Artist:Aubrie Sellers Hometown: Los Angeles, California Latest album:World on Fire and Far From Home Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Aub, Ubrie, Grand Ole Aubrie
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
I’m hugely influenced by Buddy and Julie Miller. Their songwriting, production, voices, playing, everything is so incredible and unique. They put so much of their soul into every bit of it. Songs like “You Make My Heart Beat Too Fast” and “Dirty Water” are on my all-time favorites list. If the world of music was filled with with artists like Buddy and Julie, we would be looking at a very different landscape.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
On album release day for Far From Home, I was playing Town Hall in New York with Brandy Clark and Tanya Tucker. I was so excited that my record was out that day, and that I was getting to play with these two incredible artists who I admire. But, I was missing a lot of people who couldn’t be there with me to celebrate. In the middle of my set, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and my first thought was something had gone really wrong because they had been experiencing some technical issues. I turned around and Presley, Tanya’s daughter, was standing there with some flowers for me to make me feel more at home. That’s the first time I’ve ever cried on stage, and I’ll never forget it!
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?
I’m a huge movie fan, and I moved to Los Angeles to act. I know music in film has always inspired my music, never more so than on Far From Home. I was listening to a lot of Tarantino soundtracks leading up to making that record, and I think because of my love for films I’m always seeing those visuals in my head when making music. I think it probably also informs my love of production because I love putting together a song in the studio and giving the whole record that cohesive feeling that a lot of art-driven films have.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
I think the most important thing is to be true to yourself. As an artist, everyone around you has opinions on how things should be done, but you always have to follow your own light. Sometimes just being yourself can burn bridges if people don’t understand it. But, at the end of the day, I know if I don’t do that I won’t end up being proud of what I’m putting out into the world.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
Growing up, I often found acting much easier than singing because I could hide behind a character. I don’t find myself doing that with music, most of my songs, if not all, come from a very personal place and being on stage as a frontwoman feels incredibly vulnerable to me. I’m a very sensitive and introverted person, and I can often hide it, but that doesn’t make it any less true to me. I love listening to music that has that raw quality to it, and so I think that’s naturally come into my songwriting.
The Americana Music Association has revealed the nominees for its 19th annual Americana Honors & Awards, with Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, John Prine, Tanya Tucker, and Yola nominated for Artist of the Year. Nominees in the Duo/Group category are Black Pumas, Drive-By Truckers, The Highwomen, Buddy & Julie Miller, and Our Native Daughters. Nathaniel Rateliff and Aubrie Sellers received multiple nominations as well.
This year, the Americana Music Association expands its award categories to include five nominees instead of four, with the exception of Song of the Year, totaling six due to a nomination tie. The winners of each category will be announced during the Americana Honors & Awards on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
However, a press release states that “the health and safety of the Americana music community is the association’s utmost concern, and the event organizers will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely while following all national, state and local guidelines as they approach the scheduled ceremony date.” Ticketing information will be announced as plans unfold.
Here are the nominees for the 19th Annual Americana Honors & Awards
Artist of the Year: Brandi Carlile Brittany Howard John Prine Tanya Tucker Yola
Duo/Group of the Year: Black Pumas Drive-By Truckers The Highwomen Buddy & Julie Miller Our Native Daughters
Album of the Year: And It’s Still Alright, Nathaniel Rateliff, produced by James Barone, Patrick Meese and Nathaniel Rateliff Country Squire, Tyler Childers, produced by David Ferguson and Sturgill Simpson The Highwomen, The Highwomen, produced by Dave Cobb Jaime, Brittany Howard, produced by Brittany Howard While I’m Livin’, Tanya Tucker, produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings
Song of the Year: “And It’s Still Alright,” Nathaniel Rateliff, written by Nathaniel Rateliff “Bring My Flowers Now,” Tanya Tucker, written by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker “Crowded Table,” The Highwomen, written by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna “My Love Will Not Change,” Aubrie Sellers featuring Steve Earle, written by Billy Burnette and Shawn Camp “Stay High,” Brittany Howard, written by Brittany Howard “Thoughts and Prayers,” Drive-By Truckers, written by Patterson Hood
Emerging Act of the Year: Black Pumas Katie Pruitt Aubrie Sellers Billy Strings Kelsey Waldon
Instrumentalist of the Year: Ellen Angelico Annie Clements Brittany Haas Zachariah Hickman Rich Hinman
Photo credit: Brandi Carlile by Alysse Gafkjen; Brittany Howard by Danny Clinch; John Prine by Danny Clinch; Tanya Tucker by Danny Clinch; and Yola by Alysse Gafkjen.
AMA logo courtesy of the Americana Music Association.
With her new album Far From Home, Aubrie Sellers is living up to its title. Raised in Nashville as the daughter of musicians (Jason Sellers and Lee Ann Womack) and now living in Los Angeles, she absorbed bluegrass and country while still exploring genres with a harder edge. That spectrum of influences is apparent in her new music, which ranges from the softer sounds of the title track to the electrified vibe of “My Love Will Not Change,” a duet with Steve Earle.
Adding another meaning to “Far From Home,” Sellers wrote much of the album in Texas, and she’ll launch her national tour by opening for Tanya Tucker in New York City. BGS caught up with her just before she hit the road.
BGS: You recorded Far From Home at Sonic Ranch in Texas. What made you interested in working there?
Sellers: I was listening to a lot of what I call “desert music.” Tarantino soundtracks and The Ventures and stuff like that. I had taken my camper out to Marfa, Texas, and wrote some of the songs on this record there. I was very inspired by that vibe. My whole family is from Texas, so that kind of feels like my home.
Also I wanted to get outside of Nashville and I loved that idea that the whole band stays there while you’re recording. You immerse yourself in the making of the music. It’s really important for me to focus on making a record and having a cohesive experience. I feel like all that stuff tied together.
Why did you feel like you needed to get out of Nashville, do you think?
It’s nice to have no distractions. It’s nice to have a new environment. Your environment affects what you’re doing and I felt like it was important to have that vibe, since that’s what was in my brain already. It’s just nice to escape and make sure that you’re really focusing on making the record, and focusing on the music, and doing something different.
Is that the reason you moved to L.A. as well?
Yeah, I grew up in Nashville and I’ve been around that scene my whole life. It felt important for me to get out of there and experience some new things, and surround myself with a totally fresh energy. Also I went to acting school growing up and I’ve always wanted to do that. I find the film industry here really inspiring. I tried to come here when I was younger and I wasn’t quite ready, so this time it stuck.
You draw on a lot of influences and genres in your sound, but where do you think country music comes into your musical vision?
For sure I think my songwriting is country. I think it’s a little of that personal touch — and you don’t find that as much in other genres. There’s a simplicity to it, in a good way hopefully! And then sonically, steel guitar is one of my favorite instruments. I don’t want to make a record without steel guitar on it.
I listen to a lot of traditional country but I also really love that era of country with Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam and Lucinda Williams. I love Buddy Miller — he’s kind of on the fringe of country. Buddy and Julie Miller have been a huge influence on me. All of those, and of course, classic country like George Jones and Merle Haggard. Those were my biggest country influences.
Are you a fan of bluegrass?
Yeah, I play the banjo! I thought for a while when I was in high school that that’s what I was going to do. I love bluegrass. Ralph Stanley is my favorite singer. My dad grew up playing with Ricky Skaggs so I was around it a lot. I’m really inspired by bluegrass. On this record, I did “My Love Will Not Change,” which was written by Shawn Camp, but I knew the Del McCoury version. For me, there’s just a similarity in the intensity and the drive behind some bluegrass and rock and blues music. It’s got a simple, emotional feel to it, to me. All of those things connect in my brain and my heart. I love bluegrass.
What was your entrance point to Ralph Stanley? That’s a big catalog to navigate.
I guess just listening to old Stanley Brothers records. Fortunately I grew up in an era where I could explore all music on the internet, you know? So I would go into a bluegrass rabbit hole and listen to that. And then of course, I love the banjo. I think it’s like the electric guitar of bluegrass.
You co-produced this record, too [with Frank Liddell]. What kind of textures did you hope to capture?
I don’t bring in references or anything like that when I’m making music. I think it’s more important to have a vision in your head and make sure you’re bringing in the right players, putting them in the right environment, and having the right songs. Let it evolve, take your time, and let it breathe.
It’s the same with writing and choosing songs. I try not to make it like a factory. I try to let it happen organically. I think it’s making sure you’re putting together the right people in the right environment. You know, I had four guitar players on this record! Sometime it’s about having someone sit out for a song. Letting everything have room to breathe is my philosophy.
Often when songwriters talk process, we hear the same few nuggets about craft on repeat. Not Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Beth Nielsen Chapman, though. She has a deeply considered take on the art form and the personal work and qualities of mindfulness that truly unlock creative potential.
Chapman’s workshops and lectures are in high demand and coming in 2020 she launches The Song School, a podcast that will include her wisdom and critiques of real songs in real time. Here, she invites host Craig Havighurst into her home studio to talk about her success as an artist and writer for others (Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, and many more) and how she keeps the flame lit.
At BGS HQ one of our favorite, most-used phrases is “the BGS family.” Roots music is all about community, the people who coalesce around these genres and the spaces they inhabit being just as integral as the actual music-making itself. We always enjoy turning the spotlight on these communities, and one of the ways we do this best is by celebrating and lifting up the folks who’ve always been part of our BGS family, while constantly being on the prowl for new faces and stories to bring into the fold.
This year one of the most tangible representations of our BGS family through our content and coverage was our Friends & Neighbors column, simple features of must-see videos by artists, songwriters, and musicians we consider family (and friends and neighbors!) Y’all were on board. So many of our F&N posts were our most-popular, most-engaged with, and most-enjoyed music of the year! Thank you for being another essential part of our BGS family and for seeing what we’re trying to accomplish here and making that happen. Enjoy our best of Friends & Neighbors from 2019.
Boyz II Men and Steep Canyon Rangers, “Be Still Moses”
Boyz to bluegrass?! You read that right. R&B legends and vocal virtuosos Boyz II Men collaborated with North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers for this stunning reproduction of the bluegrass group’s 2007 song,“Be Still Moses.” During a Boyz II Men performance at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, twelve members of the Asheville Symphony joined the Rangers for this video, capturing what may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime performance of the song.
Rhiannon Giddens, Tiny Desk Concert
Former Carolina Chocolate Drops leader and old-time music maven Rhiannon Giddens has the uncanny ability to sing through an audience. In May, she released her third full-length, studio album, there is no Other, with Nonesuch Records. In this new chapter, Giddens collaborated with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, who is known for his virtuosity on percussion and jazz piano. Giddens, Turrisi, and bassist Jason Sypher stopped by NPR to perform some music from the latest record; watch as they stun the audience huddled around the Tiny Desk.
The Highwomen, “Redesigning Women”
Four world-class artists, one incredible supergroup — what’s not to love? The Highwomen have been taking the world by storm as they bring together some of country and Americana’s finest singers and songwriters. It’s no wonder their album has made many a year-end “best of” list — including our Top Moments of 2019.
Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlile, and Tenille Townes, “Delta Dawn”
Three generations of country music come together in one performance: Tenille Townes, a newbie on the country block; Brandi Carlile, a soon-to-be modern legend at the peak of her career; and Tanya Tucker, a legendary performer whose album, While I’m Livin’, was one of our favorites of the year. Together, the trio performs “Delta Dawn,” one of Tucker’s signature songs.
Molly Tuttle, “Take the Journey”
It’s been a huge year for Molly Tuttle. She’s blazed a trail through modern bluegrass, become one of the most prominent pickers around, and now she’s taking on roots music realms further and further from the string band territory in which she grew up. Feel the rhythm and energy in Tuttle’s national television debut performance of “Take the Journey,” our most popular Friends & Neighbors post of the year!
Photo of Molly Tuttle courtesy of Compass Records Photo of Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlile, and Tenille Townes courtesy of Cracker Barrel
Yes, even in this digital era, albums still matter, in particular in the genres covered by the team here at BGS, where storytelling is revered. Throughout 2019, we covered hundreds of new releases in folk, bluegrass, Americana, TV and film soundtracks, and really anything that had a roots feeling that rang true to us. Here are our eleven favorite albums we heard this year.
Charley Crockett, The Valley
From gospel-blues vocal cues to honky-tonkin’ steel guitar, Charley Crockett’s latest release, The Valley, has a little something for every roots music fan. His low croon makes an endearing vessel for deep lyrics — the album wrestles with mortality (likely a side effect of the two heart surgeries Crockett underwent in the weeks surrounding the recording sessions), love, and loneliness — but quick tempos, catchy melodies, and a hopeful takeaway keep the tone light. I have a feeling opener “Borrowed Time” will still be on loop in my head come 2030. – Dacey Orr
Maya de Vitry, Adaptations
Americana, especially its folkier, song-centered haunts, is remarkable in the way that it grapples with the realities of the millennial condition — granted, this most often occurs in a somewhat tactless, blinders-on, privilege unchecked sort of way. A deeper undercurrent is eroding that norm, though, a flow in which songwriters and music sculptors like Maya de Vitry thrive, reckoning not with the woes of this generation and this angst-filled time in history in saccharine, derivative ways, but by baring all, relinquishing shame, and believing the radical idea that human connection means seeing — and being seen. In Adaptations, de Vitry takes this unspoken mandate deeper still, not only lifting up whatever opaque barriers may obscure, but also shining a cleansing light on them, packaging her own (very relatable) internal and external debates in songs that are catchy, musical, intuitive, and craveable. – Justin Hiltner
Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi, there is no Other
We talk about music cutting across borders, linking cultures, spanning eras. Few albums have embodied that as deftly, as enchantingly, as unforcedly as this set from folk-blues-and-beyond stylist Giddens and Italian percussionist Turrisi. On much of this, they mesh Southern traditions stretching back to music brought by enslaved peoples from Africa and immigrants from Europe with Mediterranean sounds echoing through the centuries back to the Crusades. It proves a natural mix, as much can ultimately be traced to common origins in the Middle East and North Africa — though you don’t have to know the musicology to be enraptured by the vibrant performances. And that goes for their Menotti opera piece (via Nina Simone) too. – Steve Hochman
Takumi Kodera, Sunset Glow
Japan’s flourishing bluegrass scene is little-known to most Americans, but it’s a community that has been developing in the shadows of Western-centered bluegrass for years. This past August we saw an example of the talent coming out of Japan with the release of Tokyo-based banjoist Takumi Kodera’s debut album, Sunset Glow. It’s a record rich with creative textures and thoroughly composed arrangements of both original tunes and bluegrass standards. Kodera is definitely an artist to follow going forward. – Carter Shilts
J.S. Ondara, Tales of America
In 2013, J.S. Ondara moved from his native Kenya to Minnesota (the home state of his hero Bob Dylan) seeking inspiration and musical opportunity. Six years later, he released his breakout record, Tales of America: a reckoning of the realities of romanticism that come with moving to a place you only knew in your mind, and the dichotomy of the failures and freedom of the modern “American Dream.” With veteran producer Mike Viola at the album’s helm (and supported by an impressive roster of guest artists like Andrew Bird, Dawes’ Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, and Joey Ryan of the Milk Carton Kids), Ondara steps outside of the shadow of his idol’s influence and completely into his own. – Amy Reitnouer Jacobs
Joan Shelley, Like the River Loves the Sea
Shelley traveled all the way to Iceland to record this album, but that distance gave her a new perspective on the place she calls home. This is at heart a Kentucky album: She incorporates various strings of regional music, sings and plays with other Louisville musicians (including Will Oldham and Nathan Salsburg), and gains some perspective on a place often described as being five years behind the rest of the country. But her steady voice and imaginative melodies, her incisive words and deft picking all mean that songs like “Awake” (about the angst of being in a city) and “The Fading” (about the beauty of entropy) hit with a quiet, intense power even if you’ve never set foot in the Bluegrass State. – Stephen Deusner
Larry Sparks, New Moon Over My Shoulder
Larry Sparks makes bluegrass music to satisfy his own traditional leanings, yet New Moon Over My Shoulder would appeal to anyone who cares about emotion, vocal control, and eloquence in their music collection. His gospel songs shine, his guitar playing is exquisite, and his delivery of “Annie’s Boy” proves he’s one of the most expressive vocalists that bluegrass has ever known. – Craig Shelburne
Andy Statman, Monroe Bus
Time and time again, as musicians with deep, unassailable bluegrass cred release albums that challenge absolutely every precept and entrenched tennant of the genre, a rule of thumb is made apparent: To be a “legit” bluegrass picker is to not give a shit about what is or is not bluegrass. With Monroe Bus Brooklyn-based mandolinist Andy Statman turns tradition on its ear — it’s still fully recognizable, just placed slightly out of reach, as a kind mother knowingly weans a petulant child, keeping the prize in sight as a security blanket. The album takes twists and turns through jazz, blues, bebop, klezmer, and yes, bluegrass, and it all feels right. So much so, a listener might not even blink at the title’s evocation of the Father of Bluegrass. – Justin Hiltner
Billy Strings, Home
Billy Strings is a force to be reckoned with. As a flatpicker, a singer, a writer, and a performer, the IBMA Award-winning guitarist has been storming the bluegrass scene, and 2019 was especially good to him. While continuing his seemingly endless tour, Strings released his highly-anticipated sophomore album, Home. The project hits all the right buttons — classic bluegrass styling, vibrant playing, and discerning songwriting. In its class of new releases in 2019, Home shines among the brightest. – Jonny Therrien
Tanya Tucker, While I’m Livin’
What makes this Tanya Tucker album so special? For me, it comes down to one word: personality. Nobody else sounds like her – the rasp, the catch in her voice, the way she phrases words like “Vegas” and “Texas” to make the story in a song her own. Her undiminished bravado is put to good use on “Hard Luck,” but very few vocalists can scale things back with equal power. Tucker does it every time. – Craig Shelburne
Yola, Walk Through Fire
Figure skating isn’t the first thing to come to mind when considering the year’s best albums, but Yola’s blazing debut, Walk Through Fire, reminds me of the glory days of the sport, before the scoring system changed, when judges would deliberately reserve perfect scores — the ever-elusive 10s — for athletes taking the ice toward the end of the competition. The terroir of Dan Auerbach’s production style met its match with Yola; they fashioned an album that’s transcendent, truly timeless, and an apt distillation of this exact moment in country and Americana. It’s fortuitous then, that at the end of the 2010s, we’ve reserved one last perfect score with which to declare this masterpiece not only one of the best albums of the year, but of the decade, too. – Justin Hiltner
If music happened in 2019, but wasn’t a “song” or an “album,” does it make a sound– er… does it warrant real estate in any of the many year-end pieces, wrap-ups, and lists hitting the internet on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis? Why, of course it does! Each year BGS notes Top Moments of roots music — whatever form they may take — as a way of reminding ourselves that the art we each consume, especially of the musical variety, is often at its best when it eschews the formats and media we expect and/or most closely associate with it. What changes about the way we view a year in music when we alter the context as such? First and foremost, we change just that — our viewpoint. Turns out that makes a world of difference.
Speaking of top moments, one of the best for the BGS team took place just last week, as we premiered a brand new look with an updated homepage and logo. A lighter color palate, clean modern lines, and updated fonts usher in a new era for the site, and hopefully a positive reading experience for you, our beloved fans and readers. Not unlike the state of roots music itself, our new look is constantly evolving, but what’s at the heart of it remains timeless. Now, read about more moments that turned our heads and caught our ears over the course of the past 12 months.
Chris Stapleton Creates LEGO Alter Ego
When Chris Stapleton’s music video for “Second One to Know” hit YouTube, I found myself musing, “What are the benchmarks we use to determine someone’s level of notoriety? What are their claims to fame? Owning a tour bus? Having your first number one hit? Being the musical guest on SNL? Having a highway named after you? Or perhaps a proclamation from your local public figures designating a [Named After You] Day?” Seriously, can you imagine getting to a point in your country pickin’ / singin’ / songwritin’ career where your Game of Thrones cameo falls into the background of your music video star LEGO-self?
I would be remiss if in this blurb I did not mention another real-ass country singer/songwriter/rabble-rouser who dabbled in alternative visual media this year, too — that would be Sturgill Simpson’s “Sing Along.” More of this oddball, non sequitur energy in country in 2020, please. – Justin Hiltner
Dolly Parton’s America Podcast Finds Common Ground
Epiphanies in the podcast series Dolly Parton’s America are too many to count, as host Jad Abumrad and his team explore the notion that the Tennessee songbird is a rare unifying force in the fractured socio-cultural universe — everyone loves Dolly! But the fourth episode, titled “Neon Moss,” finding the common ground of Dolly’s Tennessee mountain home and the Lebanon mountain home in which Abumrad’s dad (a doctor who became friends with Parton after treating her in Nashville) grew up is gripping on a cultural and emotional level. Bonus: BGS’ own Justin Hiltner and his banjo pop up as a key part of a later episode. – Steve Hochman
Duos, Duos, and More Duos
Were you seeing double this summer? Mandolin Orange, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Shovels & Rope offered exceptional albums and sold tons of tickets. From the sweeping San Isabel from Jamestown Revival to the intimacy of Buddy & Julie Miller’s Breakdown on 20th Avenue South, roots duos were having their moment. Personal favorites included The Small Glories and Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, but the true discovery for me was Dravus House, a Seattle duo who delivered an understated and beautiful album that blends Elena Loper’s vocal with Cooper Stouli’s soft touch on guitar to stunning effect. – Craig Shelburne
Del McCoury Turns 80
At 80 years old, Del McCoury has witnessed the rise of bluegrass while still being actively involved in it. (In fact, he’s got a gig this weekend in New York with David Grisman, Jerry Douglas, Drew Emmitt, Andy Falco, and Vince Herman.) An all-star tribute at the Grand Ole Opry provided perhaps the most musically satisfying night of music this year for me, mostly because The Del McCoury Band has still got it (and they make it look like so much fun). Check out their 2019 performance on Live From Here With Chris Thile. – Craig Shelburne
Hadestown Wins Big on Broadway
In an era when Broadway has seemingly been taken over by jukebox musicals that rehash the catalogs of legacy artists, watching Anaïs Mitchell pick up eight Tony Awards for Hadestown was a surreal triumph. For those of us who have followed Mitchell’s career over the past couple of decades, it was truly remarkable to see a grassroots musical that she first staged in 2006 reach the heights of Broadway, earning her a win for Best Musical and Best Original Score. “Wait for Me,” indeed. – Chris Jacobs
Ken Burns Digs Deep into the Roots of Country Music
Ken Burns has a long history of digging into America’s deepest roots, through documentaries like The Civil War, Jazz, Baseball, and The National Parks. In 2019 he took those roots in a more on-the-nose direction, exploring the long and varied history of American Roots Music through his PBS documentary series Country Music, which premiered in September. As the filmmaker himself said in a recent interview, “Country Music is about two four-letter words: love and loss.” Thanks to Burns, who looks unflinchingly at all of the different stories that have shaped this music, we get to see the love, the loss, and everything in between. – Amy Reitnouer Jacobs
MerleFest and IBMA, Rediscovered
After a long break, I made an effort to reconnect with two of the preeminent roots music festivals in 2019 – MerleFest and IBMA’s World of Bluegrass. With other obligations in Nashville, it had been five or six years since I’d attended either, and both surprised me for different reasons. At MerleFest, I was struck by the caliber and diversity of artists, in particular for landing a headlining set by Brandi Carlile in her breakout year. Five months later, I returned to North Carolina to see IBMA in action, amazed by the way that the city of Raleigh has embraced the musical experience, from the Bluegrass Ramble to the StreetFest with plenty of outdoor stages. North Carolina, I’ve got you in my 2020 vision. #ComeHearNC – Craig Shelburne
“Old Town Road” Can Lead Anywhere
Is “Old Town Road” country? Like millions, maybe even billions of fans, I’m inclined to answer that question with an emphatic “Of course it is!” But I’m also inclined to ask: What else is this song? Is it roots music? Is it folk? Blues? Yes, yes, and yes. That chorus is powerful in its simplicity, and it’s not hard to imagine Doc Watson singing those lines or Geechie Wiley intoning that sentiment mysteriously from some lost B-side, accompanied by a century of acetate scratches and surface noise. Almost accidentally existential, the chorus speaks to an unnamed American melancholy, and it can mean anything you want it to mean and be anything you want it to be. – Stephen Deusner
Roots Music Don’t Need No Man
No, like literally. After 2019 we can definitively say that roots music as a whole does not need any men. From the first albums of the year (say, Maya de Vitry’s Adaptations or Mary Bragg’s Violets as Camouflage), followed by two indomitable women of the Grammys (Kacey Musgraves and Brandi Carlile), then two universally regarded supergroups (Our Native Daughters, the Highwomen), the resurgence of true legends (like Reba McEntire’s Stronger Than the Truth and Tanya Tucker’s While I’m Livin’), to a Newport Folk Fest collaboration that combined nearly all of our favorites, this year in Americana, bluegrass, old-time, and folk has been defined by women. There were pickers (Molly Tuttle, Nora Brown, Gina Furtado), there were scholars (Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves, Our Native Daughters), there were poets (Caroline Spence, Jamie Drake) — repeatedly this year I found myself in musical spaces that, if all of the men were subtracted, I would still want for nothing. #GiveWomenAmericana – Justin Hiltner
Yola’s Meteoric Rise
Co-write sessions and frontwoman-for-hire gigs aptly prepared Yola for the non-stop successes she’s had in 2019, from sharing stages with childhood heroes Mavis Staples and Dolly Parton to nabbing a whopping four Grammy nominations, including a coveted Best New Artist nod. Kicking off the whirlwind year was her Dan Auerbach-produced debut solo album, Walk Through Fire, a beginning-to-end stunner and a sure sign that Yola’s star power will only continue to rise. The ample steel guitar on “Rock Me Gently,” the countrypolitan charm of “Ride Out in the Country,” and the buoyant old-school soul of a new bonus track “I Don’t Wanna Lie” show off an eclectic roster of influences and a striking vocal range. But the album standout might be its only number written solely by Yola, “It Ain’t Easier,” a slow-burner with a hell of a bridge that pays tribute to the hard work behind even the greatest of loves. On the stage, in the studio, and in everything she does, Yola is putting in the work — and we can’t wait to see what 2020 holds. – Dacey Orr
Here at The Bluegrass Situation, we’re always eager to hear a new song. This year it’s likely that thousands of them drifted by, each with their own charms. Yet, rather than ranking our favorites, we decided simply to pick tunes that reached out and grabbed our attention in 2019 — listed here in alphabetical order. Take a look.
Brad Armstrong, “Carry Your Head High”
Formerly of the great Alabama art-folk outfit 13ghosts and more recently a member of the impossible-to-kill Dexateens, this Birmingham singer-songwriter has in the last few years emerged as a solo artist who can bend old musical forms into brand new shapes. “Carry Your Head High,” off his second album, I Got No Place Remembers Me, may be his most stunning composition yet, a churchly acoustic hymn of self-reckoning and survival that builds to a weird, intensely ecstatic climax. It’s the sound of a man shaking loose every last burden. – Stephen Deusner
Bedouine, “Echo Park”
Carrying on a long legacy of Eastside LA troubadours, Bedouine’s standout track from her brilliant sophomore album captures the essence of lackadaisical days in the Southern California sunshine by Echo Park Lake. On repeat all year long. – Amy Reitnouer Jacobs
Dale Ann Bradley, “The Hard Way Every Time”
An exquisite singer, Dale Ann Bradley has put her stamp on countless cover songs, but there’s something special about the way she interprets this 1973 gem written and recorded by Jim Croce. More than just singing it, she inhabits it. The poignant lyrics allude to lessons learned and dreams broken, but also the insistence that the narrator wouldn’t have done it any other way. Through Dale Ann’s perspective, it’s presented as a blend of nostalgia and fortitude, delivered by one of bluegrass’ most believable vocalists. Musical support from Tina Adair, Tim Dishman, Jody King, and Scott Vestal round out the good vibes. – Craig Shelburne
Tyler Childers, “All Your’n”
It was a banner year for Tyler Childers, whose seemingly endless run of sold-out tour dates gave way to a staggering sophomore album, Country Squire, that took his snarly Appalachian drawl and quick-witted lyrics to the top of the Americana charts (and to college football fans everywhere). From the sweeping piano at the outset to the final wail of affection, “All Your’n” elevates van-tour vernacular to a kind of love language — “loading in, and breaking down / my road dog, door-deal dreams” — with a grin of a chorus that conveys a confident, just-gets-better-with-time kind of intimacy, miles between be damned. – Dacey Orr Sivewright
Charley Crockett, “The Valley”
A life story set to music, “The Valley” recounts the bumps along the way for this Texas musician, who somehow overcame the obstacles — from tough family situations to open-heart surgery — to create an exceptional album of the same name. Echoing his own experiences, the instrumentation on “The Valley” is a pendulum of highs and lows, yet sits squarely in classic country territory, thanks to Crockett’s magnetic voice and the through line of superb steel guitar. – Craig Shelburne
Maya de Vitry, “How Do I Get to the Morning”
This earworm caught me after seeing Maya de Vitry at The Basement in Nashville a few months before the release of her album, Adaptations. If you’re not familiar, The Basement is essentially that – a small club below the former location of Grimey’s Records. It’s dark, intimate, and sports a max capacity of about 50, but de Vitry lit the place up with this one. It’s funky, soulful, positive, and it’s bound to leave you humming the chorus for weeks after your first listen. – Carter Shilts
J.S. Ondara, “American Dream”
A kid from Kenya, obsessed with Bob Dylan, wings his way to Minneapolis, starts playing music and, a few years later, has a deal with Verve Records and an acclaimed, highly affecting debut album. American Dream, indeed. But his song of that title is full of unsettling images — guns, beasts, ghosts — the darkness at once belied and deepened by his sweet, accented voice and lilting jazz-folk settings, echoing Van Morrison as much as the Bard of Hibbing. If you see him perform or talk with him (read our BGS feature from February), though, his hope and optimism beam through. – Steve Hochman
Our Native Daughters, “Black Myself”
Though watching a majority-white audience gleefully shout along to this righteously vengeful, imposing, empowered anthem by Amythyst Kiah might justifiably raise an eyebrow or two, this phenomenon is a testament to those Black musicians and creators who lead the way in actively un-writing myths that claim Black experiences and Black stories — especially those of Black women — are not relatable to the mainstream and its consumers. Recorded with Rhiannon Giddens, Allison Russell, and Leyla McCalla on Songs of Our Native Daughters, this track demonstrates that talking about our shared history, telling our truths without censorship or defensive reflexes, is key to moving forward with healing and intention. And just a dash of raisin’ hell, too. – Justin Hiltner
Tanya Tucker, “Wheels of Laredo”
For an album with a largely decentralized creative process — Tucker herself has been quoted in numerous interviews describing having to warm up to the songs, the recordings, and the entire project — While I’m Livin’ is a perfect distillation of the persona, the vim and vigor, and the pure X-factor that makes Tanya Tanya. (Read our Artist of the Month feature from August.) “The Wheels of Laredo,” written by Brandi Carlile and Tim and Phil Hanseroth, remarkably sounds as if it’s been plucked directly from the subconscious and lived experiences of Tucker herself. A haunting refrain, “If I was a White-crowned Sparrow…” reminds us that the human barriers by which we allow ourselves to be thwarted are just that. Human. No one stops a sparrow at the border of a not-so-distant land. – Justin Hiltner
Yola, “Faraway Look”
You know an album is special when a deluxe edition is released in the same year of its debut. Yola’s Walk Through Fire is just that kind of record. (Read our interview.) The opening track, “Faraway Look,” sets up the album with a soaring chorus and vintage vibe, paving the way for what’s to come. And with four Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist, it’s sure to continue its relevance well into 2020. — Chris Jacobs
Plenty of artists find a day job while they work on their careers in music. CJ Lewandowski found a career in music while working his day job. A mandolin player and singer, he was working at Ole Smoky Distillery in Sevierville, Tennessee, and would frequently fill in as musical entertainment when a hired act fell through. Eventually, the distillery approached him about forming a band, and the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys were formed.
“There’s never really been a plan,” jokes Lewandowski, who says that regular hours on stage helped the longtime friends tighten up fast as a band. “We play the music that we like, and we happen to have some songs that we’ve written.” That no-plan plan has gotten them pretty far. In 2018, the group won Emerging Artist of the Year at the IBMA awards and in August they released their Rounder Records debut, Toils, Tears, and Trouble. They’ll also appear at Bourbon & Beyond festival in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 20.
The twelve-song album includes fan favorite “Old New Borrowed Blue,” an original, as well as inventive interpretations of songs by legends and unsung genre heroes alike. The band’s Stanley Brothers-inspired take on Roy Acuff’s “Searching for a Soldier’s Grave” is right at home alongside the Boys’ rendition of “Bidding America Goodbye,” made popular by Tanya Tucker. And “Next Train South,” originally recorded by Dub Crouch, Norman Ford & The Bluegrass Rounders in 1974, pays homage to the bluegrass tradition of Lewandowski’s native Missouri.
But as much as the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have found solace in the bluegrass sounds of generations past, Lewandowski says he’s most inspired by the potential in the genre’s future. “I’m excited about the possibilities: the possibilities of where we can take it, the possibilities of who we can meet, and the possibilities of who we can influence,” he says. “I just hope we’ll be able to leave our mark on bluegrass as much as bluegrass has left its mark on us.”
Lewandowski opened up to The Bluegrass Situation about the role music played in his upbringing, how their days as a house band helped the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys find their footing, and why old-time music will never fade away.
BGS: What first brought you to bluegrass?
Lewandowski: I found bluegrass when I was a teenager, at a time in my life when it felt like everything was leaving me. I was a mama’s boy, and my mom passed away when I was ten. Then I had some other folks, family members, pass away. Things were changing within myself as well. I was trying to discover myself, and all this other stuff was piling up on me, too.
I found bluegrass music at that time, and along with it, I found a bunch of friends. I was never somebody with a bunch of friends in my own age bracket, and all these folks playing music around home here were thirty, forty, fifty years older than me, but I related to them. My grandpa died around that same time, too, and he was a pretty big influence on me, so I found some folks that became grandfather figures to me. They took me under their wings.
One thing I say a lot is that bluegrass has always been there for me. It’s been my medicine. It’s helped me through all those hard times, and put me in a lot of good situations, too. It’s a constant — it’s always there.
For Toil, Tears, and Trouble, you recorded several songs that were written or made popular by other artists — “Bidding America Goodbye,” “Cold Hard Truth” — as well as less-known songs by Missouri bluegrass artists. Why?
There’s a lot of great material out there. You could take a really popular song and completely change it and make it your own, or you could take a song that doesn’t even sound like it would apply to your music — the songwriter might not even know what bluegrass music was, but the song is great — and we can put our bluegrass touch to it and make it something that works. We like to pay homage to people of the past, but we want to start our own past as well, carve our own little niche out.
We’ve got songs on the album that have never been recorded before, by anyone, and that doesn’t mean they have to be written in-house by the band. “Hickory, Walnut, & Pine,” “Next Train South”– most people have never heard of them. It’s cool to dust off those songs, to pay homage to someone who might have not been in the limelight as much as Jim & Jesse, or the Osborne Brothers, and then add our own influence.
So obviously you’ve been inspired by bluegrass, but I’m sure you haven’t been entirely insulated from other kinds of music. You recorded a gospel album a few years ago, in fact. What other genres of music have impacted the way you sound?
Gospel has always been a part of all of our raisin’s. Country, of course, has influenced us too. If we all weren’t playing bluegrass music, we’d probably be out playing old country stuff. We all like steel guitar, and we all like twin fiddles. We all really like ’80s and ’90s country a whole lot, too — Alan Jackson, Randy Travis. We’ve been called honky-tonk bluegrass. And you never know where you’re gonna find something new.
With your job as the house band at the distillery, you logged more hours of stage time than most bands do in years of their careers. How do you feel like that experience benefited you?
We were playing anywhere between five to ten hours a day, sometimes seven days a week, [we] were teaching people about bluegrass music and entertaining them at the same time — and working day jobs. It was almost like a paid practice. We learned pretty quickly that imagery was a huge part of the show. We started in bib overalls, and then we’d go to summer suits, with our hair styled, and then we’d go to the cowboy hats for the springtime.
There’s always been a progression. There has to be something. You have to realize that a lot of the folks who came into that distillery didn’t know what bluegrass was, and they left with a sense of it. We were exposing new people to bluegrass music, which has always been a goal of ours. It was an education for them, but an education for us as well — all the while, we were getting tighter as a group. We spent over a year and a half solely playing at that distillery, with no intentions at all of traveling or anything. It allowed us to hone in on a lot of things together.
You often hear people describe your music as “old-time.” What does that mean to you?
The music that we play is the music that we were raised up on. There’s always been a progression to bluegrass music, since the very beginning of it. You can look at when Flatt & Scruggs came on the scene — key changes, tempo changes, five-string banjo roll, all that crazy stuff. So over the recent years of bluegrass music, it’s progressed, but it’s progressed somewhat faster than we — the band, I mean — may have wanted it to.
So we rewound the progression a little bit and found where we thought the music should be in this time. Some people would say that there’s stuff older-sounding than what we’re playing. And then a lot of people say that there’s stuff that sounds newer than what we’re playing, of course. People can take it however they want to, because everyone has a different definition of traditional, everyone has a different definition of old-time, or old-fashioned, everyone has a different definition of progressive music, as well. So we kind of keep it simple and say that we play bluegrass. [Laughs]
Are there any aspects of bluegrass music that you think it’s particularly important to try to preserve, or that you worry are vanishing?
Excuse my language, but I think that’s a big ol’ crock of shit. This music has been around for a long time, and it’s bigger than it ever has been. Yes, everywhere has their own definition of bluegrass and how they want to play it and how they want to present it. And there’s a lot of freedom in that. Just look at Bill Monroe: He evolved until the day he died. I’d tell anybody, just play the music that you love, and if you’re true to yourself and true to your music, the music can’t die. It won’t die. It’ll never die.
Three generations of country music come together in one performance: Tenille Townes, a newbie on the country block; Brandi Carlile, an established singer-songwriter at the peak of her career; and Tanya Tucker, legendary performer and the Bluegrass Situation’s Artist of the Month. Together, they perform “Delta Dawn,” one of Tucker’s signature songs. Hear this soulful rendition of this country classic.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
