To categorize Jason Hawk Harris as a West Coast country singer, you’re only getting a sliver of the story.
As a kid in Houston, Harris heard a lot of country music because his grandfather always had it playing. As Harris matured, his own tastes shifted to punk, indie rock, the music of Queen, and classical composition. You can hear all these influences in Love & The Dark, his first album for Bloodshot Records. He grabbed the label’s attention at Folk Alliance 2018 — and certainly there is a folk component to Love & The Dark. However, Harris describes his music as “meta-apocalyptic country/Americana grief-grass.”
Harris filmed this BGS Sitch Session in Los Angeles, where he’s now based. The old soundstage serves as a stark backdrop for “Giving In,” a personal song drawn from Harris’ fraught relationship with his late mother’s alcohol addiction.
BGS is pleased to partner with our friends at Pickathon to premiere a new live session from The Lucky Barn each month. Our latest installment features an outstanding live performance of “No Face” by Haley Heynderickx, a remarkable singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon. Stick around after the song to hear about how she met her fellow musicians in the band, as well as some insight about the Portland music scene today.
You can discover more about the festival and get your tickets for 2019 at pickathon.com
Steve Earle shines a light on Guy Clark for this solo, acoustic rendition of “L.A. Freeway,” filmed in a sun-filled home by the canals of Venice in Los Angeles. Of course Clark is one of Earle’s songwriting heroes – and the subject of Earle’s new tribute album, Guy. Enjoy this Sitch Session of Steve Earle’s “L.A. Freeway.”
Filmed by Richard Duncan Downie
BGS met up with Danni Nicholls at The Bear Club in Luton, Bedfordshire to film this evocative Sitch Session. She explains, “The past few years have been a whirlwind journey of self-discovery and waking up to a truer sense of myself and the world around me. It has been terrifying and dark at times, joyful, illuminating and freeing at others. Ultimately, ‘Ancient Embers’ is a love song. It serves as a reminder and reinforcer that the relationship and inner dialogue I have with myself informs every other relationship in my life and affects the way in which I walk through it.”
Enjoy this exclusive performance of “Ancient Embers” from Nicholls’ newest album, The Melted Morning.
BGS is pleased to partner with our friends at Pickathon to premiere a new live session from The Lucky Barn each month. Our latest installment features a beautiful live performance of “I Am California” by John Craigie, a talented singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon. Stick around after the song to hear memories of his earliest days as a performer — and why booking his own shows reminds him of his dating life.
In this performance, Craigie is acccompanied by Aviva Lipkowitz on bass and Kat Fountain on harmony vocal. You can discover more about the festival and get your tickets for 2019 at pickathon.com
Birds of Chicago steadily built a fan base around the world, thanks to socially-conscious songwriting and impassioned delivery. See their acoustic performance of “Try,” filmed during a visit to AmericanaFest-UK.
Truly, this beautiful song is “Everything You Want.” And with just these two voices and subtle guitar playing, it’s indeed everything you need. Enjoy this live performance by Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou filmed by BGS during AmericanaFest-UK.
UK singer-songwriter John Smith’s simple name belies a deep and complex talent. His album Hummingbird was released in the US earlier this year, and we were lucky enough to have him come by our studio at AmericanaFest-UK for a live version of “The Time Has Come.”
Brandi Carlile surprised the MerleFest audience last month when she brought out fellow headliners The Avett Brothers to sing “Murder in the City.” Written by the Avetts, the song has long been a favorite of Carlile’s, and she included it on her 2015 album, The Firewatcher’s Daughter. Check out their outstanding live performance of “Murder in the City.”
Photo credit: Willa Stein
Nashville-based musician and singer/songwriter Caroline Spence carried her beautifully written songs to Los Angeles, where BGS filmed this performance. Enjoy a solo, acoustic rendition of “Mint Condition,” the title track from her newest release.
