Tag: Nashville

The Show on the Road – Caroline Spence

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

This week on The Show On The Road, we feature a conversation with an admired and sharp-witted singer-songwriter in the fertile Nashville Americana scene, Caroline Spence.


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A sought-after lyricist who mines her own vulnerabilities and lovelorn past to tell delicately crafted story-songs, Caroline Spence’s voice seems to always hover angelically above the page, bringing to mind new-wave country pop heroine Alison Krauss or her vocal hero, Emmylou Harris.

Growing up in Charlottesville, VA daydreaming to Harris’ signature twangy honey-toned records like Wrecking Ball, Spence admittedly was a bit starstruck when the silver-maned lady herself came on board to sing harmonies on the title track of Spence’s newest LP, Mint Condition. It quickly became a critic’s darling and an Americana radio staple nationwide.

As a conversationalist, she usually leads with cheerful southern modesty, but beginning with her 2015 debut, Somehow, Spence wasn’t afraid to push at country music’s guy-centric boundaries. She brought aboard a talented group of genre-defining collaborators like blue-eyed soul hero Anderson East and pop-folk favorite Erin Rae to give the songs new heft. Her follow-up Spades And Roses brought more lush atmospherics to her yearning acoustic stories, elevating the clear-eyed feminine power behind emotive songs like “Heart Of Somebody.”

While Spence will tell you she is just furthering the empowered spirit of roots songwriter pioneers who came before her, during this time of high anxiety, her deeply felt love songs like “Sit Here and Love Me” and “Slow Dancer” seem especially fitting, touching on her bouts of depression and her inability to connect with the ones who are trying to help her through.

Sometimes sad songs truly do make people happy, and if you’re feeling a bit low, maybe pop on her newest single “The Choir,” about finding your people when you need them most.

Photo credit: Angelina Castillo

WATCH: Billy Strings and Sierra Hull Cover Post Malone’s “Circles”

Posted on by Editor

In the wake of his 2020 Streaming Strings tour, Billy Strings shared clips from the tour’s various performance nights across multiple Nashville venues. This particular release is a special one, as Sierra Hull joined Billy and the band for a feature at the Brooklyn Bowl. The song? Bluegrass staple, “Circles” by Post Malone. Or at least they make it seem as if “Circles” was always a bluegrass tune.

In this cooler-than-life cover, Strings sees beyond the gap that divides bluegrass and pop music, connecting his affinity for the spacey to Post Malone’s contemplative vibe. On paper, it seems like a very unusual comparison, but a deeper look might reveal that the mood of Malone’s recording of “Circles” is similar in many ways to the moods of “While I’m Waiting Here” or “Away from the Mire” by Strings. With Malone’s recent country covers going semi-viral (plus rumors of a country double album and social media evidence of a developing friendship between him and Strings), the combination actually makes a lot of sense – besides just being damn cool.

In concert, Billy, his band, and Sierra Hull are able to pull “Circles” off with conviction.

Photo credits: Billy Strings by Emma Delevante; Sierra Hull by Gina Binkley.

LISTEN: Korby Lenker, “All in My Head”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Korby Lenker
Hometown: East Nashville
Song: “All in My Head”
Album: Man in the Maroon
Release Date: May 21, 2021
Label: Grind Ethos

In Their Words: “‘All in My Head’ is the first track on my 8th studio album, Man in the Maroon. It’s about a depressed person who entertains the idea that maybe there’s a different perspective out there. I wrote it last spring over several nights while jogging through my neighborhood in East Nashville. The outings happened to coincide with the Nashville 8 o’clock howl, a typically quirky East Nash neo-tradition where for the first several months of the pandemic, people would stand out on their porch every night at 8 and just go crazy. I heard the howling, in the distance mostly, before I ever knew what it was, and after a few nights, I started joining in. Just yelling at the top of my lungs. Purging that threatening despair that seemed to be everywhere, inside and out. Later, when I was recording the song, I posted on social media, asking if anyone knew who started it. In no time I was sitting over coffee with the founder herself. She put me in touch with some of the howlers… if you listen closely, after the bridge you can hear a few of the more choice examples of the East Nashville 8 o’clock howl.” — Korby Lenker

https://soundcloud.com/user-747568408/all-in-my-head/s-Hjv7RcuUYYF?in=user-747568408/sets/man-in-the-maroon//s-0dkClBhP9E3

Photo credit: David McClister

LISTEN: Ray Stevens, “Ruby / Ruby Baby”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Ray Stevens
Hometown: Clarkdale, Georgia
Song: “Ruby / Ruby Baby”
Album: Melancholy Fescue (High Class Bluegrass)
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Label: Curb Records

In Their Words: “I’ve been working in my recording studio for the last few years recording songs that I’ve heard all through my life. These new recordings are the ‘soundtrack of my life,’ so to speak. I had a great time making these records and I hope others will enjoy them too. … Taking classic hits like ‘Ruby’ and ‘Ruby Baby’ and putting them together in a different way is really fun for me. It shows that a great song holds on to its greatness no matter how you serve it up. Bluegrass-style takes some songs to another level of enjoyment. I love this process, and I think lots of other people probably like it too. I really hope so!” — Ray Stevens

Photo credit: Angela Talley

LISTEN: Helena Rose, “What’s Killing You Is Killing Me”

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Artist: Helena Rose
Hometown: Waynesville, North Carolina
Song: “What’s Killing You Is Killing Me”
Album: Girls Like Me EP
Release Date: March 26, 2021

In Their Words: “Several years ago, I desperately wanted to tell someone in my family how I felt about their addiction, but couldn’t find the right words to say to get my message across. So I wrote a song about it with Deanna Walker and Rick Beresford in Nashville. Not only did I hope it would help my own situation, but I was also hoping it would help others who have friends or family members struggling with addiction. It is a very truthful song about the self-destruction that can happen on both sides, but also has a hopeful tone to signify that there can be a light at the end of the tunnel. I want people to know that they aren’t alone in this struggle and give them the right words to say.” — Helena Rose

Photo credit: Nico Humby

LISTEN: Todd Snider, “Turn Me Loose (I’ll Never Be the Same)”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Todd Snider
Hometown: East Nashville, Tennessee
Single: “Turn Me Loose (I’ll Never Be the Same)”
Album: First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Label: Aimless Records / Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “if you listen to jerry jeff walker’s a man must carry on record, right before he plays ‘sea cruise,’ he yells to his band ‘turn me loose, i’ll never be the same.’ and as soon as i heard it i knew the same was true of myself. i am still totally certain of it. for better or worse, bragging or complaining, it is what is. but what if it isn’t what it is? at first this was going to be for a girl in chattanooga but she was too young for me. so i changed it, it was the right thing to do. trust me, I’m a reverend. i started over by calling jerry jeff and asking him why he yelled that. he said it was something rodeo cowboys yelled when they were ready. when I think a song is ready it’s because it feels like it has a rock I can put my foot on when I sing. so i yelled put your foot on the rock, asked the cosmos to hook me up, and the next thing you know ol’ jed’s a millionaire.” — Todd Snider

Photo Credit: Stacie Huckeba

LISTEN: Claire Kelly, “Sitting Still”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Claire Kelly
Hometown: Cary, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Sitting Still”
Album: The Scenic Route
Release Date: March 19, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Sitting Still’ was the first song I wrote when the world came to a screeching halt in March of 2020. When the pandemic hit, I hid out with a few Nashville friends on a farmhouse in Tullahoma, Tennessee, to wait out the storm so to speak. We took the days easy out there on the farm: fishing, reading, writing, driving the old Ford truck around the property. Even though our tours had been cancelled and jobs had been lost, we tried to embrace the gift of time we’d be given and find some peace in slowing down.” — Claire Kelly

Photo credit: Jorie Struck

WATCH: Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, “I Need to Go Somewhere”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Single: “I Need to Go Somewhere”
Release Date: March 5, 2021
Label: Magnolia Music/ToneTree

In Their Words: “‘I Need To Go Somewhere’ is a song about the cabin fever we have all been experiencing in this pandemic, a song about needing to go somewhere, anywhere, I just need to go. I was writing with my producer Cason Cooley and he had a bunch of brochures on the coffee table, RV brochures. He was telling me he was planning on taking his three kids on a big cross-country trip. I leaned back and said, ‘I need to go somewhere…’ And started make joke lines about ‘put me on a plane, I don’t care where it’s going,’ and he stopped me and said, ‘That’s the song we are writing today.'” — Drew Holcomb

Photo credit: Ashtin Page

Sarah Jarosz Elevates “I’ll Be Gone” at Carter Vintage Guitars

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Sarah Jarosz’s songwriting is otherworldly to begin with, but throw in a finely aged instrument and the wisdom in the wood adds an extra glow to her already shining music. A testament to her timelessness and acumen, Jarosz’s musicianship pairs perfectly here with the round, warm sound of a 1938 Martin 000-45 featured by Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville.

Since the release of her album World on the Ground back in June, Jarosz has been doing it all, from uploading covers to her YouTube channel to hosting a masterclass for Oregon State University. She also landed a pair of Grammy nominations in 2020, including one for World on the Ground, on the ballot for Best Americana Album. In this particular performance, Sarah sings “I’ll Be Gone” from the new record, and if the song wasn’t striking enough already, the delivery in front of one microphone with such a rich instrument is the icing on the cake. Enjoy this special rendition of “I’ll Be Gone,” live from Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville.

Photo credit: Josh Wool

WATCH: Billy Strings Brings the Ryman Auditorium Into the Living Room

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Taking a break during a live stream rehearsal, Billy Strings is pulling up a pew in the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville to talk about what makes the Mother Church of Country Music so special.

“To be able to bring the Ryman into people’s living rooms, that’s pretty cool,” he says in the video below. “Maybe they’ll check it out and realize that whenever stuff opens up, they should come see a real show here.”

As anyone who’s already attended a Ryman show can attest, the acoustics are impressive, especially when it comes to bluegrass. As the IBMA Award-winning guitarist explains, “Something about this old wood, it just… works. It’s like an old church, you know? So many amazing songs ring out in here, and all the echoes of all the amazing artists from the past. It’s almost like you’re inside of an old guitar. It’s just been resonated so much that all the sounds really work well in here.”

Later this month, Billy Strings will compete for a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, for his exceptional 2019 album, Home. Although the Michigan native’s rise to bluegrass stardom may seem like an overnight success, he’s actually been at it quite a while, as he explains in this video, presented by Nissan.

“When I was really young, from the time I was born until about 5, 6, or 7 years old, I mostly listened to bluegrass. And then when I got a little bit older, my dad started showing me Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and stuff like that. That led to even heavier music. I got to a certain point in middle school where I wanted to play music with people that were my age. Mostly the only bands that were really happening in the town I was in were metal bands. So I acquired a taste for the music and then joined a band,” he says. “I learned a lot about what I know about music from playing bluegrass, and I suppose I learned some musical stuff from the metal as well, but I know I took a lot of the stuff that I learned about performing from playing in the metal band.”

Even as he absorbed those other styles, bluegrass beckoned and he’s now one of the genre’s most promising artists and prominent ambassadors. He adds, “I think when I was in middle school, it’s not that I was embarrassed about playing bluegrass, but it was something that I did with my dad and his older friends, so I didn’t really feel like it was that hip. But then when I got over that phase I was in, I realized that it is super hip, and the musicians are really awesome. The guys who are playing the mandolin, fiddle, bass, and banjo in these bands, they really know how to play their instruments really well, and they spent a lot of time practicing. You know, this is where it’s at, really.”

Photo Credit: Emma Delevante