Americana Boogie Best of 2024

Here’s Bill Frater’s picks for the best music releases of 2024. As is frequently the case, my Top 10 ends up being more of a Top 20! Please send me your picks for best music and I’ll post some here. Happy holidays and here’s to a very happy new year!

Best of 2024


1-5

Melissa Carper – Borned In Ya  (Mae Music)
Johnny Blue Skies – Passage Du Desir  (High Top Mountain Records) 
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland  (Acony Music)
Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms – Gold In Your Pocket  (Free Dirt Records)
Billy Strings – Highway Prayers  (Reprise Records)

6-10
Sierra Ferrell – Trail Of Flowers  (Rounder Records)
Keegan McInroe – Dusty Passports and Empty Beds  (independent)
T Bone Burnett – The Other Side  (Verve Label Group)
Laurie Lewis – Trees  (Spruce and Maple Music)
Caleb Caudle – Sweet Critters  (Missing Piece Records)

10-19
Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood  (-Anti Records)
Hayes & the Heathens – Hayes & the Heathens  (BOH Records)
Chris Smither – All About the Bones  (Signature Sounds Recordings)
Jim Kweskin – Never Too Late (Storysound Records)
Kelly Wills, Brennen Leigh, Melissa Carper – Wonder Women of Country  (Bismeaux Records)
The High Hawks – Mother Natures Show  (LoHi Records)
Sweet Megg – Bluer Than Blue (Turtle Bay Records)
John Moreland – Visitor (Old Omens Records)
Various Artists – Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney  (New West Records)

 

Coming out early in 2025 … Ringo Starr, Drew and Ellie Holcomb, Paul Thorn, Nefesh Mountain, Patterson Hood, The Devil Makes Three, Chip Taylor, The War and Treaty, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Dec. 6th

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Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles From Abbey Road
  (Highway 20 Records)

Following her recovery from her stroke, Williams turned her attention to a volume seven of Lu’s Jukebox that would focus on the songs of the Beatles. In early 2024, she and her band traveled to England to record the album at Abbey Road studios, becoming the first artist ever to go into the studios to record Beatles’ songs. Williams covers a wide range of the Fab Four’s storied catalog spanning from early hits like “Can’t Buy Me Love” to later gems like “Let It Be.” The album opens with a straight-ahead version of “Don’t Let Me Down” on which William’s vocals plead, conveying the emotional urgency of the song. Lucinda doesn’t stray too far from the  originals, preserving the sonic structure of each track on the album. She does, however, work within those spaces to innovate and to convey the depths of the songs in inventive ways, showcasing her distinct talents as an interpreter of the songs of others.  (edited from Folk Alley review)

 

Also new this week…

J.R. Carroll –
Dark Cloud  (independent)  +
Field Medic – boundless & true (independent)
Nick Gusman & The Coyotes – Lifting Heavy Things  (independent)

 

And that’s it for 2024!

 

Coming out soon …  Ringo Starr, Drew and Ellie Holcomb, Paul Thorn, Nefesh Mountain, Patterson Hood, The Devil Makes Three, Chip Taylor, The War and Treaty, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Nov. 29th

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for November 29th, 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.

 

The Milk Carton Kids – Christmas In A Minor Key (Far Cry Records)
Pinkerton Raid – Jagged Valance: Winter Songs by Other People   (self-released)

 

Coming out soon … Lucinda Williams, Nick Gusman & The Coyotes, Ringo Starr, Drew and Ellie Holcomb, Paul Thorn, Patterson Hood, The Devil Makes Three and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Nov. 22nd

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for November 22nd, 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.

 

The Coward Brothers
The Coward Brothers
(New West Records)

The exact relationship between Henry (T-Bone Burnett) and Howard Coward (Elvis Costello) remains ambiguous. They often referred to themselves as “One and a Half Brothers,” which might hint at their height difference or imply they were not actually siblings but were involved in an elaborate ruse. Their musical partnership, known as The Coward Brothers, was initiated by Smiley “Doc” Snipson, who discovered Henry Coward in 1956 and signed him for a UK tour. The brothers’ hit single, “My Baby Just Squeals (You Heel),” was followed by less successful records and a controversial Cold War-themed song. To preserve their fading fame, Snipson orchestrated their supposed death in a plane crash, but they were actually in hiding on a Caribbean island, secretly recording music and sending it back to Snipson. They later resumed recording, but their partnership eventually fractured, leading to years of estrangement. Their music, from early rock and roll hits to later, more introspective songs, is compiled in the album, The Coward Brothers. After years of silence, their story was explored in a radio program, revealing the complexity of their relationship and their enduring bond. Despite their tumultuous history, their music remains a testament to their unyielding spirit.

Also new this week…

C. Daniel Boling – Love, Dan  (Perfectly Stable Records)
Ags Connolly – Your Pal Slim: Songs of James Hand (Happy Valley Music)
Eddie 9V – Saratoga  ( Ruf Records)
Evie Ladin – Riding the Rooster 2  (self released)
Ramona and the Holy Smokes – Til It’s Over  (EP)  (self released)
Letitia VanSant & David McKindley-Ward – Eye of the Storm   (self released)

 

Coming out soon … The Milk Carton Kids, Lucinda Williams, Ringo Starr and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Nov. 15th

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for November 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.

 

Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms
Gold In Your Pocket  (Free Dirt Records)

This talented duo originates from Washington State & yet, their “Appalachian” mountain sound of authenticity is evident in the warmth of these songs. Good lyrics & storytelling that are intriguing & sung with genuine purist dulcet tones. It has that wood-burning smoke & necessary obligatory bluegrass-folky euphoria. It’s a unique niche. The duo makes every tune sound contemporary without compromising the musical credibility. Recorded in both Tennessee & Louisiana the songs were produced by Joel Savoy, Chris Scruggs & Klauder. Gold in Your Pocket is a mix of mostly original songs by Klauder and Willms, with a handful of thoughtfully chosen covers thrown in. “I’m kind of new to songwriting, but when I have sat down to write songs, I just feel like our world needs joy and love. That’s really important for us to connect to that as humans. And the style of music we play, by nature it’s social music,” Willms says. “That feels super important in this time, too, that people gather in person and have a common experience, musical or if there’s dancing, all the better.” (edited from Americana Highways review and No Depression review)

 

Dwight Yoakam
Brighter Days  
(Via Records)

For the first time in nine years, Dwight Yoakam has returned with new material. Brighter Days includes 11 originals and three artfully made covers. It’s a showcase of his unique rock-country style and his songwriting ability. Written over the course of the last three years and self-produced, it’s a great showcase for everything that’s made him beloved. Yoakam has hung his hat on the L.A. cowpunk style of music for a long time, and he continues in that vein here. Rather than attempt to keep up with the ever-changing nature of popular country music, Dwight Yoakam does what makes him happy on Brighter Days. The record feels genuine and optimistic, and country music is short on artists like him.  (edited from Riff Magazine review)

 

Also new this week…

Clover County – Porch Lights   (Undercover Lover Records)
Ron Houston – R.O.A.M.  (independent)
Dolly Parton – Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA  (Owepar Records)
Cris Williamson – Ravens and the Roses  (Wolf Moon Records)

 

Coming out soon …  Evie Ladin, The Milk Carton Kids, Lucinda Williams, Ringo Starr and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Nov. 8th

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for November 8th, 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.

 

Jamey Johnson
Midnight Gasoline
  (Big Gassed Records)

For the first time in 14 years, Jamey Johnson has a new album out produced by Dave Cobb (the first half of the album was produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys) and marks Johnson’s sixth studio album in total. This is also the first of Johnson’s Cash Cabin Series, which is a collection of albums recorded at the famed studio in Hendersonville, that was owned by Johnny Cash. “There is a spirit in the place. Maybe it was born there from Johnny and June, and maybe it was born there from the countless other artists who have come to that studio to record. But there is a spirit there and I love it.”Johnson continues,”It feels like home to me. I think the only common thread would be me. There isn’t an overtone or some underlying theme in the songs. They are just glimpses of my life. Some of them are just funny stories, and not all of them were written recently.”   (edited from Whiskey Riff review)

 

Yonder Mountain Stringband
Nowhere Next  (Frog Pad Records)

The 21st century popularity of bluegrass is not something I would’ve predicted a couple decades ago – I knew it mostly as something my hillbilly neighbors played (too loudly) while growing up in Upstate New York. But, even before it began to peak (via Billy Strings) over the past five years, it was on a slow but steady rise. Turns out, the stellar musicianship required to succeed in our most American form of music also lends itself to jammy-ness, and it’s been that melding of two summer-ready genres that’s made jamgrass/newgrass a huge concert draw, especially at Red Rocks. Fortunately for Yonder Mountain String Band, they formed in just the right place – beautiful Nederland, Colorado – roughly a quarter century ago. Their newest album, Nowhere Next, continues to provide ample amounts of their mountain-ready bluegrass, while also pushing deeper lyrically, serving the song as well as the jam.

Also new this week…

Dean Mueller – Wishes Never Gone   (Ripping Glass Entertainment)

 

Coming out soon … Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Dwight Yoakam, Dolly Parton, Lucinda Williams and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Nov. 1st

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for November 1st, 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.

 

Loose Cattle
Someone’s Monster
  (Single Lock Records)

Once New Orleans seeps inside you, it never seems to let go. While Loose Cattle may not seem like your typical New Orleans band, every song seems distilled in the Crescent City vibe, making Someone’s Monster a tear-stained tribute to the land of les bon temps roulette. Over the years, bandleaders Kimberly Kaye and Michael Ceveris followed different paths to Louisiana. Instead of second lines, cajun spices or zydeco swamps, Loose Cattle deliver a blend of rock that benefits from the southeastern roots of Ceveris and the college encounters of Kaye in New Jersey. Rather than rootless, the rock of Loose Cattle merges so many influences that it is perhaps the perfect roux for what ails you, with just enough Louisiana spice to give Someone’s Monster the heat that makes an undeniable classic.  (edited from KLOF Mag review)

 

Willie Nelson
Last Leaf On The Tree
   (Sony Music Entertainment)

Willie’s new album, Last Leaf on the Tree. It was produced by his 34-year-old son Micah, an L.A.-based, all-disciplines artist whose musical works, created under the guise of Particle Kid, are built on traditional instruments but also feature found sounds, reversed guitar recordings, and laptop blips and bleeps. They get classified as “experimental future-folk,” as apt a description as any for the ethereal, atmospheric Last Leaf, which is a clear sonic outlier in his dad’s catalog. Last Leaf is largely a collection of covers of unexpected artists—including Beck, Tom Waits, the Flaming Lips, Warren Zevon and Nina Simone—and Willie doesn’t so much interpret their songs as experience them. Micah chose most of the cuts, but he didn’t provide his dad with any of the original recordings. Instead he put together the backing tracks, playing most of the instruments himself. (edited from Texas Monthly review)

 

Also new this week…

Jeremie Albino – Our Time In The Sun  (Easy Eye Sound)  +
Joachim Cooder – Dreamer’s Motel  (Temple Of Leaves Records)  +
John Cowan – Fiction  (True Lonesome Records)  +
Warren Haynes – Million Voices Whisper  (Fantasy Records)
Paul Kelly – Fever Longing Still
(Cooking Vinyl)
Zachary Lucky – The Wind   (Wroxton Recordings)
Forest Sun – No Finish Line  (Painted Sun Records)
West of Texas – Hot Motel Nights  (Pleasant Valley Ranch Records)  +

 

Coming out soon … Yonder Mountain Stringband, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Jamey Johnson, Dwight Yoakam, Dolly Parton, Lucinda Williams and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Oct. 25th

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for October 25th, 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.

 

Grayson Capps
Heartbreak, Misery & Death  (Royal Potato Family)

For this latest effort, Capps turned his attention to 16 long-lost folk songs and traditionals performed by artists ranging from Doc Watson and Jerry Jeff Walker to Randy Newman and Gordon Lightfoot. Introduced to these timeless touchstones as a child by his father, they’d catalyze Capps’ love for music at a young age, while informing the Southern Gothic vernacular that he’s gone onto so eloquently explore and reimagine in his own body of work.As Capps explains it “I grew up with music, whether hearing my dad, Ronnie Capps, and his friends singing around the house on weekends I gravitated toward was Doc Watson. I first found my own voice by emulating him singing “Wake Up Little Maggie.” We had The Essential Doc Watson, and I wore those records out. “Columbus Stockade Blues” was one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar. As the album title Heartbreak, Misery & Death suggests, I have always gravitated toward dark songs, and probably the darkest one on this album is “Saint James Hospital,” but no matter how forlorn it is, it somehow makes me feel good to sing it. (from label’s bio)

 

Lone Justice
Viva Lone Justice 
(Afar Records)

From the band who invented Alt-Country, this is the first album from Lone Justice in nearly 40 years. Featuring original band members Maria McKee, Ryan Hedgecock, Marvin Etzioni and Don Heffington. In 1983, Lone Justice started playing the clubs in Los Angeles. Word spread like wildfire. By 1984, Lone Justice was on Geffen Records, and by 1985, the self-titled debut album emerged. The LA Times gave it “Album of the Year”. They played shows with U2, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Willie Nelson. By 1986, Lone Justice broke up. McKee, Hedgecock, Etzioni and Heffington would begin their solo careers…. Now, through the advent of technology, sweat and tears, a new Lone Justice album has been completed, featuring the original debut album band Maria McKee, Ryan Hedgecock, Marvin Etzioni and the late Don Heffington. Special guests include string arranger Tammy Rogers, multi-horn player David Ralicke, Greg Leisz on steel guitar and Benmont Tench on piano.  (from press release)

 

Also new this week…

Ashtyn Barbaree – Sent Through The Ceiling  (independent)
W.C. Beck – Facecomber  (independent)
Paul Cauthen – Black on Black  (Atlantic Recording Corporation)  +
Nicolai Dunger – Melody Rules (Declared Goods Records)
Fancy Hagood – American Spirit  (Fancy Hagood Enterprises)
Beth Hart – You Still Got Me  (Provogue Records)
Amythyst Kiah – Still + Bright  (Rounder Records)
Laura Marling – Patterns in Repeat 
(Partisan Records)
Ollee Owens – Nowhere To Hide  (Ollee Music Inc.)
Chuck Prophet – Wake The Dead  (Yep Roc Records) +
Josh Ritter – Heaven, or Someplace as Nice  (Pytheas Recordings)
The Wild Feathers – Sirens  (New West Records)  +

 

Coming out soon … Jeremie Albino, Paul Kelly, Yonder Mountain Stringband, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Oct. 18th

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for October 18th, 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.

 

Eric Bibb
In The Real World
(Stony Plain Records)

Bluesman Eric Bibb needs little introduction for he has already chalked up getting on for forty albums. Bibbs’ silky tones and the precise nature of the arrangements partner his ability to form melodies that grow more powerful with every note. Here, Bibb is able to generate a big number from the humblest of beginnings and shows that he has a great ear, listens to others and observing those around him, and takes note of what’s happening in the world period. Songs of a social consciousness are the result. “There’s a wholeness about In The Real World that deeply moves me,” Bibb reflects. “It feels like Glen Scott (producer, arranger and musician) and I have reached a milestone on our collective journey. Musically, the album feels like a self-portrait because it truly represents my influences”, he adds. There’s lots of wonderful material on offer here as Eric Bibb continues to stagger people with his unassuming style of Blues/ Folk etc. (edited from Rocking Magpie review)

Twisted Pine
Love Your Mind
  (Signature Sounds Recordings)

There are those that may accuse Twisted Pine of tampering with tradition. That may be so, but in the process, the quartet infuses a youthful vibe and an expressive approach that bridges musical boundaries while opening the doors to more mainstream pop appeal. Granted, the group takes considerable liberties as far as the bluegrass blueprint is concerned, especially due to the prominent placement of flute, and the group’s giddy approach. In that regard, Twisted Pine’s effusive vocals and a decidedly youthful vibe distinguish them in general. Again, purists may come away with mixed feelings about the liberties purveyed in the process. After all, this isn’t your parent’s bluegrass band. Ultimately, Love Your Mind offers only sparing references to bluegrass’ archival origins. On the other hand, it points the way to possible future potential, breaking the barriers while bringing other audiences into the fold. And if that’s what it takes to spread the word, it can certainly prove to be positive.  (edited from Bluegrass Today review)

 

Various Artists
Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney
  (New West Records)

Originally from Rhode Island, Olney moved to Nashville in the early ‘70s and fell in with a group of songwriters including Townes Van Zandt, John Hiatt, Steve Earle, Guy Clark, and Rodney Crowell. He went on to release a string of brilliant albums and his songs were recorded by Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Del McCoury, Linda Ronstadt, and many others. But the bright lights of stardom never shone on David, and he died the way he lived: onstage in a club, far from home, singing a song. This album features new versions of David Olney songs recorded by Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Willis Alan Ramsey, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Mary Gauthier, Jim Lauderdale, and Buddy Miller among others. The tracklist is also highlighted by a never-before released live recording by Townes Van Zandt, and produced by Gwil Owen.

 

Also new this week…

Another Glory – Another Glory  (Paradiddle Music)
Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham – Cunningham Bird  (Wegawam Music Co)
Finn – The Waterfall  (independent)
Tim Heidecker – Slipping Away  (Bloodshot Records)
Noeline Hofmann – Purple Gas  (La Honda Records)  +
Jerron Paxton – Things Done Changed (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)
Wyatt Flores – Welcome To The Plains  (OEG Records)
Liv Greene – Deep Feeler  (Free Dirt Records) +
Joy Oladokun – Observations from a Crowded Room  (Amigo Records)
Amy Speace – The American Dream  (Windbone Records)  +
Benjamin Tod – Shooting Star  (independent)
Various Artists – Tonight I’ll Go Down Swingin’: A Tribute To Don Heffington  (Nine Mile Records)

 

Coming out soon … Yonder Mountain Stringband, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Amythyst Kiah, Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Oct. 11th

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for October 11th, 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.


Woody Platt
Far Away With You
  (Compass Records)

Known for his twenty-year run as the lead singer and founding member of the Steep Canyon Rangers, Platt helped shape the modern bluegrass scene, earning a Grammy and multiple nominations along the way. But when the pandemic put touring on pause, Platt chose to leave the Rangers, trading the road for home life with his young family. Now, he’s back with a collection of songs that redefine his place at the crossroads of traditional and contemporary bluegrass. Born in the mountains of western North Carolina, Platt’s journey has always intertwined his passions with his career. As he reflects on where he’s been, he says, “I’m so proud of what we accomplished with SCR, and I’m excited each and every day about what the future will bring.”

Also new this week…

Dawes – Oh Brother  (Dead Ringers Records)
Neale Eckstein – Never Too Late
  (independent)
Billy Jeter – Delta Traces  (Shine Eye Records)
Charles Latham & The Borrowed Band – II  (Poly Jam Records)
Dustin Lowman – Invulnerable  (independent)
Gurf Morlix – In Love at Zero Degrees  (Rootball Records)  +
Teddy And The Rough Riders – Down Home  (Appalachia Record Co.)
Tucker Zimmerman – Dance Of Love  (4AD Records)

 

Coming out soon … Twisted Pine, Amy Speace, Eric Bibb, Wyatt Flores, Benjamin Tod, Yonder Mountain Stringband, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Amythyst Kiah, Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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