Tag: Margo Price

Michaela Anne, ‘Easier Than Leaving’

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In country music, a "weeper" is a real thing: a song that's somewhere between a ballad and a hopeless confessional, that places more emphasis on a forlorn guitar and rare, raw lyricism than showboat vocals (though they're often part of the package, too). Think Hank Williams' and Patsy Cline's saddest moments or, later, Townes Van Zandt's — jewels like "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" that struck a perfect balance on the Southern scale with barn-burning honky-tonk, keeping it all delicately teetering in line.

But then the '90s happened and, for better or worse, ballads got the Faith Hill and Shania Twain treatment — notes hit the ceiling and power bombast replaced subtle solemnity. Simplicity, this was not. Luckily, there's been a new bubbling interest in bringing back the genre's delicate, melancholy roots: most of Daniel Romano's Come Cry with Me, Andrew Combs' "Too Stoned to Cry," Margo Price's "Hands of Time," and even Miranda Lambert's "Holding On to You." Now Michaela Anne, on her sophomore album, Bright Lights and the Fame, has an LP full of them — heartbreakers so grounded in self-awareness that they never sound anything but authentic, yet never too indulgent to ring just like diary scribbles.

One of the LP's best is "Easier Than Leaving," which opens with a snapshot in time of a fading relationship: "Sitting at the table, back's against the wall / Coffee's getting colder as I wait for you to talk." Who hasn't felt that tension, taken a last gasp at peaceful air before they fully breathed in the inevitable reality they knew was coming? With a clear quiver, Anne, who moved to Nashville from New York City two years ago, reinvents the lost age of those weepers in the way someone equally schooled in both the forebears — like Williams and Cline — and its modern folk interpreters — like Gillian Welch and Conor Oberst who carried the emotive torch when mainstream Music Row was too busy belting — might. "Easier Than Leaving" might not change her lover's mind and force them to stay, but it will just continue to help put soft, strummed country sadness back on the map.

6 Punk Rock Players Reshaping Roots Music, Part Two

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Last year, we highlighted some of our favorite up-and-coming roots musicians who, acoustic instruments aside, embody the punk rock spirit. From one man band Possessed by Paul James to punk-turned-troubadour John Moreland, the nine players listed shared many of the qualities essential to punk music: DIY mindsets, balls-to-the-wall shredding, and a tendency toward the political. 

Since then, we've seen a number of new acts who, regardless of whether their actual sound makes you want to listen to mclusky, are carrying the punk torch just as loud and proud as that first batch. Check out a handful of our favorites:

The Bones of J.R. Jones

 

Similar to Possessed by Paul James from our first installment, New York-based artist Jonathan Linaberry, known to fans as the Bones of J.R. Jones, has been known to play guitar and drums while singing his eerie, blues-influenced folk songs. His latest album, Spirit's Furnace, marries the DIY ethic of his live show with the knack for storytelling for which he has come to be known.

Parker Millsap

 

Parker Millsap may be making waves in the Americana world with his raw vocals and wry tales of evangelical truck drivers, but it's "Heaven Sent," a tune from his most recent album, The Very Last Day, that earns him a spot here. The song finds Millsap inhabiting the mind of a young, Christian, gay man seeking reassurance from both his father and his Father, making for a statement that feels far more personal than political.

Margo Price

 

Much ado has been made about Margo Price and her debut album, Midwest Farmer's Daughter, but it's the 13-year journey — fraught with waiting tables and waiting on a big break — that brought Price to Third Man Records and the Saturday Night Live stage that makes her one of the most punk rock artists in our community. That, and those hard-scrabble songs about drinking and jail.

Sam Gleaves

 

A lot of punk players show off their cred with their gear, and West Virginia player Sam Gleaves is no exception with his rainbow-colored banjo strap. On "Ain't We Brothers," the openly gay Gleaves, whose grassroots efforts have earned him the attention of outlets like NPR, explores the struggles of homosexuality in small-town life, making him one of the first Applachian voices to do so.

Sammy Brue

 

Getting the attention of outlets like The FADER and Rolling Stone at the wee age of 14 thanks to some stellar at-home recordings, Sammy Brue, a Utah-by-the-way-of-Portland songwriter who pals around with Justin Townes Earle and has the songwriting chops to boot, is about as DIY as you can get. 

Julien Baker

While many hear the word "punk" and think angry, Julien Baker — who wrote most of her stellar debut album, Sprained Ankle, in her dorm room at MTSU — reminds us it has a sad side, too, one that is as thoughtful as it is emotive.

Stephen Colbert Is Late Night’s Roots Music Champion

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Getting a coveted performance slot on a late-night TV show is no easy task. Unless you have a Billboard hit or the last name Bieber, odds are you won't make it onto what's become some of television's most prime musical real estate. For roots musicians, that means fewer shots at late-night stardom and fewer chances to reach the wide audiences such performances award. But luckily, The Late Show's Stephen Colbert is changing the game, championing up-andcoming roots musicians and introducing their music to his legions of loyal fans. 

We've rounded up some of our favorite roots performances from The Late Show below. Check 'em out!

Kacey Musgraves, "Late to the Party"

Kacey Musgraves is no small star, so it's not as much of a surprise that Colbert would invite her to the stage to perform "Late to the Party," one of the standout tracks from her sophomore album Pageant Material.

John Moreland, "Break My Heart Sweetly"

John Moreland, however, is a surprise — Colbert gave the talented Oklahoma singer/songwriter his network television debut when he invited him to perform this track from 2013's In the Throes (despite Moreland releasing High on Tulsa Heat last year) earlier this month.

Lake Street Dive, "Call Off Your Dogs"

Lake Street Dive is a big name in the roots community, but their reach doesn't extend far beyond the genre's boundaries. Colbert had them over anyway, and the Brooklyn quartet got to wow the audience with this tune from Side Pony.

Margo Price, "Hurtin' (On the Bottle)"

The first country signee to Jack White's famed Third Man Records, Margo Price may not be a household name yet, but it's only a matter of time before she is. This performance of her debut single on The Late Show is sure to be part of what seals that deal.

Aubrie Sellers, "Light of Day"

Daughter of Lee Ann Womack, Aubrie Sellers is no stranger to the late-night circuit, although this performance on Colbert was the first time she was the one gracing the stage, performing a cut from her debut album New City Blues.

Wilco, "Random Name Generator"

Okay, so maybe a band as big as Wilco doesn't exactly need a television champion, but it's great to see them hit the stage to perform this tune from 2015's Star Wars nonetheless.

Lucinda Williams, "Dust"

Finally, don't miss this stunning performance from Lucinda Williams of a poem by her father (the late poet Miller Williams) that she reinterpeted and set to music to serve as the opening track for her stellar new album The Ghosts of Highway 20.