Singer/songwriter Steve Gunn fully stakes his claim as part of the “Cosmic Americana” movement in this quietly (inter)stellar Sitch Session performance of “Full Moon Tide” from his 2016 release, Eyes on the Lines. Accompanied by Jim Elkington, Gunn took some time in downtown Los Angeles, California, to remind us why we are over the moon about him. “Word on the street is always why,” he sings. “Hang around and steal your time. Outlaw thoughts and a winded sigh. Age-old cry of a worn-out child.” Out of this world!
Directed and edited by Richard Downie
It’s been well over a year since the eponymous Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats album was released. In the time since we first spoke to him about the record, Rateliff and company have blown the roof off pretty much every festival and late-night talk show in the country with their high-energy Southern soul. For their Sitch Session recorded at the House of Blues in Houston, Texas, the band turned it all down and performed an acoustic version of “Wasting Time,” a slow, quiet burners that evokes more Cat Stevens than Sam Cooke.
Shot and edited by Dinolion
Conor Oberst has long been an important voice in American roots music, and his Sitch Session performance of “A Little Uncanny” is perfectly timed for these imperfect times. In it, he pages through historical moments to consider how he/we arrived right here, right now: “You know old Ronnie Reagan, he was a shoe salesman’s son. He got himself in the movies. He impressed everyone. He thought trial by fire was America’s fate. He made a joke of the poor people and that made him a saint.”
On her latest album, Undercurrent, Sarah Jarosz goes deeper and darker than she ever has before. The result is utterly captivating. And nowhere is it better captured than in the lead track, “House of Mercy,” which Jarosz performed for the BGS on a rooftop in Los Angeles, California. You’d be forgiven for thinking she’s the second coming of Gillian Welch, especially on this tune. “Underneath that shirt you’re wearing, strained muscles and a heart of stone, leather costume like a wild chameleon,” she sings before cutting right to the bone, “You make me want to be alone.”
Directed and Edited by Richard Downie
There was nary a chill in the air at Old Settler's Music Festival in Austin, Texas, when the Deer took some time to sing "Winter to Pry" for us. Still, the song couched its prophesy of what was to come in a lovely bit of poetry: "I’m the harvest moon on an Autumn night. I’m watching your shadow pass through my light," Grace Park sings. "I’ve been broken asunder, over the line, like the teeth of the harrow rusted in time."
Directed by: Jeromy Barber of Dinolion
Edited by: James Templeton and Jeromy Barber of Dinolion
On their latest release, We All the Light, River Whyless reaches around the world and folds a bevy of intriguing sounds and rhythms into their music, making the album a refreshing take on roots music. Here, the band performs "All Day All Night" in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, faithfully recreating the album's groove in the live setting. "Not too long ago, you chased the sun, craved it on your skin," bassist Daniel Shearin sings, as the camera moves around them and the bokeh light refracts and reflects.
Directed and edited by Wonderscope
Before she was IBMA's 2016 Mandolin Player of the Year, Sierra Hull popped into Old Settlers Music Festival in Austin, Texas, earlier this year for a Sitch Session of "Weighted Mind," the title track from her latest release. Hull gets a mountain of rightful praise for her picking skills, but she also deserves some credit for her singer/songwriter chops. "Should I lead? Should I lay low? If I ask you, will you even know? From the roof to the ground, these walls must come down," she sings with poise and purpose, working her way toward the mando licks that pack the real punch. Good stuff.
Directed by: Jeromy Barber of Dinolion
Edited by: James Templeton and Jeromy Barber of Dinolion
When the Hillbenders were in Austin, Texas, for Old Settler’s Music Festival earlier this year, the bearded quintet hooked up with the BGS to power pick their way through “Hey Boys.” The song rambles and rolls through tales of various working men — lumberjacks, carpenters, et al — finishing up a long day and heading out for a hard-earned drink … or several: “Hey, boys, have another round. The devil won’t get us when the sun goes down.”
Directed by: Jeromy Barber of Dinolion
Edited by: James Templeton and Jeromy Barber of Dinolion
Last year, David Ramirez released Fables, his doozy of an album. Though the collection was chock full of stunning tunes, one of our favorites was "Harder to Lie." So we were thrilled to have him perform it for us earlier this year at Old Settler's Music Festival in Austin, Texas. "When it comes to loving me, you best be ready, because this will get heavy when you learn just what I am," he sings with an echo of reckoning in his voice. "I fed you fables and fooled you with words from my tongue, trying to make you think I was a better man than I was." Doesn't get much heavier … or much better.
Directed by: Jeromy Barber of Dinolion
Edited by: James Templeton and Jeromy Barber of Dinolion
We took Elephant Revival out to the Pioneertown Mountains Preserve for their Sitch Session performance of "Home in Your Heart" because … well … why not? The big sky and tumbleweeds provide the perfect backdrop to the band's delicate spin on the breezy tune. No matter that the song sings "Go down to the soul of the river. Go where love found you there. Feel deep down them goosebumps and shivers. Go where the mouth of the river runs wide." Elephants, revivaling in the desert. Boom.
Directed and edited by Small Medium Large Productions
