Americana Music Releases for Oct. 25th

Posted on October 24, 2024 by

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

Posted on October 17, 2024 by

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

Posted on October 10, 2024 by

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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Americana Music Releases for Oct. 4th

Posted on October 3, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for October 4th, 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.

 

Kasey Chambers
Backbone  (Essence Music)

Kasey Chambers has unveiled an interesting suite of new material – kicking off with the announcement of her book “Just Don’t Be A Dickhead”. The material has informed and inspired her new album Backbone. Chambers said: “I’ve just finished writing a book! I am beyond excited to be releasing it along with a brand-new album. [It] is a collection of stories and experiences from my life that I’ve learnt from over the years.  Some from humorous, embarrassing moments, some from deep, heartfelt memories that taught me unlikely things to consistently draw on along the way.” Never one to shy away from home truths, introspective storytelling and unfiltered honesty, Chambers’ writing weaves through both Backbone and the similarly versatile book. This album promises to take listeners on a journey through not only where Chambers has been over the years, but where she’s at right now.  (edited from Americana UK review)

Hayes & the Heathens
Hayes & the Heathens  (BOH Records)

Native Texans Hayes Carll and members of The Band of Heathens have been friends for a long time and both play a distinct brand of Americana (Carll’s is more folk based and The Heathens more rock focused). They’ve even collaborated on and off over the years, but the self-titled Hayes & The Heathens is the first time they have all put out a full record together. “Our collaboration was so natural and easy,” says The Band of Heathens’ Ed Jurdi. “We’ve been great compadres for such a long time, and it was just the right time for this project to come to life. I think you can really hear all of that in the music. This is really that rare alliance where 1+1 = 3.” Across eight tracks, seven of which they wrote together, the group pulls together a fantastic collection that plays up the strength of each. “Nobody Dies From Weed,” one of the strongest songs, shows off Carll’s trademark witty lyrics and boasts some truly impressive harmonies. Hayes & The Heathens deliver the album we never knew we needed, but one you likely won’t be able to stop listening to this fall.  (edited from Americana Highways review)

 

Also new this week…

Darrin Bradbury – Freeman’s T​.​V Repair Shop  (Like You Mean It Records)
Peter Bruntnell – Houdini & The Sucker Punch  (Domestico Records)
Jett Holden – The Phoenix  (Black Opry Records) +
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Live from the Ryman, Vol. 2  (Southeastern Records)  +
Mean Mary – Woman Creature (Portrait of a Woman, Part 2)  (independent)
Dan Reeder – Smithereens  (Oh Boy Records)
Joan Shelley – Mood Ring EP (No Quarter Records)
Mindy Smith – Quiet Town  (Compass Records) +
Various Artists – Better Than Jail  (Wyatt Road Records)  +
Yasmin Williams – Acadia  (Nonesuch Records)

Coming out soon … Gurf Morlix, Twisted Pine, Amy Speace, Eric Bibb, Wyatt Flores, Benjamin Tod, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Paul Kelly, Willie Nelson, Amythyst Kiah, Jamey Johnson, Dwight Yoakam, and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Sept. 27th

Posted on September 26, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for September 27th, 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.

 

Randall Bramblett
Paradise Breakdown  (Strolling Bones Records)

Randall Bramblett is a dreamcatcher of sorts. He captures images from the airy vaults where they recline, waiting to be downloaded by sensitive souls like him. Of course, translating them into a musical format requires some shapeshifting, so he blends jazz, country, folk, gospel, rock, and soul. For his latest, Paradise Breakdown, Bramblett once again pulls down a rich tapestry of images woven from an eclectic blend of styles and genres. The topics while being typical (love & loss, nostalgia & mortality, joy & disappointment) have a Bramblett edge & slant that average songwriters seldom explore. Once again, Randall Bramblett has given us something to hang onto when everything else goes to hell. A glimmer of light to mark the way across while showing you what lies in wait below.  (Edited from No Depression review)

 

Billy Strings
Highway Prayers  (Reprise Records)

Billy Strings is the best live performer on planet earth, any genre, and perhaps, any era. Future generations will be talking about Billy like we talk now about The Beatles, Elvis, and Bill Monroe now, except Billy takes it to an entirely other universe of improvisation and experimentation, while remaining unflinchingly a bluegrass artist. Even Strings himself admits openly that the best way to imbibe in his music is in the live setting. He’s never going to sell millions of studio albums, but that doesn’t mean he can’t get into the studio between shows and see what kind of trouble he can get into. In this case, it’s 20 original songs co-produced with Jon Brion. Simply put, the album finds the artist pushing expectations, the record as a whole beautifully spotlighting his too-often-overshadowed lyricism alongside his masterful picking. Highway Prayers is a gorgeous extension of the artist’s work in shaping bluegrass for a modern audience.  (edited from Saving Country Music)

 

Also new this week…

JD McPherson – Nite Owls  (New West Records)
Heather Pierson – Back To The Light  (Vessel Recordings)
Julian Taylor – Pathways (Howling Turtle Records)
Wreckless Strangers – Blue Sky Fantasy  (independent)

 

Coming out soon … Kasey Chambers, Mindy Smith, Twisted Pine, Mean Mary, Dan Reeder, Amy Speace, Eric Bibb, Wyatt Flores, Benjamin Tod, Yasmin Williams, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Willie Nelson, Amythyst Kiah, Dwight Yoakam, and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

Posted in Americana CD releases, Americana Music Assoc. Conference, Bluegrass, Country music new releases, New music releases, Roots Music | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Americana Music Releases for Sept. 20th

Posted on September 20, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for September 20th, 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.

 

JP Harris
JP Harris Is A Trash Fire  (Bloodshot Records)

JP’s historic restoration carpentry has continued to be a baseline for his relationship to music. It was through this concurrent line of work that he met another twice-initialed singer with a penchant for old Americana music, obscure film, and overly elaborate ethnic meal preparations: one JD McPherson. The two became fast friends and would eventually, through many twists, turns, false starts, and biblically-proportionate plagues, enter a modest studio in Nashville to record Harris’ latest album. It is a sometimes lush, sometimes sparse, and sometimes jarring country album of Harris’ originals, loudly and violently squelching any attempt to pigeon-hole a song into any subgenre of country music. Featuring the guest vocals of Erin Rae, The Watson Twins, Shovels & Rope, and producer JD McPherson himself, the record is equal parts satire, reflection, and apology to those that would listen. (edited from press release)

Also new this week…

Megan Burt – Witness (Cure For Love Records)
Marcedes Carroll – We Lost Track of the Stars  (independent)
John Craigie – Greatest Hits…Just Kidding…Live – No Hits (Live)  (independent)
Moses Crouch – Earth Music  (Riverlark Music)
Jerry Douglas – The Set  (Nolivan Records)  +
Steve Forbert – Daylight Savings Time  (Blue Rose Music)  +
Donavon Frankenreiter – Get Outta Your Mind  (Liquid Tambourine Records)  +
Sophie Gault – Baltic Street Hotel   (Strong Place Music)
Don Merckle – Same Devil New Skin  (independent)
Carolyn Shulman – Heart on a Wire (independent)
Trampled by Turtles – Always Here  (Banjodad Records)
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – Into The Wild  (Nonesuch Records)  (EP)  +

 

Coming out soon … Randall Bramblett, Twisted Pine, Billy Strings, Kasey Chambers, Dan Reeder, Amy Speace, Eric Bibb, Wyatt Flores, Benjamin Tod, Mindy Smith, Yasmin Williams, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Amythyst Kiah, Dwight Yoakam, and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Sept. 13th

Posted on September 12, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for September 13th, 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.

 

Mac Leaphart
Motel Breakfast  (independent)

“It’s an upbeat honky-tonk rock & roll record that doesn’t skimp on the craft or stories,” says Leaphart, a South Carolina native who kickstarted his career playing the state’s Lowcountry bar scene. Not long after his first solo record, Line, Rope Etc, arrived in 2009, he moved to Nashville. There, he launched a recurring songwriter’s night called the Southpaw Social Club and strengthened his own writing chops, too, penning songs for other artists’ albums as well as his own.  Two years after his last release, Leaphart headed back into the studio with producer Brad Jones and joined by Fats Kaplin, Matt Menefee, and other musicians. “I’m a real big fan of how Jerry Jeff Walker’s albums sound,” Leaphart explains. “They sound like a bunch of guys rolled out of bed, hungover, then stumbled into a studio and pressed record. I’m always going for that laid back vibe. I want it to be real loose and fun.”  (edited from artist’s website)

 

Willie Watson
Willie Watson  (Little Operation Records and More)

Unlike his previous solo albums, previous Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson will not be interpreting old standards on this one. “After 30 years of playing music professionally, this is my debut album,” Willie Watson says. “This record is me beating the devil, or the story of what finally did it anyway. I didn’t make any specific pact or anything but I know we’ve been tangled up most of my life. Now that he’s gone I can love myself again.” Along for the ride is an impressive list of musicians that includes Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers) and Kenneth Pattengale (Milk Carton Kids) as producers, Paul Kowert on bass, Benmont Tench on keys, and Sami Braman of The Onlies on fiddle. (edited from Saving Country Music review)

 

Also new this week…

Rebecca Frazier – Boarding Windows In Paradise (Amtoco Records)  +
Kevin Gordon – The In Between (independent)
Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors – Strangers No More, Vol. 2  (Tone Tree Music)
Greg Loftus – No Kings In The Wild  (independent)
Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets – Indoor Safari (Yep Roc Records)  +
Lisa Morales –  Sonora  (Luna Records!)
Reckless Kelly – The Last Frontier  (No Big Deal Records)
Shawna Thompson – Lean On Neon (Sun Label Group)
Eliza Thorn – Somebody New  (independent)  +

 

Coming out soon … Jerry Douglas, JP Harris, Randall Bramblett, Twisted Pine, Billy Strings, Amy Speace, Eric Bibb, Wyatt Flores, Benjamin Tod, Donavon Frankenreiter, Yasmin Williams, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms, Amythyst Kiah, Dwight Yoakam, and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Sept. 6th

Posted on September 5, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for September 6th, 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 Deslondes
Roll It Out  (New West Records)

Sometimes, even after a period of fruitful reinvention, it helps to go back to the root of the thing. The Deslondes, one of the most consistent bands putting out music today, are doing just that with their latest release, Roll It Out. After the extensions and experiments of 2022’s Ways & Means, the group is taking a back-to-basics approach with this new set, a callback to the days when they’d gather to play and jam together just for fun. Anchored mainly by the wildly different vocals of Sam Doores and Riley Downing — arguably at two opposite ends of a sonic spectrum — The Deslondes wrap their arms around any and all genres, just like they always have. Whether they’re singing the blues or a folk or country tune, there’s an ease to the way The Deslondes make songs together. This is as evident on the record as it is at one of their live shows. Roll It Out captures that sweet spot when each finds a way to bring their singular ingredient to the mix, shaken and served straight-up. (edited from No Depression review)

Amy Helm
Silver City  (Sun Records)

Amy Helm is the immensely talented daughter of Levon Helm, drummer and co-lead singer for The Band. With that kind of background and a life infused with music, including years of playing and touring with Levon Helm, she has developed some serious chops. Silver City is  Helm’s fourth album. Intensely personal, each of the songs represent individual stories and glimpses into Helm’s life and experiences including her roles as artist, mother, wife, and woman, while also drawing inspiration from the strength and struggles of women generally. Helm’s voice draws the listener into her world and into the experiences and feelings she shares, taking one down her paths. Through her songs and her voice, as she opens her soul to examination, Helm achieves a kind of emotional release as if to say, life is hard and tests us all, but we will overcome in the end. While the ten songs on Silver City portray raw personal emotion and angst, they never become maudlin or exercises in self-pity. Instead, they are deeply cathartic, also allowing the listener to find a kind of emotional release. If there is any complaint to offer about Silver City, it is that each song simply seems to end too soon, leaving the listener wanting more.  (edited from Americana Highways review)

 

Also new this week…

Eva Cassidy – Walkin’ After Midnight   (Blix Street Records)
Jeffrey Foucault – The Universal Fire  (Fluff and Gravy Records)
The Heavy Heavy – One of a Kind  (ATO Records)
Steve Louw – Between Time (independent)
David Luning – Lessons  (independent)  +
Andy Statman – Bluegrass Tracks  (Shefa Records)
Shovels & Rope – Something Is Working Up Above My Head  (Dualtone Music Group)
Luke Winslow-King – Flash-A-Magic  (Bloodshot Records)

 

Coming out soon … Kevin Gordon, Jerry Douglas, JP Harris, Lisa Morales, Shawna Thompson, Randall Bramblett, Eliza Thorn, Twisted Pine, Billy Strings, Amy Speace, Eric Bibb, Wyatt Flores, Benjamin Tod, Donavon Frankenreiter, Yasmin Williams, Amythyst Kiah, Nick Lowe, Dwight Yoakam, and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Aug. 30th

Posted on August 29, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for August 30th, 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 Caudle
Sweet Critters  (Missing Piece Records)

The American South is often referenced for its sweetness: its teas, cobblers, soul music, and the like. Caleb Caudle sings and writes like a Southerner. The title of his sixth release, Sweet Critters, suggests its rural authenticity, hokum, and sugariness. Who says “critters” these days? The North Carolina native affects a deep drawl, a slow cadence, and a head full of tropes that peg him in the tradition of classic country music from the Appalachian part of the country. He’s got a soft spot for the natural beauty of its woodlands and the memories (real and invented) of the people who live there, and that’s just part of the picture. Working within genre limitations (i.e., Southern culture) encourages Caudle to reference past traditions and show their present currency. For example, the “Sweet Critters” of the title song are not live animals. They are “brass figurines” meant for display whose existence evokes Tennessee Williams’ Glass Menagerie. Caudle doesn’t romanticize as much as present the reality, whether describing an authentic small-town rock club or imaginary “Rivers of Fire” that separate us. The actual and the factual aren’t always the same thing! People’s feelings can be as real as a fiddlehead fern or a “Hollywood Ending”. The power of Caudle’s songwriting is that he convinces us of this just by telling us the story.  (edited from Pop Matters review)

 

Also new this week…

Ray Benson – Swingin’ and Skankin’  (Tafari Records)
The Boxmasters – Love & Hate In Desperate Places  (KeenTone Records)
The Cactus Blossoms – Every Time I Think About You  (Walkie Talkie Records)  +
Shemekia Copeland – Blame It On Eve  (Alligator Records)  +
Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr and the Zydeco Twisters – More Fun  (ATO Records)
The Grass Daddies – Missin’ That Drawl  (Prairie Grass Records)
Hannah Juanita – Tennessee Songbird  (self-released)
Charlie Peacock – Every Kind of Uh-Oh  (It’s Time To Art)  +
Amy Rigby – Hang in There with Me   (Tapete Records)
The Steep Canyon Rangers – Live at Greenfield Lake  (Yep Roc Records)
Strung Like a Horse – Dirt  (Transoceanic Records)
Sunny Sweeney – Still Provoked  (Aunt Daddy Records)  +

 

Coming out soon … The Heavy Heavy, The Deslondes, Shovels & Rope, Jerry Douglas, Mac Leaphart, JP Harris, Lisa Morales, Randall Bramblett, Eliza Thorn, Amy Helm, Billy Strings, Donavon Frankenreiter, Amythyst Kiah, Nick Lowe and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

Posted in Americana CD releases, Americana Music podcast, Bluegrass, New music releases, Roots Music | Tagged | Leave a comment

Americana Music Releases for Aug. 23rd

Posted on August 22, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for August 23rd, 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.

 

Colin James
Chasing the Sun  (Stony Plain Records)

It has taken way too long for veteran Canadian bluesman Colin James to receive recognition in America. This is a guy who, at just 24 years old, broke out of the blocks as one of Canada’s biggest blues stars. Thirty-six years and some 20 award-winning albums later he’s not just still going strong, but the terrific Chasing the Sun might be his finest offering yet. Perhaps it will provide much needed stateside visibility to one of contemporary blues/roots music’s most vibrant and consistently engaging players. Lucinda Williams, Rolling Stones bassist Daryl Jones, harmonica icon Charlie Musselwhite are aboard for these sessions. Longtime James producer and fellow countryman Colin Linden is a key component to the project’s success. He adds omnipresent second guitar besides helming the controls and coordinating the overall spacious musical feel from his Nashville home studio. It’s ominous and emotional, leaving the listener with a final bookend to a diverse testament for Colin James’ talents. All of which are captured in the stirring, blues-based Chasing the Sun.  (edited from Rock & Blues Muse review)

 

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Woodland  (Acony Records)

Traditional music is full of wild weather and woe. It’s discomfiting, but apt, that life should imitate art in the lives of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings – two singing guitarists feted for their upholding of old musical forms. Recipients of three Grammys and numerous other gongs over a 30-plus-years career, the Nashville-based couple’s most often record collaboratively, but under separate names. Their latest album is a duo record named after their studio, Woodland, where, in March 2020, a tornado tore most of the roof off just as Covid hit. Roughly 100 songs by the pair, seemingly destined for two albums, were whittled down to these 10 exquisite tracks. Woodland is, as ever, steeped in Americana. The pair’s customary stripped-back treatments alternate with more lush orchestrations. Rawlings’s trademark guitar makes lace sparingly, but elegantly.  (edited from The Guardian review)

 

Also new this week…

Colby Acuff – American Son   (Sony Music Entertainment)  +
Maggis Antone – Rhinestoned  (Love Big Records)
Paula Boggs Band – Live at Sweetwater Music Hall (Boggs Media)
Steve Cropper & the Midnight Hour – Friendlytown  (Provogue Records)
Guy Davis – The Legend Of Sugarbelly  (M.C. Records)
Ruthie Foster – Mileage (Sun Label Group)
Fruition – How To Make Mistakes  (independent)  +
Lydia Loveless – Something Else  (Bloodshot Records)
India Ramey – Baptized By The Blaze  (Mule Kick Records)
Wild Ponies – Dreamers (No Evil Records)

 

Coming out soon … Charlie Peacock, The Cactus Blossoms, Sunny Sweeney, The Boxmasters, Caleb Caudle, The Deslondes, Shemekia Copeland, Jerry Douglas, Hannah Juanita, Lisa Morales, JP Harris, Randall Bramblett, Amy Helm, Billy Strings, Donavon Frankenreiter, Nick Lowe and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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