete). The collection features 14 songs, as well as guest appearances by Maren Morris and Penny and Sparrow. The singer’s artistry comes from an incredibly unique experience of growing up as a young woman of color in rural Arizona and fostering her musicianship in the church before leaving the church and coming out of the closet. (Read the BGS interview.)

From Arizona to L.A. then across country to Nashville with a new outlook and perspective, Oladokun’s music stands on a plane with a unique vantage point. Her words are precise and delicate, mirroring her humble yet evocative instrumental style. Oladokun’s music has touched many ears and hearts, evidenced by the reward bestowed upon her by YouTube in 2021 when she received a grant from the #YouTubeBlackVoices fund. In this video release, Joy sings “Judas” off her latest album in the confined familiarity of a porch. She is able to do more with just an acoustic guitar and her voice than many artists can in an entire discography of work. Watch “Judas” performed live by Joy Oladokun below.

Photo credit: Nolan Knight

In This Unearthed 1968 Live Recording, Johnny Cash Sings “I’m Going to Memphis”

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New music from Johnny Cash is coming in September from a surprising source. Members of the Owsley Stanley Foundation have partnered with Renew Records and BMG to release a never-before-heard capture of a Johnny Cash concert in 1968. The upcoming release, titled Bear’s Sonic Journals: Johnny Cash At the Carousel Ballroom April 24 1968, was captured by in-house sound engineer Owsley “Bear” Stanley only days prior to the release of Cash’s legendary live record At Folsom Prison. That means the new album will provide another window through which we’ll be able to hear Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, and the Tennessee Three (guitarist Luther Perkins, bassist Marshall Grant and drummer W.S. Holland) at their peak, performing songs that shaped an entire genre. John Carter Cash, the country stars’ son, describes it as “what I believe to be one of the most intimate and connected shows I have ever heard.”

Recorded in the heart of the counterculture movement of the ‘60s in San Francisco, the new collection is slated for a September 24 release on a CD/2 LP set. To promote the project (as if we needed anything more to be excited about), the Owsley Stanley Foundation and Renew/BMG have released “I’m Going to Memphis” from the concert, and it is absolutely brimming with Cash’s signature charisma and debonair delivery. So many of classic country’s textures line the recording: tick-tack electric guitar, train-beat shuffle, brash acoustic rhythm, and of course, rich, velvety vocals to round out the arrangement. It’s a snapshot of one of country music’s most fertile moments in history and we’ll be wearing this one out all summer in anticipation for the rest of the live album’s release.

Listen to the official audio and check out this feature from Rolling Stone about new music from Johnny Cash.

 

Sam Williams Carries His Country Music Legacy to Late Night Debut

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On his primetime television debut, Sam Williams makes a powerful statement. Grandson of the legendary Hank Williams and son of Hank Williams Jr., the rising recording artist previewed his debut album, Glasshouse Children with a riveting performance from his grandfather’s old house in Franklin, Tennessee. In an extended one-shot capture, Sam Williams does his name proud with a beautifully-written song called “You Can’t Fool Your Own Blood.” Out of a less-than-usual childhood and recent family tragedy, he has emerged with a style that is both poetic and hard-hitting, pulling no punches in his blend of honesty and vulnerability.

With an undoubtedly heavy burden of expectation, Williams blossoms in this realm of singer-songwriters who are more forlorn than raucous, standing with the likes of artists such as Donovan Woods and Ruston Kelly. Although his television debut was one for the books, perhaps the more exciting news is of the debut full-length record, set for a release later this summer on UMG Nashville. Music from Sam Williams has undoubtedly been a long time in the making, but the good news for us is that it’s almost here. Watch his performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert below.

Photo credit: Claire Joyce

Jamestown Revival Mine the Legacy of Louis L’Amour in “Prospector’s Blues”

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Folk-rock duo Jamestown Revival‘s new project provides an interesting study in the intersection of music and literature, as band members Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance wrote songs inspired by the work of American novelist Louis L’Amour. Titled Fireside with Louis L’Amour, the creative genesis of the EP brings to life an intriguing concept that will draw in any and all folk enthusiasts.

To tease the EP, the band released an official video for “Prospector’s Blues,” derived from the short story, “Trap of Gold.” The song follows a miner whose feverish hunt for riches finds him an early burial beneath the weight of his own recklessness. Like the story, the song imparts a nonchalant, “business as usual” attitude toward the tragedy of greed, as the train-like groove rumbles right through the parable in the lyrics. Acoustic guitar, pulsing rhythm, and Old West allegory — what’s not to love? Check out the video for “Prospector’s Blues” below.

Photo credit: Paul Pryor

WATCH: Nathaniel Rateliff Adds a String Quartet to “And It’s Still Alright”

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Nathaniel Rateliff’s And It’s Still Alright album is the product of a tumultuous time in the writer’s life, but such are the circumstances that yield the most compelling songs, records, and artistic expressions. In this NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert filmed at the Mercury Café in Denver, Rateliff performs several songs from the 2020 record, including the title track and “All or Nothing,” a more wistful selection. Since the Tiny Desk shows have reformatted to accommodate for safety, the features have frequently been scaled-back performances, often filmed in the homes of the artists, but in this case, Rateliff adds his band and a string quartet to the studio-like space. The surroundings may not be as iconic as the actual Tiny Desk, but we’re thankful that artists are going above and beyond to give us outstanding mini concerts. This Tiny Desk set is no different, and like the album, it crescendos gradually from an atmospheric, ponderous beginning to a triumphant, boisterous finale with the songs “Redemption” and “Mavis.”

Photo credit: Rett Rogers