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Roots Culture Redefined

WATCH: Ben Harper, “Clay Pigeons”

In honor of Ben Harper‘s birthday on October 28 — as well as his recent release of his first ever entirely-instrumental album, Winter Is For Lovers — we’re revisiting this acoustic cover of a John Prine song (by way of songwriter Blaze Foley), “Clay Pigeons.”

Earlier this year, when our second episode of Whiskey Sour Happy Hour aired on April 29, Prine had passed away due to complications from COVID-19 barely a handful of weeks before. Harper’s heartfelt tribute in “Clay Pigeons” was such a comfort then, as we all gathered virtually for WSHH — and it’s still a comfort now. We will always miss John Prine!

 

WATCH: On Her Signature Thompson Guitar, Molly Tuttle Covers Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Award-winning guitarist Molly Tuttle made one of the year’s most compelling and surprising cover albums with …but i’d rather be with you, selecting 10 of her favorite songs from throughout her life. Hear a dazzling take on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Zero,” performed on the Molly Tuttle Signature Model Thompson Guitar, in this BGS exclusive.

 

WATCH: Musicians for Marquita

Watch Musicians for Marquita above on October 20, 2020 at 6pm CT / 4pm PT. 

BGS is proud to support the musicians, writers, comedians, and creators banding together to help Tennessee elect south Memphis native Marquita Bradshaw, the first Black woman to ever be nominated for U.S. Senate by a major party in Tennessee.

Nashville musicians William Tyler, Tristen, and Erin Rae have partnered with Third Man Records to host a modern day telethon fundraiser on October 20 to raise awareness about Bradshaw’s historic campaign and mobilize Tennesseans to support her at the polls. Artists, musicians, poets, writers, and athletes have been invited to submit casually recorded videos of songs, testimonials, or written pieces, along with their endorsements of Marquita Bradshaw for Senate. Among those confirmed for the broadcast are Margo Price, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Kyshona, Caroline Randall Williams, Becca Mancari, Langhorne Slim, and many, many more.

You can find out more about Musicians for Marquita and DONATE to support Bradshaw for Senate here.

More about Marquita Bradshaw’s campaign: In a surprise upset, Marquita Bradshaw won the race for Democratic nominee with 33.5% of votes, a 9-point lead, defeating her opponent James Mackler’s 2.1 million dollar fundraising haul with her $8,420 grassroots campaign. In one of the most inspiring outcomes in decades, this win validates that Bradshaw represents the needs and wants of Tennesseans across the state, and that she will bring this work ethic and vision to Washington, D.C. With an extensive history of environmental activism, Bradshaw supports common sense policies that defend and promote the long-term health and well-being of Tennessee and its citizens. In a race where popular vote decides, Tennessee has a real chance to make change if we can mobilize an unprecedented number of progressives to vote on Nov. 3. Get more information here.

Poster art courtesy of Musicians for Marquita

WATCH: Billy Strings, “Uncloudy Day”

The very first episode of Whiskey Sour Happy Hour, our online Americana-meets-comedy-meets-Ed-Helms variety show from this spring, was closed out by wild Nashville picker Billy Strings. Nobody connects traditional bluegrass and folk with the modern roots music world quite like Strings, and he does just that with his rendition of the traditional bluegrass gospel tune “Uncloudy Day,” citing Doc Watson’s version of the classic as a favorite, with the intention of sending an uplifting message of hope from the depths of quarantine.

No pick-me-up quite like a flatpicking bluegrass gospel tune, eh?

We hope you’ll enjoy this Whiskey Sour Happy Hour rerun of “Uncloudy Day.”

 

WATCH: Shout & Shine Online

Shout & Shine Online is our fifth annual showcase celebrating equity and inclusion in bluegrass and roots music!

For five years now BGS and our partners at PineCone have used our voices, resources, and positivity to lift up and celebrate diversity in bluegrass and roots music through the Shout & Shine showcase. This year, the event’s 5th annual iteration will follow a format more suitable for a worldwide pandemic — with an all-online showcase as part of IBMA’s Virtual World of Bluegrass!

Shout & Shine Online will feature performances by: Amythyst Kiah, Tray Wellington Band, Sunny War, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Brandi Waller-Pace, Rissi Palmer, KaĂŻa Kater, and Stephanie Anne Johnson. Meet the full lineup here.

Shout & Shine Online’s roster is curated by performing musician and Decolonizing the Music Room founder and Executive Director, Brandi Waller-Pace. Shout & Shine Online will take place right here at 2 pm ET Saturday, October 3. (Watch the broadcast in full above.) At the time of the showcase, viewers were able to tune in via Facebook, YouTube, PineCone’s channels, and via IBMA’s conference platform, Swapcard.

Shout & Shine Online is made possible by these generous partners and sponsors: Visit Raleigh, the Raleigh Convention Center, Ear Trumpet Labs, IBMA, IVPR, Pre-War Guitars, Jamie Dawson and ERA Dream Living Realty, and Straight Up Strings.

Poster by Grant Prettyman, Belhum

WATCH: IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Pre-Show

Welcome to the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Pre-Show, produced and presented by BGS in partnership with IBMA and highlighting this year’s Best New Artist nominees!

The half-hour-long special is hosted by Sean & Sara Watkins (winners of the Emerging Artist award as part of Nickel Creek in 2000) and features performances from all five 2020 Best New Artist nominees: Appalachian Road Show, Carolina Blue, High Fidelity, Mile Twelve, and Merle Monroe.

Watch the show right here, on Thursday, October 1 at 7:30pm ET / 4:30 pm PT! Special thanks to BGS sponsor Preston Thompson Guitars for their support of the IBMA Awards Pre-Show.

Immediately following the premiere of the Awards Pre-Show, navigate to IBMA’s conference platform, Swapcard, or IBMA’s YouTube channel or Facebook page for the broadcast of the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards.

 

Live at Ear Trumpet Labs: Freddy & Francine, “By No Means”

Freddy & Francine have taken a surprisingly soulful turn for their newest album, I Am Afraid to Die! While their songwriting may be tied to their perception that we’re approaching the end of the world, the duo’s Lee Ferris and Bianca Caruso are looking back with some retro R&B vibes. But don’t get bummed out by such thoughts of doom. As the band states on their website, “The obligation we feel as artists is to respond authentically to what we observe. On this record we aimed for a joyful celebration of the flaws in our humanity while facing the erosion of our collective spirit and looming extinction. We filter our anger, fear, and frustrations through our music and transmute it into joy!”

In a year of unexpected twists and turns, the musical shift is an interesting detour from the folk-pop arrangements that brought the Nashville couple a national following. In this performance video filmed at Ear Trumpet Labs in Portland, Oregon, Freddy & Francine are using a Louise microphone on vocals, an Edwina on the guitar amp, and a stereo pair of Delphinas as room mics. Enjoy their back-to-basics rendition of “By No Means,” which is (perhaps fittingly) the final track on I Am Afraid to Die!

 

WATCH: Gaby Moreno Performs at the Autry Museum in LA

In an effort to support the visual and musical arts, especially during a time when we can’t visit museums or concert venues, The Autry Museum of the American West is presenting a music video series featuring intimate, acoustic performances by some of L.A.’s best musical artists, all filmed live on location. This installment features Gaby Moreno, a gifted Guatemala native whose music placements range from Disney’s Elena of Avalor to Netflix’s original series, Orange Is the New Black. She also released an acclaimed project, ÂĄSpangled!, with Van Dyke Parks. (Read the BGS interview.)

The Autry Presents: The Best of Los Angeles, produced by Gia Hughes and filmed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Austin Straub, offers 20+ minute sets by Los Angeles-based artists Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, Gaby Moreno, Aubrie Sellers and soul artist Chris Pierce. The musicians perform alongside artwork and objects on display at The Autry including Bridges by James Doolin, War Music II by Mateo Romero, and a Concord Mail Stage Coach made by Lewis Downing.

 

WATCH: Tyler Childers Shares His Truth Behind New Album, ‘Long Violent History’

Tyler Childers realizes that the message of his surprise new album, Long Violent History, might be misconstrued without putting the release into context. In this video, he explains his rationale behind the project and reveals that he’s been sober for six months. One hundred percent of net proceeds from the album will support underserved communities in the Appalachian region through the Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund.

 

WATCH: Shout & Shine Featuring Sunny War

BGS is proud to announce Shout & Shine Episode 2! Guitarist and songwriter Sunny War is our latest guest for the livestream iteration of Shout & Shine, which comprises short-form, intimate video performances by underrepresented and marginalized artists in Americana, folk, and bluegrass.

Please support Sunny War directly, via venmo: @sunnywar and visit her website for more information and music.

 Shout & Shine is presented by Preston Thompson Guitars and will be streamed live right here on September 16 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET.