Tag: rock and roll

Sammy Brue Offers His Heartfelt Take on Justin Townes Earle

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

By the time Sammy Brue finished recording The Journals, he already knew something unsettling: this might be the most meaningful work he ever makes. Not because it would be his last, but because it arrived fully formed, heavy with inheritance, responsibility, and grief.

“If I never made another album again,” Brue said, almost laughing at the impossibility of topping it, “this was it.”

The Journals (out January 23 on Bloodshot Records) is a spare, intimate record built from the handwritten notebooks of Justin Townes Earle – Brue’s mentor, hero, and one of the most restless, brilliant American songwriters of his generation. Earle died of an accidental drug overdose in 2020 at age 38. What he left behind, scattered across hotel rooms, trains, taxis, storage units, and decades of living, was a vast, unfinished body of work. Hundreds of pages of lyrics, fragments, revisions, false starts, and songs carved and recarved like stone.

Entrusted with those journals by Earle’s widow, Jenn Marie Earle, Brue didn’t approach them as artifacts. He approached them as living documents. “I never got to write a song with Justin,” he said. “And then I thought – maybe I could.”

The result is neither a covers album nor an act of ventriloquism. Some songs on The Journals emerge directly from lyric sheets Earle left behind. Others are co-writes in spirit, with Brue completing ideas Earle had shaped over years. A few are Brue’s own songs, written from compilations of Earle’s images and themes. One track, “For Justin,” is entirely Brue’s – a quiet, aching letter written two years after Earle’s death, “by a Justin fan for Justin’s fans.”

The record was made quickly, almost violently so. With GoFundMe money raised to finish the project, Brue booked two days in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a nod to the sparse manner that Earle once cut Yuma, his breakthrough 2007 debut. Brue wanted to honor that lineage directly: no band, no overdubs, no safety net. Just voice, guitar, microphones.

“I wanted it all live,” he said. “No tracking. No instrumentals. Just me.”

Brue practiced obsessively for months, then walked into the studio and recorded ten songs in a single day. When nerves crept in, he leaned on a conversation with Joshua Black Wilkins, Earle’s longtime collaborator, asking how Yuma had been made so quickly, so ferociously. “He said Justin was desperate,” Brue said. “He had to make it happen or he was going to sink.” That urgency – career, life, survival – became Brue’s template. The next day, they listened back, drank, and let the record sit where it landed.

Brue has been playing these songs live since the moment they were finished. Unlike most of his own catalog, they haven’t worn thin. “I’ll never get sick of playing these,” he said. “I’ll play them until my demise.”

To understand why requires also understanding what Earle represented to Brue long before the journals ever entered the picture. Brue grew up in a household steeped in American roots music – Justin Townes Earle, the Avett Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings. As a child, he assumed Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly were simply what came on the radio. At 10, he asked his father to take him to see Earle play in Salt Lake City, only to discover the show was 21-and-over. Fate intervened: Earle was outside the venue, smoking, when they pulled over. He signed Brue’s guitar. Years later, Earle invited him to open shows, tour, and appear on the cover of Single Mothers as a kind of “mini-Justin.”

They stayed connected. Brue watched Earle fall in love with Jenn, watched his life oscillate between discipline and chaos, sobriety and relapse. “He always treated me the same,” Brue said. “He put on a strong front for me.”

When Earle died, Brue felt the loss in stages – shock, numbness, then collapse. He later read Earle’s rehab journals but couldn’t bring himself to take them home. The pain on those pages was too raw. “Some of the most heartbreaking stuff I’ve ever read,” he said. “You want it released. You don’t want it released.”

What struck Brue most, beyond the suffering, was the work ethic. Earle wrote obsessively, filling 150-page notebooks song by song, revising endlessly. Saint of Lost Causes alone contains nearly 80 pages of drafts. “He carved songs like marble,” Brue says. “No wonder they’re undeniable.”

That rigor reshaped Brue’s own sense of craft. Archiving Earle’s journals – more than 800 pages total, still only a fraction of what exists – forced him to confront the fragility of legacy. “I’m looking at my own songs now like, why was I writing in the Notes app?” he said. “I need a box.”

The emotional core of The Journals came together when Brue met with Jenn and Etta, Earle’s daughter, flipping through the notebooks together. Etta clung to Brue’s arm as they turned the pages. “It felt like she was closer to her dad,” Brue said. “Jenn, closer to her husband. Me, closer to my idol.” From that moment on, failure wasn’t an option.

The album arrives alongside renewed attention to Earle’s life and work, including Jonathan Bernstein’s authorized biography, What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome. Together, they suggest something rare: a continuation rather than a conclusion.

“I feel like I’m a link in the chain,” Brue said, naming the lineage he feels bound to – Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Justin Townes Earle. “It’s rough and tumble right now. Which is perfect.”

For all its weight, The Journals isn’t morbid. It’s alive. It moves forward. Brue knows he doesn’t have to top it. He only has to honor it. And for now, that’s enough to keep the fire lit.

Photo Credit: Joshua Black Wilkins

The Mighty Résumés of
Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

The duo of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham have amassed an astonishing set of credentials, not only as exceptional soul, pop, rock, and country songwriters, but also as vocalists, producer (Penn), and session musician/sideman (Oldham). Both Alabama natives, they’ve maintained a successful professional relationship and close personal friendship since meeting in the late ’50s as teens. They’ve always characterized themselves as “country boys who love Black music.”

Penn initially viewed himself primarily as a singer. He was the lead vocalist for two local Alabama bands, the R&B group the Mark V Combo and a later one, Dan Penn and the Pallbearers. But he began to shift his focus in 1960, after his tune “Is A Bluebird Blue?” became an early hit for Conway Twitty. That song also reflected the joint musical influences that have always permeated the tunes co-written by Penn and Oldham. It’s country’s powerful storytelling edge combined with soul’s passionate energy and quest for personal salvation. Once the Twitty tune made it big, things changed in Penn’s mind. “That’s when I first decided that maybe this songwriting thing might work out,” he added. “After I saw some of the checks that were coming in, I decided to just keep going with it.”

Penn had already been working at SPAR Music studio, a place co-founded by Rick Hall and Billy Sherrill above a drugstore in Florence, Alabama. When Hall decided to open his own studio titled FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises), Penn became their first resident songwriter. He and Oldham began writing together at FAME, and both say they had a chemistry from the very beginning.

“Back in those days, co-writing wasn’t quite what it is today,” Penn continued. “But just from hanging out with Spooner and getting to know him, we had real good rapport from the beginning. I got to know and like him, and then things just kind of took off from there.”

“What Dan says is pretty much how it happened,” Oldham added. “We got a rhythm going and it’s never been one of those things where we’ve had any problems or issues.”

Interestingly, Oldham views himself as a musician first, then a songwriter. A prolific organist and keyboardist, he got his start playing in a traditional jazz band while in high school. The extensive list of top musicians he’s played with over the years includes Arlo Guthrie, Jim Croce, Gram Parsons, The Everly Brothers, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Gene Clark, Ry Cooder, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Bob Seger, Maria Muldaur, Rita Coolidge, Bobby Womack, Albert King, Helen Reddy, Harry Nilsson, Stephen Stills, J.J. Cale, and Neil Young. But in his earlier days, he also made his way to the FAME studios and had the first of many collaborations with Penn. Among their notable FAME triumphs were Percy Sledge’s “It Tears Me Up,” James and Bobby Purify’s “I’m Your Puppet,” and Joe Simon’s “Let’s Do It Over.”

But Penn wanted to produce as well as write and he left FAME for Memphis in the late ’60s, moving to Chips Moman’s American Studios. Oldham would later follow him there. Penn and Moman would craft their own set of soul classics, notably “Dark End of the Street” for James Carr, and “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” for Aretha Franklin. Penn got his first major production opportunity in 1967, with the Box Tops and then 16-year-old lead vocalist Alex Chilton. Penn produced their number one hit “The Letter,” then joined forces with Oldham to co-write the group’s second smash “Cry Like A Baby,” and the Sweet Inspirations’ “Sweet Inspiration.”

Oldham would eventually depart for Los Angeles and a prolific career as a session musician and sideman. He played keyboards on Young’s 1978 album Comes a Time, and continued to work with him on such other albums as Old Ways, Harvest Moon, Silver & Gold, and Prairie Wind. Oldham joined Bob Dylan during his Christian era, contributing to Dylan’s Saved album, the Saved Tour and the Shot of Love Tour. With Dylan, he played 79 shows, appeared on Saturday Night Live, and on the GRAMMY Awards telecast. Oldham also partnered with John Prine for the 1984 album Aimless Love and appeared on the 1994 release, A John Prine Christmas.

When Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reunited for their Freedom of Speech Tour, Oldham played keyboards. He also worked as a sideman and collaborated with Steve Wariner through the ’80s. They teamed on the song “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers.” During the ’90s, Oldham was featured on Jewel’s album Pieces of You, which produced the hit “Who Will Save Your Soul.” In the 2000s, he appeared on a pair of Frank Black albums, joined the Drive-By Truckers for their 2007 The Dirt Underneath tour, and played with Amos Lee, Aaron Neville, Bettye LaVette and Cat Power in 2008. He contributed to Keith Richards’ 2015 album Crosseyed Heart and Sheryl Crow’s Threads in 2019, as well as the Mountain Goats Dark In Here in 2021.

Penn established his own Memphis studio, then subsequently relocated to Nashville in the ’70s. He would have some country success with songs written for Ronnie Milsap and Johnny Rodriguez, and he’d also produce a pair of Milsap LPs – his debut album Ronnie Milsap, and co-producing A Rose By Any Other Name with Moman. He contributed the song “A Woman Left Lonely” to Janis Joplin’s album Pearl (later covered by Charlie Rich) and he’d cut an acclaimed solo album, Nobody’s Fool.

Penn and Oldham had another reunion in 1991 at New York’s Bottom Line, appearing in the songwriter series “In Their Own Words.” They also contributed to Arthur Alexander’s 1993 album Lonely Just Like Me. Later the duo made an acoustic tour throughout parts of the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Japan. It yielded the live album, Moments From This Theater, that was released in 1999. Penn also made another critically praised solo LP, Do Right Man, in 1994. Both Penn and Oldham are members of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Oldham is also in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a sideman, as well as the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville and the Birmingham Record Collectors Hall of Fame.

Both men currently remain busy. Penn’s Christmas tune “One Blue Light” was released last November and it was a message of “remembrance and hope” to highlight the holiday season. It’s the first single from Penn’s upcoming album, Smoke Filled Room, which is scheduled for release later this year. “There’s a song on there that I worked on for 20 years and I finally got it right this time,” he said in discussing the upcoming album. “Billy Lawson mixed it and we finally got it sounding the way that we wanted.”

Smoke Filled Room was recorded at Penn’s home studio and will be available on various streaming sites. “When I started out as a singer in the studios I’d always pay attention to what they were doing on the boards, the engineering, mixing, all of it,” Penn added. “So it wasn’t that much of a shift for me to go to production.”

Besides playing dates last year with Neil Young, Oldham also played with the Scottish band Texas on the 2024 release The Muscle Shoals Sessions, a collection of soul covers that the group recorded at FAME studios. He will be playing on an upcoming Robert Cray LP, with the sessions set to begin the week after our interview. Together, Penn and Oldham are doing some select dates this year in both the United States and United Kingdom.

Unfortunately, Oldham suffered an injury early in his recent appearances with Young. “The first week out I fell playing basketball and just tore myself up,” Oldham said. “But I’ve moved from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane, so I’m doing alright.”

Neither man will commit to claiming any one of their classics as their favorite, nor will they cite any one artist as the greatest that has covered their songs. But Penn mentions some names he was particularly happy he worked with as either a producer or songwriter. “Alex Chilton, Aretha Franklin, Joe Simon – so many I can’t really name them all.”

“I’ll just say I’m grateful to all the wonderful singers that did our songs,” Oldham added. “I really saw myself starting out – and still do – as a musician first, and I approached songwriting from that perspective. Dan would work on getting the words right, if there was a problem, and I’d work on fixing the music if anything went wrong on that end.”

Penn added the name of one singer who’s not recorded one of his songs that he’d enjoy having cut one: “Tom Jones,” Penn said. “I doubt if that’s ever going to happen, but I’d love for him to do one of them. He’s got a hell of a voice.”

Their opinions on the phenomenon of streaming aren’t as tinged with anger as some of their contemporaries, though they acknowledge that the compensation end has its problems. “Well, this generation has really gotten accustomed to getting its music that way, and you’ve got to be willing to adjust to that reality,” Penn said. “I don’t really have anything against it, but really, as a songwriter, [you] aren’t going to make a lot of money off it.”

“They definitely need to address the payment side of it,” Oldham said. “It’s definitely a way to get the music out to the public, but the musicians themselves aren’t really getting the benefits from it. That’s the area that they need to address.”

The exploits of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham are chronicled as part of the “Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising” exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. They will be appearing in concert at City Winery Nashville on January 18, 2026.

Photo Credit: Richard G. Mann

Langhorne Slim Takes Chances and Rocks Out

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

For more than 20 years, Langhorne Slim’s folk-leaning songs and rebellious nature have captivated crowds across the world. That trend continues on his ninth studio album, The Dreamin’ Kind, which takes a page out of Dolly Parton’s book and pivots toward rock ‘n’ roll in what’s arguably his most eye-opening collection of songs to date.

Out January 16 on Dualtone, the album is something Slim had long desired to make, finally coming to fruition after he had the opportunity to open for Greta Van Fleet at a show in Connecticut in 2021. The moment came mere months after having dropped what would be his debut on the Billboard Hot 200, Strawberry Mansion. But according to Greta’s bassist Sam F. Kiszka – who produced The Dreamin’ Kind – that wasn’t the band’s introduction to Slim. They’d been fans of his long before.

“I remember hearing Lost at Last, Volume 1 for the first time and it absolutely resonated with me,” Kiszka said in a press release. “[Slim] has the conviction of a hundred singers. He puts his entire body and soul into it. I listen to ‘The Way We Move’ and I think, ‘That’s a rock ‘n’ roll song, right there.’ Rock ‘n’ roll isn’t a sound, necessarily. It’s an energy, and he’s got it.”

Although the production takes on a strong Greta Van Fleet flavor on songs like “Haunted Man” and “Loyalty,” The Dreamin’ Kind also mixes in Slim’s folk-fueled identity as well, painting a sonic canvas that shows both where he’s come from and where he’s headed. Others, like “Strange Companion” and “Rickety Ol’ Bridge,” bring stylings together, with fuzzed out guitar licks and backbeats that portray a more folk-oriented stomp and clap mentality.

Ahead of the holiday season and a weekend run of shows opening for comedian Jordan Klepper (more on that below), Slim spoke with BGS about what inspired his foray into rock ‘n’ roll, how a letter inspired one of its songs, and how working with Greta Van Fleet’s Sam Kiszka and Daniel Wagner pushed him creatively.

What was your motivation for making the pivot to rock ‘n’ roll this deep into your career?

Langhorne Slim: It’s been a dream of mine for a long time. Some of the songs are definitely more of a departure from what I’ve previously done than others, but I don’t think that’ll come as a surprise to people who’ve been following me for a while now. Our live performances have always taken a page out of punk rock and rock ‘n’ roll, in addition to soul and folk music – genres be damned. Regardless of what it sounds like, most people just want to be moved by music.

When I first got started, I was playing a certain way, then a record deal followed and before you know it you’re forming an identity. But I eventually reached a point where I still loved my folky songs, but if I met new people or a fresh opportunity came about that would push me creatively, then let’s go for it! As I’ve grown older and built a family I think more and more about the identity I’ve built and what else is there when I start peeling back those layers – what else do I want to express? How might I want to use my voice or the instrument I play differently?

Rock ‘n’ roll was the natural progression of that, so when I became friends with Sam and Daniel from Greta Van Fleet, I think they saw that in me. From then on there was no pressure, we were just in it to have fun.

So this is something you’ve been wanting for a while, you just needed to find the right people to work with for everything to fall into place?

I’d been talking to a couple friends and people I admire about how when I made [2005’s When The Sun’s Gone Down] I wanted something at the crossroads of bluegrass and punk rock, like the Violent Femmes. I didn’t necessarily want to copy their sound, I just felt a kindred thing with their influences. So with [The Dreamin’ Kind], in my mind I was going for a garage rock meets gospel thing. I wouldn’t say that’s what the record actually became, but how I collaborated with Sam and everyone else for this record was so different from how I’ve worked in the past.

I liken it to a pitcher in baseball. As artists we sometimes focus too much on our strengths or “strong arm,” but I’ve only got so much time to live and I’m hungry to create. Before music my first thought ever about creating something had to do with building robots. With that in mind, the possibilities are endless when you think about all the people you could potentially collaborate with and the different creative bursts that could come from each.

That reminds me of something Ketch Secor told me in an interview a few months ago – “I am a container of multitudes.” It sounds like you’re the same way?

Ketch has been doing Old Crow for even longer than I’ve done my thing. I’m not somebody that says I don’t care if it lands, because I do, but most importantly I want my longtime supporters who’ve been so good to me to connect with this record. I’m not the first songwriter or creative person to say you can’t do the same stuff over and over, and I won’t be the last. At the end of the day, the power of music comes from the wonder and awe it provides us, so if what I’m doing doesn’t give me that same feeling then I’m not doing my job for the people, the energy and whatever else provides groove, melody and beauty in the form of music.

Another way you’ve pushed yourself outside your comfort zone lately has been on your gigs opening up shows for comedian Jordan Klepper. How did that connection come about and what have you learned from playing to a comedy show crowd?

I first met Jordan because my best friend Joel is a cameraman for The Daily Show. Jordan went on to officiate his wedding and through that Joel turned him onto my music. From there, we hit it off at the wedding and about a year later I got an email from Jordan about coming out and opening a few shows for him, which I was thrilled to do because, like you said, it’s out of my comfort zone. I knew there’d be a lot of people in the crowd not familiar with who I was.

That mix of excitement and fear reminds me of early in my career living in New York City, when I became friends with Eugene Mirman, a well-known comedian best known right now for his work as Gene Belcher on Bob’s Burgers. He had a comedy show on the Lower East Side that he’d invite me to be a regular musical guest on, so I did have experience playing comedy shows where nobody knew me. [Laughs] At one point Eugene invited me to play on a comedy tour that included him and a few other comedians who went on to make it big, like David Cross. They’d do their sets then I’d come out with my little hat and funny outfit and the entire crowd would start laughing thinking they were in for some musical comedy, but I was just playing my regular songs.

It was a tough place to break through at, but it taught me a lot. Jordan’s crowd is a little different though, because there’s people in the audience who actually know who I am, which is nice. I also try to cater the songs I play to his show to make them more topically relevant. It seems to be resonating so far – the reception I’ve received at the shows has been wonderful and beyond expectation.

It’s such a treat being on tour with a comedian, because when I’m on the road with another band I’ve found that I can’t watch them without analyzing and thinking how I could pull off what they’re doing. It’s hard to not put oneself in it, whereas watching a comedian it’s a lot easier to sit back, because it’s the same monologue and jokes. It’s how they’ve mastered the art of timing to add emphasis and help the joke land. It’s really fun to observe because I’ll just be sitting there laughing rather than wondering how I’d tell that same joke since it’s not the art form I do.

Sounds like a dream come true, which is also the name of one of the album’s songs. Is that a tune about manifesting the vision you have for your future, or are you unpacking something entirely different there?

You’re spot on. I wrote a letter to somebody, because my partner and I were thinking of moving out of the city and getting this country property, but it was way more than we could afford – I didn’t even know if they were gonna let our raggedy butts in there to take a look at it! So I wrote a letter to this woman and at the end I wrote, “It might be a long shot, but without a dream you can’t have a dream come true,” which also pulls a bit from Hammerstein’s “Happy Talk” (“If you don’t have a dream/ How you gonna have a dream come true?”).

On more general terms, it’s a song about casting aside your doubters and anything else in life that tells us to conform or dims the fire burning within us.

Like you said, you might not have gotten the house, but at least you got the song!

I look back now and there’s songs where I may not have gotten the girl (or in this case, house), but I did get the song, and that’s lasted longer than any relationship probably would. [Laughs]

Songs are like little miracles in that way.

While “Dream Come True” is all about looking ahead, you seem to be looking back on “Stealing Time” – which I’ve interpreted as a song about cherishing your moments with others and not taking them for granted. Is that the case?

There’s some reminiscing I’m doing on that one, too. Being a fairly new dad and sober man, I’ve noticed that being present and giving myself to and receiving somebody else’s time or energy is so rewarding. It’s so easy nowadays to run from our emotions and thoughts, which I used to do a lot with alcohol and drugs and all of us do now with our phones. There’s so many different ways that manifests and plays in my mind.

That song is also a phenomenon of love and infatuation and how one’s heart can be so on fire for somebody that closes theirs off to you. It’s like [Gotye’s] song “Somebody That I Used To Know” in that way.

Another song I wanted to ask about is “Haunted Man,” which to me comes off as the most Greta Van Fleet-sounding track on the album. What was the process for bringing it to life?

That song is the most collaborative that I did with those boys. It was also the tune that I fought Sam on the most, as far as not thinking it’d be a good fit [for the album]. Even after recording it, I didn’t think we’d include it as one of the dozen tracks, but Sam insisted I sit on it. Once all the songs were done I remember walking around my neighborhood pushing my son Silver in his stroller, listening to the songs, and making a mixtape of what stuff went well together. It was then when my perspective on the song changed and we decided to include it. Since then, the song has grown to become one of the most-liked tracks among our friends, which made me both happy and sad at first due to my ego. It’s easily the most different song on the record from what anybody’s heard me do before.

You just mentioned not thinking “Haunted Man” would make the cut onto the album. Does that mean you have extra material recorded we might hear more of sometime down the road?

For the basic tracks we spent nearly three weeks in the studio, with the first half with the Greta boys – me, Sam, Daniel, my dear friend Casey McAllister [who plays keys in my band], and multi-instrumentalist Cameron Neal [who mainly played electric guitar]. That portion was supposed to be the “rock” record, then for the second half I brought in my longtime band, The Law, to record a bunch of different stuff.

The plan was for them to be two separate records, but we wound up mix-matching a bit. Because of that, we have a bunch of leftover stuff we captured that I hope will be on my next record.

What has the experience of bringing this rock ‘n’ roll record to life taught you about yourself?

Do what scares you. See what else is there and burning inside you, don’t be afraid to take chances and rock out. I just want to keep making music that moves me and inspires other people. I never want to feel like I’m stagnant or compromising parts of myself.

I want to kiss the spirits in the way I feel they’ve kissed me so that I can give my all to the music.

Photo Credit: Kate LaMendola

WATCH: Bryan Sutton, “The Devil Went Down to Deep Gap” with Billy Strings

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Bryan Sutton with Billy Strings
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Devil Went Down to Deep Gap”
Album: From Roots to Branches
Release Date: January 9, 2026 (single/video)
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: How do you see Doc’s playing influencing both yours and Billy’s?

“I think beyond the specific influence of Doc’s guitar playing that informs most every note Billy or I may play, I know that we both are students of Doc’s complete artistry. To say Doc is just the most influential flatpicker ever is limiting. He brought so much to the table in his honest and emotional singing, his song choices and writing, banjo and harmonica playing, and Travis-style fingerpicking. He was not comfortable being labeled or limited within a specific genre. His onstage persona was true to him. Without being a ‘showman,’ he was informational when the song needed it and willing to share whatever emotion he might be experiencing. It’s also important to note that Doc and Merle’s duo playing has been a huge part of the overall focus for things Billy and I have done together. I know for both Billy and I, Doc provides a lifetime of inspiration, influence, and learning.”

How do you pay tribute to that in this song and video?

“First and foremost, this is kind of a silly or fun thing, along with being a somewhat serious tribute to Doc Watson. I wanted to use the song to have fun with the guitar shredding and good versus evil battle, but also imagine an origin story of how Arthel Watson could have become the ‘Doc’ we all have loved. Maybe it’s a gospel song in the way that Doc, even and especially in his blindness, can ‘see’ through the Devil’s lies. Ultimately, Doc carries his triumphant message to the world, and influences us all with wonderful and heartfelt music.”

It sounds like you had this concept before talking with Billy about it. How did the concept and song come to be, from start to finish?

“It was listening to Charlie Daniels’ original ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ with my youngest daughter, Lily. She has very eclectic and broad musical tastes. I’ve loved sharing music with her and checking out what she has discovered. We found some other covers of the original and one that stuck with me was Jerry Reed’s interpretation, where he makes Johnny a guitarist instead of a fiddler. I have been working on a duets record for some time, collecting recordings here and there with my pals, and knew I wanted to do something different with Billy, as he and I have a whole record of duet playing.

“Billy and I also share a love for heavy metal. I was trying to think of a way he and I could do something connected to this duets project that would allow us to play acoustic and electric. It all kind of came together when I realized this song would allow for that. The Doc origin story came about thinking how to make this not just a cover, but more personal and fun. It’s also another subtle tribute to Doc, who would oftentimes change or add lyrics to a song in order to make it fit for him. I fashioned the story, made a little demo, and sent it to Billy. He was into it and we were off.

“I feel fortunate that Del was into playing the Devil. I also am so happy to have T. Michael Coleman and Sam Bush on the track, who played many years on the road and studio with Doc. My pal Jerry Roe, who is Jerry Reed’s grandson, plays the drums, connecting to the Reed version that inspired me. Once I had the concept and demo for the song, I knew it had to be an animated video and discovered Pat Bradley of Springshoe Animation. It was wonderful working with him to take what had been in my head and be able to visualize it. Ultimately, all this came about a little piece at a time, and I’m so happy to share it with the world.” – Bryan Sutton

Track Credits:
Bryan Sutton – Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocal
Billy Strings – Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocal
Del McCoury – Vocal
T. Michael Coleman – Electric bass, harmony vocal
Sam Bush – Mandolin
Jerry Roe – Drums

Video Credits: Animation by Pat Bradley, Springshoe Animation.

Lead image courtesy of the artist.

LISTEN: Michael Daves, “Can’t Get There From Here” (R.E.M. Cover)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Michael Daves
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia (originally); New York, New York and Adams, Massachusetts (currently)
Song: Can’t Get There From Here
Album: Fables (EP)
Release Date: December 19, 2025
Label: Wild Geranium Records

In Their Words: “As a Georgia boy growing up in 1980s, R.E.M. was my first musical obsession and I still love those early albums. The dream logic, the obscure references to Southern culture, the addictive hooks, the ghostly background vocals. I thought it would be interesting to adapt one of them to bluegrass and it happens that Fables of the Reconstruction is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. It’s an arty rock album, but there’s a lot of droney stuff in there that sounds like it came from mountain dulcimer, banjo, and mandolin. The quartet I lead with Hargreaves, Jolliff, and Alvar has proven very adept at interpreting music from non-bluegrass sources and though they had no prior knowledge of this music, they were open to it and knocked it out of the park.” – Michael Daves

Track Credits:
Michael Daves – Guitar, vocals
Alex Hargreaves – Fiddle
Jacob Jolliff – Mandolin
Erik Alvar – Bass
Duncan Wickel – Cello
Sean Cahill – Background vocals
Jefferson Hamer – Background vocals

Video Credit: Jason Zucker

Photo Credit: Manish Gosalia

Confidence Is the Hallmark of Magnolia Boulevard’s Album Debut

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

While Kentucky is the birthplace of the father of bluegrass and as a hotbed for country artists, it also has much more to offer. Proof lies with Magnolia Boulevard, who’ve been turning heads with their mix of Appalachian soul and southern rock since their formation in 2017.

Led by powerhouse vocalist Maggie Noëlle – whose voice has drawn comparisons to everyone from Susan Tedeschi and Bonnie Raitt to Grace Potter and Amy Winehouse – the Lexington-based group has experienced highs like winning the band competition at Virginia’s FloydFest, hitting the road with Blues Traveler, and earning the personal endorsement of Paul Reed Smith and PRS Guitars – not to mention Noëlle becoming a mother. However, they’ve also experienced the lowest of lows, from having some of their biggest shows to date cancelled during the COVID pandemic to the unexpected death in 2021 of their drummer and founding member, Todd Copeland, that have done everything but derail them.

But instead of crumbling under the pressure, the band – now comprised of Ryan Allen (keys), Roddy Puckett (bass), Austin Lewis (lead guitar), Brandon Johnson (drums), and Noëlle – have fought through those trials and tribulations to deliver their long-awaited debut album. The self-titled effort looks at strength and perseverance in its many forms, from leaving relationships that are no longer serving you (“On My Own”) to learning to overcome and adapt regardless of the circumstances (“Strong-Willed Women”) and forgiving Noëlle’s father for never being around (“Nomad”).

According to Noëlle, the album marks a noticeable shift in her songwriting that reflects a much more personal tone and side of herself that she’s refrained from showing fully on stage, going all the way back to her days before the band when she sang in the bluegrass outfit Moonshine District.

“It’s taken a long time, but I’m finally realizing that songwriting for me is very much therapy,” she says. “Writing things down and getting it out and releasing it is just so gratifying and feels so empowering after being scared to do so for so long.”

During a candid conversation at an indoor market on Lexington’s north side, Noëlle spoke about everything from the long road to the band’s first album. We chat about how the sudden loss of Todd Copeland rocked the band’s world, the confluence of Appalachian and Southern music that informs the band’s sound, and more.

Why was now, eight years into the band, the right time to release your debut record?

Maggie Noëlle: I’ve wanted to put out a full-length record for years and years now. A lot of why we hadn’t yet was due to the age of streaming and constantly fighting the algorithm to get our name in front of people. Because of that, we’ve focused a lot on single releases as a way to gain more traction and win the algorithm over. But we also have a good, hard-working group of guys that are 100% for the music as a collective. Playing with them just comes so naturally, which has made everything from playing to writing together a lot easier. It’s about damn time! [Laughs]

Indeed it is! Regarding the song “It’s About Damn Time,” is it a reference to that long road to bringing the album to life, or something else entirely?

Ryan and I actually started “It’s About Damn Time” when we were driving to New Orleans to play an acoustic duo set at JazzFest. The idea was to portray the feeling of waiting around for things to change but ultimately realizing it’s you who has the control to change what you want in life. Even though it wasn’t originally meant for us as a band, it’s definitely shed some light on the progression of the group. It’s about damn time we finally have a full-length album!

You’ve had a lot of turnover in the band since 2017, from members coming and going to Todd Copeland’s death in 2021. What’s it been like continuing to make music as all of that has happened around you?

First and foremost, this band was Todd Copeland’s baby. He had an idea and knew he wanted to essentially give me a platform for my voice that I’d never had before with electric music. We kind of peaked during COVID after winning FloydFest’s On The Rise band competition in 2018 and going on tour with Blues Traveler in November 2019. But soon after, the world shut down, leading to the summer being letdown after letdown as we watched all the huge festivals we had lined up get canceled.

When 2021 rolled around, we were all excited to get back into the world until Todd’s unexpected passing, which shook all of us up in a way that we didn’t even understand. Obviously we were mourning our brother and friend, but it definitely shifted a lot of our energy. We’ve dealt with some more heavy punches since then, but we’ve also overcome a lot as well. Having someone in the group now like Roddy, who was close with Todd and played with him in the band Green Genes during the ‘90s, has made everything feel very full circle.

This album will also mark the band’s first vinyl release. What are you most excited about with that?

It’s something that fans have been asking us for for a while, so we’re thrilled to finally be giving it to them. We started taking some with us to sell at shows earlier this month and have already gone through a bunch of what we ordered. At the same time, though, it bugs me that so many songs from it are already released as singles. With records, I love listening to them front to back because oftentimes the track sequencing tells a story. But with how we approached releasing this it feels like it’s stealing some of the magic even though the full album still features three tracks – “Nomad,” “Anything,” and a cover of Robinella’s “Man Over” – that won’t be unveiled prior to it coming out.

Tell me about the Robinella cover?

When I was really little my aunt and uncle took me to Bristol Rhythm & Roots and I saw her perform. I was only 11 or 12 and fell madly in love with her and have been listening to the band ever since. She has a song called “Man Over” that I’ve long covered in my solo sets that Ryan really likes, so we decided to bring it to the band and put our own spin on it.

How did you decide which songs to put out as singles and which ones you wanted to save for the full album release?

Aside from the cover, “Nomad” and “Anything” are definitely two of my favorites that we recorded for the album. The latter is one that Ryan actually co-wrote with Madelyn Baier, who I didn’t meet until after the fact. When I did I told her how much I loved the song and she told me she thought it was meant for me to sing it. When Ryan first sent it to me I remember replaying it over and over. Before long, it turned into a mantra of sorts to help me acknowledge the special people and moments in my life and not turning a blind eye on things just because shit gets hard.

“Nomad” is also a very special song. Something I’ve always struggled with in my songwriting is opening up about my personal life, mental health, and emotions. That tune is a bit of a forgiveness song for my dad, who’s never really been a presence in my life. Rather than be bitter about it, I wanted to write a song that forgives him for that absence and reflects on how good a person I’ve turned out to be despite that.

“Strong-Willed Women” is another song that appears to take on a similar tone of highlighting strength to overcome adversity. Mind telling me about it?

I initially wrote that song when I was 17 or 18 about a health scare the women in my family were dealing with. It’s a song I never really expected to throw at this band, but Ryan always liked it and even helped me rewrite the bridge portion of it. It’s one we’ve been playing since the start that I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of. Lyrically it’s very close to what you described – about a person going through something really hard and overcoming it. Strength and resiliency are both really big parts of not just this track, but of the whole album.

You just mentioned how old “Strong-Willed Women” is compared to the other songs on the record. How do you feel you’ve evolved as a songwriter since penning that song in comparison to the newer tracks it joins here?

The difference is night and day and confidence is a big reason why. Ryan has always been in my corner encouraging me and trying to light a fire under my ass. He tells me that I have good songs inside me, I just need to practice and learn to use the tool correctly. I think a lot of what held me back in the past was being afraid to let all my dirty laundry out – not that I have much to begin with anyway. It’s taken a long time, but I’m finally realizing that songwriting for me is very much therapy. Writing things down and getting it out and releasing it is just so gratifying and feels so empowering after being scared to do so for so long.

With that in mind, what does it mean to you to be celebrating the album’s release back home with your biggest fans and earliest supporters at The Burl during your second annual Soul Stuffing Friendsgiving?

Being able to finally have a full length record out is such a personal achievement for me, and to share that with the community and people that have stood with us for eight years now is the icing on the cake. There’s some people – like you – who’ve been coming to all of our local shows and then some since the very beginning that have been begging us for this moment. There’s nothing more gratifying to have this moment with them back where this journey began. We’re also just very blessed – not only in Lexington, but Kentucky in general – to have so many talented musicians and other folks that we call friends who’ve been championing us for a long time too. It all feels like we’re one big family, which will make this celebration just after Thanksgiving all the more special.

What has the process of bringing this record to life taught you about yourself?

Like I said earlier, it’s taught me to have more confidence in myself – both on and off the stage. It’s taught me that I’m capable of letting people in more than what I have in the past and that I still have so much to learn. I’m always going to be my own worst critic, but when you have so much great feedback from great musicians and engineers like Duane Lundy it’s made it easier for me to accept their praise and keep my own thoughts and criticisms to myself.

Photos courtesy of the artist.

311’s Nick Hexum Trades Hard Rock for Bluegrass and Country

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Normally, when singer-guitarist Nick Hexum plays a gig, it’s fronting legendary hard rock band 311, performing for massive audiences in huge venues around the globe. But, on a recent evening in Knoxville, Tennessee, he was backed by Americana/bluegrass act Water Tower in front of a small crowd at the Open Chord, a cozy space on the west side of the city along Kingston Pike.

“I’ve always been drawn to music that has energy, and there’s so much energy in flatpicking, the banjo, the tremolo picking of the mandolin,” Hexum tells BGS backstage. “This stuff has rock and roll energy that predates rock and roll.”

For Hexum, this deep dive into bluegrass, country, and Americana of late has become something of an intrinsic mission from within. It’s the current soundtrack of a 55-year-old rock star carefully aiming to dig up and examine the melodic roots of his past – these existential anchor points needed to move forward.

“This whole experience is just bringing it really full circle, like a home,” Hexum says. “My mom is from Nashville, so this is me getting in touch with [memories of] when we used to go to visit my great aunt Margaret in Gatlinburg and she’d play the autoharp.”

Retracing old routes, both geographically and sonically, was no more apparent for Hexum than when he and Water Tower appeared at Americanafest in Nashville. The stop in Music City was part of a larger tour throughout the Southeast in an attempt for Hexum to not only reconnect with his past, but also create an opportunity to break new ground for his craft – especially outside of the hard rock juggernaut that is 311.

“I’m just grateful that fans are showing up and are open to seeing me do something completely different,” he says.

During the intimate set in Knoxville, Hexum and Water Tower crowded around a single microphone, weaving in, out, and around each other in a whirlwind of acoustic instruments and Hexum’s signature vocals. The show ran a gamut of material, whether it be classic 311 numbers or selections from Hexum’s latest solo record, Phases of Hope and Hollow.

“The intimacy [of the show], it’s wonderful to be so up close. It’s totally different [for me] from a technical situation – it takes silence,” Hexum reflects.

This project is the brainchild of Hexum and Water Tower’s Kenny Feinstein. Water Tower is a rising ensemble from Los Angeles, one which initially started as an old-time/punk group, only to lean further into becoming a high-energy string band. They raised more than a few eyebrows when they performed at the recent Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado.

“We’re walking into another side of Nick,” Feinstein says. “311 is all about bringing people together through unity and different styles of music, so this is another slice of Nick’s personality.”

For Feinstein, working with Hexum has been this surreal experience, personally and professionally. As a millennial growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Feinstein was a huge 311 fan, so much so he vividly remembers their video for the smash hit “Amber” and seeing 311 guitarist Tim Mahoney sporting a mohawk haircut.

“My friend and I saw the video and [decided] we needed mohawks,” Feinstein reminisces with a laugh. “So, all three of us went to a party [that night] and got our heads shaved into a mohawk.”

This latest musical chapter for Hexum and Water Tower happened serendipitously through the sober community both Hexum and Feinstein are part of in Los Angeles. Leading up to their crossing paths, Hexum had been heading down the rabbit hole of an Apple Music playlist that featured singer-songwriter Faye Webster. His ear perked up.

“I really like her songs, the pedal steel [sound], and the beautiful arrangements,” Hexum says of Webster. “And then, I reached out to Drew Vandenberg, who produces her music. We started talking about working together and one of the things I wanted to do was learn some of those instruments. So, I bought a pedal steel and took some lessons.”

Making space in his studio for the pedal steel, Hexum wanted to add a few more instruments into his creative arsenal, including the mandolin. Cue Feinstein. Meeting him through the sober community, Hexum asked Feinstein if he would teach him how to play the mandolin.

“I had [Kenny] over and I was like, ‘Let’s do something that sounds like [Faye Webster],’” Hexum says. “And he was just a cornucopia of ideas.”

At that juncture in his career, Hexum “mostly had played six-string guitar,” with these other instruments “a new world” for the artist. And yet, even though he was just learning how to play them, he was already well-versed in the sounds of bluegrass and country.

“Nick saw a dulcimer on my wall and I was really impressed that he knew what that was,” Feinstein recalls. “He told me about his heritage and [growing up] in Omaha and how he loved country and bluegrass. Then I said, ‘We should jam sometime.’”

That initial jam session between Hexum and Feinstein resulted in the duo writing five songs right out of the gate. Soon, Feinstein brought in Water Tower banjoist Tommy Drinkard and wrote several more.

“And now we’re on tour. It’s so special to see the humility that [Nick] carries, the gratitude and appreciation for all of his fans after so many years of doing it,” Feinstein says. “It just inspires us to have gratitude for where we’re at now, and to know the journey we’re on is about continuing to lessen the suffering [of others through music].”

“There’s so many people out there in the crowd crying, really taking it in,” Drinkard adds. “These are very intense subjects and Nick does a good job of explaining where he’s coming from with the songs he’s writing.”

For Hexum, this recent journey into the bluegrass realm has become this incredibly cathartic experience. He found himself not only dissecting his past and that of his parents, but also that of his ancestors going back generations.

“My mom is from Tennessee and my grandpa was a Southern Baptist minister,” Hexum notes. “Half of my family does have these southern roots, so when I hear bluegrass, it just feels like part of my DNA.”

Beyond the new music itself, Hexum views this ever-evolving project as part of his ongoing quest to find himself through this vibrant kaleidoscope of sound and purpose. It’s about stripping everything down, focusing on the essence of a particular melody, and always being aware of the beauty of the sacred platform that is live performance. Turn off the amps, pick up the acoustic guitar and huddle around a lone microphone, together.

“It has gotten to a point where I’m like, ‘All right, time is limited here, and I want to make the most of the time that I have now,’” Hexum says humbly. “I mean, when you see your kids get older and get their driver’s license and stuff like that, you just feel this passing of an era. And so, for me, it’s getting into a different mode of songwriting – really focusing on sincerity and simplicity.”

Photo Credit: Gentle Giant Digital

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Gena Britt, Sammy Brue, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Happy first Friday of November! Let’s kick off a month of new music roundups with our first edition of our usual weekly collection for November.

To begin, banjoist Gena Britt – whom you may know from Sister Sadie – releases her brand new solo album, Streets, Rivers, Dreams & Heartaches today. We’re sharing “What Kind of Memory Will You Be” off the new project to celebrate its launch. It’s one of Britt’s favorite tracks from the album. Her Sister Sadie bandmate, fiddler Deanie Richardson, is also included in our roundup today, joining fellow fiddler Kimber Ludiker (of Della Mae) on a twin fiddle rendition of a rip-roaring original instrumental, “No-See-Um Stomp.” It’ll have you dancing and smacking the hell out of some sandflies, too.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Sammy Brue previews his upcoming album that pays tribute to one of his creative heroes, Justin Townes Earle, by crafting songs from inhabiting and being inspired by Earle’s journals. Brue wrote “Lonely Mornings” based on snippets of unrecorded lyrics in Earle’s journals, before Earle’s own recording of “Lonely Mornings” was released on ALL IN last year. The tunes stem from the same source, and feel connected, but show the intricate ways a single origin point can grow into two distinct songs. Watch the video for Brue’s “Lonely Mornings” below.

Our Missouri bluegrass pals the HillBenders bring us a brand new music video for their most recent single, a rock and roll and disco-infused string band version of Ola Belle Reed’s classic, “I’ve Endured.” The band leans into their genre-blending tendencies and highlight a couple of new members in the new studio music video, too. Plus, Americana-folk singer-songwriter Brendan Walter launches his new album, Disappearing Days, today and we’re sharing a new music video for his song “Pipe Dream.” Contemplating the realities and trials of building a career in the music industry, “Pipe Dream” and the album together demonstrate Walter’s goals in music are anything but far-fetched.

Make sure to check out a new single from guitarist-writer-archivist Cameron Knowler, as well, who covers Elizabeth Cotten’s “Wilson Rag” in a simple, pared-down arrangement featuring acoustic guitar, pedal steel, and kick drum. Knowler tweaks Cotten’s original arrangement slightly, continuing the age-old tradition of musical transfer and cross-pollination in bluegrass, old-time, and beyond.

It’s quite a nice roundup to get the month rolling, isn’t it? Check it out for yourself below, ’cause You Gotta Hear This.

Gena Britt, “What Kind of Memory Will You Be”

Artist: Gena Britt
Hometown: Star, North Carolina
Song: “What Kind of Memory Will You Be”
Album: Streets, Rivers, Dreams & Heartaches
Release Date: November 7, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “This song was penned by one of my Sister Sadie bandmates Dani Flowers and co-written by Paul Sikes. She had actually sent it to us several years before she ever joined the band. I remembered it and pulled it back out when I was starting to gather songs for this recording. I asked her if she would mind if I recorded it one weekend that we were on the road and she graciously agreed. We had so much fun working this up and recording it in the studio. It ended up being one of my favorite tunes on the album. And, that Dobro ride at the end of the song by Jeff Partin is out of this world good! I hope everyone enjoys listening as much as we did recording it!” – Gena Britt

Track Credits:
Gena Britt – Banjo, lead vocal
John Meador – Guitar, harmony vocal
Alan Bartram – Acoustic bass, harmony vocal
Jason Carter – Fiddle
Jonathan Dillon – Mandolin
Jeff Partin – Resonator guitar
Tony Creasman – Drums, percussion

Sammy Brue, “Lonely Mornings”

Artist: Sammy Brue
Hometown: Ogden, Utah
Song: “Lonely Mornings”
Album: The Journals
Release Date: November 12, 2025 (video); January 23, 2026 (album)
Label: Bloodshot Records

In Their Words: “The song ‘Lonely Mornings’ was written in collaboration with Justin Townes Earle’s journals. After I wrote this song, New West Records released a new album of Justin’s called ALL IN which contained unreleased recordings and songs of his. I was ecstatic to find a song called ‘Lonely Mornings’; it was like a sign. Even though our songs didn’t sound similar, they are connected through a couple lines at the end of his last verse and a similar cadence on the tag line. I found the early rendition of his lyrics and they seemed to be almost a decade old, which goes to show how long Justin really carved a song like it was made of marble. I found inspiration and a whole song in just one verse of his true version of ‘Lonely Mornings’ before I even knew it existed. To me, this song holds the mundane scenes that go with living the artist lifestyle. It also holds a sentiment that we both share, which is the love of spending a morning alone… a writer’s heaven.” – Sammy Brue

The HillBenders, “Tradical Volume 1: I’ve Endured”

Artist: The HillBenders
Hometown: Springfield, Missouri
Song: “Tradical Volume 1: I’ve Endured”
Release Date: August 19, 2025 (single); November 7, 2025 (video)

In Their Words: “We’ve always leaned into ‘bluegrass meets rock ’n’ roll,’ a tag our late manager Louis Myers, co-founder of SXSW, gave us early on. So when we started talking about a new recording project, we didn’t feel the need to change course. Like I tell people, we blame our love for traditional roots music and classic rock on our parents’ vinyl collections. There are so many great legacies to pull from in that wax.

“Instead of putting out a standard album or EP, we decided to start a new series called Tradical, where we let those two loves live together. The first release is Tradical Volume 1: I’ve Endured. For the traditional side we went to Appalachian songwriter Ola Belle Reed’s classic ‘I’ve Endured’ and gave it a rock almost disco groove.

“This track also lets you hear our newest bandmates and singer-songwriters, Andrew Morris (banjo/mandolin) and Jody Bilyeu (keys/mandolin). Jody takes the lead vocal on this first Tradical release. This song is our nod to the rocky road that is show business and to the people who keep going against the odds simply because they love music and performing.” – Jimmy Rea

Track Credits:
Jim Rea – Guitar, harmony vocal
Gary Rea – Bass, harmony vocal
Jody Bilyeu – Mandolin, lead vocal
Andrew Morris – Banjo
John Anderson – Drums

Cameron Knowler, “Wilson Rag” 

Artist: Cameron Knowler
Hometown: Yuma, Arizona
Song: “Wilson Rag”
Album: East of the Gilas (Lagniappe Session)
Release Date: November 14, 2025 (EP)
Label: Castle Dome Records

In Their Words: “As far as anyone knows, Elizabeth Cotten composed ‘Wilson Rag’ and recorded it a few times on various projects. Though her performances often include a third part which changes slightly from take to take, I decided to focus on the first two parts, adding a bit of reharmonization to make the tune sing with my buddy Will Ellis’ pedal steel playing. Ellis also engineered this track at his home studio in East Nashville, where varied bird songs quietly spilled through a large window. I’m the one playing the ratty Lyon & Healy kick drum from the nineteen teens or twenties, which was performed live with an early-1900s Antonio Grauso acoustic guitar, tuned quite low. I’m also using one of Guy Clark’s old thumbpicks. This tune sure feels great under the fingers and is one that I’ve played for quite some time.” – Cameron Knowler

Track Credits:
Cameron Knowler – Acoustic guitar, kick drum
Will Ellis – Pedal steel, engineer

Deanie Richardson & Kimber Ludiker, “No-See-Um Stomp”

Artist: Deanie Richardson & Kimber Ludiker
Song: “No-See-Um Stomp”
Release Date: November 7, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘No-See-Um Stomp’ after meeting a flock of no-see-ums for the first time on the East Coast. As a PNW girl, I was mortified by their existence and the one billion bites I suffered. This tune came out of me very quickly. The first part is the swarm and the second part… human agony. I recorded it once with my band Della Mae and, although there’s an amazing ‘twin guitar’ moment with Avril Smith and Molly Tuttle, I always heard this tune as a twin fiddle tune. As you know, you never encounter just one of these bugs, so I’m very excited to have a twin fiddle version of this with Deanie Richardson. We took a mild ‘controlled chaos’ approach to this, which fits the tune perfectly. Instead of linear twin fiddle parts, we depart here and there, swarming around each other just like the little critters this tune was written for.” – Kimber Ludiker

Track Credits:
Deanie Richardson – Fiddle
Kimber Ludiker – Fiddle
Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar
Hasee Ciaccio – Upright bass
Tristan Scroggins – Mandolin
Kristin Scott Benson – Banjo

Brendan Walter, “Pipe Dream”

Artist: Brendan Walter
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Album: Disappearing Days
Song: “Pipe Dream”
Release Date: November 7, 2025
Label: RECORDS/Sony Music Nashville

In Their Words: “I started writing this song while I was still in college, when I was figuring out if I wanted to pursue my majors or follow my lifelong dream of being a musician. At first, music felt like a pipe dream due to the fact that I knew nothing about the industry or how to get started. During college and for about a year after graduating, I bartended full-time to survive while nurturing this dream to make music my full-time gig. Those long nights definitely lit a fire under me to fully pursue music. I had no idea how I was going to accomplish my dreams in this wildly new world, but I knew I wanted it more than anything else and I wasn’t going to stop until I could make it a reality.

“Now, having a couple years in the industry under my belt, I still feel like I’m the new kid on the block, but I know a lot of other artists have felt that way so I thought it was fitting to show a glimpse of my struggles and aspirations along the way. I also worked in a strum pattern inspired by Mumford & Sons, because their music got me into playing guitar and writing songs. I had the opportunity to play with session musicians for the first time when making my debut album and, on this song specifically, I got to play with the very talented Kurt Ozan. Hope everyone enjoys this one!” – Brendan Walter

Photo Credit: Gena Britt by Tom Turk; Sammy Brue by Joshua Black Wilkins.

The Glittering Golden Grass of The Brothers Comatose

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Bay Area five-piece The Brothers Comatose were actually founded by the brothers Morrison: that would be Ben on guitar and lead vocals and his brother Alex on banjo. The Morrisons came from a musical family and were influenced as much by classic rock as they were by country and bluegrass – their first album, Songs from the Stoop (2010), even contains a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers.” Initially, the band’s lineup included bassist Steve Height, fiddler Phil Brezina, and mandolin player Greg Fleischut.

In the 15 years since, they have stayed busy both in the studio and on the road. As anyone who has seen the band’s concerts can attest, The Brothers Comatose are anything but… comatose. Their live performances are known to be high energy and often include audience participation. They have supported everyone from Gillian Welch & David Rawlings to Yonder Mountain String Band to Trampled By Turtles. In addition, the group has played festivals like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Outside Lands.

The Brothers Comatose returned at the end of July with their fifth studio outing, Golden Grass. The title track, which also opens the album, came from an unlikely source. “A fan started calling our sound ‘golden grass,’” explains Ben Morrison. “And the phrase just felt right.”

Golden Grass arrives three years after the band’s prior album and continues their mix of traditional bluegrass and rock. But behind the scenes, there have been some changes. The Brothers recorded Golden Grass in two separate installments with two different producers, Greg Holden and Tim Bluhm. While they were making the disc, mandolin player Greg Fleischut decided to leave the group. His replacement, Addie Levy, is the first woman in the band and, at just 23, significantly younger than her fellow members. “We always thought it would be cool to have a female voice to hit those high harmonies,” says Morrison. “Addie’s such an incredible mandolin and fiddle player, but she’s also a great singer and songwriter in her own right.”

Golden Grass is probably a bit more diverse than the band’s previous albums. Beyond being their first release to include a woman singer and mandolin player, it’s more collaborative in general. Ben wrote several songs, of course, but other tracks were penned by Levy, Brezina, and Alex Morrison. Still, Golden Grass maintains a pretty consistent sound over its 10 songs. The title track sounds like a lost Allman Brothers tune from back in the day and other highlights include lovely ballads like “Home Again” (featuring Lindsay Lou on guest vocals) and “My Friend” as well as the funny, rollicking “The IPA Song.”

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Ben Morrison and Addie Levy for BGS.

To start with, tell me a little about the making of Golden Grass. I understand there were some changes between your last album and this one. Addie obviously is the new addition. And I guess Greg was the guy who left?

Ben Morrison: Yeah, Greg was in the band before. He left like halfway through the album. We recorded it in chunks. So we recorded half the album, we were working through the rest of the songs, and in that process, he left the band. Addie joined and recorded the second half of the album with us. But it’s funny. There are four mandolin players on [Golden Grass]. We had a couple of guest mandolin players on the album before Addie joined. Ronnie McCoury’s on there. It’s a good variety, I guess. [Laughs]

Tell me about the title track, which is also the first song on the album.

BM: That’s a good question. It started out with us trying to identify ourselves – that age-old question when you ask a musician what kind of music they play. “Well, it’s kind of hard to define. We’re jazz and pop and metal and boy band!” [Laughs] You know, it’s definitely pulling a lot from the bluegrass world. But also from a bunch of other influences.

We kept posting these things on Facebook and there’s this guy, Cyrus Clark, I believe his name is. He kept commenting about a lot of music coming from California – string band music specifically – going back to Old & In the Way. He kept saying, “Golden Grass! Brothers Comatose, Molly Tuttle, and AJ Lee.” We thought that was really cool.

I think I had just written it down in a notebook one day. And we did a cowrite – myself, our fiddle player Phil, and the guy that produced the second half of the record, Tim Bluhm. I was like, “What if we called it Golden Grass?” We started name-dropping different bands in the lyrics and kind of giving them a little shout out. We had fun with that and went with it.

“Home Again” – reading the press release, I know what inspired it. But just listening to the lyrics, I [probably] would have known anyway. For those of us on the East Coast, tell me a bit more about what [the wildfires] were like and how it affected the song.

BM: That wasn’t a personal story; it was about good friends of ours who lost their house in the Santa Cruz Mountains fires a few years back. For those of you not in California, there’s a fire season [here] where fires can just rip through and destroy communities. It’s pretty messed up and now it’s literally close to home. Some good friends of ours – all their property and their house got destroyed. I think it was during the pandemic and it hit me pretty hard. I was just really feeling for them and that song kinda came pretty quickly.

We had the song and thought about getting somebody to help sing it with us. Lindsay Lou’s been a friend for a long, long time and she’s such a great singer. We sent it to her and she was on it. It’s about a couple losing their house and building back together. So it made more sense to me as a duet.

I like the ballads on the album. Addie, I think you were the one who wrote “Blue Mountain?”

Addie Levy: I am.

Tell me a bit about the inspiration for that song.

AL: I’m from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I grew up in Appalachia my whole life. [The mountains] have always been a very big inspiration for my writing and who I am as a person.

I was driving to work one day and was listening to the Infamous Stringdusters’ [version of the Cure’s] “Just Like Heaven” and got really inspired by having a keen lick throughout the whole song. I was like, “I need to write a song like that.” It all came to me within the drive to work. I showed it to my mom when I got home and she kind of looked at me with concern. She was like “Are you and your boyfriend okay?” I was like, “What does that have to do with the song I just played you?” I accidentally wrote the entire thing about him – which is bad ‘cause he cheats on me in the song! But he doesn’t in real life! [Laughs]

There were all these little pieces. Like, I pass his exit to work every day. He knows my Starbucks order. I painted the walls blue in his bedroom in one of our first months of dating. I pulled all these little things I didn’t mean to. Then I had to show it to him. I was like, “I am so sorry I wrote this song about you!” But when you’re in a nice, healthy relationship – I don’t have that much stuff to complain about so I can’t really write about it!

“The IPA Song” is a fun track. Anything either of you want to share with me about that?

BM: When we play shows, we like to get people onstage to help us out – you know, for sing-alongs or whatever it might be. I think we’ve had more children onstage for “The IPA Song” than any other song, which is ridiculous. But they make signs and stuff – like the IPA circled with a line through it. We had a 15-year-old last night playing mandolin with us for that song! I mean, the lyrics are goofy, but I guess it’s a catchy one. It’s been a fun song to play live.

Going back to the Bay Area music scene. In the late ‘60s, it was known for bands like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and the whole psychedelic thing. And in the late ‘70s, there was something of a punk scene. Even in the ‘90s, there were bands like Counting Crows that recorded in San Francisco.

What is the scene like now? And with all these different musical sounds that have come from the city, how did you settle on more of an Americana/bluegrass sound?

BM: The band got its start in 2008 in San Francisco. My brother and I were living in a house on Haight Street – right in the thick of it. Phil lived a few blocks down, so he would come over. We continued to live in the city for a long time and there was a bustling scene. With bluegrass too – like this [past] weekend was the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. I kind of credit that festival with my direct interest with this kind of music. It’s massive, three-quarters of a million people throughout the weekend. It’s all free. Huge headliners. It’s not all bluegrass but it definitely leans in that direction.

It was so cool being exposed to different kinds of music that I hadn’t really listened to before. What was also cool was watching artists play – Del McCoury, John Prine, Emmylou Harris – all these players that were older. It seemed like the older you get, the more respect you get in this world. [That] was interesting, because I felt like in the rock world there was sort of a shelf life. Like “Oh, you’re in your late 20s in a rock band? Give it up, kid.” That kind of thing. But in this world, when you’re 70, you’re doing it! That was always so cool to me.

So San Francisco does have a pretty cool scene. Probably 10 years ago, a lot of people started moving out because tech started moving in [and it became] more expensive. But I’ve heard that it’s getting cool again. I don’t hang out there as much anymore ‘cause we’re on the road a lot and I’ve got two kids. I mean, Addie probably hangs out there more than I do.

AL: Anytime I’m in town, I try to find a bluegrass gang. There’s a couple of bars [where] I’ve made some good friends. Sometimes there are jams, sometimes they’re just drinking. But there are some really cool musicians in town.

Ben, I know your brother is also in the band. Tell me what Alex brings to The Brothers Comatose that is unique.

BM: Alex has swagger beyond belief. [Laughs] Is that what you would call it?

AL: Yeah. [He’s] the most photogenic, most in the vibe of every situation.

BM: And the way he plays, too. To me, he plays banjo like Keith Richards plays guitar. You know, he’s not trying to be the Yngwie Malmsteen of the banjo or anything. He’s just trying to make it groovy, stanky, in the pocket. It’s just got such good feel to it. And also, he’s a great songwriter and singer. But a lot of his influences come from [bands like] The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin. We used to listen to a lot of classic rock when we were kids.

Addie, I guess I wanted to ask you what it’s like so far as the new member of the band and also the first woman. Crashing the boys’ club, as it were.

AL: My very first show with them was in Idaho. I had never met any of them, I had one phone call with them and I had never been west of Nashville! You know, I grew up traveling up and down the East Coast and never really left. I remember touching down in Sun Valley and the realization hit that I knew two people there and they were leaving the next day. And I was like, “I’m gonna get murdered. I am gonna die out here!” [Laughs] I never heard of the festival, it was in the mountains somewhere… I was like, “This is the end.”

[I was] super anxious to start. I mean, our first show was a headlining slot that Sunday. That was terrifying. But [the Brothers Comatose are] just the greatest people. They’re so welcoming. And I’m an only child. So they’re really the siblings [I never had]… They’re the best.

Photo Credits: Lead image courtesy of Burning House Management. Alternate image by Jessie McCall.

Heather Aubrey Lloyd’s Guide to Murder Ballad Survival

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

As you might guess, there’s tens of dollars to be made working in folk music. One of the more macabre ways I’ve made a living is… um… off the dead, performing educational programs on gender inequality in murder ballads for more than a decade with my band, ilyAIMY (i love you And I Miss You).

Maybe I was just born spooky (Halloween birthday!), but I’ve made the most of my curiosity for folk music’s unnerving and often misogynistic underbelly. All while collecting a few outliers that turn the old tales on their heads.

First found in Europe in the 1600s, murder ballad poems and songs have since become heavily associated with traditional American music. A mainstay in country and folk – whether it’s Polly or Omie falling prey to poor choices, or “Stagger Lee” (a staple since 1897), or Brokeneck Girls: The Murder Ballad Musical selling out its 2023 run – we’re still pressing play on cautionary tales of love inextricably woven with violence and remorseless outlaws. But we’re also starting to look back at the facts, wondering more at why the women of murder ballads are voiceless victims and rarely vigilantes.

I’ve kept the body count relatively low on my new album, Panic Room with a View, but there are a few graves. It is October after all. So, witches, black widows, and wanton women – who makes it out from this Mixtape alive? – Heather Aubrey Lloyd

“Bang, Bang” – Nancy Sinatra

This one might be a metaphor, but the messaging sure isn’t. Love is interlaced with violence right from childhood: “He would always win the fight,” and she should have known better. P.S. Sinatra may be singing it, but this lament from the “female perspective” was written by Sonny Bono.

“Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies” – Odetta

In rare cases, it’s not a man’s voice behind the mask, but women warning one another to “lock their hearts” against lying lovers. Cause of death here will eventually be sorrow, but don’t worry – we’re getting to the grisly bits and what happens when you don’t heed the warnings.

“Pretty Polly” – Coon Creek Girls

Appalachian, music academic, or horror movie fan, we all know the rules: the girl getting “busy” is the first body to drop. This song has roots in 1750s English ballads, where the pregnant and unwed victim at least sometimes gets revenge as a ghost. Not so with most American versions of Polly, or North Carolina’s Omie Wise, where the vague-but-violent tale is told with little remorse or consequence.

This is the blueprint of the classic American murder ballad. He’s dug the grave in advance or brought her to the river (no obvious sin-cleansing symbolism here) and “her blood, it did flow.” In some versions of “The Knoxville Girl,” his friends still try to bail him out of jail. Though countless renditions exist (The Byrds, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, etc.), this stark presentation by the Coon Creek Girls has always been my favorite.

“Barbara Allen” – Joan Baez

Controversial opinion alert! I’ve always had a huge problem with the claim of “the world’s most-collected English-language folk ballad.”

Barbara Allen doesn’t die because she loves a man, but because she simply doesn’t. When women refuse there are still consequences, and “hard-hearted” Barb’ry follows “sweet” William to his grave, where he entwines with her in death. Ew. Still, it’s hard to argue with Baez’s perfectly mournful vocal take on this tune.

“The Dreadful End of Marianna for Sorcery” – Malinky

Or, if she says no and doesn’t die of sorrow, you can always cry “witch” and get her burned at the stake. Happy Halloween! You might think it’s a traditional, but this modern murder ballad from the year 2000 has a feminist twist; Marianna gets to tell on the men who wronged her, their hypocrisy revealed, her virtue extolled. This is a significant evolution from the third-person narrator (or male murderer’s perspective) pervasive in classic murder ballads.

“Frankie and Johnny” – Pete Seeger

Let’s get to a murderess. What if I told you Pete Seeger was singing you a lie? Did Frankie shoot her cheatin’ man? Yup, on October 14, 1899, Frankie Baker did. Was she sentenced to the electric chair for it? No. Songwriters didn’t bother waiting on the verdict. Besides, what ideas might women get if they thought they might get away with it?

Just days after the shooting, the streets of St. Louis were already singing. Frankie’s philandering beau, Allen, became “Albert” then “Johnny.” And Frankie, who unsuccessfully sued once a movie was made, was hounded by hundreds of renditions before she died in 1952.

“The Valley Is Ours” – Heather Aubrey Lloyd

Does a folk singer owe listeners absolute truth, or do we use bits and pieces of honesty to shed light on greater truths? As a songwriter and a former journalist, I’ve spent a while reconciling that question. This song from my freshly released album is a perfect example. I weave true stories from various eras of flood-ravaged Ellicott City, Maryland – a news article about a drowning victim, my time sanitizing debris from my friend’s submerged apartment – into a fictional family, unifying the experiences for the greater story representing all those who brave disaster and rebuild.

“Independence Day” – Martina McBride

If you’re an ’80s baby like me, this 1995 CMA Song of the Year (and one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time) was probably the first murder ballad you heard on the radio. Domestic violence, the standard trope, drives the battered wife to finally burn down the house with them both in it, leaving their surviving daughter to wonder, “I ain’t sayin’ it’s right or it’s wrong/ But maybe it’s the only way.”

I’ve spent years thinking about just how many other ways there should be for that woman. And maybe that’s the point of a great line like that. (I was too nervous to ask Gretchen Peters, the song’s writer, when I opened for her in 2022.)

“Silent Little Bells” – ilyAIMY

We all start by mimicking the art we loved growing up. So, it’s no wonder that in 2010 when it came time to write a murder ballad for my own band, ilyAIMY, I couldn’t seem to let the murderess get away with it, either. But my questions were starting. How do I reconcile my love of murder ballads with their problematic or outdated ideas? Can the women get more say in their stories?

“Can it be a sin/ For a woman done wrong to do the man done it/ Do that man right in?”

“Country Death Song” – The Violent Femmes

And I probably threw my fictional characters down a well, because I subconsciously remembered it from this song. We are all the culmination of everything we’ve ever heard and only think we’ve forgotten. This song’s presentation is so deadpan it’s almost parody, like a scary Halloween costume. An innocent daughter falls victim to a father’s starvation and madness. And when the victim is a woman child, at least, the murderer can’t live with the guilt and punishes himself.

“Delia’s Gone” – Johnny Cash

You can’t have a murder ballad Mixtape without Johnny Cash. The man in black – also a kind of persona/costume – put plenty of women in the ground through song, with a vocal delivery that’s dead serious. We know little about Delia’s actual “trifling” offenses, and as with early American murder ballads, much is left to the imagination.

“So if your woman’s devilish/ You can let her run/ Or you can bring her down and do her/ Like Delia got done…” references the old trope that men are somewhat justified killing sinful women, be it 1762 or 1962.

“Church Bells” – Carrie Underwood

Between 2000 and 2016 women got a lot of mixed messages about spousal abuse and murder ballads. The Chicks’ infamous “Goodbye Earl” was met with 14% of Radio & Records reporting stations refusing to play it with accusations the song “advocated premeditated murder.” Um … “Folsom Prison” much?!? Why not the same uproar for 2007’s “Gunpowder & Lead” wherein Miranda Lambert shows she’s willing, but we never get the actual trigger pull, or Underwood’s similar poisoning of an abusive husband in 2016?

Answer: It’s all about the aftermath and the attitude. The Chicks were too undeniably happy. “Church Bells,” meanwhile, walks the line that the bells toll for her in remorse and damnation, or that she finds absolution in the church.

“Pocket of God” – Cory Branan

When asked how the genre is evolving, I can’t hit play fast enough on this tune, featured on BGS in 2022. It has all the vicious, remorseless teeth I want in my bloody ballads – along with a surprising respect for its female victim. “Pocket” is reminiscent of a narcocorrido (Mexican drug ballad), narrated by a dealer who falls for a woman that becomes “a punch” he “couldn’t counter” and someone he “admired” for her intelligence. It’s only when she double-crosses him in business that he’s forced to kill her, like any other rogue henchman, as an example. But she haunts him.

“Oh (Field Recording)” – Laurel Hells Ramblers

Young artists keeping old Appalachian song traditions alive might be killing off a new kind of character – their former selves. Trans songstress Clover-Lynn follows up this boy’s murder by asking her father, “Oh, tell me daddy/ Can you ever forgive/ The death of your son/ So your daughter can live?”

“The Ballad of Yvonne Johnson” – Eliza Gilkyson

Trigger warning: this one’s a hard listen, but the truth always is. Instead of exploiting “Stagger Lee” as a Black anti-hero powerful enough to usurp the devil, or fetishizing Frankie in her kimono, we get the thorough, unflinching story of a Canadian Cree woman’s childhood abuse and the murder it drove her to, told in her words (Johnson shares a writing credit) through Gilkyson. All so that listeners can “awaken to themselves and to all people of this world.” When it comes to the fate of women in murder ballads, we’re starting to make room for greater complexity.

“Sisterly” – Jean Rohe

I’m skeptical that a song can change the world, but this song definitely changed me. When Rohe witnesses an assault on a woman from her window, she hesitates to get involved “in the name of it wasn’t me.”

“I’m not known for being sisterly/ Let the strong girls win and cut the weak ones free/ The boys lie, they say the boys are mean / Said I better get myself a spot on the boys’ team.”

We’re left uncertain of the girl’s fate, but mine was revealed. I was Rohe at the window, who didn’t like women I viewed as weak. I’d learned the rules to survive and they hadn’t. After I couldn’t look away from that part of myself, I started performing with more women, looking harder at where I stand in life and in the songs I love.

Photo Credit: Rob Hinkal