WATCH: Erik Vincent Huey, “That’s What Jukeboxes Are For” (Ft. Laura Cantrell)

Artist: Erik Vincent Huey
Hometown: Morgantown, West Virginia
Song: “That’s What Jukeboxes Are For”
Album: Appalachian Gothic
Release Date: January 20, 2023
Label: Appalachian AF/The Orchard

In Their Words: “Willie Nelson has a quote about jukeboxes: ‘99% of the world’s lovers are not with their first choice. That’s what makes the jukeboxes play.’ This song is an exploration of that sentiment. My grandfather became a bartender after he was injured in the coal mines. I spent my weekends as a young kid in his bar and used all my quarters on the pinball machine and the jukebox. Ever since, I’ve been fascinated with old jukeboxes and their curation — how one machine can hold the entire universe of songs that you can hear in a particular bar. I envisioned it as a George Jones-type ballad but Eric ‘Roscoe’ Ambel — who produced the record — said the song should have an old-fashioned honky-tonk Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn duet vibe, which you can hear from Roscoe’s opening guitar riff. There are about a dozen classic ’60s and ’70s country songs referenced in the lyrics; I’ve even made a playlist of them. Roscoe thought his friend, the incredible alt-country chanteuse Laura Cantrell, would be perfect, and on this song, Laura sounds like a cross between Kitty Wells and Edith Piaf. You can hear the teardrops splash in the whiskey when she sings.” — Erik Vincent Huey

WATCH: Paula Nelson & Willie Nelson, “Pretend I Never Happened”

Artist: Paula Nelson with Willie Nelson
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Pretend I Never Happened”
Release Date: March 17, 2023
Label: The Next Waltz

In Their Words:Phases and Stages is one of my all-time favorite albums that my dad recorded. There’s not a song on it that I couldn’t listen to over and over and never get tired of hearing. However, ‘Pretend I Never Happened’ has always been my favorite. Everything about the song including the melody, the lyrics and the way the song was originally put together make me feel when I listen is not only timeless but downright perfection. With all that said, I hope that I was able to make my dad proud of this cover of his song. I know that I am so very proud of how it turned out. And to have him playing and singing on this recording made this song even more special to me. There’s no one else other than my dad and his band that I would have trusted to re-record it other than Bruce Robison and the amazing band he put together for this project.” — Paula Nelson


Photo Credit: Spencer Peeples

LISTEN: Nathaniel Rateliff, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” (Live)

Artist: Nathaniel Rateliff
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” (Live)
Album: One Night in Texas: The Next Waltz’s Tribute to The Red Headed Stranger (produced by Bruce Robison)
Release Date: April 28, 2023
Label: The Next Waltz

Editor’s Note: One Night in Texas was recorded live at Luck, Texas, on May 1, 2022, in honor of Willie Nelson’s 89th birthday. Featured artists on the album include Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, Vincent Neil Emerson, Emily Gimble, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Phosphorescent, Margo Price, Bruce Robison, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Shinyribs.

In Their Words: “To put together a night of Willie Nelson music is a bit of a dream for me. His songs and the vibe of The Family band was so formative that it is hard to measure. The music has always been a part of my life — a North Star. When we got together a bunch of friends for the band, playing this music, after these couple years — honestly, it felt like it was about more than just Willie. Then, the crazy group of guests signed on for the show, and then Bobbie passed, and then Willie decided he would come play a set after us. The night just felt like some kind of celebration of life. When it was coming together I knew I had to try to record it. When I heard what was on tape it sounded like magic to me. It sounded like 1973. It is definitely the sound of people having fun. This was a great night in Texas. The band was a runaway train and the singers were insane. Thanks to everybody who lent their talents to this.” — Bruce Robison

“I really enjoyed singing ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.’ Bruce Robinson put a hell of a band together to perform with. It’s always an honor and a privilege to celebrate Willie Nelson and to be a part of the musical family he’s created.” — Nathaniel Rateliff

The Next Waltz · Nathaniel Rateliff – Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain

Photo Credit: Casey Lee

Curl Up With New Books by Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Margo Price, and More

It’s that time of year when the world falls in love, when we dust off “Pretty Paper” for its annual spin, and of course … recollect the best work of the past year. In that spirit, here is a round-up of 16 music-related books from 2022, with topics ranging from the banjo to The Byrds.

The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Illustrated Story of Sun Records and the 70 Recordings That Changed the World, Peter Guralnick, Colin Escott

Some would contend that Chuck Berry, not Elvis Presley, should be considered the “King of Rock and Roll.” That aside, Sun Records certainly put a stamp on the budding industry, and this book offers a look into its history with 70 iconic recordings by Elvis, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and more. Jerry Lee Lewis himself wrote the foreword.


Build a House, Rhiannon Giddens

This illustrated book celebrates the determination and triumph of Black people in the face of oppression. It follows an enslaved family that “will not be moved.” The book contains lyrics from the song Rhiannon Giddens wrote, by the same name, to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. Illustrations are by Monica Mikai.


The Byrds: 1964-1967, Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby

The Byrds members Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby came together to curate this hefty 400-page art book that gives a visual and oral history of (and from) the original era of the band. The book comes in three editions: a standard edition with no signatures, a deluxe edition with signatures from McGuinn and Hillman, and a super deluxe version for which Crosby even provided his John Hancock.


Deep In the South: A Music Maker Songbook, Tim Duffy, Chuck Reece, and Earle Pughe

This songbook and CD compilation from the Music Maker Foundation, a non-profit founded in 1994 to “preserve and support” roots music of the South, brings together songs, stories, photographs and sheet music/guitar tabs from the likes of Etta Baker, Little Freddie King, Alabama Slim, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, and more. It promises to take you on “a musical road trip through the South.”


How to Write a Song That Matters, Dar Williams

Dar Williams has led songwriting retreats for both beginners and professionals for many years. Now, How to Write a Song That Matters gives songwriters access to these lessons in book format. Songwriters looking for a “formula” for writing “hit songs” can skip. Williams instead focuses on tapping into the writer’s own creativity and unique experiences to make meaningful songs.


Live Forever: The Songwriting Legacy of Billy Joe Shaver, Courtney S. Lennon

Courtney S. Lennon describes Billy Joe Shaver as “country’s music unsung hero.” Shaver wrote all but one song on Waylon Jennings’ 1973 album Honky Tonk Heroes, considered a foundational work in the genesis of the “outlaw country” subgenre. If that credential on its own isn’t enough, the author dedicates the entirety of Live Forever to shed light on Shaver’s accomplishments, giving him the credit he’s due.


Maybe We’ll Make It: A Memoir, Margo Price

Parts of Margo Price’s memoir may be relatable for aspiring singer-songwriters: long tours with little to no payoff, busking, open-mic nights, and struggling to make ends meet. But much like her music, her memoir is written with an authentic, singular voice. She opens up more about loss, motherhood, drinking, her songs, and much more.


Me and Paul: Untold Stories of a Fabled Friendship, Willie Nelson and David Ritz

Me and Paul: Untold Stories of a Fabled Friendship chronicles the relationship between Willie Nelson and his longtime drummer, Paul English. Willie’s classic song “Me and Paul,” (released on the 1971 album, Yesterday’s Wine) gave us a primer on the misadventures of these pals, but the conversational book promises to go deeper and reveal the … well… “untold stories” of their time together.


The Music Never Stops: What Putting on 10,000 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Magic, Peter Shapiro with Dean Budnick

Have you ever wondered what goes into putting on shows for the most celebrated acts in the music industry and what really goes on behind the scenes? Well, Peter Shapiro has been there, and in this book he shares the story of how he became one of the most successful concert promoters in the business. Looking back on 50 of his iconic concerts, Shapiro shares backstage stories, photographs, and insights to what it’s like working with big names such as Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, U2, Lauryn Hill, Al Green, The Roots, Jason Isbell, Robert Plant, Leonard Cohen, and more.


The Philosophy of Modern Song, Bob Dylan

So… Dylan may have not “personally” hand-signed the copies that customers of the $600 edition expected. Nonetheless, it seems he put a lot of work and thought into writing the actual book. According to publisher Simon & Schuster, Dylan began penning it back in 2010. The book contains over 60 essays that dissect songs by other artists, including Nina Simone, Elvis Costello, and Hank Williams. The music Dylan explores spans many genres. He even finds common ground with bluegrass and heavy metal.


Rock’s In My Head: Encounters With Phil Spector, John & Yoko, Brian Wilson, and a Host of Other People Who Should Be Just as Famous, Art Fein

Art Fein has held many roles in the music industry. He’s been a music journalist, album producer, worked for labels, hosted a music-themed public access TV show (Art Fein’s Poker Party), and more. In this book, Art shares some of the wild experiences he’s had in his career including spending a week with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, coaching Lennon on “old rock and roll” that he wasn’t exposed to in Liverpool.


Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo, Max Wareham

Max Wareham shares the legacy of a lesser-known banjo player, Rudy Lyle, through interviews with other prominent banjo players and members of Lyle’s family. The book analyzes 19 instrumental breaks Lyle played with the legendary Bill Monroe. BGS wrote about, and previewed a chapter of Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo ahead of its August release.


This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You, Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas

Susan Rogers has a fascinating résumé. She was the lead engineer on Prince’s Purple Rain and worked on records by The Barenaked Ladies and David Byrne (to name a few). She’s also an award-winning professor of cognitive neuroscience. It’s this unique set of experiences that gives her the ability to, as she says, determine one’s “listener profile,” and scientifically dissect why certain songs move certain people.


Unspeakable: Surviving My Childhood and Finding My Voice, Jessica Willis Fisher

Jessica Willis Fisher fronted a band made up of her parents and her 11 siblings. The Willis Clan found fame on America’s Got Talent in 2014. During that performance, the children charmed America while their fundamentalist Christian father lurked backstage, hiding an ugly truth. In this memoir, Fisher discusses finding her voice after years of being silenced by her abusive father, Toby Willis.


Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History, Kristina R. Gaddy

Kristina Gaddy traces the banjo’s roots back to the 17th century when enslaved people with African descent created them from gourds, calabashes or wood. As future generations were sold to slave owners in other countries, the banjo became prevalent around the world, even though its origins are often overlooked and misunderstood today. Through archival research and seeking out letters and diaries, Gaddy describes the banjo’s journey over the last 200 years and educates the reader of the instrument’s place in American slave gatherings and Blackface routines. Rhiannon Giddens offers a foreword.


Word for Word, Rodney Crowell

After publishing a memoir in 2012, Rodney Crowell now gives readers a peek into a legendary songwriter’s process and history. The book documents his handwritten lyrics, the notes he made while writing the songs, and numerous personal photos. It also features commentary from Rosanne Cash, whom he worked with both before and after their 13-year marriage. Crowell shares, in his own words, his memories of collaborations with Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, and others throughout his illustrious career.

BGS 5+5: Jonathan Terrell

Artist: Jonathan Terrell
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest EP: A Couple 2, 3 (out September 9 on Range Music)
Personal Nicknames: “Feral Terrell”

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I was driving back from busking in San Diego for a couple of months. I was out of money and a good friend of mine’s parents wired me $200 to get home to East Texas. I was very discouraged. I had a handful of songs that I thought were good and turned out playing for tips on the boardwalk wasn’t going to make me enough to eat and rent a couch, so on that long drive home I was somewhere in the Arizona desert on Interstate 10 and I pulled over and had a good cry. I knew at that moment I was going to be a songwriter, an artist and somebody that was going to leave an impression on this world. Before I made it to my parents’ house, I stopped at a junior college and enrolled in the music program. I got a free ride if I sang in the men’s choir because they were short of a dusty tenor. I dropped out a year and a half later to go on tour. I’ve pretty much been on tour since.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

My uncle was a big Nashville cat. He sang in Reba’s band and has sung high tenor harmonies on over 25,000 albums. I was obsessed with country music growing up and he was my only link from East Texas to the mecca of songwriting. I played him some terrible songs at 18 and he was very patient while listening. His advice was simple. “Don’t tell me about it. Paint it for me.”

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I think Kris Kristofferson has got to be right there at the top. When I moved to Austin in 2005 from Longview, Texas, I thought for sure I was destined to be the next Kris. It’s pretty hilariously naive looking back, but a kid’s gotta have heroes and he was and is still mine. I’ve probably studied his songs more than anyone’s. There’s a raw and exciting poetry to his work but also an approachable simplicity. It’s a master class in songwriting and composition every time I sit down with an album like Border Lord or The Silver Tongued Devil and I. I think about these albums when I paint a picture in a song. An easy close second would be Willie.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

A good friend once told me that there’s a huge difference between having no traction at all and a little bit of traction. I first saw a little bit of that traction while playing the White Horse in Austin, Texas, week after week. When the band is crushing it and the dancefloor is packed with amazing two steppers (which I do believe Austin has the best two-step culture in the country) it’s like being in the eye of a hurricane. It’s about 105 degrees and it’s all cowboy hats, naked knees, flipping skirts and sweaty bodies churning and churning to your song. There ain’t nothing like it.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

I was doing a show up in Oklahoma with a songwriter named Butch Hancock and Turnpike Troubadours. I got to talking with Butch over a few beers in the parking lot of an old motor lodge where the venue put us up and he asked me what my hobbies were. I shrugged and said it was just writing songs. He kinda snapped at me like I was crazy and told me if I didn’t find another hobby I was going to shoot my songs in the foot. “One day your well is gonna dry up and if you don’t have another place to fill it, who knows if you’ll ever get it back.” Really terrifying words for a young songwriter. I bought a camera soon after and started studying portraits as well as documenting my tour life. Certain films and books have of course inspired many of my songs. I’m a huge Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry fan. Photography has become a serious passion for me and sometimes a camera can be a great way to meet people. I have my first gallery show October 28 in Lockhart, Texas, at the Commerce Gallery. I’m pretty excited about it and am definitely inviting Butch!


Photo Credit: Greg Giannukos

Basic Folk – Tami Neilson

We go track by track on Canadian-born New Zealand feminist trouble maker and country music superstar Tami Neilson’s fifth album, Kingmaker. Recorded at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios, the songs of Kingmaker expose industry systems, exploding patriarchal structures of the industry, society and family. It’s definitely not new territory for Tami — her previous two albums called attention to misogyny and patriarchal structures. She digs into these themes with sophistication, grace, emotion and humor. The way she brings these important messages to life hits you hard, but you can also dance to it.

 

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • STITCHERAMAZON • MP3
This is Tami’s second appearance on the podcast (she was first on episode 79). Definitely check out our first conversation as we talk about her life in her family band, her move to New Zealand and her relationship to fashion and appearance. She also talked about experiencing the death of her father, musician Ron Neilson. He appears on Kingmaker in several forms. For instance, on the song “Beyond the Stars,” written with Delaney Davidson, she sings about the loss and the longing to be with him again, with the legendary Willie Nelson singing the part of Tami’s dad.

Tami’s one in a million! Enjoy this conversation and her brilliant new album, Kingmaker.


Photo Credit: Sophia Bayly

BGS 5+5: Stacy Antonel

Artist: Stacy Antonel
Hometown: San Diego (now based in Nashville)
Latest Album: Always the Outsider
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Ginger Cowgirl

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Tori Amos. I don’t think my music sounds anything like hers, but she was a very formative musical influence for me. I didn’t write my first song until my late twenties, long after I’d stopped listening to her, but I find it hard to believe that her melodic sensibility hasn’t influenced me as a songwriter. Willie Nelson is up there as well, and his effect on my music is much more discernible on this record.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

In a vague way, I always wanted to be a musician, but I never actually did anything to move the dream forward. I didn’t go to school for music, I didn’t try to write songs, and it wasn’t until I lived in Argentina in 2010 that my career took its first steps. I had randomly gotten a job singing jingles for Jeep and MTV that aired throughout Latin America, and that led to me singing with a friend’s band. I had a ton of stage fright and it was 4 a.m. at a house party, but that performance gave me a feeling that I was finally doing what I was supposed to be doing.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

My mission statement is simply to get better at my craft, and to know myself more intimately as I pursue it. I want to get better at singing, I want to get better at being in the moment onstage, and I want to write interesting and meaningful songs. For my next record, I particularly want to be more collaborative, both in the writing process and the production and recording process. Collaboration doesn’t really come easily to me because I’m simultaneously a control freak and hesitant to speak my mind when there’s a strong personality in the room. So that’ll be a challenge for me, but hopefully it’ll serve the music.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

I think the advice of not judging your music while you’re still in the act of creating it is really important. I struggle with that a lot, and it results in very inhibited writing. Recently, I got the advice that too many artists are concerned with making every record their best-ever body of work, and really we should take it less seriously and just release what we create. I see the validity in that, but my curatorial urge is a bit too strong to swallow it whole. It can be a difficult balance between creating art for yourself and also asking people to listen to it. I think a lot about the intersection of art and commerce lately.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

The most memorable is from my last show in Argentina, the night before I moved back to the States. I’d been crying for days about leaving, and after my last song the crowd chanted my name until I got back onstage for an encore. It was that rare show where the entire crowd was fully present for the experience. Everyone was just being super kind and generous with each other. It’s the only time people have chanted my name and I’m still kinda chasing that feeling.


Photo Credit: Natia Cinco

WATCH: Particle Kid + Willie Nelson, “Die When I’m High (Halfway to Heaven)”

Artist: Particle Kid + Willie Nelson
Song: “Die When I’m High (Halfway to Heaven)”
Release Date: June 17, 2022

In Their Words: “Sometime back in December 2020, in between endless rounds of chess and dominos, my dad looked up at me and said, ‘If I die when I’m high I’ll be halfway to heaven.’ It took me a second to process, but I said, ‘Dad, that’s the best song title I ever heard. You better write the rest of it quick.’ He said. ‘Why don’t you write it?’ So I did. That night I wrote it for him, about him. It’s really just a love letter to him. A tribute.

“At the same time I realized it’s also a sort of ‘fuck you’ to anyone who ever thought of me as some lost prodigal son who doesn’t understand him or respect his legacy just because I’ve never imitated his style or pandered to his audience. HE is the one who gave me my Particle Kid moniker after all. We are both freaks, in our time. I’m no prodigal son. I am HIS Particle Kid. I would never try to be him, or even pretend, because nobody will ever be him. But believe it or not I do relate to the Willie fans because I am one of them. They know how incredible and one of a kind he is. So this song is for the real Willie fans, too. They get it.

“I cut the video together using a combination of time-lapse footage I shot at Luck, concert footage of me and my dad performing the song live, and some animated portraits I created digitally of him at different times in his life.” — Micah Nelson (aka Particle Kid)


Photo Credit: Annie Nelson

Willie Nelson Ushers in ‘A Beautiful Time’ With a Ballad by Crowell & Stapleton

Some people would take it easy after an incredible career in the music business, winning countless awards, making over 100 albums, and pioneering a unique style of music. For one Willie Nelson, that isn’t enough. The legendary singer-songwriter has more to give, and his latest endeavor is a studio album on Legacy Recordings titled A Beautiful Time.

The lead single for the album is a tune penned by Rodney Crowell and Chris Stapleton called “I’ll Love You Till The Day I Die.” Like most of his records, the single is an instant classic, drenched in the glow of country music lore. Willie’s straight delivery marries perfectly with the song, which is a ballad about unfaltering love. Trigger’s distinct “voice” can be heard in places over the steel guitar, fiddle, and harmonica, adding a gut-wrenching, nostalgic element.

The country icon wrote five of the songs on A Beautiful Time with producer Buddy Cannon. He also covers the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” and Leonard Cohen’s “Tower of Song.” The collection is set for release on April 29, which coincides with Willie’s 89th birthday, a milestone that would usually accompany a peaceful retirement. Fortunately for us, the Red Headed Stranger continues to work his magic behind the microphone and guitar.


Photo Credit: Pamela Springsteen

WATCH: Jason Boland & The Stragglers, “Restless Spirits”

Artist: Jason Boland & The Stragglers
Hometown: Harrah, Oklahoma; now based in Austin, Texas
Song: “Restless Spirits”
Album: The Light Saw Me (produced by Shooter Jennings)
Release Date: December 3, 2021
Label: Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “This tune was written by the great Bob Childers, and he once told us, ‘All my songs are love songs.’ We feel so honored to have known him and to have this song make its way into the story of The Light Saw Me. The line ‘her eyes were closed but still they held the light’ made me rethink what this song could mean as an emotional point in this tale. Plus, in the way that Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger had ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,’ I wanted to include a classic on this concept album. The deeper meaning of the material is ‘meaning’ itself. When faced with the stoic realities of our collective fate, love is the source of the power that can keep us going.” — Jason Boland

“Jason is one of my dearest friends and, in my opinion, one of the smartest and coolest dudes I know. This album isn’t just another album from Jason & The Stragglers. It’s a magnum opus of the highest creative order, which in turn I take as a very serious honor to be able to be a part of its inception.” – Shooter Jennings


Photo Credit: Rico Deleon