Forest Sun (from the album Hey Magnolia available on Painted Sun Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
According to his bio, Forest Sun’s musical influences came about by more than mere chance. It reads like this: ‘Forest Sun was born in upstate New York to folksinging back-to-the-land hippie parents. His dad used to chop wood with neighbor Garth Hudson of the Band and literally built the floor that Bob Dylan stood on at manager Albert Grossman’s Bearsville studios in Woodstock, New York.  His mom heard Pete Seeger and Joan Baez play when they filmed a TV show in her uncles living room in Boston, and dated one of The Chambers Brothers before she met his dad. Weaned on a diet of Jackson Browne and Toots and the Maytals, some of Forest’s earliest memories are of his dad playing “Pancho and Lefty” by Townes Van Zandt, and his mom singing Elizabeth Cotton’s “Freight Train”. Forest wrote songs with Rory Block when he was six years old, learned to juggle with Wavy Gravy when he was 9, and studied drumming with the late African master percussionist Babatunde Olatunji as a teenager. In college, he played in a band with SNL star Maya Rudolph. They opened for No Doubt at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz before Forest left to study art in Spain’.

Well, at least that may help to explain his decidedly descriptive name. Clearly it was borne from hippie happenstance.

It’s no surprise then that his new album Hey Magnolia personifies his organic origins. Co-produced by Forest Sun and multi-instrumentalist Gawain Mathews, with guest appearances by chanteuse Lara Louise and national fiddle champion Luke Price, the songs ploughs amid the rustic environs associated with his youth, creating an intriguing blend of Folk, Bluegrass, Country, and Soul from a poet’s perspective. Mainly though, it’s a set of songs that evoke an assured sense of calm and contentment, shared through such evocative entries as “Only Passing Time” (‘I thought I could change the world, but the world changed me…’), “Love That Keeps on Trying”, “All the Mornings Have an Echo”, and “Underwater”. There’s not a single entry here that lacks that particular comfort and caress, making the entire album a mellow and melodic journey from start to finish. Occasional upbeat offerings like “Someday” and “Sweet Dreams, Caroline” maintain the same charm, just as the otherwise pessimistic “We May Not Ever Make It Home” manages to convey a measure of both reassurance and reflection.

Ultimately, Hey Magnolia is a gem of an album, the perfect antidote to the stress many of us are subjected to on a daily basis. Thanks are due Mr. Forest Sun for sharing a sound that’s illuminated so brightly. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Listen and buy the music of Forest Sun from AMAZON
For more information, please visit the Forest Sun website
 

The Waymores (from the album Greener Pastures available on Chicken Ranch Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Kira Annalise and Willie Heath Neal — the duo known as The Waymores — specialize in making Classic Country — that is, authentic American music imbued with the heart and soul, best described as the real deal. While they keep it contemporary, echoes of Johnny and June, George and Tammy, Conway and Loretta along with Porter and Dolly never stray far from the surface, creating a sound that bears both a distinct dynamic and expressive intent that ensures their songs come across with passion and personality.
 
That’s especially true of their new album, euphemistically dubbed Greener Pastures. Here however, they get added impetus from a very special person who sits at the helm, a legend, in fact — producer Shel Talmy.

Talmy is, of course, the man who was behind the boards for any number of classic songs marking the formative era of the so-called ‘British Invasion’ in the early to mid-‘60s. With clients that included The Who, The Kinks, and early David Bowie, among many others, he made his mark in the annals of Rock history. Greener Pastures is, by his own admission, his first attempt to produce a contemporary Country record. As before, he succeeds admirably.
 
Even so, Talmy’s touch never overshadows the duo’s efforts, and apparently the two weren’t intimidated by his presence. Then again, there was no reason they should be. Their songs shore up their strengths here, with “Under Your Spell Again”, “You Got Gold”, “Tavern Time”, and “Don’t Worry” sounding for all the world like they’ve been lingering in the ethos forever. They sound like standards from the get-go, flush with hooks, ready refrains, plenty of pedal steel guitar, and shared harmonies. Whether it’s the substantive sway of a song like “Time to Ramble”, the sadder strains of “Hill Country Waltz”, or the down-home delivery of the title track, the music comes across with the fullness and finesse of singular standards. It’s to the duo’s credit that they’re able to craft songs that combine irony, emotion and enthusiasm in such perfect proportion. 
 
Indeed, Greener Pastures marks a major breakthrough for The Waymores. Should it get the attention it deserves, those greener pastures will likely provide as much promise as possibility. (By Lee Zimmerman)
 
Listen and buy the music of The Waymores from AMAZON
 
For more information, please visit The Waymores website
 
 

Darrell Scott Shares Some Secrets…
Touting an Exceptional New Album, Old Cane Back Rocker, He Ruminates On What It Takes to Be an Authentic Americana Icon (by Lee Zimmerman)
Darrell Scott is the epitome of the ideal journeyman. A multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter, he’s collaborated with practically everyone in the top tier of contemporary Bluegrass and Americana, including Robert Plant, Steve Earle, Sam Bush, Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Tim O’Brien, Kate Ruby, Mary Gauthier, Tim O’Brien, Verlon Thomson, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and a list that goes on and on. He’s been the beneficiary of any number of kudos across the board, including Song of the Year honors from the Americana Music Association for “Hank Williams’ Ghost” and the elevated status of his song “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alone”, which became the closing track for the popular TV series “Justified” during several of its seasons.
Darrell Scott seems to have inherited his abilities quite naturally. Having inherited the traditional template of his dad, Wayne Scott, his father’s influence has never wavered. “This Weary Way”, one of a dozen tracks on his terrific new album, Old Cane Back Rocker, was, in fact, written by the elder Scott.
His first new collection of original material in several years (his last two efforts were Darrell Scott Sings the Blues of Hank Williams and a live solo album called Jaroso, both released in 2020), the album finds Scott working with a configuration he calls the Darrell Scott String Band, an all-star amalgam featuring Matt Flinner on banjo, mandolin, and vocals, Bryn Davies on upright bass, and vocals, fiddler, and singer Shad Cobb, along with special appearances by singer John Cowan, percussionist Daniel de Los Reyes, and engineer Shalom Aberle on voice-over. It finds Darrell Scott in full Bluegrass mode, courtesy of a set of mostly original songs written primarily by Scott, along with contributions from Flinner and Cobb as well as cowrites form Bruce Robison and John Cowan. The exceptions are his father’s aforementioned composition and a stunning take on the Crosby, Stills, and Nash standard “Southern Cross”.
‘I had the great help of putting this recording out with Soundly Music’ Scott says. ‘So, hallelujah, I have help in releases!’.
The inevitable question is, however, what took him so long to come up with an album of his own material?
‘I think, if I were being honest, it's because it feels cumbersome to release records’ Darrell Scott replied. ‘These days, it feels extremely easy to make records and to make music with friends or a band or a conceptual dispensing. But getting music out seems to be, I don't know, difficult. On one hand, it's easier than ever because of the internet, and because of the streaming of this and that. So, it's this ironic place of it being more difficult for me to put out records, but not so much as far as making those records. There's the irony that I have to live with. I've been tripped up on what to do with it. If it was music only, I have lots of music. It does not mean that I don't have other recordings. It's just, for some reason, a stymied process. I think I could make a record this afternoon, or I could call people up for a particular concept. I have other albums that are able and ready, or very near ready to come out as well. So I have to crack that code for the release’.
Fortunately, Scott was able to overcome the obstacles as far as Old Cane Back Rocker was concerned, as the title appears to indicate. ‘I did crack the code on this’ he agrees. ‘It is out and about, and I'm hearing people react to it. I just heard that WSM was spinning it and things like that. So, it's not a lack of music. It's a stymied way of thinking about how to put it out, and I don't doubt at all that the stymie is on me. For example, this record was recorded in 2019. We were three days in Boulder, Colorado with my fellow players and we were able to record an album over two weekends, instead of going home on the weekdays in-between. Anyway, I don't have a great excuse. That’s just what goes on with this stuff’.

Nevertheless, it’s not like Darrell Scott’s ever idle. Aside from performing live, he also makes a point of producing other people’s albums. In addition, he recently oversaw a remix of Guy Clark’s classic album, Dublin Blues, one of four Clark albums Scott played on from 1994 on.
‘It's all to illustrate the fact that there’s plenty of music, both in studio on my own, and in the studio with others’ Scott continues. ‘I'm not sure why I feel the way I do about the difficulty of releasing new albums. At the same time, these last several years speak for themselves, I suppose’.
It’s a common dilemma, Scott says. ‘Playing live shows, roughly speaking, is maybe what all of us have to do to make money. That’s just the world we live in, right now’.

Still, the new album lives up to its name. Scott singles out his take on “Southern Cross” as something that gives the album special meaning.

‘I certainly have loved that song ever since it came out in the ‘80s’ he maintains. ‘And then to have the reggae feel in the chorus is a direct reference to the sound the New Grass Revival brought in early on. They always had a reggae feel with some of their stuff, so it made sense to have John Cowan contribute to this version. I was in the wine country of California, and I heard the song one morning, and it just kind of knocked me out. I got very emotional, especially with that chorus. That line about ‘other voices calling’ — it almost brings a spiritual quality to it. I thought that chorus really captured that and then, with the voice of John Cowan and the sort of reggae thing that Newgrass used to do brought it all together. Plus, it was me wanting to have this group I’m with sing harmonies. On my records, we’ve never had three- and four-part harmony. So you add all that together and come up with this cover’.
His take on his father’s song, “This Weary Land”, naturally resonates in a very singular way as well. ‘I’ve always loved that song of dad’s’ he reflects. ‘I've always felt it was his best song. I've done it a time or two with Tim O'Brien over the years. So, I knew I could handle the full harmonies, and the fiddle, dobro, mandolin and all that stuff. I pulled that in as I was grabbing songs for to record with these folks’.
Of course, pulling songs together has never been a problem as far as Scott’s concerned. Throughout his career, he’s managed to navigate the middle ground between music that’s of classic origins and that which is considered contemporary. When speaking about the evolution of what is commonly called Americana, he cites the connection between those bands of the late ‘60s — The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the others that narrowed the divide between Rock and Country while avoiding the culture clash that once found followers for each irretractable opposites — and the music made today.

‘If you blur your eye at all, it's not a huge leap from the California Country Rock of the ‘60s and ‘70s to what you see on the current Americana charts’ he notes. ‘And that's what I set out to do. I’m so pleased to have these great players and writers and composers working with me, and to be a larger part of the picture. Maybe me being the songwriter of the year has something to do with a certain populism and making music that’s appealing more in a mass kind of way. Nevertheless, I continue to make music, whether I'm getting songwriter the year awards or whether this record flies up the charts or not. I'm going to make music, whether or not the accolades are there. The latter has something to do with something other than the music. It has more to do with your PR people and your label. If we were telling the truth, we’d admit that's what it actually is. So I make that distinction, because I know the music goes on whether the accolades follow, or they don’t’.
On the other hand, Darrell Scott may be unnecessarily modest. After all, he has the credentials that consistently elevate him to the top tier of today’s traditional troubadours.
‘It’s great when any of us who are doing it can get a lick in there, have have a good solid, strong record, or, get someone to say, ’Oh, my God, look, he's a Songwriter of the Year!’ or ‘Look, they're on the Letterman Show or the Late Show. Any of those are nice little licks for those of us who are carrying it forward. They’re cause for celebration. It may not last too long; it really depends on the PR staff and management and all those things we don't see behind the scenes. It’s like the The Wizard of Oz. There’s actually a frail little man behind the curtain’.
 
Listen and buy the music of Darrell Scott from AMAZON
 
For more information head over to the Darrell Scott website
 
 

Jerry Douglas’ Ever-Constant Continuum Leaves No Time to Settle Down
(by Lee Zimmerman)
Dobro and lap steel player, producer, composer and band leader, Jerry Douglas could be considered one omnipresent individual. His wealth of awards and accolades testify to that proposition. He’s been nominated for no less than thirty-two Grammy Awards — winning 14 of them — in addition to being a ten-time recipient of the International Bluegrass Music Association Dobro Player of the Year Award, a National Heritage Fellowship given to him from the National Endowment for the Arts, status as an Artist-in-Residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, honors from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival for 25 consecutive years of performance at the festival, receipt of the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Bluegrass Star Award he received from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation of Dallas, Texas.
Those substantial honors aside, Jerry Douglas continues to push his parameters. He’s the organizer of the Trans Atlantic Sessions in Scotland, a festival favorite (he was the individual in charge of gathering the talent at the Earl Scruggs Festival this year and last), and a consistent road warrior at the helm of two bands, The Jerry Douglas Band and the Grammy Award-winning retro outfit, The Earls of Leicester.
In addition, he’s overseen any number of albums by others, including those by Alison Krauss, the Del McCoury Band, Maura O’Connell, Jesse Winchester, the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Gary Morris, to name but a few. And that even doesn’t include all the artists he’s collaborated with — Eric Clapton, John Hiatt, Keb Mo, Elvis Costello, and Van Morrison, among the many. By his own estimation, he’s appeared on some 2,000 albums, although he suspects that the number is even higher.

Either way, he’s one of the most prolific instrumentalists in recent times.

‘Someone once asked me when I did the record with John Hiatt, Leftover Feelings, if I had ever played with John before, and I said, no, I don't think I have’ Douglas recalls ‘But then they reminded me that I did, on the second Will the Circle Be Unbroken album. We did a song together. It was all happening so fast I couldn’t even remember that John Denver was on it too. So, when somebody said, I played with John Denver, I said, nope, I never played with him. But that was a different situation because there were so many people coming through that studio at the time’.
Still, it had to be no less arduous than putting together the performers for the Earl Scruggs Festival, especially considering the fact that he had so many friends, collaborators and associates to choose from.

‘It took me a little while to boil it down’ he suggests. ‘Maybe just a day or two days. I had to think for a while about how to put it together. But I’ll tell you the truth, I love doing that. I love connecting the dots, connecting people, creating collaborations. I love bands to just band together and not work alone. So, I get to hone that every night. I got Emmylou involved in the Sunday finale. That’s something she loves. She loves being out there. There'll be a lot of people around with her too. It's gonna be a big finale. Hopefully, there'll be more people in the audience than there are on stage’.
Of course, it’s not simply a matter of having participants, but also how they’re able to mesh together onstage. ‘It's spontaneous, but there is some familiarity, because we all have history playing together, even if it’s not all together at the same time’ Jerry Douglas explains. ‘It's just music. It’s all ones and twos and zeros. There's no set time signature. Everything is simple and it all comes together eventually’.
Of course, that’s the essence of what Jerry Douglas does — gather other musicians and then find the proper synergy. That’s one reason why when he’s at a festival, he rarely leaves the stage. So too, he’s always on the hunt for new talent.
‘I've been doing a producing a record by a fella from Baltimore named Chris Jacobs’ Douglas adds. ‘He was more of a Rocker but he said he just wanted to do this record. So, we did this record and we used the Infamous Stringdusters as our band. Then we brought in Lee Ann Womack to sing on one song. Then Billy Strings came in. And Sam Bush played on some of it too. We had such a good time. We had a big party and made us a great record. I just finished mixing it yesterday. The studio is the place where I go when I'm not on the road. I'm usually hovering over a console and mixing over in a studio. I’m still looking forward to landing somewhere for a few days, like at the Earl Scruggs Festival where I can just be there for a bit and play with everybody, besides just being in my role as the host. I love playing with everybody, and I would do it anyway. I've either recorded with these musicians, or I’ve played with them on stage. And those that I haven’t played with, well, I’m looking to doing that now’.
Of course, Douglas knows of what he speaks. He played in the band called The GrooveGrass Boyz in the mid ‘90s before joining Alison Krauss and Union Station, with whom he toured extensively and recorded a number of best-selling albums. He still manages to perform with them from time to time in between stints with his own outfits.
Likewise, Douglas has been around long enough to witness the rise of Americana. However, he says that early on, he had no idea how big it would become.

‘I didn't know’ he insists. ‘I knew that what we were doing was really good. But I measured something as being good in terms of how in tune it was, if everybody finished on the same beat, how good the musical performances were, and how everybody got along. Of course, it also has to do with how it translates, and then finds the right audience. So when I did the two Will the Circle Be Unbroken records, I did see that. I figured, this is something that once they hear, everybody’s gonna like it. The other big breakthrough was tied to a movie, ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou.’ That was a nice vehicle as well. But I didn't see it getting to the point where it is right now. It’s blown up. And Billy Strings is a big reason for that’.
It’s clear then to see that he looks at things somewhat philosophically. ‘It's just another it's another phase, another passage of time that occurs like every 25 years or so’ he muses. ‘Every quarter century or so, there's a dial that goes around. It takes different routes. It may start at high noon, and then the hands go around the dial and gets shinier and shinier and shinier. It happened with ‘Urban Cowboy’ and it continued from there’.
As for his own plans, Douglas said that he will soon start work on a new album. ‘The Jerry Douglas Band weighs in a little bit more in the overall balance of things because all the other guys in the Earls have other things they do’ he suggests. “[Singer, guitarist] Shawn Camp’s got a totally separate career and [bassist]Daniel Kimbro is like the king of Knoxville with all the things he does there. He still plays with me at the Earl Scruggs Festival and plays in my namesake band too. We're about to go back in the studio, I think in October, and work on another record. I love doing that. Plus, I’m going out this weekend and playing solo and I love doing that too. It gives me just a chance to just sit down with a smaller group of people and do my thing. Sometimes that’s the only way for things to regenerate. I work pretty hard, and sometimes I kinda feel like I’m trying to keep up with the Energizer Bunny’.
 
Listen and buy the music of Jerry Doulgas from his website
 
For more information head over to the Jerry Douglas website
 

East Nash Grass (from the album Last Chance to Win available on Mountain Fever Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
A flurry of strings wafts in like a fresh breeze when East Nash Grass begin the song cycle on the title track of their recent release, Last Chance to Win. The vocals tell the story, however, in East Nash Grass, strings are the kings. Dubbed a ‘band of ringers’ by Jerry Douglas due to the credentials of the players, each member found playing in touring bands as well as needed studio backing for the recordings of other musicians. East Nash Grass, James Kee (guitar), Cory Walker (banjo), Harry Clark (mandolin), Gaven Largent (dobro), Maddie Denton (fiddle), and Jeff Picker (bass), are smooth operators as they navigate Last Chance to Win. They seamlessly trade vocals and leads, the melodies alive with the A-list playing of the band themselves.
 
From the homebase in Madison, Tennessee, East Nash Grass are an audio freight train, barreling through the songs like the locomotive is a runaway engine heading down a hill in “Railroad and Gamblin’” and “Jenna McGaugh” while a smooth, slightly rushed, groove percolates underneath “I Almost Told Her” and “Love Slippin’ Away”. Last Chance to Win climbs on a rattling rhythm for “Papa’s on the Housetop”, sending out a love letter to “Scarlet Iris” and setting the emotional GPS for a lot of curves in “East Due West Blues”. East Nash Grass are a footstompers fantasy vacation. Quieting the strums for “Magic City Grey”, Last Chance to Win hurries to catch up to the fasttrack toetaps in “How Could I Love Her So Much” as East Nash Grass offer strength in the story of “When You Come Home” as the music supports the promise with sturdy got-your-back rhythms. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Listen and buy the music of East Nash Grass from AMAZON
 
For more information head over to the East Nash Grass website
 

Birds of Play (from the album Birdsongs of the American West available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
Gathering in the San Juan Mountains in southern Colorado, Birds of Play are a string band. The four members, Alex Paul (guitar/mandolin/vocals), Eric Shedd (bass/mandolin/guitar/vocals), Anneke Dean (violin/vocals) and Jake Tolan on (guitar/mandolin/vocals) incorporate elements of Bluegrass, Classical, Jazz, Folk, and other styles to create the soundtrack for Birdsongs of the American West. Birds of Play share and blend vocal harmonies fluidly throughout the album, the playing quieting, rising up, and smoothing out across the musical soundscape. Top shelf musicianship and solid song-crafting land Birds of Play in the peer group of performers such as The Wood Brothers, Andrew Bird, and Punch Brothers.
 
An uplifting exuberance is captured within the music of Birdsongs of the American West when Birds of Play encourage to “Breathe” and “Exhale” as companion pieces for the recording. A Blue texture is an undercurrent for “Numbers and Names” while slow, determined strums support the questionable decisions of “Paradox of Choice” and Indie Americana surrounds story in “Stargazer”. Birds of Play chose the Sherbino Theatre in Ridgeway, Colorado to record Birdsongs of the American West, bringing in the venue’s house soundman, Derek Jones, as recording engineer for the project. A tangle of notes playfully tumble as opening cut “Texture” begins the song cycle for Birdsongs of the American West as the album quiets for the methodical sway of “On the Eve of Adam’s Redress”. Birds of Play offer “Peace” as a goodbye and talk of dark days and hopes in “Aftermath” while building a sturdy melody note by note with “Linden and Oak”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Listen and buy the music of Birds of Play from AMAZON
 
Find more information and purchase options on the Birds of Play website
 

Roselit Bone  (from the album Ofrenda available on Get Loud Recordings) (by Bryant Liggett)
Roselit Bone is the perfect band to represent the whole scene of the Rose City (Portland, Oregon). Portland gets a big thumbs up as one of the better local music scenes in the country as its offerings are a little bit of everything. That diversity of sound is what Roselit Bone delivers on their latest Ofrenda, as it dishes out a buffet of styles. There’s the opener, “Your Gun”, which starts as a slow tempo but punch packed Indie Rocker before a John Zorn-like saxophone takes it into Free Jazz territory. There’s a lounge vibe in “The Sea and Silhouette” that carries Psychedelic and Surf traits thanks to the fills of guitar player Victor Franco. “Vassal or Vagabond” is a haunting ballad, Charlotte McCaslin’s vocals backed by a subtle and guttural baritone, while “Truth or Consequences” is a punked up and horn-heavy mariachi cut. “Crying in the USA” drops Surf guitar riffs with an old school, late 50’s Rock’n’Roll vibe, “Ain’t No Right Way to Feel” is crying in your beer pop, and the album closer title-track is a bit Goth, a bit Rock, and a lot good.
Roselit Bone are a stacked, seven-piece RocknRoll outfit that can moonlight as a Country dance band and a Free Jazz World rhythm collective with Goth leanings. With the haunting and heavy vocals of McCaslin, this is a powerful band whose diversity on Ofrenda could put them in different sections of the record store, and place them on multiple stages from festivals to DIY basement venues. (by Bryant Liggett)
Listen and buy the music of Roselit Bone from AMAZON
 
For more information head over to the Roselit Bone website
 
 

Nick Moss Band feat. Dennis Gruenling (from the album Get Your Back In to It! available on Alligator Records) (by Bryant Liggett)

Nick Moss has a kick ass band. Toss harmonica player Dennis Gruenling into the mix and you’ve got a full package of badass Rhythm & Blues, a solid team that boogies and bounces, which is exactly what they do on their latest in Get Your Back In to It!. This is grind-on-the-dance-floor Blues, an upbeat explosion of ‘mighty fine playing’ as is expressed in the albums first cut. And what an opener it is… ‘don’t fall for the bait, you won’t struggle in the snare’ the Nick Moss Band offering the advice in “Bait in the Snare”. Out of the gate guitar licks are traded with harmonica solos, and a fun pace is set from track number one, and that pace rolls for another 13 tracks.

As killer as the lyrical cuts are from this Chicago Blues ensemble, dropping sharp cuts with killer verbal wit, they also nail instrumentals. “Out of the Woods” is bouncy with horns and Hammond organ blasts while “Bones Cantina” is delivered with a tropical vibe. Drop this record into the timeless category, as “Lonely Fool” is as much 1953 as it is 2023. Get Your Back In to It! closes with “Scratch and Sniff” which is as much Ventures inspired, So-Cal Surf Rock as it is traditional Blues album representing the best of Chicago.

Exciting. Traditional. Smoking and fun, The Nick Moss Band is a rocking’ Blues force, with Get Your Back In to It! worthy of an upfront spot in the eternal killer record canon. (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Listen and buy the music of Nick Moss Band feat. Dennis Gruenling from AMAZON
 
For more information head over to the Nick Moss Band feat. Dennis Gruenling website
 
 

Old Crow Medicine Show (from the album Jubilee available on ATO Records) (by Brian Rock)
Old Crow Medicine Show celebrates 25 years of making extraordinary, Grammy winning Roots music on their eighth album Jubilee. The title is apt as the album feels like a celebration. Musically and lyrically, Jubilee exudes joy. Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS) delight in exploring the simple pleasures of life, love, and corn liquor.
“Ballad of Jubilee Jones” opens the set with Oak Ridge Boys-inspired vocal harmonies and rollicking Bluegrass rhythms. Saluting the power of music to acknowledge and ease the struggles of working-class men and women, frontman Ketch Secor sings ‘if you got the soul, let it roll. If you got the time, let it shine. If you got the dream, set it free. Just like Jubilee’. Harmonica, fiddle, banjo and piano echo Secor’s words as they urge us to sing along and lose our cares in song.
“Keel Over and Die” incorporates amped up Celtic rhythms to celebrate a love so strong that it is truly ‘to die for’. Turning the dial up to eleven on “I Want It Now” OCMS celebrate ‘getting freaky deaky in the Kentucky moonlight’ with fiery fiddle and Jerry Lee Lewis style piano licks.  Running faster than an out-of-control freight train on a steep downhill grade, the song makes you feel as good as the mountain moonshine they’re singing about. Sierra Ferrell joins the band on the frenetic square dance rhythms of “Belle Meade Cockfight.” Contemplating the unique pleasures that can only be experienced in New Orleans, OCMS adds a touch of Ragtime to “Shit Kicked In”. When the Congo Square hoodoo finally kicks in, it finds the band ‘seeing stars and a fleur-de-lis, jaybird naked in a live oak tree’. Veering off the beaten path to find subjects to champion, the band turns to regional cryptic-mythology to honor the Ozark Howler on “Wolfman of the Ozarks”. Sure to be a dance hall favorite this Halloween, the song is all treat, no trick. All of these songs showcase OCMS’s high energy take on traditional string band music. Taking Bluegrass from the hallowed halls of museums and libraries, Old Crow Medicine Show pours kerosene (or more likely corn liquor,) on it, sets it on fire, and - like a Phoenix rising from the ashes; creates a new, more vibrant incarnation of the original. In short, Old Crow Medicine show is simply the best string band around, and this album finds them in peak form.
Even when they slow the pace, OCMS still finds a way to breathe a joyful optimism into their ballads. “Miles Away” reunites the band with founding member Willie Watson as they sing about reconnecting with a friend after ‘just down the road turned to miles away’. Graceful violin strands add a touch of elegance as the friends sing ‘don’t let the past hold the reins. Take the chance to say I love you’. Touching and timeless, the song reminds us of the importance of friendship and the power of forgiveness. “Nameless, TN” is a gentle, banjo driven homage to small town America. “Daughter of the Highlands” employs lilting Celtic rhythms to celebrate a love that is stronger than death. Even in the midst of heartbreak, the band still finds cause for joy in the beauty of their surroundings in the traditional Bluegrass of “Smoky Mountain Girl”. Returning to the Oak Ridge Boys style of vocal harmonies, OCMS invites Gospel legend Mavis Staples to join them on “One Drop”. With an inspirational organ-tinged Country Gospel rhythm, they remind us of the cumulative power of tiny drops of water. One drop may not have much effect; but keep adding them one at a time and soon ‘we turn still waters to rolling waves’. A beautiful anthem for doing good, it reminds us that small actions can have a large ripple effect. Whatever tempo or topic they choose, Old Crow Medicine Show can’t help but put a smile on your face. That small act may not change the world, but if enough people follow their lead and share a smile; it will make the world more bearable.  (by Brian Rock)
Listen and buy the music of Old Crow Medicine Show from AMAZON
Please visit the Old Crow Medicine Show website for more information
 

Rhiannon Giddens (from the album You’re the One available on Nonesuch Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

At this point in her storied career, Rhiannon Giddens could be considered a veritable musical institution. Beginning with her early efforts as part of an innovative and eclectic combo called the Carolina Chocolate Drops, she’s played a prominent role in the evolution of traditional American music by furthering awareness of Appalachian, archival, and other cultural combinations. In so doing, she’s achieved the highest levels of artistic accreditation, having won a Grammy for her efforts as part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and, perhaps most impressively of all, a Pulitzer Prize for Music as a result of the opera ‘Omar’, which she cowrote with composer Michael Omar.
A multi-instrumentalist equally adept on vocals, fiddle, and banjo, her five solo albums have proven her prowess in terms of taking the trappings of archival precedent forward towards the future. Here however, she opts for more contemporary credence by sharing songs of a genuinely soulful variety. Many of the songs share thoughts on love and longing, from the defiance and outrage of “Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad” to the sensual sounds of “You’re the One”, a reflection of unwavering satisfaction. Mostly though, Giddens maintains her typically assertive stance, whether she proclaiming her absolute independence via “Hen in the Foxhouse” (‘I’m a woman in a man’s world/There ain’t no changing that…’) or sounding off about “Another Wasted Life”, a powerful pronouncement condemning those who fail to function to their own best advantage.
That’s not to say she doesn’t occasionally opt for a somewhat sly attitude. “You Louisiana Man”, “You Put the Sugar In My Bowl”, “Way Over Yonder”, and “Wrong Kind Of Right” pose a combination of sass, soul, and some distinctive down-home designs. The hoedown that ends it all, a brief instrumental titled “Good Ole’ Cider”, affirms the fact she hasn’t lost her penchant for Americana authenticity.

Likewise, she isn’t devoid of sentiment. “Who Are You Dreaming Of”, a cowrite with Dirk Powell, sounds like a nocturnal standard, one that blends strings, style, a croon, and a caress. That’s Rhiannon Giddens’ greatest strength — the ability to infuse honest emotion in a powerful and provocative way, while never losing sight of the objective or intent. (by Lee Zimmerman)
Listen and buy the music of Rhiannon Giddens from AMAZON
Please visit the Rhiannon Giddens website for more information