AmericanaFest: Joe Henry and Mike Reid Take Music Fans to Heaven

 By Wil Comstock

MCAU Contributing Writer

City Winery

Sept. 12 (Friday)

Ron Pope went viral on My Space in 2007.  He released four independent albums before signing with Universal Republic, which released two singles. After that, Pope created his own label, Brooklyn Basement Records.  His appeal to the party crowd was evident on the swamp rock numbers “Let’s Get Stoned” and “Nobody’s Gonna Make It Out Alive.”

Joe Henry and Mike Reid met as fellow instructors at a local song camp. Mike started the conversation by asking Henry who his favorite poets were.  They hit it off right away resulting in Henry sending Reid some lyrics.  The next day, Joe received an mp3 of what Mike came up with.  This continued until there was an album’s worth of music. Joe took the original piano vocals and added sparse production. 

The band at City Winery was comprised of Reid on piano, Joe on guitar, a pedal steel player, and Levon Henry (Joe’s son) on tenor sax and clarinet. The music swelled and took me off to another land, reminding me of mid-career Joni Mitchell.  Mike Reid’s seasoned voice was the perfect vehicle for these songs. Heavenly!  I especially enjoyed “The Bridge,” “Life and Time,” “History,” and the huge Reid/Shamblin co-write for Bonnie Raitt, “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”

I could listen to David Nail’s honest and aching voice all night. He sings country like it should be sung, from experience.  He writes or co-writes most of his songs. He’s not afraid to talk about his depression, saying “It’s just who I am.” Highlights of the evening included “Strangers on a Train,” “Let it Rain,” and the new “I Got Everything I Want.”

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AmericanaFest: Northern Lights and Universal Put on Spectacular Show at City Winery

Northern Lights / Universal Music Artist in the Round

Thursday Afternoon at City Winery

By MCAU Correspondent Wil Comstock

NASHVILLE — Brandy Clark, an artist in her own right, has had songs recorded by Sheryl Crow, The Band Perry, Reba McEntire, and Darius Rucker to name a few.  In 2014, she won the CMA’s song of the year for  “Follow Your Arrow,” recorded by Kacey Musgraves.  This afternoon, she treated us to her Grammy win for Best Americana Performance of “Dear Insecurity,” transparent and beautiful.  

Brandy said she heard that people die twice, the day they physically die, and the day people stop talking about them. She grew up in a small Washington town where her grandmother lived next door. Her song “She Smoked in the House” was written in tribute to her grandmother.

Arkansas native, Fancy Hagood just returned from his first headlining tour.  He had a bad breakup in the spring and decided he would pour the hurt and everything he had learned into songs.  The result was the heartfelt “It’s That Life” and “Fly Away.” I happened to catch Fancy last year, and I can say that over the last year he has matured as an artist and writer. You’ll be hearing a lot more from him in the future.

Caitlyn Smith has had songs recorded by John Legend, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, and Garth Brooks.  She also recorded and wrote the theme song “The Card You Gamble” for the drama series “Monarch.”  Caitlyn has three boys, 8, 6, and 9 months, they were the inspiration for her new song “Mother of Three”. My favorite was “Tacoma,” a heart-breaking song about a boyfriend who cheated.

Sean McConnell’s parents were folk singers in Boston when he was growing up. It’s in his blood.  He moved with his family to Georgia when he was 11 years old and started playing guitar and writing songs at that time.  He has had songs covered by Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, Brothers Osborne, Brad Paisley, and many others.  He explained how he learns all the time from his adopted special needs daughter, Abiella. He wrote “As Long As You Keep Your Heart” for her.  Everyone loved the singalong soul-filled number “Shine Your Light On Me.”

What can I say about SistaStrings?  Yes, they are an incredible violin and cello duo.  They have backed Brandi Carlile, Joni Mitchell, Ed Sheeran, Margo Price and many others.  They have appeared on the Grammys and the Oscars. They also are a great songwriting team with exquisite voices!  Monique told how one evening while on tour with Brandi Carlile she couldn’t sleep.  The line came to her, “How Can You Sleep When You’re Living With Dreams.” She woke her sister, and they finished the song.  My favorite of the afternoon, “The Reckoning,” is a symphonic and vocal masterpiece.   Can’t wait for their album to get finished, I’ve been waiting for over a year!

Brandi Carlile and Tracy Gershon Rock City Winery

 Brandi Carlile and Tracy Gershon present Northern Lights Music

 City Winery, Thursday at 1p.m. (UPDATED)

     I arrived at City Winery 45 minutes early only to find the line extended to the back chain link fence behind the building. I doubted I would get in and pulled up the Americanafest App to see what other shows were at this time. The line started to move quickly and before I knew it, I was inside. I was alone, so I thought I might have a chance at finding a seat near the front. I did. Second seat in, front and center!

     Highlights of the two and a half hour show included Sean McConnell’s “Leave the Light On.”  This gospel drenched number was all the better for having Sista Strings and Brandi join on background vocals. The incredible Sista Strings, besides blowing us away with a classical, jazz, funk instrumental, sang a new song “The Reckoning.” This prayer-like number was written with McConnell.

     Brandi Carlile and the twins (Phil and Tim Hanseroth) started off acapella on “Right On Time,” the title cut on her latest album. Their harmonies make the hair on the back of my neck stand up! She also did an older song from 2007, the comforting, “Downpour.” 

     Newcomer Kish,who is 17 years old, performed “Michelle,” a ballad about a friend who keeps settling for the wrong kind of guy. She explained while driving after she got her driver’s license, she had a moment and had to pull over. She realized she was never going to be a young kid again. This prompted her to write the beautiful “Long Drive”.   

     Brandy Clark was up next. Carlile jokingly said that when she was producing Clark’s album, all of her songs were coming in at 3 ½ minutes. Carlile couldn’t understand how she did that. Clark said when she first came to town, it was drummed in her head that a song over 4 minutes would not get played on the radio. Carlile wasn’t too excited about Brandy’s “Tell Her You Don’t Love Her” until Kish, who was visiting the studio, said she loved the song. That made Carlile think she finally got it. “Tell her you don’t love her, because I do!”  Clark also sang the beautiful “Buried.”

     Last year’s special guest was Tanya Tucker. Carlile said she couldn’t be here this year because she was recovering from neck surgery, and asked us to pray for Tanya. This year’s special guests included Kate York, who sang the rebel rousing “Drive it Till the Wheels Fall Off” and Katie Pruitt, whose ballad “Blood Related” talked about choosing to love your family though the disagreements, something we all can relate to.  

     For the finale, Carlile and all of the songwriters joined in on Queen’s classic “Fat Bottom Girls.”  Way too much fun for one afternoon!

AmericanaFest Begins with BMI Party and Unforgettable City Winery Shows

By Wil Comstock

Contributing Writer

         NASHVILLE -- At 2 p.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 12), I headed over to the Basement to pick up my press pass. It was raining steadily. We all stood quietly in line waiting under our umbrellas. One of the volunteers manning the line gave his umbrella to a girl in front of me. He then proceeded to stand in the rain with his hooded raincoat dripping onto his shoes. I was pretty impressed. I thought about the sacrifice so many people make to get this festival up and running. All of the volunteers, the extra hours the staff puts in, the endless meetings, the workers at the venues all over town, all lending grace with welcoming smiles on their faces. Thanks... you are the pillars that support this wonderful event! There would be no AmericanaFest without you.

         At 5:35 p.m., MCAU Editor Chuck Whiting picked me up at work, and we headed over to the BMI Kickoff Party. It was held in the downstairs foyer because of the rain. This event was sponsored by George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey. Upon entering, I grabbed a Tennessee Punch... yum and strong!  I then made my way over to the food line. Barbecue chicken breast for me with salad and jalapeno chips. The place was crowed, all bistro tables taken, so I made my way over to the stairs and sat down. Bravely, I lifted the chicken off of the hamburger roll and ate it with my fingers. My birthday is next week, and I’m trying to drop a few pounds! There are no calories in the alcohol, right? 

         About the time I finished my dinner, Hurray for the Riff Raff was taking the stage. They were fronted by Alynda Segarra, looking and sounding like a chic folk artist.  To quote The Wall Street Journal on Alynda’s singing: "She has a subtle, expressive voice that she wraps around songs that draw on the sounds and styles of the American South, and her lyrics often takes unconventional tack on traditional subjects." Riff Raff was followed by Phoebe Hunt and the Gatherers. I really liked this band. Phoebe and husband, Dominick Leslie (mandolin and vocals), spent time in India at an ashram studying music. This eastern influence is felt in the music and executed perfectly with Phoebe’s searing vocals accompanied by fiddle, mandolin, accordion, upright bass, and percussion. Last up was indie rock band Susto from Charleston, South Carolina. Their lively music had me dancing as we left BMI and headed over to City Winery. 

Hurray for the Riff Raff performs in the BMI lobby during AmericanaFest

         After parking on the street in one of the last free areas in Nashville, we headed to CW to see Colin Hay at the 8 p.m. show. This was the second time I saw Colin, and I was not disappointed. Colin fronted the Australian band Men at Work in the early 1980s. That’s his vocals on “Who Can it Be Now” and “Down Under." His familiar voice is like a good glass of sherry, stirring up warm memories. Colin is quite funny and entertaining, a great storyteller who does not shy away from the hard subjects like his mother’s death. He had the audience in the palm of his hand on “I Don’t Know Why,” “Come Tumbling Down,” and “Waiting for My Life to Begin.”     

         Joan Osborne filled the 9 p.m. slot singing songs from her critically acclaimed album "Songs of Bob Dylan." Osborne had a residency at New York’s Cafe Carlyle in March 2016 and March 2017. At those gigs she performed only Dylan material. She always loved the way Ella Fitzgerald performed the "Great American Songbook" and wanted to do something like that. She picked Dylan because of his lyrical timeliness to events going on today, saying that even though we may be polarized politically, music brings us together. She was accompanied by her two virtuoso producers, Keith Cotton on piano and keyboards and Jack Petruzzelli on guitars. Joan’s sultry voice wrapped around each song and made them her own. No imitation here, pure interpretation. I especially enjoyed “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Masters of War,” and the rearranged “Rainey Day Women #12 & 35.” I can’t wait to pick this album up!

To learn more about the AmericanaFest and see the full schedule of live shows, workshops, and parties, visit http://www.AmericanaFest.org.

Alison Brown to Celebrate Release of New Album 'The Song of the Banjo' on Oct. 7

            NASHVILLE -- With her new album, "The Song of the Banjo" (officially out Oct. 9 on Compass Records), GRAMMY Award-winning musician-composer-producer-entrepreneur Alison Brown plants another flag in her ongoing journey of sonic exploration.

            Alison Brown will perform at the City Winery on Oct. 7. Tickets, which range from $15 and $25, are available by calling (615) 324-1010. Along with her Compass Records co-founder, husband, bassist and co-producer Garry West, Brown has assembled an all-star cast for the album including Indigo Girls, Keb’ Mo’, Colin Hay, ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, as well as some of acoustic music’s most adventurous session players, including legendary drummer Steve Gadd, fiddler Stuart Duncan, Dobro player Rob Ickes, upright bassist Todd Phillips and, on guitar and bouzouki, Irish phenom John Doyle.

            Of the 12 tracks on "The Song of the Banjo", seven are Brown originals, including the melodic, pop-flavored title piece that opens the set, as well the gravity-defying piano/banjo duet, “Musette for the Last Fret.” Then there are her trademark compositions written in Cinemascope - grandly sweeping melodies like “Long Time Gone” and the Celtic-tinged "Airish." "The Moon in Molly’s Eyes" brings in bossa nova, with lush strings by Andrea Zonn. “Stuff Happens,” written by Brown and West, turned into an accidental tribute to Gadd’s old band of studio aces, Stuff, which set the bar for ‘70s pop-funk-jazz fusion. 

            Brown’s choices for cover songs are even more surprising, from her bouncy take on Orleans’ soft-rocker “Dance With Me” to Cyndi Lauper’s hauntingly beautiful “Time After Time” to 1980’s instrumental chart-topper Chuck Mangione’s “Feel So Good,” featuring Shimabukuro’s tenor uke and the drumming of Gadd, a boyhood friend of Mangione. In Brown’s masterful hands, all three sound as if they were written for the banjo. “Time After Time” is particularly stunning. “It just lays out so beautifully on the banjo,” she says, “and I figure if it was good enough for Miles Davis, it’s good enough for me.” Brown’s unique cover versions work two very different kinds of magic, revitalizing these rock and pop classics while stripping away stereotypes of what a banjo can or can’t do. “Familiar music allows folks to understand an instrument that they may not be overly familiar with. The banjo is complex, with melodic ideas normally surrounded by rapid fire arpeggiated chords, but when you play a familiar tune it allows the audience to more clearly hear the voice of the instrument, and to understand how the playing style is integrated into, and around, the melody.”

          Brown and West keep those surprises coming, as Colin Hay wryly sings Dionne Warwick’s 1970 Bacharach/David hit, “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” accompanied by Brown on her custom-built wooden banjola. Keb’ Mo’s Americana-soul version of Marvin Gaye’s seminal “What’s Going On” is another unexpected pleasure. The bonus track, recorded after the album was finished and rush-released as a free-standing single, will be available on the CD’s Deluxe Edition. Along with Keb’s warm vocals, the song features instrumental sparks between Duncan and Brown, as well as an explosive piano solo by Joe Davidian. But it’s Brown’s understated backup and exploratory solo on low banjo that quietly steals the show.

            For those who came of age in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Brown’s re-invention of these familiar songs makes them sound brand new. For younger listeners hearing them for the first time, her versions may well set the new standard. That’s all part of the alternative banjo universe that Alison Brown occupies so beautifully on "The Song of the Banjo:, reaching into the past as she looks to the future, creating an album for people who didn’t know how much they liked the banjo, while giving banjo fans new reasons to love the instrument.

            “It’s amazing to me how much the banjo changed in the 20th Century,” Brown says. “And here we are in the dawn of the 21st; who knows where it may go?”

For one answer to that question, look no further than The Song of the Banjo.

            To learn more about the CD and Brown's new CD, visit http://www.CompassRecords.com.

Americana Music Festival Adds Riverfront Show Starring The Avett Brothers

            NASHVILLE - The Americana Music Association is expanding its Americana Music Festival & Conference Showcase in its 15th year by announcing its most ambitious and eclectic lineup to date.

           

            Anchored by its 13th annual Honors & Awards show on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium, the Association is also adding three-time Americana Group of the Year winners, The Avett Brothers, to a headlining slot at Riverfront Park on Saturday, Sept. 20. Admission to the Riverfront show will be included in Americana Festival & Conference registrations for the Sept. 17-21 event.

            Individual tickets for The Avett Brothers Riverfront show will go on sale to the general public for $52.50 on Friday, June 27 at 10 a.m. via www.ticketfly.com. The Avett Brothers Fan Club members will have a special pre-sale opportunity starting on Tuesday, June 24. All new fan club members must sign up at www.theavettbrothers.com before Monday, June 23 in order to be eligible.

            Throughout the festival and conference - highlighted by Travel + Leisure as a fine-tuned music destination in its June print issue - a total of 160 artists will perform in 11 venues including 3rd & Lindsley, The Basement, City Winery, High Watt, Cannery, Mercy Lounge, The Rutledge, Station Inn, Music City Roots, Downtown Presbyterian Church and Musicians Corner. A partial list of confirmed artists are outlined below.

            The growth of Americana as a genre - curated and cultivated by the Americana Music Association - is evidenced by recent partnerships with cultural epicenter Lincoln Center for "Americana NYC" from Aug. 6-10 and a new GRAMMY category created for the American Roots Field announced in early June: "Best American Roots Performance." This category is the genre's third and the only new category created by the Academy this year.

            The Americana Music Festival & Conference Showcase performing artist partial list includes the following:

Allison Moorer • Amy Ray • Angaleena Presley • The Avett Brothers •  The Barefoot Movement • Ben Miller Band • Billy Joe Shaver • Black Prairie • Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay • Buddy Miller • The Cactus Blossoms • Carlene Carter • Caroline Rose • Chatham County Line • Chuck Mead • Danny & The Champions of the World • The Deadly Gentlemen • Del Barber • The Deslondes • Doug Seegers • The Duhks • The Dustbowl Revival • Emily Barker & the Red Clay Halo • Ethan Johns • The Fairfield Four • The Grahams • Grant-Lee Phillips • Green River Ordinance • Greensky Bluegrass • Gregory Alan Isakov • Greyhounds • The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer • Hayes Carll • Howlin' Brothers • Immigrant Union • Israel Nash • Jamestown Revival • Jason Eady • J.D. Wilkes & the Dirt Daubers • Joe Henry • Joe Pug • Joe Purdy • John Moreland • Jonah Tolchin • Jonny Two Bags • Josh Ritter • Joshua James • Lake Street Dive • Lee Ann Womack • Leo "Bud" Welch • Lera Lynn • Marah Presents: Mountain Minstrelsy • Marty Stuart • Matthew Ryan • McCrary Sisters • Nathaniel Rateliff • New Country Rehab • Oh Susanna • Otis Gibbs • Parker Millsap • Paul Thorn • Pete Molinari • Quebe Sisters Band • Rhett Miller • Robbie Fulks • Robyn Hitchcock • Rodney Crowell • Ruthie Foster • Ryan Montbleau • Sam Outlaw • Sarah Jarosz • Sean Rowe • Shakey Graves • Suzy Bogguss • Todd Snider & Friends • Tom Freund • Tony Joe White • Trigger Hippy (featuring Jackie Greene, Joan Osborne, Steve Gorman, Tom Bukovac & Nick Govrik) • Whiskey Shivers • Willie Watson

            For more details about the Americana Music Fest or to register, visit http://www.AmericanaMusic.org.