Tag: Video premiere

WATCH: John Scott Sherrill, “Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons”

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Artist: John Scott Sherrill
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons”
Album: Copper Tears
Release Date: October 15, 2021
Label: Lobo Libre

In Their Words: “People often ask me how long it takes me to write a song, and some songs I can write in a couple of hours. But ‘Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons’ took 17 years to write. I got the inspiration when I was taking a bus back in my college years to Illinois from New Hampshire. It took seven days, so I was sleeping as we drove, and waking up at all hours of the day, not knowing where I was. I woke up one morning, looked out the window of the bus, and saw all these men standing around, trying to hold their maps in the wind. I thought they must have plans to do something with that cornfield. I made a note in my notebook and left it until years later, when I found the notebook in my mother’s attic. I opened it up and saw my notations and thought that idea was worth writing about.” — John Scott Sherrill

Photo credit: Rich Guglielmo

WATCH: Ross Hammond, “Blue Hoodie”

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Artist: Ross Hammond
Hometown: Sacramento, California
Song: “Blue Hoodie”
Album: It’s Been Here All Along
Release Date: October 23, 2021
Label: Prescott Recordings

In Their Words: “This song is dedicated to the inner circle of friends and family that my wife, daughter, and I have relied on throughout the pandemic. As we maneuver and pivot through this time it’s a blessing to have a crew. This song, like all of the songs on this record, was made with a resonator guitar on a two track reel-to-reel recorder. All of these songs use a Freeport tuning (CGCGCD) and the themes are written to be improvised on. For the video I made a collage using a grocery bag and some Polaroid and Sprocket photos from the past year. I thought using physical photos in a video shoot would give the sense of vagueness to the faces, like anyone who saw this could imagine their own crew in a ghostlike, snapshot form.” — Ross Hammond

Photo credit: Lola Hammond

WATCH: Katie Cole, “Short Story Long”

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Artist: Katie Cole
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia, and lives in Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Short Story Long”
Release Date: October 15, 2021

In Their Words: “I wrote this song hoping to channel some old school Aretha and Otis, but applying a little more rootsy instrumentation. Honestly, it’s the first song I’ve penned where I take back my power in a relationship and call a spade a spade. I’ve had my share of relationships where I have tolerated too much for too long. So being familiar with the phrase of making a long story short, where you cut to the chase, I started thinking, ‘What if I could flip that to a short story long?’ where things get dragged out. Right then I knew this would have to be a fun and sassy song that really contrasts with my more acoustic and sparse songs. Luckily when my producer Howard Willing and I started tracking, he managed to bring in Cheap Trick’s bass player Tom Petersson to play on this song. I am really proud of this one!” — Katie Cole

Photo credit: Dire Image

WATCH: Kristy Cox, “Person of the Year”

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Artist: Kristy Cox
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee, by way of Mount Barker, Australia
Song: “Person of the Year”
Album: Shades of Blue
Release Date: February 4, 2022
Label: Billy Blue Records

In Their Words: “‘Person of the Year’ is such a special song that pays tribute to nurses and doctors who work tirelessly to save others. The last 18 months have been especially hard on them. Jerry Salley and Bill Whyte brought tears to my eyes with their lyrics that ring so true and we wanted to bring that to life in this video, in a way that was respectful to those on the front line. The producer Steve Kinney and team did an amazing job completing that wish. I am so proud of this song and video.” — Kristy Cox

Photo credit: Katrina Burgoyne

WATCH: Lyle Lovett, “Teach Me About Love” (From ‘Austin City Limits,’ 1997)

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Artist: Lyle Lovett
Hometown: Klein, Texas
Song: “Teach Me About Love”
Album: Mighty Fine: An Austin City Limits Tribute to Walter Hyatt
Release Date: October 1, 2021
Label: Omnivore Recordings

Editor’s Note: This Lyle Lovett performance of Walter Hyatt’s “Teach Me About Love” was filmed in 1997 for Austin City Limits as part of a tribute to Hyatt, who was killed in a 1996 plane crash. Cut from the episode due to time constraints, the performance has been unseen until now, coinciding with the release of the full concert on CD and digital, titled Mighty Fine: An Austin City Limits Tribute to Walter Hyatt. Four unheard Hyatt recordings also appear on the album.

In Their Words: “Walter Hyatt is one of the most creative souls to come out of the Austin music scene in the past two decades. Although raised in Spartanburg, S.C., and spent his last years in Nashville, he represented the spirit of Austin. An artist of personal vision, original style and artistic integrity. During the late ‘70s and ‘80s, Uncle Walt’s Band developed a strong loyal following in Austin thanks to their expressive blend of music styles, songs that were street smart, energetic, honest, and inspirational to a lot of younger singer-songwriters like me. Walter Hyatt explored many styles – New Orleans jazz, country honky-tonk, with a bit of Elvis and course Bob Wills. His dry sense of humor made him very special in the eyes of fans and critics. His death was a personal loss for those of us who knew him, and for anyone who ever heard his music. This program is a celebration of extraordinary music by an extraordinary man with a gift for reaching hearts and minds of so many people.” — Lyle Lovett

WATCH: Tristan Scroggins, “Seneca Square Dance”

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Artist: Tristan Scroggins
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Seneca Square Dance”
Album: One-Ring Circus
Release Date: October 15, 2021

In Their Words: “The Seneca are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario. Many were moved to Oklahoma after the War of 1812 which might explain why this tune has been traced to the Southwestern Missouri/Oklahoma area. I learned this tune from Molly Tuttle and we would play it together a lot. Its simple melody makes it easy to experiment with different harmonies and picking techniques. I had already experimented with a solo arrangement of this tune for mandolin, but when I started playing tenor banjo I was really excited about the possibilities that the extra sustain of the banjo presented. This particular arrangement utilizes crosspicking techniques to present melody and rhythm at the same time similar to three-finger banjo playing.” — Tristan Scroggins

Photo credit: Natia Cinco

WATCH: Unspoken Tradition, “Irons in the Fire”

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Artist: Unspoken Tradition
Hometown: Cherryville, North Carolina
Song: “Irons in the Fire”
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “When Unspoken Tradition first started playing in an organized way, we came up with the slogan, ‘Working Class Bluegrass.’ We’ve all held full-time jobs the whole time we’ve been together and I think we’re all proud to be workers, providers, and family men. I also think it means we can all relate well to the message of ‘Irons in the Fire.’ To me, this song is about trying to find solace in the grind; being able to separate the headaches that come with hard work from the purpose and product it provides. This song reminds me of all the hard-working men and women in my family who came before me, who directly or indirectly affected my quality of life. Every time we perform this song, I can see their faces. Songwriters Aaron Bibelhauser and Steve Guenthner really outdid themselves with this song and I’m thankful we had an opportunity to record it. We shot the video in a blacksmith shop on the campus of Warren Wilson College. It was hot and the whole place looked, smelled, and felt like hard work, if work ever had those characteristics. It was the perfect spot to capture the theme of ‘Irons in the Fire’ and the energy there made us all dig into the recording process even more.” — Audie McGinnis, Unspoken Tradition (vocalist and guitarist)

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

WATCH: The Royal Hounds, “Pickin’ in the Graveyard”

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Artist name: The Royal Hounds
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Pickin’ in the Graveyard”
Album: Whole Lot of Nothin’
Release Date: October 15, 2021

In Their Words: “When I was learning to play bass, I used to go to a bluegrass festival called Old Timer’s Day. It was next to a graveyard. There were so many pickers that many groups would spill over into the graveyard and have pickin’ circles out there. I always loved the idea for a song called ‘Pickin’ in the Graveyard.’ Up the street from where I live is Spring Hill Cemetery. Lots of notables are buried there: Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, Floyd Cramer, Kitty Wells, Hank Snow, and my favorite, John Hartford. I just love the notion that the ghosts of the musicians in this graveyard come out at night and have a grand pickin’ party. The final verse is kind of an homage to John Hartford. In the song, I say, ‘Lower me down in a Batman cloak/ we’ll all ride to heaven in a river boat.’ This is a reference to the fact that Hartford was accidentally buried in a Batman cloak and he had a lifelong fascination with river boats. He even had a license to sail them.” — Scott Hinds, The Royal Hounds

Photo credit: Bill Foster

WATCH: Phoebe Hunt, “Goin’ Gone” (Tribute to Nanci Griffith)

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Artist: Phoebe Hunt featuring Tabitha Meeks and Makena Hartlin (the Pitch Pipes)
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Goin’ Gone”

In Their Words: “I was introduced to the Pitch Meeting in Nashville by my dear friend Makena Hartlin. She kept telling me to come out to Sonny’s on a Tuesday here in Nashville. I had been reluctant to go anywhere during the pandemic, but this August, I felt like it was time and the Pitch Meeting graciously featured me as their guest artist. It was really special to see what can happen when a group of supremely talented individuals come together to support one another. I felt heard, held, supported and lifted up. I hadn’t played in a live setting with a full band in a really long time and it really lifted my spirits. The next week, Makena and Tabitha Meeks invited me to be a featured guest in their Pitch Pipes female songwriter showcase. Again, I was blown away by the support from these beautiful women.

“Nanci Griffith passed the day before I met up with the Pitch Pipes. My husband and I had her album, The Last of the True Believers, on repeat in our home and I felt deeply connected to her voice, her writing and the covers she chose to sing. You can hear genuine tenderness in her voice. You can feel her spirit. So, I brought ‘Goin’ Gone’ to Makena and Tabitha and asked if they would be open to learning it and paying tribute to Nanci with me. It feels sacred to sing the songs she sang in her wake. As if we can keep the music and her memory alive simply by playing the songs she held close. We’ve lost many beautiful souls lately and it feels important to sing the songs of those who pass and keep their spirit alive through the music they left behind.” — Phoebe Hunt

Photo credit: Nate Luebbe

WATCH: Balsam Range, “Highway Side”

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Artist: Balsam Range
Hometown: Haywood County, North Carolina
Song: “Highway Side”
Album: Moxie and Mettle
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘Highway Side’ is one of my favorite songs on the new project both musically and lyrically. I think the video helps bring this great song to life. It also helps to fill a void we have all had in recent times with the lack of traveling and connecting with folks through live music. So jump on board with Balsam Range for a quick road trip!” — Buddy Melton, Balsam Range vocalist and fiddler

Photo credit: David Simchock