songlinesmusic.com » Americana

Trophy Wife

Melanie — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:13:45 +0000

We’d like to extend our congratulations to many artists on the Songlines roster this year who have been nominated for Grammys (and the clients who represent them)!

Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King (RCA) — Album of the Year / Best Rock Album

Rosanne Cash and Bruce Springsteen, “Sea of Heartbreak” (Manhattan) — Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals

Booker T. Jones, Potato Hole (Anti-) — Best Pop Instrumental Album

Bob Dylan, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” (Columbia) — Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance

Coldplay, “Life in Technicolor II” (Capitol) — Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals / Best Short Form Music Video

Booker T. Jones, “Warped Sister” (Anti-) — Best Pop Instrumental Performance

Pearl Jam, “The Fixer” (Monkeywrench) — Best Rock Song

Depeche Mode, Sounds of the Universe (Capitol) — Best Alternative Music Album

The Greencards, “The Crystal Merchant” (Sugar Hill) — Best Country Instrumental Performance

Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Willie and the Wheel (Bismeaux) — Best Americana Album

Bob Dylan, Together Through Life (Columbia) — Best Americana Album

Levon Helm, Electric Dirt (Vanguard) — Best Americana Album

Loudon Wainwright III, High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (2nd Story Sound) — Best Traditional Folk Album

Neko Case, Middle Cyclone (Anti-) — Best Contemporary Folk Album / Best Recording Package

Depech Mode, “Wrong” (Capitol) — Best Short Form Music Video

Music FOG

Sean — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:11:42 +0000

Our old friend, Jessie Scott, has collaborated with several former XM executives to create a wonderful (mostly) roots music blog where you’ll see and hear great new and established artists perform their craft in a perfectly engineered studio setting. She still has great ears. Check it out.

What’s Americana?

Sean — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:10:04 +0000

Jill Fusilli describes better than most the wide musical world of Americana in his Wall Street Journal review of this year’s Awards show.

Emmylou Harris, Justin Townes Earle, Jim Lauderdale, John Fogerty and Buddy Miller

Big winners: Buddy Miller and Justin Townes Earle

I’m Sittin’ on Top of the World

Melanie — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:52:51 +0000

Economic woes got you down? Too many tasks dropped on your plate at the station? Here’s a well-deserved thank-you from Willie Nelson and Ray Benson to help you get through the day!

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Songlines Podcast: Samantha Crain

Sean — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:15:17 +0000

In the five yearsÂ since making her debut performance at a Shawnee, Oklahoma coffeehouse, Samantha Crain has proven herself to be as ambitious as she is talented, traveling every road she encountered to bring her music toÂ all who would listen. The 22-year-old’s work began to pay off last year whenÂ she caught the attention of Ramseur Records, and was invited to joinÂ the acclaimed Hotel Cafe Tour. After releasing The Confiscation EP in 2008,Â Crain and her band the Midnight Shivers recorded their full-length debutÂ Songs in the NightÂ at Echo Mountain Studios. Tales of her explorations are presentÂ here, woven through well-craftedÂ literary allusions in a voice that marries rural and rock.

As Julia mentioned in the podcast, Samantha and her band are on tour right now. If you don’t have a chance to catch her in your own city but you’ll be at SXSW, you might work one of her four (!) sets into your Austin itinerary, and if that’s not in the cards, we’d recommend this Daytrotter session.

Whole Lotta Love

Julia — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:37:06 +0000

In many ways, the Americana Honors & Awards ceremony last week served as Robert Plant’s final induction into the world of American roots music, completing a long journey that began in the West Midlands, assumed the title of rock God, hitched a ride with early blues, and arrived last year at the foot of the Appalachians.

Following a #2 debut on the Billboard Album Chart, and a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration, the former Led Zepplin frontman and Alison Krauss completed their seemingly effortless marriage of bluegrass and rock by scooping up the Best Album award for Raising Sand at the Nashville ceremony. They were also award Best Duo.

Plant displayed his newfound ease with American roots when he joined Levon Helm on stage at the Ryman Auditorium. Helm left with Artist of the Year honors, capping off a year that saw his triumphant return from cancer of the vocal chords with the Grammy-winning release Dirt Farmer.

The charm of Plant continued as his Raising Sand touring bandmate Buddy Miller earned the Instrumentalist of the Year nod, before performing “Whatcha Gonna Do, Leroy?” a brand new collaboration with Plant that will be featured on Miller’s 2009 album.

Complete List of Winners from the 2008 Americana Honors & Awards:

Album of the Year: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant / Raising Sand
Artist of the Year: Levon Helm
Duo/Group of the Year: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
Instrumentalist of the Year: Buddy Miller
New Emerging Artist of the Year: Mike Farris
Song of the Year: “She Left Me for Jesus” by Hayes Carll and Brian Keane
“Spirit of Americana” Free Speech in Music – Joan Baez
Lifetime Achievement / Songwriting – John Hiatt
Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement / Executive – Terry Lickona (Austin City Limits)
Lifetime Achievement / Performance – Jason & The Scorchers
Presidents Award – Jerry Garcia
Lifetime Achievement / Instrumentalist – Larry Campbell
Trailblazer – Nanci Griffith
Lifetime Achievement / Producer / Engineer – Tony Brown

– Julia Clarke

Songlines Podcast: The Wood Brothers

Julia — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:00:54 +0000

Chris and Oliver Wood are sons to Bill Wood, a former Boston folk revivalist who recorded several duets with Joan Baez in the 1950’s. Although he had turned to a career in microbiology before starting a family, Bill raised his sons on a healthy diet of campfire folk, 1960’s pop and Appalachian bluegrass. These sounds are echoed in The Wood Brothers’ second effort Loaded, which also incorporates the jazz and blues influences from the brothers’ solo careers. The album is a true family affair, dedicated to the memory of their late mother. Learn more in this edition of the Songlines podcast.

Songlines Podcast: American Babies

Julia — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:57:46 +0000

Brooklyn’s American Babies just released its first album, but the band is already being heralded as a supergroup by bloggers and Paste magazine due to the combined experience of the group’s core members. While brothers Tom and Jim Hamilton spent years with the Philadelphia jam band Brothers Past, the rhythm section is led by Joe Russo of the Benevento Russo Duo. Hear more in this edition of the Songlines podcast.

It took Tom Hamilton two years to write the song “American Babies,” which was one of the first he began for the project. He wrote it with the vision of getting as many friends as possible into the studio to record together. Good thing he has so many talented friends!

Songlines Podcast: The Waifs

Melanie — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:40:46 +0000

Australian trio the Waifs are back with their fifth studio effort, sundirtwater. They’ve gained more fans in the U.S. with each subsequent release and tour, and they’ll be back in the States in April and May. Check out the podcast and tour dates to find out more.

The video for the title track is an examination of the simple pleasures:
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Songlines Podcast: Mando Saenz

Sean — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:34:52 +0000

Mando Saenz was born in Mexico and raised in Texas, but for his second album, he elected to leave behind the sights and sounds of his home state, writing with a more pop-oriented approach, and working with co-collaborators including Kim Richey, Will Kimbrough, and Kenny Vaughn in his new Nashville digs. Check his music out in this edition of the Songlines podcast.

Mando is touring the Southeast right now. Check whether he’s playing a venue near you.