Tag: tiny desk concert

BGS Celebrates Black History Month (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

We invite our readers to celebrate Black History Month as we always do, by denoting that celebrating Black contributions in bluegrass, country, and old-time — and roots music as a whole — requires centering Black creators, artists, musicians, and perspectives in our community daily, not just in February.

Over the past year we’ve recommitted ourselves to fully incorporating Black Voices into everything we do and we hope that our readers and listeners, our followers and fans, and our family of artists constantly celebrate, acknowledge, and pay credit to Blackness and Black folks, who we have to thank for everything we love about American roots music.

Following a look back on our BGS Artists of the Month, Cover Story, and Shout & Shine subjects, we close our listicle celebration of Black History Month this year with a sampling of some of the most popular features, premieres, music videos, Friends & Neighbors posts, and 5+5 interviews that have featured Black, African American, and otherwise Afro-centric music. We are so grateful for the ongoing, vital contributions of Black artists, writers, creators, and journalists to American roots music and we’re proud to pay credit exactly where it’s due, in this small way.

Black history is American roots music history and all of these incredible folks certainly prove that point.

An edition of our Roots on Screen column featured an interview with Branford Marsalis and dove into his soundtrack for the new Netflix film based on August Wilson’s 1982 play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Bona fide soul man Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams took us behind the scenes of his album, Sorry You Couldn’t Make It, showing humorous, casual, candid moments from the project’s creation — and giving us all the opportunity to be there, even though we “couldn’t make it.”

Sabine McCalla simply blew us away with her Western AF video session of an original, “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” last year, and we were ecstatic to include her on the BGS Stage lineup for Cabin Fever Fest last weekend, too.

Joy Oladokun’s vision and determination, and her unrelenting trust in both, paid off on a texturally varied second album, in defense of my own happiness (vol. 1), a self-produced exercise in vulnerability and subject of a feature interview. Oladokun will perform a few of her folk-pop songs as part of our Yamaha Guitars + BGS Spotlight Showcase during Folk Alliance’s virtual Folk Unlocked conference this week, as well.

The preeminent hip-hop-meets-bluegrass band, Gangstagrass, stopped by for a 5+5 and to plug their latest, No Time for Enemies. Gangstagrass were another excellent addition to our Cabin Fever Fest lineup and we look forward to being able to catch them in-person again, soon.

To mark Juneteenth 2020, we published a thoughtful round up of new movement music, a sort of patchwork soundtrack for protest, struggle, civil rights, and progress including songs by Leon Bridges, Chastity Brown, Kam Franklin (listen above), and more.

We were ecstatic to feature Valerie June, Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi, Ben Harper, and Yola during our five-episode virtual online variety show, Whiskey Sour Happy Hour, last spring. The show raised over $50,000 for COVID-19 relief — through MusiCares and personal protective equipment via Direct Relief. WSHH season 2? We want that to happen, too! Stay tuned.

Pianist Matt Rollings’ collaboration with Americana-soul duo The War & Treaty was — UNDERSTANDABLY — a mini viral hit, taking off on our social media channels.

Rhiannon Giddens also powerfully and captivatingly warned all of us not to call her names with a new song recently: “The framework in the song is a love affair, but it can happen in any kind of connection,” she explained in a press release. “The real story was accepting my inner strength and refusing to continue being gaslit and held back; and refusing to keep sacrificing my mental health for the sake of anything or anyone.”

We visited once again with now mononymous Kenyan songwriter, Ondara, whose pandemic album, Folk n’ Roll Vol. 1: Tales of Isolation, kept many of us company during sheltering in place.

Speaking of which, Crys Matthews and Heather Mae didn’t let guidelines around social distancing keep them down, as evidenced on “Six Feet Apart.”

Our country-soul queen, Yola, wowed all of us with a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert and some acoustic renderings of her resplendent countrypolitan songs.

As did veteran bluesman Don Bryant, who after a lifelong career writing and recording earned his first Grammy nomination in 2020 for You Make Me Feel, a record that is nothing less than a physical incarnation of rhythm and blues. His Tiny Desk (Home) Concert is entrancing.

Selwyn Birchwood rightly reminded blues fans that it isn’t all sad; in fact, if you aren’t partying to the blues you’re doing it wrong. Just listen to “I Got Drunk, Laid and Stoned” to find out.

Leigh Nash and Ruby Amanfu joined forces on a Congressman John Lewis-inspired number entitled “Good Trouble” just last week, a perfect song to mark Black History Month.

Last year, to mark Women’s History Month (coming up again in March!) we spotlighted the huge influence and contributions of Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, a folk singer and picker famous for playing her guitar left-handed — and upside down and “backwards!” Though Cotten spent most of her adult life working as a housekeeper, her original folksongs and her idiosyncratic picking style still inspire bluegrass, old-time, and blues musicians alike.

Country singer-songwriter Miko Marks returns this year with new music for the first time in thirteen years, after effectively being shut out of Music City and its country music machine because of her Blackness. A recent single release reclaims “Hard Times,” a song composed by Stephen Foster, who was an American songbook stalwart and folk music legend who performed in minstrel shows and in blackface.

Chris Pierce challenges his listeners with a new song this month, “American Silence,” because as he puts it, “It’s important to not give up on reaching out to those who have stayed silent for too long about the issues that affect those around us all.” A timely reminder to all of us — especially those of us who are allies and accomplices — as we approach the one-year anniversary of this most recent racial reckoning in the United States.

And finally, to close this gargantuan list — which is still just the tip of the iceberg of Black music in bluegrass, country, and Americana — we’ll leave you with a relative newcomer in country-soul and Americana, Annie Mack. Mack’s gorgeous blend of genres and styles is anchored by her powerful and tender voice and we were glad to be stopped in our tracks by her debut EP, Testify. 

Editor’s Note: Read part one of our Black History Month collection here.

Photo credit (L to R): Chris Pierce by Mathieu Bitton; Elizabeth Cotten; Annie Mack by Shelly Mosman.

Courtney Marie Andrews Delivers ‘Old Flowers’ to Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Posted on by Editor

Things have been trending straight up professionally for Courtney Marie Andrews, who earned widespread attention for the 2018 album, May Your Kindness Remain, and concluded 2020 with a Grammy nomination for her newest album, Old Flowers. Born from the close of a long-term relationship that left Andrews feeling alone and vulnerable, the album walks through the heartbreak and loneliness that she experienced in a way that is not contrived, but honest and real. In recognition of her accomplishment, she landed a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album.

About this collection of songs, Andrews said, “Old Flowers is about heartbreak. There are a million records and songs about that, but I did not lie when writing these songs.” Although introspective records like these can be heavy to bear, critics praised the release, calling it triumphant, beautiful, and graceful. (She’s also on our BGS year-end recap.) Hear outstanding songs like “Burlap String,” “It Must Be Someone Else’s Fault,” “If I Told” and “Ships in the Night” from this brilliant and bold writer on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert below.

Photo credit: Sam Stenson

WATCH: Yola Takes Her Tiny Desk (Home) Concert Outside

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Taking NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series to the socially distanced outdoors, much-loved artist Yola offers outstanding acoustic versions of three songs from her breakout album, Walk Through Fire, as well as a song from her debut EP. The Bristol-born (that’s Bristol, England) singer-songwriter is as vivacious as ever, yet the outdoor setting of her home concert channels a different, more personal presentation. Yola accompanies herself on guitar, joined by gifted guitarist Jordan Tice (also a member of the band Hawktail). There’s not much one can do to strip down the power and energy of Yola’s songs, but the two paint the them in a somewhat gentler light.

The second song on the docket is from Yola’s 2016 EP, and in the song’s introduction, she describes the newfound relevance of the song in light of the ever-growing Black Lives Matter movement and our nation’s struggles with the global pandemic. The song, titled “Dead and Gone,” speaks on the impossible struggle that she has felt as a Black woman in a world wrought with racism and sexism. Yola’s delivery is a powerful statement on pretense, one that needs to be heard now more than ever. Watch the full Tiny Desk Home Concert here.

 

WATCH: Goat Rodeo Returns for a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

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The Goat Rodeo was back in town in 2020, and while their stay was short, they left behind a new record for us to enjoy until their next visit. The all-star string quartet (no, not literally a rodeo) released their second album Not Our First Goat Rodeo in June, and much like the passing of a comet, audiences everywhere took it in with wonder and awe. The four visionaries that constitute the Goat Rodeo have each accomplished many incredible, out-of-this world feats, but when Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, and Stuart Duncan join forces, the music made feels less like an album and more like a rare phenomenon you’re lucky to see even once in a lifetime.

This fall, NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) concert series shared music from their sophomore release. Chris Thile acts as an emcee sharing backgrounds and insights between the three songs featured, all of which can be found on Not Our First Goat Rodeo. As in the 2011 release, the rodeo’s second coming features the beautiful vocal presence of Aoife O’Donovan on the song “The Trappings” (as well as on two other tracks not performed for NPR). Despite their brief reunion, Not Our First Goat Rodeo will surely be considered as one of the highlights of 2020. Watch the Tiny Desk performance here – and read our BGS Artist of the Month interviews with Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Photo credit: Josh Goleman

WATCH: Grammy Nominee Don Bryant’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

After decades writing and performing incredible music, soul icon Don Bryant has earned his first Grammy nod in 2020. This past Juneteenth, the veteran bluesman released his newest album, You Make Me Feel, on Fat Possum Records. Nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album, the record is nothing less than a physical incarnation of rhythm and blues.

The project is also aptly titled, as Bryant’s work imparts a gamut of feelings and emotions — love and joy most predominantly shine through the timelessness of his voice and story. With production and arrangements reminiscent of an old soul record, the simplicity of the music is on display in a recent Tiny Desk (Home) Concert by Bryant. Backed by only an electric guitar and a pianist, the songs fly out of the speakers with unbridled power and emotion.

A decorated songwriter, Bryant holds deep connections to the roots of such powerful music, singing life into just about anything. With only the first few notes of this performance you’ll be entranced! Listen to You Make Me Feel wherever you get your music and watch Bryant’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert below.

WATCH: Rising Appalachia Are Familiar and Fresh on NPR’s Tiny Desk

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Atlanta-based, globally-influenced string band Rising Appalachia bring a unique flavor to American roots music. Drawing on modern styles and traditional sentiments, they craft an original take on folk. Fronted by sisters Leah and Chloe Smith, the band has a sound that is at once familiar and fresh, incorporating various world percussion instruments, reggae-esque grooves, and fluttery melodies that deliver the songs’ meanings with clarity and precision. Like many folk artists before them, Rising Appalachia are no strangers to building art around their activism. One action the band prides itself on is the Slow Music Movement, an idea aimed at creating sustainable practices for touring entertainment acts and re-framing performance as a public service. Watch Rising Appalachia on NPR’s Tiny Desk.

Celebrate Black History Month with These 15 Artists

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

American roots music wouldn’t exist if not for the voices, stories, and musical traditions of Black Americans. Full stop. Celebrating the Black forebears of Americana, bluegrass, country, and string band music, pointing out their importance and their essential contributions to these genres we all know and love today needs to happen year-round, not just February. 

The BGS editorial team believes strongly in this idea, and though readers will be able to find several Black History Month features and articles in the coming weeks, we encourage you all to also take a dive back into our archives for stories that highlight Black creators and artists from all points across the last year. 

Mavis Staples on Live From Here

Ceaselessly relevant, Mavis Staples recently gave a keynote presentation at Folk Alliance International in New Orleans where she once again gleefully assured the audience she wouldn’t be done singing ‘til she didn’t have anything else to say. And she has plenty left to say! Watch Mavis Staples on Live From Here with Chris Thile. 

Yola’s Year of Debuts

Yola’s debut album, Walk Through Fire, landed on our BGS Class of 2019 lists for Top Albums and Top Songs — and nearly every other year-end list across the industry, too. Naturally she popped up a few times in our pages: In our in-depth interview, when she made her Opry debut, and when she dropped an blazing Elton John cover.

Liz Vice on The Show On The Road

Liz Vice is a Portland born, Brooklyn-based gospel/folk firebrand who is bringing her own vision of social justice and the powerful, playful bounce of soul back to modern religious music. She is following a rich tradition that goes back generations to powerful advocates like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sam Cooke, the Staples Singers, the Ward Sisters, Aretha Franklin, and especially Mahalia Jackson, who was the soundtrack to the civil rights movement. Listen to the Liz Vice episode of The Show On The Road.

Brittany Howard, Artist of the Month and More

Our November 2019 Artist of the Month stunned in a stripped down duet with Alicia Keys at the Grammy Awards last weekend, her well-earned musical stardom solidified by her debut solo album, Jaime. Our Artist of the Month interview anchored our coverage of Howard’s new music, but her Tiny Desk Concert really captured readers’ attention!

Steep Canyon Rangers with Boyz II Men

Yes, you read that correctly. A combination none of us knew we needed that now we can never go without. The Asheville Symphony backs up the two groups collaboration on “Be Still Moses,” a moment transcending different musical worlds and genre designations. You can watch that performance here.

Rhiannon Giddens: Booked, Busy, and Blessed

How much can an artist really accomplish in a year? A quick scroll through the BGS halls shows a Grammy-nominated album, being named Artist of the Month, scoring a ballet, playing the Tiny Desk, debuting a supergroup, and oh so much more. We are more than happy trying to keep up with Rhiannon Giddens’ prolificacy.

Ashleigh Shanti on The Shift List

The Shift List is a podcast about chefs, their kitchens, their food, and the music that powers all of it. On an episode from September we interviewed Chef Ashleigh Shanti of Benne on Eagle, an Appalachian soul food restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina. Her Shift List includes Kendrick Lamar, Nina Simone, and more.

Grammy Winners, Ranky Tanky! 

 

We spoke to Ranky Tanky about their album Good Time in August, less than six months before it would win the Grammy for Best Regional Roots Album. If you aren’t familiar with Gullah music, our interview will help you out.

Americana’s Sweethearts, The War and Treaty

Rapidly-rising folk/soul duo of  husband and wife Michael and Tanya Trotter, The War and Treaty have had a year chocked full of smashing successes. Of course the best way to catch up with them was on the road, so Z. Lupetin set up the mics for an episode of The Show On The Road.

Tui’s Old-time Tunes

Jake Blount, one half of old-time duo Tui with fiddler Libby Weitnauer, is a scholar of Black, Indigenous, and otherwise forgotten, erased, or marginalized American fiddlers in old-time and string band music. His work specifically spotlights the source musicians whenever possible, undoing generations of revisionist history in roots music. Tui’s recording of “Cookhouse Joe” was featured in Tunesday Tuesday.

A Sitch Session with Birds of Chicago

A song with a message well-timed for almost any era, “Try a Little Harder” seems especially perfect for this very moment. Birds of Chicago do an excellent job bringing that message to the world. A suitably stunning Sitch Session.

Dom Flemons Talks Black Cowboys

If you haven’t heard Dom Flemons talk about his album, Black Cowboys, and the narratives and traditions that inspired it, this episode of The Show On The Road is essential. The music is captivating on its own, a perfect demonstration of Flemons’ uncanny ability to capture timelessness and raw authenticity, but with his scholarly takes and his depth of knowledge the songs take on even more meaning and power. It’s worth a deep dive — check out our print interview, too.

Gangstagrass Set the Standard

When you read Gangstagrass’s Mixtape of standard setters the parallels that emerge between foundational bluegrass and hip-hop are certainly surprising, but they also make perfect sense. It speaks to the longevity of this boundary-pushing, genre-defying group — that has been setting their own standard as they go.

Jontavious Willis Goes Back to the Country

“Take Me to the Country” is Willis’ paean to his homeland: “No matter where I go in the world, I can’t wait to go back to the country,” He told BGS in April of last year. “For me, that special place is a rural southern town in Georgia where I grew up. It’s such a quiet and calm place, and somewhere I crave when I’m far from it.” You can hear that truth woven into the music.

Octogenarian Bluesman, Bobby Rush

At 85 years old, Bobby Rush has been playing his brand of lovably raunchy, acoustically crunchy, and soulfully rowdy blues for over six decades. After winning his first Grammy at the humble age of 83, he has no plans of slowing down. We caught up with Rush on The Show On The Road.

Photo of Yola: Daniel Jackson 

Best of: Friends & Neighbors 2019

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

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

WATCH: Brittany Howard’s Big Sound at NPR’s Tiny Desk

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Alabama Shakes alumnus and Bluegrass Situation Artist of the Month, Brittany Howard has maintained a steady course through her journey in blues and roots music. Driven by a resilient spirit and equipped with a stout voice, Howard has seen her fair share of peaks and valleys. From tragically losing a sister to cancer to breakout success and Grammy nods with Alabama Shakes, Howard has faced more in her 31 years than most of us will see in our whole lives.

After playing founding roles in two other rock bands (Bermuda Triangle and Thunderbitch), she decided it was time to take a step forward and release an album as a solo artist. The debut record was a tribute to Howard’s sister and was also named after her; Jaime was released this past September.

Howard’s addendum to the record offers some insight to the music: “Every song, I confront something within me or beyond me. Things that are hard or impossible to change, words and music to describe what I’m not good at conveying to those I love, or a name that hurts to be said: Jaime.” Brimming with emotion and truth, Jamie is available now, as are tickets to her  tour. Watch her Tiny Desk concert here, on BGS.

Photo credit: Danny Clinch

WATCH: Josh Ritter Brings Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires to Tiny Desk

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

A collaboration for the ages, Josh Ritter teamed up with Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires to work on his newest record, Fever Breaks. This top-tier trio stopped by NPR’s Tiny Desk to perform some of the more poignant and concise songs from the record — songs that some may even be labeled protest songs.

Each of them icons in their own right, these three musicians are no strangers to BGS. Earlier this year, Ritter was featured as an artist of the month, Isbell taught us a thing or two about protest songs, and Shires has enjoyed some accolades this year for her involvement in supergroup The Highwomen. A roots music trifecta, watch as Ritter, Isbell, and Shires grace the Tiny Desk here.