Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for March 15th, 2024. Click the artist or album links to find out more. The artist’s names link to their websites and the CD title links go to either Amazon, iTunes, Bandcamp or the artist’s site for ordering or downloading. A + sign means although not a featured release, it’s a notable album that’s still worth checking out. Also, this page will be updated as I find out about other new releases so check back again.
Brew Davis
Brewgrass (Albino Crow Records)
A familiar sight in the Southern Appalachians where I live is patchwork quilts painted on old barns out in the country. I like to think of my “Brewgrass” music like one of those quilts. How so? It’s a hodgepodge of the experiences and musical influences I’ve gathered in my life. I grew up in the shadow of the Bluebird Café in Nashville, so country music is a patch from my childhood. The first real job I landed out of college was at Sugar Hill Records in Durham, NC. I listened to and was shaped by the music of Townes Van Zandt, Sam Bush, Guy Clark, Sarah Jarosz, James McMurtry and so many more. In 2007 I moved to Asheville where I fell in love with my wife, Appalachian Trail hiker, and author, Jennifer Pharr Davis. She taught me otherwise and now 15 years later, it’s safe to say hiking, adventure, and the mountains themselves are a patch. The last bit of fabric is the music where I live in Asheville, NC. So there’s my quilt. Each song a different swatch that adds up to “Brewgrass” music. Put it all together and I think the sum is more than the parts. I hope you don’t blow by my quilt on this four lane highway we call life. (from artist’s bio page)
Kelly Wills, Brennen Leigh, Melissa Carper
Wonder Women of Country (Bismeaux Records)
Do you feel a ripple in the space/time continuum? It’s because three of the most super powered women of country have joined forces to save country music and vanquish the forces of evil. Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper have officially united in what is being called the Wonder Women of Country, and we are definitely here for it. This pairing isn’t entirely new. Though all three had collaborated with each other before, in late 2021 Kelly Willis approached Leigh and Carper, and asked them if they wanted to play some shows together. This wasn’t Willis asking them to be her backing band. Instead, all three women would get an opportunity to showcase their singing and songwriting skills as the three collaborated on each other’s songs. There is strength in numbers, and as can be heard on this album, these three talented women together might even be greater than the sum of their parts. (edited from Saving Country Music review)
Also new this week…
Armchair Boogie – Hard Times & Deadlines (independent)
Breezers – Hideaway (Blackbird Record Label) +
Jesse Lynn Madera – Speed of Sound (Big Fat Dress Records)
Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well (UMG Recordings)
Paper Wings – Listen to the World Spin (independent) +
John Smith – The Living Kind (Commoner Records)
Adrian Sutherland – Precious Diamonds (independent) +
Tucker Woods – Sunshine Blues (Pleasantville Records)
Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood (-Anti Records) +
Coming out soon … Sierra Ferrell, Ted Russell Kamp, Alex Jordan, Cody Jinks, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Charlie Parr, Aoife O’Donovan, The Coal Men, Alejandro Escovedo, The Secret Sisters, Charley Crockett, Emma Zeck, Pi Jacobs, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, Lost Dog Street Band, Pokey LaFarge, Grant Langston, Old 97’s, Tim Easton, Chris Smither, Richard Thompson, The Mavericks and more!
