Tag: mexico

Essential Country Finds

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Editor’s Note: Each issue of Good Country, our co-founder Ed Helms will share a handful of good country artists, albums, and songs direct from his own earphones in Ed’s Picks.

Laci Kaye Booth

Couldn’t have said it better, ourselves. GEORGE F****** STRAIT! Good Country song of the season? We think so – and the internet does, too. You don’t wanna miss Laci on tour with Parker McCollum this summer and fall.

Crowe Boys

You’ll find New Orleans-based brothers Wes and Ocie Crowe at the intersection of country, indie, and rowdy millennial alt-folk. Their debut album’s title, Made To Wander, doesn’t just speak to their packed international tour schedule, it draws from their youthful days traveling with their family band, too.

The Kentucky Gentlemen

We’ve been fans of the Kentucky Gentlemen and we remain fans of the Kentucky Gentlemen! The Kentuckian twin brothers’ latest, Rhinestone Revolution, is out now, continuing to bring their energy, sparkle, and fun to mainstream country lovers the world over.

Carín León

From Sonora, Mexico to the GRAMMYs; to CMA Fest; to the cover of Billboard. Carín León exemplifies what we mean when we say “country & western” has always included Latin folk, Mexican music, and all of the roots music traditions of North America, no matter what language or any arbitrary borders. The deluxe version of his most recent smash hit album Palabra De To’s (Seca) is out now – it’s a must-listen.

Maoli

Country soul rooted in Hawaii and the Pacific islands – that’s what Maoli offers on his latest, Last Sip of Summer. You’ll be forgiven for assuming the steel guitar is the only country input offered from the vast Pacific Ocean. Maoli shows island country sounds – his being a bit like Buffett meets Chesney meets reggae – are best when grown directly in volcanic soil.

Ashley McBryde

This fan favorite Ashley McBryde track, “Rattlesnake Preacher,” has been a staple of her live shows for… well, forever. Now, a studio cut is available for the very first time. McBryde worked with producer John Osborne (of Brothers Osborne) to ensure this long-awaited rendition captured the magic of her live performances of the number. It does!

Want more Good Country? Sign up to receive our monthly email newsletter – and much more music! – direct to your inbox.

Photo Credits: Laci Kaye Booth by Natalie Sakstrup; Crowe Boys by Nick Swift; the Kentucky Gentlemen courtesy of the artist; Carín León courtesy of Sacks & Co; Maoli by Reggie Villa; Ashley McBryde by Katie Kauss.

Basic Folk: Indigo Girls (Reissue)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

(Editor’s Note: Welcome to our Reissue series! For the past several weeks, Basic Folk has been digging back into the archives and reposting some of our favorite episodes alongside new introductions commenting on what it’s like to listen back. This is our last Reissue for now, so please enjoy!

This episode featuring separate interviews with The Indigo Girls – Amy Ray and Emily Saliers – and host Cindy Howes was originally posted winter 2019.)

Back in 2019, my now-wife and I attended the inaugural Girls Just Wanna Weekend in Cancun, Mexico, which featured an all-women lineup curated and hosted by Brandi Carlile. I was lucky enough to be able to interview The Indigo Girls there in two separate solo interviews. I still feel nervous thinking about the scene of talking to both Amy Ray and Emily Saliers in each of their (very nice!) hotel suites on my new little Shure mic that connected to my phone. Lucky for me, both Amy and Emily were really into my new mic, so it served as the best possible icebreaker. Both were very generous with their time and with their answers to my unorthodox questions.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • AMAZON • MP3

First I got to speak to Amy Ray, who talks about growing up in a conservative, modest Southern family with her radiologist father and a smart, scholarship-attaining mother. She speaks to how her suburban upbringing and intake of conservative values of the South has influenced her identity. She shares about her father’s deep involvement in community service and the impact of her father’s generosity on her own activism. I also asked Amy about her sense of fashion and how it challenges traditional gender norms. She talks about her love for creative clothing and that her historically unconventional approach to style serves as a form of activism.

Next up: Emily Saliers. She talks about her relationship with guitar playing, tracing it back to childhood lessons at the YMCA and musical members of her family. She also points out how playing electric guitar changed the game, particularly through collaborations with Amy Ray. Emily talks about first solo album, Murmuration Nation. Released in 2017, it took a long time to come to fruition due to challenges and emotional hurdles she faced during its creation. Lyris Hung, longtime Indigo Girls friend, collaborator, and producer – including on that solo album – brought her expansive musical imagination and played a critical role in shaping the record. We also get into Emily’s love for hip-hop, specifically political hip-hop, and the profound impact the genre has had on her. Emily ends with talking about her other great love, food, by drawing parallels between the communal nature of music and cuisine, illustrating how both bring people together in meaningful ways.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart

Basic Folk: Susan Werner

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

The dynamic songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Susan Werner spoke to Basic Folk onboard the Cayamo cruise, which she describes as a “paid vacation.” Reflecting on her upbringing on a working farm, Susan discusses the hard work that shaped her, but also how she’s learning to embrace rest and relaxation. With humor and insight, she navigates the balance between a hardworking mindset and the need for downtime, revealing her strategies for managing stress and expectations in both life and music.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • AMAZON • MP3

Susan’s latest album, Halfway to Houston, is a continuation of her exploration of a place through its music. Previous releases found her examining New Orleans and Florida. In this particular case, she is focusing on the state of Texas, including the interconnectedness of communities across borders; the song “Sisters” is about twin sister cities El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Mexico. As a seasoned artist, Susan dives into the importance of consistency and authenticity in her craft, emphasizing that hard work alone doesn’t guarantee success – it’s about being consistently excellent. She also touches on the political landscape and how her songs aim to foster empathy and understanding, even in divided times.

Photo Credit: Lead image by Bryan Lasky, alternate image by Will Byington.

STREAM: Secret Museum of Mankind – Atlas of Instruments: Fiddles Vol. 1

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Album: Secret Museum of Mankind – Atlas of Instruments: Fiddles Vol. 1
Release Date: September 15, 2023
Label: Jalopy Records

In Their Words: “The museum’s musical atlas of instruments continues with the opening of another wing, the first in a series on bowed instruments. To stretch boundaries over the earth and over time is to forsake them; whether it is a matter of Synchronizität or just the plain unconscious. In Western cultural history, the bowed instrument is a late installment, after centuries, of an almost primordial vibration that we imagine in sound; see in the old paintings; and yet can sample in the remnants of the ancient world captured on gramophone records.” – Pat Conte, curator

“The Secret Museum series is legendary. It opened up new possibilities for me when I first heard it in the 1990s. The curator is Pat Conte, he did something remarkable, even more so because it was before the internet: Starting in the 1970s he began assembling the first and arguably greatest collection of world music recorded in the 78 rpm record era of the 1920s – 1950s, give or take. He did it by casing junk stores in Queens, New York, the most diverse place in the world, and by maintaining letter correspondence with collectors and dealers across the globe. That is the music you will find on the Secret Museum of Mankind albums.

“Conte programs the records by feel, not with a predefined structure. The records are not meant to be academic, they are meant to move the listener. The movement is emotional, using music that was recorded in different places and at different times. Each listener will experience the sequence in their own way, and each track is its own world.

“The Secret Museum of Mankind: Atlas of Instruments – Fiddles, Vol. 1 continues the series and presents fiddle sounds developed and practiced across the globe. The compilation, drawn from Conte’s pioneering and remarkable personal collection of 78 rpm discs recorded in the 1920s – 1950s, offers fiddle music recorded across the world from Crete to Madagascar, Mexico, England, Sicily, Norway, India, the USA, Cape Verde, China and more.” – Eli Smith, producer

Image courtesy of Jalopy Records, Nick Loss-Eaton Media

LISTEN: The Two Tracks, “Canyon Wren”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: The Two Tracks
Hometown: Sheridan, Wyoming
Song: “Canyon Wren”
Album: It’s a Complicated Life
Release Date: August 25, 2023

In Their Words: “I started writing ‘Canyon Wren’ as a series of two poetic pieces inspired by pictures from our place in Baja, Mexico, one of which is the cover of the single. From our place there, the sun rises over distant mountains and shines right into the faces of breaking waves along the Pacific coast. You check the surf while the arroyos and hillsides buzz with the sound of birds. The canyon wren is one of those birds. Often there can be fog, or dew hanging in the air – an elusive hint of moisture in this otherwise dry place. We love the calm, quiet, empty feel of those mornings as the landscape wakes up and I tried to capture a bit of that scene, and our time spent down there. Julie and I love empty, wild places as much as we love the busy life of performing music. I was musically inspired by the laid back, chill vibes of early J.J. Cale records, which I’ve listened to a lot over the years while driving through Baja, and tried to channel that sound into this track.” – Dave Huebner

Photo Credit: Jenae Neeson

LISTEN: Deutsch & Thorn, “Scorpio Sun”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Deutsch & Thorn (Erik Deutsch and Andy Thorn)
Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico and Boulder, Colorado
Song: “Scorpio Sun”
Release Date: December 4, 2020
Label: Thornpipe Music

In Their Words: “When I first wrote this tune, I recorded it with the Colorado Playboys (Travis Book, Jon Stickley, and John Frazier), and called it ‘Sicks Ate.’ (We thought we were very clever.) Over a decade later, playing it with pianist Erik Deutsch, it took on a whole new life. As fellow Scorpios, Erik and I retitled it ‘Scorpio Sun.’ We recorded this EP in Erik’s beautiful Mexico City apartment, between playing shows at Zinco Jazz Club in the city’s vibrant Centro neighborhood. I never thought I’d bring my banjo to Mexico City, to mingle with Erik’s jazz influences and the sights and sounds of a dazzling culture. But that’s kind of what it’s like playing with Erik — you never know what might happen next.” — Andy Thorn

Photo credit: Josh Timmermans

LISTEN: Rachel Angel, “Bring Me Down”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Rachel Angel
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Song: “Bring Me Down”
Album: Highway Songs
Release Date: August 21, 2020
Label: Public Works

In Their Words: “‘Bring Me Down’ is a personal song about looking internally to find the inner strength to deal with life’s vagrancies. I wrote the song after extensive touring on the road. I was paranoid and feeling like an outcast as I adjusted to a slower pace back home. I isolated myself in my apartment, using music as a bulwark to shield me from the uneasiness I was feeling.

“The first song that I wrote for the EP was ‘Mexico.’ At the time, I was experiencing a lot of catastrophic anxiety and chronic health problems. I was mentally and physically all out of sorts. I embarked on a family trip to Mexico, and before I left began writing the song: ‘I had enough of that windy ocean road/But I packed up my car and I drove/and I drove.’ My feeling at the time was that something bad was going to happen but I couldn’t determine if it was anxiety or a premonition. Within the first week of being there, we experienced a 7.1 earthquake in Mexico City, many buildings around us fell, power lines down, power was lost throughout the city, everything closed. I was so frightened and immediately wanted to leave, but decided that pushing myself through the discomfort would ultimately make me stronger.

“I spent the remainder of the year touring different cities on the East Coast, in the UK, and traveling around for various events. I was listening to a lot of Outlaw country and the spirit of the music made me feel alive and brave. I wrote and recorded the content of Highway Songs during a breaking point and crisis period in my life, right before I made it out to the other side. I ultimately left New York City for Miami in need of great healing, and have since been on a spiritual journey. I am in pre-production on a new album that finds me in a grounded place and writing lots of songs!” — Rachel Angel

Photo credit: Yasser Marte

LISTEN: Mary Bragg, “Our Lady of the Well”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Mary Bragg
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Our Lady of the Well”
Album: Think About It EP
Release Date: March 6, 2020
Label: Mary Bragg Music/Tone Tree Music

In Their Words: “As a writer, one of the things that keeps me sane is that healthy part of the process which is to sometimes get out of your own head and away from your own stories. I’ve started looking for songs to learn that speak to me, and this one in particular, written by the great Jackson Browne, felt painfully timely, as it beautifully expresses some of the feelings I’ve been having about the world we live in, decades after it was written.

“I felt connected to the song after going to Mexico for the first time and experiencing the lovely people and culture there, where, just like in the States, ‘the families work the land as they have always done,’ and ‘your children will be born; you’ll watch them as they run.’ I decided to record it as a creative extension of my new album, Violets as Camouflage, with a similarly simple treatment, musically, with the focus on the story and the voice that’s telling it.” — Mary Bragg

Photo credit: Holly Lowman

LISTEN: Edan Archer, “Scenes from a Spanish Cantina”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Edan Archer
Hometown: Gainesville, Florida, generally nomadic though 🙂
Song: “Scenes from a Spanish Cantina”
Album: Journey Proud
Release Date: August 2, 2019

In Their Words: “This song was inspired by Miami, where I spent many years, both as a young child and later as an adult. The rhythm is a kind of samba and references the drum schools of Brazil where ‘all of the dancers come, and all of the little drums.’ It also contains imagery of fleeting love and celebrating — roses going for a dollar and a half, Valentine’s chocolates melting in the sun of a street market. The singer is warned not to go ‘running with the leader of the band,’ but when the drums play in the street, the dancers still come, and in the moment, it’s worth it.

“My grandmother was from Cuba and my mom also grew up in Spain, so I’ve always loved Latin music and felt a special connection with it. I do speak Spanish and sing in Spanish also. I learned traditional Cuban songs from my uncles and even sang Spanish songs at their funerals. I sang in the Brazilian ensemble in college and developed a love of Samba and big percussion. We also spent most summers in Mexico so mariachi and ranchero music are faves too. I loved being able to combine all my influences in this album, and that had to include something with a Latin vibe.” — Edan Archer

Photo credit: Gregg Roth

LISTEN: Radney Foster, ‘Howlin’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Radney Foster
Hometown: Del Rio, TX
Song: “Howlin'”
Album: For You to See the Stars
Release Date: September 15, 2017
Label: Devil’s River Records

In Their Words: “I grew on the Mexican border, in Del Rio, Texas. As a kid, I would stay up late listening to XERF — the Border Blaster — from Mexico. Wolfman Jack had already moved on by that time, but it’s where he made his mark. I wrote the song from the perspective of a kid in the ’60s, hearing this wild, crazy stuff for the first time.” — Radney Foster