LISTEN: Doug Levitt, “Cold Comfort”

Artist: Doug Levitt
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Song: “Cold Comfort”
Album: Edge of Everywhere
Release Date: May 12, 2023

In Their Words: “‘Cold Comfort’ is a song that speaks to the wide range of vices that one finds on the bus — people getting over one, through one — and while it says ‘another shot of cold comfort,’ there are many other reliances that have been central to people who travel by bus. Often it’s the vice most drawn upon in the wake of a breakup. There are people like the petty thief Tony Rhodes, who, facing a breakup, found himself back on heroin and near the verge of death. There’s Edward who, having smoked weed in the face of a breakup, ended up violating parole and going on the run. I had been through a hard breakup with a fiancée before I set out by bus. So in some ways it’s that energy. ‘I woke up on the wrong side of myself again. Sometimes it’s a matter of days. Sometimes it’s a matter of going our own separate ways.’ And so also on the bus are people relocating after a breakup, and who doesn’t know that feeling of another shot of cold comfort? It’s a cold comfort, not the comfort of connection. It’s not the comfort of others. It’s the way you always bring me around for bringing me down.” — Doug Levitt


Photo Credit: Patrick Fraser

WATCH: Alison Krauss’ Unforgettable Performance of “Amazing Grace”

As one year leads into the next, it’s worth a few minutes to pause and enjoy one of 2019’s most breathtaking performances from a legendary performer in bluegrass, country, and acoustic music.

In this emotional video, Alison Krauss performs “Amazing Grace” on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for the 30th National Memorial Day Concert. She returned to Washington six months later to accept a much-deserved National Medal of Arts and Humanities at the White House.

On behalf of the Bluegrass Situation, best wishes for 2020.


Photo Credit: Universal

LISTEN: The Seldom Scene, “Steel Rail Blues”

Artist: The Seldom Scene
Hometown: Washington D.C.
Song: “Steel Rail Blues”
Album: Changes
Release Date: June 7, 2019
Label: Rounder Records

In Their Words: “Ken Irwin from Rounder Records turned us onto ‘Steel Rail Blues,’ a tune from Gordon Lightfoot’s debut 1966 album. I connected with the lyrics about a lonesome boy who left his home only to find himself in a strange town with no friends, no job, and since his car died in his pursuit of adventure, no way out. His only hope was from a girlfriend back home who bought him a train ticket home, but the night before leaving, he gambled it away, leaving him stranded once again. I think we all want to find our way back home to a place of comfort and familiarity. In this story, Gordon ends up alone on a broad highway, his possibilities — and trucks — passing him by, knowing that he only has himself to blame.” — Dudley Connell, The Seldom Scene


Photo credit: Jeromie Stephens