Americana Music Releases for May 17th

Posted on May 16, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for May 17th, 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.

Kaia Kater
Strange Medicine  (Free Dirt Records)

This album is deeply engrossing musically.  And thematically it’s about struggling through abject darkness, often using historical references, to a place of balance. Kaia named this album after her favorite Herbie Hancock quote:“the only way we can grow is to experience situations as they are. To take whatever situation we have and make something constructive with it—to turn poison into medicine.” These words resonate throughout the album, and, as Kaia says: “In this case, the bloodletting for me was to sort through my most raw feelings about colonialism, sexism, racism, and misogyny.” This album runs cold and dark, but always truthful, with mysterious banjo and fiddle and themes of revenge for unspeakable wrongs – against women, people of color, and in shadowy moments in history, and right now. The music is compelling and takes your hand to lead you down the twisted pathways that lead to cathartic release.  (edited from Americana Highways review)


Little Feat – Sam’s Place  (Hot Tomato Productions)

Most people don’t associate Little Feat with the blues. But the West Coast band, who started in 1969, typically tapped into the genre as part of their diverse gumbo which also included funk, folk, and country, along with rock and roll. Those who go way back will remember that their debut included covers of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Forty-Four Blues” and “How Many More Years.” Still, it comes as a surprise that the current edition of Little Feat, would release an entire set dedicated to the genre, the first such recording in their lengthy career. Even more unusual is that veteran conga player Sam Clayton, whose name is referenced in the Sam’s Place title, handles all the vocals. The now 78-year-old percussionist would previously chime in occasionally, but seldom sang lead. Yet here he is the only vocalist, delivering the bluesy goods with a raw, gravely baritone that makes even the gruff Wolf sound as smooth as Robert Cray in comparison. Even if this just buys time until they write another batch of originals, the rollicking and wonderfully energetic Sam’s Place is well worth putting on your sailin’ shoes for and following Little Feat’s side road into the blues.
(edited from Rock & Blue Muse review)

Also new this week…

The Avett Brothers – The Avett Brothers  (Ramseur Records/American Recordings)  +
Becky Buller – Jubilee  (Dark Shadow Recording)  
Tim Easton – Find Your Way  (Black Mesa Records)  +
Ana Egge – Sharing In The Spirit  (StorySound Records)
The Mavericks – Moon & Stars  (Mono Mundo)  +
Dom McLean – American Boys  (BFD Records)
Ruth Moody – Wanderer  (Blue Muse Records)  +
John Oates – Reunion  (Jasper Productions)
Martha Spencer – Out in La La Land  (Music Maker Records)
The Twins of Franklin – This Life  (independent)
Christopher Weir – Ten Feet Tall (Edgewater Music Group)

 

Coming out soon … Richard Thompson, Kim Richey, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Curtis McMurtry, David Myles, Anna Tivel, Jim Keller, Willie Nelson, Swamp Dogg, Yarn, Jesse Dayton, Silverada, Laurie Lewis, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs, Jesse Daniel, Jim Lauderdale, Melissa Carper and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for May 10th

Posted on May 9, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for May 10th, 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.

Pokey LaFarge
Rhumba Country  (New West Records)

Pokey LaFarge displays such easy grace when he sings that it’s tempting to consider him a supplier of light entertainment. Don’t believe it. The stirring, deceptively fraught Rhumba Country presents vivid vignettes of restless hearts gripped by desire and loneliness, and yearning for higher ground. If this smooth troubadour ultimately strikes a positive note, his progress is hard-earned. Likewise, lazy listeners might tag him as a source of the kind of cartoonish, old-timey Americana worthy of a theme park attraction, which is also wrong. An heir to the similarly underestimated Leon Redbone and Dan Hicks, LaFarge deftly intertwines reggae, country, soul, gospel, and what have you to fashion an instantly familiar, yet curiously fresh, sound.  (edited from No Depression review)

 

Kelsey Waldon
There’s Always a Song   (Oh Boy Records)

“I have been inspired by all kinds of music spanning many genres, but there is something about old time songs & bluegrass music that resonates so deeply within me. It’s like, I kind of was able to find my voice through these voices, you know?” Waldon says. “A part of me doing this album is expressing so much gratitude for the music that I love, for music that has meant a lot to me and helped me.” Across four albums full of both “heavy twang and spitfire pedal steel” and “coffeehouse confessionals” (Rolling Stone), she’s brought listeners into her world and shared her own experiences and perspectives. Her new project, There’s Always a Song, however, is about the “singular voices” that shaped her into the artist she is today. “These songs are deep. They were here long before me, and they will be here long after I’m gone, after any of us are here. They will survive the test of time,” Waldon says. “It’s like they live in some kind of universe that just survives forever. These songs know the secrets to life.” Guests include Margo Price, Amanda Shires, S.G. Goodman and more. (from label’s press release)

 

Also new this week…

Wade Bowen – Flyin’  (Bowen Sounds)
Jared Deck – Head Above Water  (independent) 
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats – The Hits Keep Coming  (Alligator Records)
Greensky Bluegrass – The Iceland Sessions  (Big Blue Zoo Records)
Anya Hinkle – Oceana (Red Parlor Records) +
Grant Langston – aLAbama  (independent)  +
Abigail Lapell – Anniversary (Outside Music)
MorningBird – Echoes In The Meadow  (MorningBird Records) +
Orville Peck – Stampede Vol. 1  (Warner Bros Records)
RubyJoyful – The Pie Chart Of Love  (independent)  +
Shannon & The Clams – The Moon Is In The Wrong Place  (Easy Eye Sound)
John Shipe – Water This Dark  (Involushun Records)

 

Coming out soon … Little Feat, Tim Easton, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Curtis McMurtry, Ruth Moody, David Myles, Anna Tivel, Kaia Kater, Richard Thompson, Kim Richey, Jim Keller, Willie Nelson, Ana Egge, Swamp Dogg, Yarn, Jesse Dayton, Silverada, The Mavericks, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs, Laurie Lewis, Jesse Daniel, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Mellissa Carper and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for May 3rd

Posted on May 2, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for May 3rd, 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.

 

Adeem the Artist
Anniversary (Four Quarters Records)

If only this whole “anti-woke” mess could be dispelled with a simple listening exercise. As I took in Adeem the Artist’s new album, it occurred to me – again – that many of their (yes, we’ll be using neutral pronouns in this piece – get used to it) stories aren’t much different than anyone else’s – just more artfully worded. The record’s title – Anniversary – itself is a tribute to Adeem’s spouse. Along with country love songs and family stories, though, Adeem dives into societal issues – violence, racism, anti-trans bigotry – with equal passion, because these issues aren’t something they can stand to stay silent on.  (edited from Americana Highways review)

 

Chris Smither
All About the Bones  (Signature Sounds Recordings)

Chris Smither’s twentieth album is full to the brim with Smither’s distinctive vocals and fully primed with acoustic guitars, a fiddle and a haunting melody giving hints of the bayou and old New Orleans. Chris has been the real deal for decades, as honest as the day is long, and an incredible performer; the kind to hold an audience in the palm of his hand throughout a set. On record, he is, likewise, great company, usually writing most if not all of the material, with his stellar cover of Tom Petty’s Time To Move On here being a brave exception. Chris Smither is an unassuming master of his craft, despite being in his 80th year he still tours as hard as acts sixty years his junior; and shouldn’t be missed if he ever graces your part of the world.  (edited from Rocking Magpie review)

Also new this week…

Calder Allen – Dreamers Drifters and Hiders  (independent)
The Reverend Shawn Amos – Soul Brother No. 1  (Family Records)
Guy Clark – Truly Handmade Volume 1  (Truly Handmade Records)  +
Mac Cornish – Never Made Much of a Lover  (independent)  +
Deep Dark Woods – Broadside Ballads Vol​.​III  (Victory Pool Records)
Jay Gavin – Road Ready  (Good Time Charlie’s Records)
Will Kimbrough – For the Life of Me  (Daphne Records)  +
Noel McKay – You Only Live Always   (McKay Records)
Sarah Gayle Meech – Easin’ On  (Good Timin’ Woman Records)  +
Ordinary Elephant – Ordinary Elephant  (independent)
Emily Nenni – Drive & Cry  (New West Records)  +
Tylor & the Train Robbers – Hum of the Road  (independent)  +

 

Coming out soon … Pokey LaFarge, Grant Langston, Tim Easton, Little Feat, Curtis McMurtry, Ruth Moody, David Myles, Anna Tivel, Kaia Kater, Richard Thompson, Kim Richey, Jim Keller, Willie Nelson, Ana Egge, Swamp Dogg, Yarn, Jesse Dayton, Silverada, The Mavericks, Jesse Daniel and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for April 26th

Posted on April 25, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for April 26th, 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.

 

Charley Crockett
$10 Cowboy  (Son of Davy Records)

Suppose you’ve read about Charley Crockett, a Texas-born descendant of Davy Crockett. In that case, you know his nomadic, scuffling existence in the first three decades of the award-winning, now 40-year-old’s career. Fourteen records in, his keen observations and having-lived-it wisdom give him a seemingly endless well of ideas and experiences to draw from. $10 Cowboy is his follow-up to 2022’s widely acclaimed Man from Waco, a well-conceived concept album. While this one didn’t begin that way, the results yielded well-connected songs. Many were written on the fly as he toured through the country, at truck stops, casinos, alleys behind venues, or in his truck parked in South Austin. Mostly, he writes about those who have fallen through the cracks. Crockett has a potpourri of songs here, from the relatively simple country ditties, to arresting narratives, to those filled with symbolism that demand multiple listens. He remains squarely in the front row of today’s best writers.  (edited from Glide Magazine review)

 

Also new this week..

Chris BadNews Barnes – BadNews Travels Fast  (Gulf Coast Records)
Iron & Wine – Light Verse  (Sub Pop Records)
Cris Jacobs – One Of These Days  (Soundly Music)
Pi Jacobs – Soldier On  (Blackbird Record Label)  +
Lost Dog Street Band – Survived  (independent)  +
Mark & Maggie O’Connor – Life After Life  (Omac Records) +
Anders Osborne – Picasso’s Villa  (5th Ward Records)
Phoebe Rees – Bring In the Light  (Strictly Country Records)
Lawrence Rothman – The Plow That Broke the Plains  (KRO Records)
Gileah Taylor – Slow Parade (Velvet Blue Music)

 

Coming out soon … Tyler & the Train Robbers, Chris Smither, Pokey LaFarge, Grant Langston, Tim Easton, Kaia Kater, The Reverend Shawn Amos, Curtis McMurtry, Ruth Moody, David Myles, Anna Tivel, Richard Thompson, Kim Richey, Jim Keller, Willie Nelson, Ana Egge, Swamp Dogg, Yarn, Jesse Dayton, Silverada, The Mavericks, Jesse Daniel 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 April 19th

Posted on April 18, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for April 19th, 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 Brother Brothers
The January Album  (Stumbling Rose Records)

The fourth record from Adam and David Moss, those twin sons of Peoria, Illinois, known musically as The Brother Brothers, is a COVID-era record in the strictest sense: The Mosses wrote most of its 12 tracks during the first few months of lockdown in the US. But The January Album, rather than lacing each song with obvious references to the crisis, embraces that moment under the surface. The work reflects themes common to the brothers’ discography to date; it’s tied to 2020 as a consequence of its conception. The choice to sidestep didactic nonsense is refreshing, if unsurprising. Like all other Brother Brothers records, The January Album is characterized by humble honesty. The Mosses aren’t showy or flashy. They speak and play simply, so their messages can be clearly heard, though this belies their craftsmanship’s subtle complexities, the product of a shared soul that’s equal parts playful and doleful.  (edited from No Depression review)

 

 

T Bone Burnett
The Other Side  (Verve Label Group)

Sometimes our subconscious is more aware than we are, especially when communicating the allegories that play out in our everyday lives. Who better to interpret these stories and appeal to our senses than Grammy-and Oscar-winner, T Bone Burnett. The Other Side, his first solo album in 20 years, was co-produced by Colin Linden, Mike Piersante and Burnett. The album features an early bandmate Steven Soles, as well as Lucius, Weyes Blood, Dennis Crouch, Stuart Duncan, Jay Bellarose and others. “He Came Down,” both title and repeating phrase, kicks off the country blues record with lovely guitar playing. It’s a beautiful pastoral folk song with biblical imagery and legendary archetypes. Working with gifted artists through his career, Burnett’s altruistic approach has supported them to greatness. Now it’s Burnett’s turn to welcome the accompaniment from folks like his good friend Rosanne Cash and the three songs that feature the celestial vocals of duo Lucius accompanying T Bone’s soft singing. Lucius was inspired to create their own magical parts for this. Listeners will experience Burnett’s story through his vast musical landscape and his love of all forms of writing. It’s no wonder he is both a masterful producer and legendary songwriter. The Other Side awakens our spirit through American roots song-writing mastery.  (edited from Americana Highways review)

 

Also new this week…

Andrea & Mud – Institutionalized  (independent)
Darin & Brooke Aldridge – Talk of the Town  (Billy Blue Records)+
Luther Black and the Cold Hard Facts – Let The Light Back In  (independent)
The Bacon Brothers – Ballad Of The Brothers  (Forty Below Records)
Barnstar! – Furious Kindness  (independent)  +
Thomas Csorba – Windchimes  (Standard Issue Records)
Wyatt Flores – Half Life  (OEG Records)
Stephanie Lambring – Hypocrite  (Almost Autonomous Records)
Heather Little – By Now  (Need To Know Records)
New Riders of the Purple Sage – Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, NY, June 25, 1976 (Omnivore Recordings)
Ann Savoy – Another Heart  (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)  +
The Stetson Family – The Stars, If You Look Closely  (independent)
Various Artists – Live On Mountain Stage: Outlaws and Outliers (Oh Boy Records)

 

Coming out soon … Lost Dog Street Band, Iron & Wine, Pokey LaFarge, Grant Langston, Pi Jacobs, Tim Easton, Charley Crockett, The Reverend Shawn Amos, Curtis McMurtry, Gileah Taylor, Tylor & the Train Robbers, Chris Smither, Ruth Moody, David Myles, Anna Tivel, Richard Thompson, Kim Richey, Jim Keller, Willie Nelson, Ana Egge, Swamp Dogg, Yarn, Jesse Dayton, Silverada, The Mavericks, Jesse Daniel and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for April 12th

Posted on April 11, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for April 12th, 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.

 

Will Hoge
Tenderhearted Boys   (EDLO Records)

Nashville songwriter Hoge is an emotionally attuned and politically charged Americana songwriter, like the middle ground between Jason Isbell and Joe Strummer. Hoge has a gift for words and melody and a predilection for rocking out. Yet sometimes his songwriting gets lost in the clutter of distorted guitar and driving drums. Tenderhearted Boys, however, reveals a stripped-down Hoge. On the self-produced record, on which Hoge plays every instrument, the songwriting is front and center, couched in only enough instrumentation to serve each tune.(edited from No Depression review)

 

Various Artists
My Black Country: The Songs of Alice Randall  (Oh Boy Records)

For more than four decades the songwriter, author, and educator Alice Randall has been one of the few Black female writers on Nashville’s Music Row, and the first to pen a #1 hit (Trisha Yearwood’s  “XXXs and OOOs”). And while she has seen her songs recorded by multiple generations of country artists – from Glen Campbell and Mo Bandy, to Marie Osmond – none of those artists looked like her. Until now. “Because all the singers of my songs had been white, because country has white-washed black lives out of country space, most of my audience assumed the stars of my songs were all white. I wanted to rescue my Black characters.” What emerges in My Black Country is a celebration of the most American of music genres and the radical joy in realizing the power of Black influence on American culture. As country music goes through a fresh renaissance today, with a new wave of Black artists enjoying success,

 

Also new this week…

Diane Birch – Flying on Abraham  (Topanga Creek Records)
Alex Harris – Back To Us  (Shanachie Entertainment)
Mark Knopfler – One Deep River  (British Grove)
Leyla McCalla – Sun Without the Heat  (independent)   +
Misner And Smith – All Is Song  (independent)
Moonsville Collective – A Hundred Highways  (Rock Ridge Music)
Nicolette & The Nobodies – The Long Way (ArtHaus Music)  +
Connie Smith – Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches   (Fat Possum Records)  +
Louisa Stancioff – When We Were Looking (independent)
JM Stevens – Nowhere to Land  (independent)
Aaron Lee Tasjan – Stellar Evolution  (Blue Elan Records)
Emma Zeck – Eclipse  (ZeckTone Records)

 

Coming out soon … Lost Dog Street Band, Iron & Wine, Pokey LaFarge, Grant Langston, Pi Jacobs, Tim Easton, The Bacon Brothers, Charley Crockett, The Reverend Shawn Amos, Curtis McMurtry, Gileah Taylor, Chris Smither, Ruth Moody, David Myles, Anna Tivel, Richard Thompson, Kim Richey, Willie Nelson, Jim Keller, Ana Egge, Swamp Dogg, Yarn, Jesse Dayton, Silverada, The Mavericks, Jesse Daniel and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for April 5th

Posted on April 4, 2024 by

Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for April 5th, 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.

 

Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams
All This Time  (The Royal Potato Family)

Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams borrow from another prominent Americana couple, Buddy and Julie Miller. Their searing take on the Millers’ “I Love You” matches the almost scarily intense devotion (“I’d take a bullet for you”) at the heart of the Julie-penned original. And devotion is what All This Time is all about, though in a generally brighter and less obsessive vein than “I Love You.” All This Time, says Larry, “feels more intuitive to me than the earlier records, less experimental, evidence that we’ve grown more aware of who we are and what we have to offer.” What they offer, evidently, is an intensely romantic album. Campbell, master of all things strings and former accompanist to Bob Dylan and the late Levon Helm (among others), and singer-actress Williams have been together for four decades. Their chemistry is again evident as they alternate lead vocals and harmonize beautifully on this 10-song set — with seven Campbell originals — that chronicles a bond both hard-earned and enduring.  (edited from No Depression review)

 

John Moreland
Visitor (Old Omens Records)

An album for our troubled times, recorded after a year in isolation from the chaotic world around him, Moreland perfectly encapsulates the political and personal, on a record that showcases his razor sharp insight, impressive multi-instrumentalism, and his arresting and rich vocals throughout. The result of that unplugged year at home is Visitor. Moreland recorded the album at his home in Bixby, Oklahoma, in only ten days, playing nearly every instrument himself. “In 2023, during a year-long break from touring, in an attempt to regain my sanity, I stopped using a smart phone for 6 months, and wrote this album.” Moreland stated, adding, “I wanted to make a natural sounding folk-rock record. Simplicity and immediacy felt very important to the process.” Celebrating his ingenuity of songcraft, thoughtful lyricism and a possession of a singular voice – one that will further establish John Moreland as one of the great singer-songwriters of his generation.  (from press release)

 

Also new this week…

Cedric Burnside – Hill Country Love  (Provogue Records)
Canned Heat – Finyl Vinyl  (Ruf Records)
The Hawtthorns – Zero Gravity  (Red Parlor Records)  +
Dustin Kensrue – Desert Dreaming  (Vagrant Records)
Marcus King – Mood Swings  (American Records)  +
Old 97’s – American Primitive  (ATO Records)  +
Pernice Brothers – Who Will You Believe  (New West Records)
Katie Pruitt – Mantras  (Rounder Records)
The Real Sarahs & Alex De Grassi – Everything’s Changed  (Tropo Records)  +
Zach Top – Cold Beer & Country Music  (independent)

 

Coming out soon … Lost Dog Street Band, Misner And Smith, Pokey LaFarge, Grant Langston, Pi Jacobs, Tim Easton, The Bacon Brothers, Charley Crockett, The Reverend Shawn Amos, Curtis McMurtry, Gileah Taylor, Iron & Wine, Chris Smither, David Myles, Anna Tivel, Richard Thompson, Kim Richey, Jim Keller, Ana Egge, Swamp Dogg, Yarn, Jesse Dayton, Silverada, The Mavericks, Jesse Daniel and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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

Americana Music Releases for March 29th

Posted on March 28, 2024 by

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

 

Alejandro Escovedo
Echo Dancing  (Yep Roc Records)

At age 73, Escovedo continues to reshape his ever-changing sound and experiment with the boundaries of Americana music. “This record breathes a second life into these songs,” says Alejandro Escovedo of Echo Dancing, the Americana pioneer’s new album where he reconceptualizes the songs of his storied career. The variety of songs range from his short-lived rock quartet Buick MacKane, rarities from his ‘80s alt-country outfit The True Believers, to the celebrated songs of his solo discography from his debut album all the way to his most recent album, The Crossing.

 

The Secret Sisters
Mind Man Medicine  (New West Records)

I first stumbled upon The Secret Sisters when I reviewed their eponymously titled debut album in 2010, when sibling acts were ‘all the rage.’ How they’ve got to 2024 and still be releasing an album as wonderful as this is beyond my comprehension; but tells us a lot about Laura and Lydia’s inner strength, which remarkably comes out in their songs without even a hint of bitterness. To all extents and purposes, the two sisters who ‘sing as one’ can’t change their formula after all of these years; and why should they? But the ‘kicker’ here is that they have progressed into a new stratosphere of songwriting with no two albums sounding the same; apart from their beautiful and hypnotic voices being at the forefront. ‘On paper’ the album shouldn’t be that special but there is something really, really special about the way their voices combine on their own songs, that with the clever and intricate production combine to create something truly magical from start to finish.  (edited from Rocking Magpie review)

 

Also new this week…

Scott Ballew – Rio Bravo  (La Honda Records)
Scott H Biram – The One & Only Scott H. Biram  (Bloodshot Records)
Kimmi Bitter – Old School  (independent)  +
Domenic Cicala – Bitter Blues  (Tortured Artist Records)
The Coal Men – Everett (Vaskaleedez Records)
Sue Foley – One Guitar Woman  (Stony Plain Records)
Sarah King – When it All Goes Down  (Ringleader Records)
Josh Langston – Tastes Like Sin  (Dusty Road Records)  +
Sentimental Family Band – Sweethearts Only  (Tomika Records)  +
Emily Triggs – The Great Escape  (independent)
Sarah Shook and the Disarmers – Revelations  (Abeyance Records)  +

 

Coming out soon … Cedric Burnside, Pi Jacobs, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, Lost Dog Street Band, Pokey LaFarge, Grant Langston, Old 97’s, Tim Easton, Charley Crockett, Iron & Wine, Chris Smither, David Myles, Anna Tivel, Richard Thompson, Kim Richey, Yarn, Silverada, The Mavericks and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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Americana Music Releases for March 22nd

Posted on March 21, 2024 by

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

 

Sierra Ferrell
Trail Of Flowers  (Rounder Records)

The funny thing about dreams coming true is that the wanting never stops. Wanting to feel settled but wanting to chase every opportunity is sort of the conundrum of trying to “make it” as an artist, and really for anyone who has ever felt the cosmic pull toward greatness. This is the line Sierra Ferrell finds herself straddling on her latest release Trail of Flowers, a full-hearted collection of songs sung straight from the chest. That unending exploration extends to Ferrell’s sound, too, as she continues to prove her knack for keeping one foot in the past and the other firmly planted in the present. Her clear passion for that old-time rootsy sound never holds her back from exploring what else she’s capable of in a wide-ranging space of country, pop, and even soul, all of which suit the loveliest creaks and rasps in her rich voice. With all of Ferrell’s best instincts at play, Trail of Flowers knows no bounds.  (edited from No Depression review)

Ted Russell Kamp
California Son   (Blue Elan Records)

Ted Russell Kamp may just be the hardest working man in Americana. While many artists are just now releasing their first new albums since the onset of Covid 19, California Son, marks Kamp’s third full length album of original music in that period (and his fourteenth overall). The title song is both a mini biography for Kamp and a love letter to his adopted home state. Chronicling his pilgrimage to the Golden State to begin his music career. Combining country, folk, and rock influences, Kamp recreates the casual cool of Jackson Browne, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Pure Prairie League. His desert-parched, Jim Croce voice adds a distinctive flair to his music. Whether singing about the creative process or the Golden State that inspires his creativity, Ted Russel Kamp shines as bright as the California Sun. (edited from Turnstyled Junkpile Music review)

 

Also new this week…

T Bear – The Way Of The World  (Quarto Valley Records)
Cody Jinks – Change The Game  (Late August Records)   +
Driftwood – December Last Call  (independent)
Cary Hudson – Ole Blue  (Old Trace Records)  +
Alex Jordan – Queen Kerosene  (independent)
Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future  (4AD Ltd)  +
Magic Tuber Stringband – Needlefall  (Thrill Jockey Records)
Sam Morrow – On The Ride Here  (Blu Elan Records)
Anna Moss – Amnesty  (independent)
Aoife O’Donovan – All My Friends  (Yep Roc Records)  +
Christian Parker – Change is Now: A Tribute to The Byrds  (Edgewater Music Group)
Charlie Parr – Little Sun  (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)  +
The Wandering Hearts – Mother  (Chrysalis Records)

 

Coming out soon … Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Josh Langston, The Coal Men, Alejandro Escovedo, The Secret Sisters, Cedric Burnside, Charley Crockett, Pi Jacobs, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, Will Hoge, Lost Dog Street Band, Pokey LaFarge, Grant Langston, Old 97’s, Tim Easton, Iron & Wine, Chris Smither, Anna Tivel, Richard Thompson, Silverada, The Mavericks and more!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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

Americana Music Releases for March 15th

Posted on March 14, 2024 by

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!

Check out Americana Boogie Radio!

Bill Frater

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