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

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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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Americana Music Releases for Aug. 16th

Posted on August 15, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for August 16th, 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.

 

Pony Bradshaw
Thus Spoke The Fool  (Black Mountain Music)

After moving around for the first half of his life, James “Pony” Bradshaw settled in Appalachia nearly 20 years ago, and he’s spent much of that time learning more about the region, and the people, near his Mineral Bluff home. That first-hand education and curiosity led to two albums for Bradshaw, 2021’s Calico Jim and 2023’s North Georgia Rounder. Now, he has a third collection of stories. Thus Spoke the Fool continues Pony Bradshaw’s habit of telling odd stories from different angles, backed by music that seems like it was plucked right out of that Blue Ridge air. Bradshaw makes the point that his songs aren’t strictly biographical, but rather stories of the small but vibrant world around him. While North Georgia Rounder bordered on Southern jammy-ness at points, the music on Thus Spoke the Fool is overall tighter, with its brief solos and excellent musicianship fitting into the concise construct of Bradshaw’s songs. (edited from Americana Highways review)

 

Also new this week…

Ray LaMontagne – Long Way Home  (Liula Records)
Shelby Lynne – Consequences of the Crown  (Monument Records) +
Muscadine Bloodline – The Coastal Plain  (Stancaster Records)
Jason Charles Miller – Knives in the Dark  (One Opportunity Records)
Ashley E. Norton – Call of The Wild  (independent)
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys – Wanderers Like Me  (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)  +
Ben Sollee – Long Haul   (sonaBLAST! Records)
Dan Tyminski – Live at the Ryman  (8 Track Entertainment)
Bella White – Five for Silver  (Rounder Records)  +
Jontavious Willis – West Georgia Blues  (Strolling Bones Records)

 

Coming out soon … Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Wild Ponies, The Cactus Blossoms, Sunny Sweeney, Caleb Caudle, The Deslondes, Colin James, India Ramey, Shemekia Copeland, Charlie Peacock, Jerry Douglas, Hannah Juanita, The Boxmasters, Lisa Morales, JP Harris, Amy Helm, Billy Strings, Donavon Frankenreiter and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Aug. 9th

Posted on August 8, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for August 9th, 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.

 

Justin Townes Earle
All In: Unreleased & Rarities (The New West Years)  (New West Records)

Justin Townes Earle was always a champion of the underdog and All In features in depth looks at the hopeful, and the hopeless. Fueled by empathy, baked in the blues, Justin was never without something poignant or humorous to say. Sadly, Justin passed away in 2020 at the age of 38. All In: Unreleased & Rarities is a fitting tribute to Justin’s legacy. The collection features many never heard before songs, demos, and cover tunes, spanning his time as a New West Records recording artist.

 

Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters
The Ones That Stay  (Mule Kick Records)

This is the the 7th album by Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters, hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, the band  drives 12 tunes through well travelled high-roads and by-roads of pure Americana that are dusted with red clay and burn like sun-drenched stone. The poetry of these roads, hypnotized by the broken white lines under speckled skies, is perfectly punctuated by pedal steel, strings and honeyed harmonies, and comes alive in each track. The Ones That Stay  is an album rich with well-crafted gems surrounded by an earnest, honest, generous voice that might not know why or what for – and a band that obviously knows how to serve the songs. Good stuff!   (edited from The Rocking Magpie review)

 

Also new this week…

Lacy J. Dalton – For The Black Sheep  (SongDog Records)
Billy Eli – Lace  (independent)
Futurebirds – Easy Company  (Dualtone Music Group)
Mike Graham – The Innocence We’ve Lost  (independent)
Johnny Irion – Sleeping Soldiers of Love  (Blackwing Music)
Karen Jonas – The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch  (independent)
Amos Lee – Transmissions (Hoagiemouth Records)  +
Rhonda Vincent – Destinations and Fun Places  (independent)

 

Coming out soon … The Cactus Blossoms, Caleb Caudle, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, Muscadine Bloodline, The Deslondes, Pony Bradshaw, Colin James, India Ramey, Wild Ponies, Shemekia Copeland, Shelby Lynne, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Jerry Douglas, Bella White, Hannah Juanita, The Boxmasters, Lisa Morales, JP Harris, Amy Helm, Billy Strings and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for Aug. 2nd

Posted on August 1, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for August 2nd, 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.

 

Norman Blake
Pilgrimage To Rising Fawn  (Avondale Records)

Pilgrimage to Rising Fawn, featuring legendary guitarist Norman Blake and an all-star lineup of musicians. The album, produced by John Carter Cash, captures a year-long journey of music, friendship, and collaboration recorded in the timeless home of Norman and Nancy Blake in Rising Fawn, Georgia. Norman Blake has graced countless notable recordings with his unique guitar style, character, and mastery, influencing musicians worldwide. Even as his career in studio work and road life slowed, Blake’s creativity and playing continued to flourish. Over the course of a year, John Carter Cash transported recording equipment from The Cash Cabin Studio to the Blakes’ ageless wooden home, capturing music in an environment steeped in history and natural beauty. The project saw contributions from an array of musical talents, including Nancy Blake, Carlene Carter, Ana Cristina Cash, John Carter Cash, John Cowan, Jerry Douglas, Jamie Hartford, Jamey Johnson, and more. Jamie Hartford’s involvement connects the project’s legacy with his father, John Hartford, who recorded and performed with Norman Blake for many years.

 

 

Joe Ely
Driven to Drive  (Rack ‘Em Records)

“I’m a rovin’ soul,” Joe Ely confesses on the haunted opening to “Drivin’ Man,” the number that opens and sets the thematic tone for his sparkling new album, Driven to Drive. Since bursting out of Texas in the ‘70s like a Lone Star Springsteen, his rocking dynamism colored by country accents, Ely has been fascinated by the road. The artist who once titled an album Lord of the Highway has spent a lot of time there, following his own muse in the grand tradition of stubbornly iconoclastic Texas tunesmiths. Driven to Drive collects 12 numbers — 10 originals — with all but one recorded at home over the course of several decades, and they revolve, more or less, around travel and motion. With Ely joined by just one or two accompanists, the tracks have the unadorned intimacy of demos but also the bracing immediacy of live performance. It sounds as if he’s still up to the task, and given how good Driven to Drive is, it makes you wonder what other treasures Ely has in his vaults.  (edited from No Depression review)

 

Also new this week…

The Honey Dewdrops – Here in the Mountains  (independent)
Maygen & The Birdwatcher – Leap Year  (Yellow House Music Collective)
Los Lonely Boys – Resurrection  (Shelter Records)
Orville Peck – Stampede: Vol. 1  (Warner Records)  +
Heart Of Pine – Southern Soul Revival   (independent)
Tiffany Williams & Dalton Mills – Wasted Luck EP (independent)
49 Winchester – Leavin’ This Holler  (New West Records)  +

 

Coming out soon … Johnny Irion, The Cactus Blossoms, Caleb Caudle, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, The Deslondes, Pony Bradshaw, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters, Shemekia Copeland, Colin James, Shelby Lynne, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Jerry Douglas, Bella White, The Boxmasters, Lisa Morales, JP Harris, Amy Helm, Billy Strings and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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