Not long ago, Lizzie No had an out-of-body experience while listening to Gillian Welch. The singer-songwriter had spent the past few years trying to make sense of the fractured, frighteningly personal songs she’d been writing, songs that spoke to a pain whose source she couldn’t always name. Many of them ended up on Halfsies, the stunning new record that the songwriter says is, in large part, about the “sensation of living in the scar without having any understanding of the initial wound.”
Which brings No (real name Lizzie Quinlan) to Gillian Welch.
Which brings No (real name Lizzie Quinlan) to Gillian Welch.
- 3/21/2024
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
“Alibi,” the opening track of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s The Past Is Still Alive, embraces the sense of invincibility that comes from facing down the very worst that life can throw at you. “You don’t have to die if you don’t wanna die/You can take it all back in the nick of time,” Alynda Segarra sings. The arrangement, featuring organ and bursts of tambourine, imbues the song with a sense of resilience and liberation—a relentlessly forward-moving spirit that recalls the music of Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, and Waxahatchee.
The rest of The Past Is Still Alive is likewise informed by recollections of both a friend’s addiction and the passing of Segarra’s father, charting a determined, if sometimes uneasy, journey to make peace with uncomfortable truths. “Snake Plant” alternates between pleasantly mundane memories to direct addresses to a friend battling addiction (“I know...
The rest of The Past Is Still Alive is likewise informed by recollections of both a friend’s addiction and the passing of Segarra’s father, charting a determined, if sometimes uneasy, journey to make peace with uncomfortable truths. “Snake Plant” alternates between pleasantly mundane memories to direct addresses to a friend battling addiction (“I know...
- 2/19/2024
- by Tom Williams
- Slant Magazine
To mark what would have been David Bowie’s 77th birthday today, Wilco have shared their live rendition of the music icon’s “Space Oddity.”
The cover was recorded during the band’s visit to Mountain Stage, NPR Music, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s long-running live radio show and features as the opening track on an upcoming compilation highlighting performances from the series.
“As a gratefully, if not begrudgingly, Earth-bound band, it’s always an honor and a challenge to tackle any of David Bowie’s space-soaring arrangements,” Wilco said in a statement.
The cover was recorded during the band’s visit to Mountain Stage, NPR Music, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s long-running live radio show and features as the opening track on an upcoming compilation highlighting performances from the series.
“As a gratefully, if not begrudgingly, Earth-bound band, it’s always an honor and a challenge to tackle any of David Bowie’s space-soaring arrangements,” Wilco said in a statement.
- 1/8/2024
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Monday, January 8th, would’ve been David Bowie’s 77th birthday. To mark the occasion, Wilco has shared their rendition of Bowie’s 1969 hit, “Space Oddity.”
The release hails from Wilco’s 2023 performance on Mountain Stage (a public radio show distributed by NPR Music), and will be included on an upcoming compilation announced today titled Live On Mountain Stage: Outlaws and Outliers, due on April 19th via Oh Boy Records.
Presenting a wonderfully Wilco-esque take on “Space Oddity” — itself named the 43rd best song of all time by Consequence in 2012 — the band settles into an acoustic arrangement, allowing Jeff Tweedy’s vocals to masterfully convey the tune’s enduring appeal for humanity.
Speaking about the performance in a statement, the band said: “As a gratefully, if not begrudgingly, Earth-bound band, it’s always an honor and a challenge to tackle any of David Bowie’s space-soaring arrangements. Striving to reach...
The release hails from Wilco’s 2023 performance on Mountain Stage (a public radio show distributed by NPR Music), and will be included on an upcoming compilation announced today titled Live On Mountain Stage: Outlaws and Outliers, due on April 19th via Oh Boy Records.
Presenting a wonderfully Wilco-esque take on “Space Oddity” — itself named the 43rd best song of all time by Consequence in 2012 — the band settles into an acoustic arrangement, allowing Jeff Tweedy’s vocals to masterfully convey the tune’s enduring appeal for humanity.
Speaking about the performance in a statement, the band said: “As a gratefully, if not begrudgingly, Earth-bound band, it’s always an honor and a challenge to tackle any of David Bowie’s space-soaring arrangements. Striving to reach...
- 1/8/2024
- by Jo Vito
- Consequence - Music
Elvis Presley‘s death shocked the world, only to inspire numerous writers, filmmakers, and songwriters. For example, Jimmy Buffett recorded a song about the tragedy called “Elvis Presley Blues.” The track seems to comment on Elvis’ ties to the Black community. Notably, “Elvis Presley Blues” is a standard from one of the most acclaimed albums of the 2000s.
1 Jimmy Buffett song is about Elvis Presley’s death and the folk hero John Henry
“Elvis Presley Blues” is an atypical song for Buffett to cover. The tune is a lot more morbid and disquieting than “Cheeseburger in Paradise” or “Margaritaville.” In it, Buffett recounts the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s death. He sings about Elvis’ trademark dancing, his looks, and how the singer was lonely at the top.
He also mentions folk hero John Henry. Henry was a legendary Black steel worker who was more powerful than a drilling machine.
1 Jimmy Buffett song is about Elvis Presley’s death and the folk hero John Henry
“Elvis Presley Blues” is an atypical song for Buffett to cover. The tune is a lot more morbid and disquieting than “Cheeseburger in Paradise” or “Margaritaville.” In it, Buffett recounts the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s death. He sings about Elvis’ trademark dancing, his looks, and how the singer was lonely at the top.
He also mentions folk hero John Henry. Henry was a legendary Black steel worker who was more powerful than a drilling machine.
- 9/2/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week, the first release of the year from Post Malone, Kelly Clarkson teases her highly anticipated album Chemistry, Doja Cat adds to the narrative in a remix with Sza, and some punky fun from The Linda Lindas.
Post Malone, “Chemical” (YouTube)
Kelly Clarkson, “Mine” (YouTube)
Jorja Smith, “Try Me” (YouTube)
Sza feat. Doja Cat, “Kill Bill” (YouTube)
Fivio Foreign, “Hot Sauce” (YouTube)
Ice Spice feat. Nicki Minaj, “Princess Diana” (YouTube)
Diplo feat.
Post Malone, “Chemical” (YouTube)
Kelly Clarkson, “Mine” (YouTube)
Jorja Smith, “Try Me” (YouTube)
Sza feat. Doja Cat, “Kill Bill” (YouTube)
Fivio Foreign, “Hot Sauce” (YouTube)
Ice Spice feat. Nicki Minaj, “Princess Diana” (YouTube)
Diplo feat.
- 4/14/2023
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
When I heard Elizabeth Cotten (1895-1987) was going into the Rock Hall, I nearly fell out of my chair! As host of “The Village Folk Show,” I regularly hear Cotten’s name from the mouths of prominent folk artists — Guy Davis, David Bromberg, Gillian Welch, Eliza Gilkyson, Amy Ray. Credited with the “Cotten-picking” guitar-playing style — she played left-handed and upside-down — this master’s impact on roots music is strong, deep and continuing.
Meanwhile, her story is amazing: While working in a department store in 1940s Washington D.C., Cotten discovered a crying, lost, little girl and returned her to her mother. The grateful mom: singer-songwriter Peggy Seeger, sister of legendary Mike Seeger, who promptly hired Cotten as a domestic for the family. When Mike Seeger discovered her long-dormant talent with a six-string, he recorded and released the 62-year-old’s first record, “Elizabeth Cotten: Folk Songs and Instrumentals with Guitar.”
Following...
Meanwhile, her story is amazing: While working in a department store in 1940s Washington D.C., Cotten discovered a crying, lost, little girl and returned her to her mother. The grateful mom: singer-songwriter Peggy Seeger, sister of legendary Mike Seeger, who promptly hired Cotten as a domestic for the family. When Mike Seeger discovered her long-dormant talent with a six-string, he recorded and released the 62-year-old’s first record, “Elizabeth Cotten: Folk Songs and Instrumentals with Guitar.”
Following...
- 11/5/2022
- by MarySue Twohy
- Variety Film + TV
To live in Nashville is to love John Prine, so it never sat right how quarantine robbed the late singer, songwriter, and hometown hero of a proper in-person memorial when he died of Covid complications in April of 2020. Prine finally got the wake he deserved this week in Nashville with a string of celebratory concerts titled “You Got Gold,” which featured an all-star, cross-generational casts of admirers covering songs and exchanging anecdotes about the man.
On Sunday, performers and presenters remembered Prine’s generous spirit and the way he modeled...
On Sunday, performers and presenters remembered Prine’s generous spirit and the way he modeled...
- 10/12/2022
- by Charlie Zaillian
- Rollingstone.com
The most common question at the annual AmericanaFest – a SXSW-style multi-venue music festival held in Nashville since 2000 – is “what is Americana?” “Diverse” seems to be the answer, after decades of favouritism shown towards white, male country singers.
At the event’s opening awards ceremony, which takes place at The Ryman, aka country music’s “mother church”, the sensational Canadian songwriter Allison Russell picks up a well-deserved Album of the Year for her illuminating solo debut Outside Child. Other gongs go to bluesy husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty, flamboyant gypsy jazz renegade Sierra Ferrell, and the Grammys-conquering LGBT+ icon Brandi Carlile. There’s still room for the old guard, too. Robert Plant, Chris Isaak and Lyle Lovett all make appearances, as does the great Lucinda Williams, while tribute is paid to late honky tonk singer-songwriter Luke Bell, who died last month aged 32.
Aside from the established names, AmericanaFest is also a hotbed of young talent.
At the event’s opening awards ceremony, which takes place at The Ryman, aka country music’s “mother church”, the sensational Canadian songwriter Allison Russell picks up a well-deserved Album of the Year for her illuminating solo debut Outside Child. Other gongs go to bluesy husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty, flamboyant gypsy jazz renegade Sierra Ferrell, and the Grammys-conquering LGBT+ icon Brandi Carlile. There’s still room for the old guard, too. Robert Plant, Chris Isaak and Lyle Lovett all make appearances, as does the great Lucinda Williams, while tribute is paid to late honky tonk singer-songwriter Luke Bell, who died last month aged 32.
Aside from the established names, AmericanaFest is also a hotbed of young talent.
- 9/20/2022
- by Leonie Cooper
- The Independent - Music
John Anderson is going to sea. The “Seminole Wind” country singer is joining Outlaw Country Cruise 7 as a headliner opposite Lucinda Williams, the Mavericks, and Steve Earle & the Dukes. It’s the latest in a string of Anderson news, as the 67-year-old gears up for the release of Something Borrowed, Something New: A Tribute to John Anderson.
On Saturday, the tribute album will come to life onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, as Dan Auerbach, who co-produced the record, joins Tyler Childers, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Elizabeth Cook, and...
On Saturday, the tribute album will come to life onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, as Dan Auerbach, who co-produced the record, joins Tyler Childers, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Elizabeth Cook, and...
- 8/5/2022
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Country great John Anderson is due to receive an all-star tribute on the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville. In addition to a performance by Anderson, artists like Tyler Childers and Dan Auerbach will cover some of the “Seminole Wind” singer’s songs on the Aug. 6 Opry show, timed to coincide with the release of the new tribute album Something Borrowed, Something New.
Additional guests during the program include Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Elizabeth Cook, and bluegrass star Sierra Hull, who recently added mandolin and harmonies to Chris Shiflett’s new song “Long,...
Additional guests during the program include Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Elizabeth Cook, and bluegrass star Sierra Hull, who recently added mandolin and harmonies to Chris Shiflett’s new song “Long,...
- 7/29/2022
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Valerie June is soulful and stirring as she dives deep into her own rendition of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed,” the latest release from her newly announced EP Under Cover. The 8-track project, set for release on Aug. 26, will showcase the country-soul crooner’s elasticity for making cross-genre cuts her own.
“This love will keep us through blinding of the eyes,” June sings with conviction. “Silence in the ears, darkness of the mind.”
Under Cover finds the Tennessee singer-songwriter tackling releases from Mazzy Star (“Fade Into You”), Gillian Welch (“Look at...
“This love will keep us through blinding of the eyes,” June sings with conviction. “Silence in the ears, darkness of the mind.”
Under Cover finds the Tennessee singer-songwriter tackling releases from Mazzy Star (“Fade Into You”), Gillian Welch (“Look at...
- 6/28/2022
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
Updated: Performers and a host have been announced for Sunday’s celebration of life for Naomi Judd, with Robin Roberts presiding over the proceedings and Brandi Carlile, Ashley McBryde, Little Big Town, the Gaithers and Emmylou Harris and Allison Russell singing in honor of Judd.
The memorial will air live and commercial-free on CMT Sunday at 6 p.m. Et/5 Ct with an encore presentation at 10 p.m. Et/9 Ct. On the west coast, it will be shown tape-delayed at 6 and 10.
Bono, Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey, Martina McBride and Salma Hayek will offer tributes, and Judd’s daughters Wynonna and Ashley Judd will appear. Carly Pearce and Cody Alan will host the CMT telecast. .
The program is being co-produced by CMT and Sandbox Live. The show’s executive producers are Margaret Comeaux and Leslie Fram of CMT, Jason Owen of Sandbox Live and Patrizia Dimaria of Ladypants Productions.
Said the CMT producers in a joint statement,...
The memorial will air live and commercial-free on CMT Sunday at 6 p.m. Et/5 Ct with an encore presentation at 10 p.m. Et/9 Ct. On the west coast, it will be shown tape-delayed at 6 and 10.
Bono, Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey, Martina McBride and Salma Hayek will offer tributes, and Judd’s daughters Wynonna and Ashley Judd will appear. Carly Pearce and Cody Alan will host the CMT telecast. .
The program is being co-produced by CMT and Sandbox Live. The show’s executive producers are Margaret Comeaux and Leslie Fram of CMT, Jason Owen of Sandbox Live and Patrizia Dimaria of Ladypants Productions.
Said the CMT producers in a joint statement,...
- 5/13/2022
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Sturgill Simpson, Sierra Ferrell, and Eric Church are among the all-star group of artists who wil interpret the music of country great John Anderson on the new album Something Borrowed, Something New: A Tribute to John Anderson. Produced by Dan Auerbach and Dave Ferguson, the project will be released Aug. 5 on Auerbach’s Easy Eye label.
Something Borrowed, Something New runs the gamut of A-list talent, from contemporary mainstream stars to country iconoclasts to bluegrass and Americana heroes alike. Luke Combs takes on the 1992 smash “Seminole Wind,” while Eric Church...
Something Borrowed, Something New runs the gamut of A-list talent, from contemporary mainstream stars to country iconoclasts to bluegrass and Americana heroes alike. Luke Combs takes on the 1992 smash “Seminole Wind,” while Eric Church...
- 5/4/2022
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Margo Cilker stakes out the geography of her native Pacific Northwest on her stunning debut, Pohorylle. On “That River,” that classic country-folk source of renewal becomes a symbol of danger; on “Broken Arm in Oregon,” Cilker weaves heavy imagery of abuse and injury into a poignant tale about feeling trapped (“Now I fight the urge to ramble,” she sings, “with every three-egg breakfast scramble.”)
She takes a different approach on “Kevin Johnson,” a rollicking barroom country highlight. Instead, like the Band and Gillian Welch before her, Cilker approaches Southern tropes as a non-Southern outsider,...
She takes a different approach on “Kevin Johnson,” a rollicking barroom country highlight. Instead, like the Band and Gillian Welch before her, Cilker approaches Southern tropes as a non-Southern outsider,...
- 11/15/2021
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
“Honest to god,” says Dave Rawlings, “we could talk about this album for a week.”
Rawlings and Gillian Welch would be the first to admit that it’s difficult to discuss their landmark third album Time (The Revelator) without launching into a thousand tangents. Every one of its 10 songs, every raw emotion the duo channeled into the record, every one of their failed attempts to record the album — each of these could be the subject of its own lengthy interview. Each backstory has its own backstory, its wheel inside a wheel.
Rawlings and Gillian Welch would be the first to admit that it’s difficult to discuss their landmark third album Time (The Revelator) without launching into a thousand tangents. Every one of its 10 songs, every raw emotion the duo channeled into the record, every one of their failed attempts to record the album — each of these could be the subject of its own lengthy interview. Each backstory has its own backstory, its wheel inside a wheel.
- 7/30/2021
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
The Americana Music Association’s annual Americana Honors & Awards will return for its 20th year on September 22nd at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Nominees in each of the categories were announced by Keb’ Mo’ and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor during an afternoon event at Nashville’s National Museum of African-American Music on Wednesday.
Artists appearing in multiple categories include Jason Isbell, Amythyst Kiah, Valerie June, and Brandi Carlile. Isbell and Carlile are both up for Artist of the Year, while Isbell’s Reunions is nominated for Album...
Artists appearing in multiple categories include Jason Isbell, Amythyst Kiah, Valerie June, and Brandi Carlile. Isbell and Carlile are both up for Artist of the Year, while Isbell’s Reunions is nominated for Album...
- 5/26/2021
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
After being forced to take a year off due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MerleFest will return in Fall 2021. The annual eclectic musical fest will take place September 16th to 19th in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with a first round of performers that includes Melissa Etheridge, Mavis Staples, and LeAnn Rimes.
Held over the course of three days at Wilkes Community College, the event includes appearances by Tedeschi Trucks — composed of bandleaders and partners Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks — Donna the Buffalo, Scythian, and the Waybacks. Additional artists will be announced in...
Held over the course of three days at Wilkes Community College, the event includes appearances by Tedeschi Trucks — composed of bandleaders and partners Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks — Donna the Buffalo, Scythian, and the Waybacks. Additional artists will be announced in...
- 5/12/2021
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
A few days before Thanksgiving last year, Lucinda Williams was in the bathroom of her Nashville home getting ready to take a shower when she began to have trouble keeping her balance. She stumbled a bit and couldn’t stand up straight. Even more frightening, Williams couldn’t walk. She called out to her husband, Tom Overby, who happened to be on the phone with their primary care physician. When he relayed Williams’ symptoms to their doctor, he was told to quickly get her to a hospital.
The Americana singer-songwriter,...
The Americana singer-songwriter,...
- 5/3/2021
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
The Grammy Awards, now in their 63rd year, once again take place in L.A. but this time in Covid-safe conditions. For the 2021 ceremony, The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah makes his hosting debut. Performers include Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Bruno Mars, BTS, Bad Bunny, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Harry Styles, and more. Here’s a rundown of all the Grammy winners.
Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, “Everything I Wanted”
Album of the Year: Taylor Swift, Folklore
Best R&b Performance: Beyoncé,...
Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, “Everything I Wanted”
Album of the Year: Taylor Swift, Folklore
Best R&b Performance: Beyoncé,...
- 3/15/2021
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
Awards in the Americana and country music categories were handed out during the 63rd Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony on Sunday afternoon with John Prine winning a pair of posthumous Grammys for his song “I Remember Everything.” Written with Pat McLaughlin, “I Remember Everything” was named Best American Roots Songs and Best American Roots Performance. It is the final song that Prine recorded before his death in April from complications related to Covid-19.
“The music community in Nashville and beyond, your love and encouragement has meant the world to us this past year,...
“The music community in Nashville and beyond, your love and encouragement has meant the world to us this past year,...
- 3/14/2021
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
When 24-year-old instrumentalist Yasmin Williams plays guitar, she conjures new possibilities and stories from the instrument. Performing in a distinctive, inventive finger-style, and using only a looping pedal, Williams creates textured, harmonious soundscapes almost entirely by herself on each of her two solo instrumental albums: 2018’s Unwind, and her brand-new collection, Urban Driftwood.
The final song of Williams’ latest record is “After the Storm,” a gorgeous, haunting, nearly six-minute original that serves as both sermon and summary of what’s come before. Arriving on the album after a 40-minute song...
The final song of Williams’ latest record is “After the Storm,” a gorgeous, haunting, nearly six-minute original that serves as both sermon and summary of what’s come before. Arriving on the album after a 40-minute song...
- 2/3/2021
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Ahead of his new album Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1, due January 8th, Barry Gibb has released another track off the project: a collaboration with Dolly Parton on “Words.” Originally released as a single by the Bee Gees in 1968, the song was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.
Parton kicks off this particularly tender version of “Words,” singing the first verse about hoping to start “a brand new story” over plaintive piano. Gibb comes in soon after, and he and Parton take the song to its finish, with...
Parton kicks off this particularly tender version of “Words,” singing the first verse about hoping to start “a brand new story” over plaintive piano. Gibb comes in soon after, and he and Parton take the song to its finish, with...
- 1/1/2021
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings lend their stellar harmonies to Barry Gibb for “Butterfly,” a track off Gibb’s forthcoming country/roots album Greenfields, produced by Dave Cobb.
The song was first released as a deep track on the 1970 Bee Gees outtakes compilation Inception/Nostalgia. Written by Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, it was cut by the British group United 4 + 2 in 1967, three years before the Bee Gees released their own version.
Greenfields, due January 8th, features collaborations with artists as varied as Keith Urban, Brandi Carlile, Dolly Parton and Olivia Newton-John.
The song was first released as a deep track on the 1970 Bee Gees outtakes compilation Inception/Nostalgia. Written by Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, it was cut by the British group United 4 + 2 in 1967, three years before the Bee Gees released their own version.
Greenfields, due January 8th, features collaborations with artists as varied as Keith Urban, Brandi Carlile, Dolly Parton and Olivia Newton-John.
- 12/11/2020
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
When producer T Bone Burnett’s soundtrack to the Coen Brothers’ 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released 20 years ago this month, it launched a roots-music boom. Many artists on the album — from new traditionalists Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss to bygone legends like Ralph Stanley — saw boosts to their careers, while package tours of old-timey music, like Down From the Mountain, sold out around the country.
Most importantly, the unlikely success of the soundtrack, which placed Jimmie Rodgers-era country-blues (“In the Jailhouse Now”) alongside stark mountain spirituals...
Most importantly, the unlikely success of the soundtrack, which placed Jimmie Rodgers-era country-blues (“In the Jailhouse Now”) alongside stark mountain spirituals...
- 12/4/2020
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Ingrid Andress and Miranda Lambert lead all country music artists at the 2021 Grammy Awards with three nominations each. Andress earned nominations in the Best Country Album and Best Country Song categories, as well as an all-genre nomination for Best New Artist. Lambert’s three noms include Country Album, Country Song, and Best Country Solo Performance.
Andress, a Colorado-raised songwriter, garners her country nominations on the strength of her debut single “More Hearts Than Mine” and her subsequent debut album, Lady Like. In May, the LP became the highest streamed country debut album by a woman.
Andress, a Colorado-raised songwriter, garners her country nominations on the strength of her debut single “More Hearts Than Mine” and her subsequent debut album, Lady Like. In May, the LP became the highest streamed country debut album by a woman.
- 11/24/2020
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
Barry Gibb will kick off 2021 with a new album, Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1, out January 8th via Capitol.
To accompany the announcement, the Bee Gee dropped “Words of a Fool,” a soulful duet with Jason Isbell. The track was included on a 1986 self-titled solo album that Gibb never released. Isbell takes the lead vocals, while Gibb joins on a later verse. “No matter how long human nature is cruel,” they sing on the chorus. “But all hope is gone if you don’t hang on the words of a fool.
To accompany the announcement, the Bee Gee dropped “Words of a Fool,” a soulful duet with Jason Isbell. The track was included on a 1986 self-titled solo album that Gibb never released. Isbell takes the lead vocals, while Gibb joins on a later verse. “No matter how long human nature is cruel,” they sing on the chorus. “But all hope is gone if you don’t hang on the words of a fool.
- 11/6/2020
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
With the delayed release of “No Time to Die,” the 25th film of the James Bond franchise, an avalanche of changes and shifts have occurred within the industry. In the realm of awards prognostication, the Billie Eilish song was considered one of the favorites in the best original song category.
With the 18-year-old music sensation out of the running now, possible contenders in the category are still emerging, with no real frontrunner as yet. Netflix’s animated feature “Over the Moon” offers a formidable contender with “Rocket to the Moon.” Sung by newcomer Cathy Ang, and written by Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield and Helen Park, the song could net the streamer its third nomination in this category. Netflix scored with “Mighty River” from 2017’s “Mudbound” and “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from 2018’s “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (David Rawlings and Gillian Welch). Blige was the first...
With the 18-year-old music sensation out of the running now, possible contenders in the category are still emerging, with no real frontrunner as yet. Netflix’s animated feature “Over the Moon” offers a formidable contender with “Rocket to the Moon.” Sung by newcomer Cathy Ang, and written by Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield and Helen Park, the song could net the streamer its third nomination in this category. Netflix scored with “Mighty River” from 2017’s “Mudbound” and “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from 2018’s “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (David Rawlings and Gillian Welch). Blige was the first...
- 10/5/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Gillian Welch has shared two more songs from her upcoming collection of previously unheard material, Boots No 2: the Lost Songs, Vol. 2: “Beautiful Boy” and “I Just Want You to Know.”
“Beautiful Boy” is a sweet but devastating song in which Welch captures the anxiety and unease that often accompanies a newfound love — when all you can think about is the possibility of heartbreak on the other end. “I’m afraid of everything,” Welch sings, “everything that romance brings/the freely given gifts you can’t repay/sad goodbyes...
“Beautiful Boy” is a sweet but devastating song in which Welch captures the anxiety and unease that often accompanies a newfound love — when all you can think about is the possibility of heartbreak on the other end. “I’m afraid of everything,” Welch sings, “everything that romance brings/the freely given gifts you can’t repay/sad goodbyes...
- 9/11/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Phoebe Bridgers and Arlo Parks teamed up to perform a cover of Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.” The artists’ stripped back, piano-led version was recorded for Phil Taggart’s Chillest Show on BBC Radio 1.
Filmed in a church, the pristine acoustics enhance their tender rendition of The Bends classic. Bridgers takes lead on vocals, with rising UK artist Parks accompanying on piano and adding harmonies. They also performed Bridgers’ “Kyoto” from Punisher.
Bridgers dropped her sophomore studio album, Punisher, in June. Last month, Versus Creative’s 50on50 released videos...
Filmed in a church, the pristine acoustics enhance their tender rendition of The Bends classic. Bridgers takes lead on vocals, with rising UK artist Parks accompanying on piano and adding harmonies. They also performed Bridgers’ “Kyoto” from Punisher.
Bridgers dropped her sophomore studio album, Punisher, in June. Last month, Versus Creative’s 50on50 released videos...
- 9/7/2020
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Back in March, before Covid-19 put a hold on live music, Phoebe Bridgers participated in Versus Creative’s 50on50, a series where musicians perform for small crowds in stadium-sized venues.
For their installment, Bridgers and her band performed “ICU” and “Halloween,” two songs off her latest album Punisher, for a tiny group at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; videos of the performances were just released on Tuesday.
According to The Fader, this was the first time Bridgers performed either song in front of an audience. In the “ICU” clip, the...
For their installment, Bridgers and her band performed “ICU” and “Halloween,” two songs off her latest album Punisher, for a tiny group at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; videos of the performances were just released on Tuesday.
According to The Fader, this was the first time Bridgers performed either song in front of an audience. In the “ICU” clip, the...
- 8/18/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Jim James, Andrew Bird, Grace Potter, Lucius, the Decemberists, Warren Haynes, Punch Brothers’ Chris Thile, Julien Baker and Benmont Tench all collaborated on a remote cover version of Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love” as part of the Newport Folk Festival’s virtual festival.
The performance, music-directed by the Decemberists’ Chris Funk, features home-recorded performances sewn into a massive web of sound. The collaborators also include Hiss Golden Messenger, Yola, Glen Hansard, Valerie June, Ruby Amanfu, Phil Cook, Sara Watkins and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band,...
The performance, music-directed by the Decemberists’ Chris Funk, features home-recorded performances sewn into a massive web of sound. The collaborators also include Hiss Golden Messenger, Yola, Glen Hansard, Valerie June, Ruby Amanfu, Phil Cook, Sara Watkins and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band,...
- 8/4/2020
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Courtney Barnett and Phoebe Bridgers teamed up for a remote duet of Gillian Welch’s “Everything Is Free” this past weekend.
“Everything Is Free” has become a musician favorite in recent years, also getting the cover treatment from Father John Misty. Performing as part of Newport Folk Festival’s three-day livestream, Barnett and Bridgers did a stripped-down rendition of the Time (The Revelator) track, with only Barnett’s guitar and their two voices in harmony.
Bridgers released her critically lauded sophomore album Punisher this past June. She released a dramatic...
“Everything Is Free” has become a musician favorite in recent years, also getting the cover treatment from Father John Misty. Performing as part of Newport Folk Festival’s three-day livestream, Barnett and Bridgers did a stripped-down rendition of the Time (The Revelator) track, with only Barnett’s guitar and their two voices in harmony.
Bridgers released her critically lauded sophomore album Punisher this past June. She released a dramatic...
- 8/3/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
The first catastrophe of 2020 came slightly earlier than most for Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. On a stormy evening in early March, the couple found themselves racing around Woodland Studios — the historic East Nashville recording facility that’s served as the duo’s home base since 2001 — trying to rescue their life’s work after a direct hit from a tornado. Their master recordings, instruments, and gear were all threatened by the rain pouring into the building for the past four hours.
“Everything got wet,” Welch says. “You wouldn’t want to see the tape boxes.
“Everything got wet,” Welch says. “You wouldn’t want to see the tape boxes.
- 7/31/2020
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
In the coming months, Gillian Welch will release three albums of previously unheard material, all of which was recorded between the making of 2001’s Time (The Revelator) and 2003’s Soul Journey.
The 48 recordings, collectively titled Boots No 2: The Lost Songs, will arrive as three discrete albums, with the first release Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 1 coming out on July 31st.
“We stashed these recordings away years ago,” said Welch and David Rawlings, her longtime collaborator, in a statement. “Their shortcomings, real or imagined, technical or compositional, no longer seem bothersome today.
The 48 recordings, collectively titled Boots No 2: The Lost Songs, will arrive as three discrete albums, with the first release Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 1 coming out on July 31st.
“We stashed these recordings away years ago,” said Welch and David Rawlings, her longtime collaborator, in a statement. “Their shortcomings, real or imagined, technical or compositional, no longer seem bothersome today.
- 7/17/2020
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Christian Lee Hutson recorded so many versions of his new album, Beginners, that the day before it was finally released last month, the singer-songwriter joked with his friends about a dark possibility: “There’s still time to record it one more time.”
Hutson, 29, first began work on his new plaintive folk collection in 2014, back when he was still touring the country as an aspiring retro-country singer, performing Gram Parsons and George Jones covers at an endless string of what he now refers to as “fucking spaghetti restaurants.”
Today, Hutson is...
Hutson, 29, first began work on his new plaintive folk collection in 2014, back when he was still touring the country as an aspiring retro-country singer, performing Gram Parsons and George Jones covers at an endless string of what he now refers to as “fucking spaghetti restaurants.”
Today, Hutson is...
- 7/16/2020
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Long renowned for a faithful adherence to the Appalachian folk music tradition in many of their solo works as well as their collaborations as a duo, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have announced the release of All The Good Times, a 10-track sampling of acoustic cover songs.
Recorded at home on a reel-to-reel tape machine, the album — released to streaming on Friday — features the works of legendary songwriters including Bob Dylan (“Señor,” “Abandoned Love”), John Prine (“Hello in There”), Elizabeth Cotton (“Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie”) and Norman Blake...
Recorded at home on a reel-to-reel tape machine, the album — released to streaming on Friday — features the works of legendary songwriters including Bob Dylan (“Señor,” “Abandoned Love”), John Prine (“Hello in There”), Elizabeth Cotton (“Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie”) and Norman Blake...
- 7/10/2020
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Gillian Welch was away from home one Mother’s Day in the early part of the 2000s when she was struck by a desire to sing for her mom. She wrote a new song, appropriately titled “Happy Mother’s Day,” and called her mother to play it into the answering machine.
On Friday, ahead of Sunday’s holiday, she releases the original demo recording, captured on a reel-to-reel. It’s a short but undeniably sweet song, with the folksinger-songwriter crooning in a nursery rhyme cadence: “Oh mama, I hope you...
On Friday, ahead of Sunday’s holiday, she releases the original demo recording, captured on a reel-to-reel. It’s a short but undeniably sweet song, with the folksinger-songwriter crooning in a nursery rhyme cadence: “Oh mama, I hope you...
- 5/8/2020
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
At the 2018 Oscars, Frances McDormand, who’d just won her second Best Actress Academy Award for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” asked all the female nominees to stand. Ten women will always be nominated by the academy: five for Best Actress and another five for Best Supporting Actress. Besides these other nine women, how many others were on their feet in the Dolby Theater?
Forty-seven women other than actresses were nominated for those 90th Academy Awards. Of these, only four won Oscars. By comparison, 151 men other than actors were nominated and 32 took home statuettes. Of the 20 non-gender specific categories, women were contenders in 17 of them; they were shut out of Original Score (5 men), Sound Editing (9 men) and Visual Effects (20 men).
At last year’s Academy Awards, 53 women other than actresses were nominated as were 159 men. Women make up 25% of the nominees in the non-gender specific categories compared to 23.73% in 2018. Thirteen...
Forty-seven women other than actresses were nominated for those 90th Academy Awards. Of these, only four won Oscars. By comparison, 151 men other than actors were nominated and 32 took home statuettes. Of the 20 non-gender specific categories, women were contenders in 17 of them; they were shut out of Original Score (5 men), Sound Editing (9 men) and Visual Effects (20 men).
At last year’s Academy Awards, 53 women other than actresses were nominated as were 159 men. Women make up 25% of the nominees in the non-gender specific categories compared to 23.73% in 2018. Thirteen...
- 1/1/2020
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
No one ever knew what to call Mumford & Sons. The Guardian had already described them as “Coldplay reincarnated as hillbillies” by the time the group released their debut album in the U.S. in February 2010, a moment that garnered a slurry of descriptors: “foot-stomping British folk;” “skiffled Frames (nice banjo);” or, as this magazine wrote, “if Dexys Midnight Runners aged into boozy-pub session romantics.”
One word eventually stuck: Americana. The New York Times would describe the group as “Britons touched by Americana” later that year; a Spin cover story would...
One word eventually stuck: Americana. The New York Times would describe the group as “Britons touched by Americana” later that year; a Spin cover story would...
- 12/20/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Fans of “The Voice” will choose the songs performed by the Top 11 artists on Monday’s episode. After tonight’s Live Playoffs, you can then vote for the contestants you want to move forward on Tuesday evening’s results show. Nine singers will be safe while two will face off for an Instant Save and a move into next week’s Top 10. Who will be the contenders that shine on Monday’s show and keep competing for the Season 17 championship?
This two-hour installment of the NBC reality program features six-time coaching champ Blake Shelton, two-time winner Kelly Clarkson, reigning coaching winner John Legend and returning coach Gwen Stefani.
We just published our power rankings over the weekend, listing our reasons for ranking best to worst for the Top 11. Do you agree or disagree with our choices? Here are the remaining contestants in our order for Season 17:
1. Jake Hoot (Team...
This two-hour installment of the NBC reality program features six-time coaching champ Blake Shelton, two-time winner Kelly Clarkson, reigning coaching winner John Legend and returning coach Gwen Stefani.
We just published our power rankings over the weekend, listing our reasons for ranking best to worst for the Top 11. Do you agree or disagree with our choices? Here are the remaining contestants in our order for Season 17:
1. Jake Hoot (Team...
- 11/26/2019
- by Denton Davidson and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Over the course of her six full-length albums, Kentucky singer-songwriter Joan Shelley has trafficked in the strain of intimate, earthy folk and country that calls to mind everyone from Nick Drake to Iron & Wine to Gillian Welch. Her latest, Like the River Loves the Sea, feels simultaneously grounded and even more expansive as it tracks its way through the changing seasons of a relationship.
“A haven woven with warm colors, a woolen place to rest your head,” Shelley sings on the meditative opening track “Haven,” its run time stopping short...
“A haven woven with warm colors, a woolen place to rest your head,” Shelley sings on the meditative opening track “Haven,” its run time stopping short...
- 9/3/2019
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Lady Gaga, Post Malone and Kris Bowers are among the contenders for the 2019 World Soundtrack Awards.
Other composers nominated for awards include Nicholas Britell (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), Alan Silvestri (“Avengers: Endgame”) and John Powell (“How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World”) as well as Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse”) and Benjamin Wallfisch (“Hellboy”). Bowers is in the running for TV Composer of the Year for his latest work on Ava Duvernay’s “When They See Us” which earned the composer his first Emmy nomination. Other works of Bowers recognized include “Black Monday,” “For The People,” and “Warriors of Liberty City.”
Along with Grammy award-winning song “Shallow,” Post Malone’s “Sunflower,”which appears on the soundtrack for “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse,” is nominated for best original song written for a film.
“We are pleased to see such a variety of young talents across all three categories, including multiple...
Other composers nominated for awards include Nicholas Britell (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), Alan Silvestri (“Avengers: Endgame”) and John Powell (“How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World”) as well as Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse”) and Benjamin Wallfisch (“Hellboy”). Bowers is in the running for TV Composer of the Year for his latest work on Ava Duvernay’s “When They See Us” which earned the composer his first Emmy nomination. Other works of Bowers recognized include “Black Monday,” “For The People,” and “Warriors of Liberty City.”
Along with Grammy award-winning song “Shallow,” Post Malone’s “Sunflower,”which appears on the soundtrack for “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse,” is nominated for best original song written for a film.
“We are pleased to see such a variety of young talents across all three categories, including multiple...
- 8/13/2019
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
Nominees for the 2019 Americana Honors & Awards were announced Tuesday afternoon, with multiple women being recognized in the top categories. The Milk Carton Kids (and, later, Mavis Staples) read the names of the nominees during a rehearsal for the “Mavis & Friends: Celebrating 80 Years of Mavis Staples” concert set for Wednesday in Nashville.
Staples earned a nomination for Artist of the Year, alongside Brandi Carlile, Rhiannon Giddens and Kacey Musgraves, marking the first time the category has included only women. The last time a woman took home the Artist of the Year...
Staples earned a nomination for Artist of the Year, alongside Brandi Carlile, Rhiannon Giddens and Kacey Musgraves, marking the first time the category has included only women. The last time a woman took home the Artist of the Year...
- 5/14/2019
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Dave Rawlings Machine’s sterling folk-pop treasure Nashville Obsolete, which landed on Rolling Stone’s list of the 40 Best Country Albums of 2015, will make its debut on vinyl June 14th on Acony Records.
The seven-track LP, which was Rawlings’ sophomore release under the Dave Rawlings Machine moniker following 2009’s A Friend of a Friend, features the musician and his longtime partner Gillian Welch on vocals throughout. Produced by Rawlings, the LP was recorded on analog tape at Nashville’s Woodland Studios, now owned by Rawlings and Welch. For the upcoming release,...
The seven-track LP, which was Rawlings’ sophomore release under the Dave Rawlings Machine moniker following 2009’s A Friend of a Friend, features the musician and his longtime partner Gillian Welch on vocals throughout. Produced by Rawlings, the LP was recorded on analog tape at Nashville’s Woodland Studios, now owned by Rawlings and Welch. For the upcoming release,...
- 4/24/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Hailey Whitters’ grandfather wasn’t a songwriter, but he had a way with words — and a sense of humor — that clearly runs in the family.
“My grandpa had a turf farm, and he called himself ‘the Grass Man,'” Whitters says, taking a swig of beer before standing up and showing off her oversized hand-me-down red jacket that reads, on the back, “Our Grass Is Legal.” Her grandmother found it in the basement and passed it on when she heard that Whitters had written a song inspired by the saying.
“My grandpa had a turf farm, and he called himself ‘the Grass Man,'” Whitters says, taking a swig of beer before standing up and showing off her oversized hand-me-down red jacket that reads, on the back, “Our Grass Is Legal.” Her grandmother found it in the basement and passed it on when she heard that Whitters had written a song inspired by the saying.
- 4/3/2019
- by Marissa R. Moss
- Rollingstone.com
We’ve barely placed our order at a hot chicken restaurant in East Nashville and Sarah Potenza has already made an impression on the woman behind the register.
“You just look so confident,” the cashier says, glancing at Potenza’s current outfit which includes, but is not limited to, giant orange lighting bolt earrings, highlighter-yellow leg warmers, jeweled white glasses and a cropped Whiney Houston top that used to be a shirtdress before she sliced off the arms and most of the bottom. “It’s just so…inspiring,” the woman adds,...
“You just look so confident,” the cashier says, glancing at Potenza’s current outfit which includes, but is not limited to, giant orange lighting bolt earrings, highlighter-yellow leg warmers, jeweled white glasses and a cropped Whiney Houston top that used to be a shirtdress before she sliced off the arms and most of the bottom. “It’s just so…inspiring,” the woman adds,...
- 3/6/2019
- by Marissa R. Moss
- Rollingstone.com
ABC’s Oscars telecast Sunday night showed significant growth: Sunday’s 91st Academy Awards drew a preliminary average audience of 29.6 million viewers, an 11.5 percent increase from 2018. In the coveted 18-49 adult demo, the broadcast scored a 7.7 rating, which was a 13 percent gain. In metered market households, the Oscars drew a 20.6 rating, up approximately 6 percent from last year.
Good news, but not exactly great. While the show is TV’s most-watched entertainment telecast in two years — No. 3 behind last year’s “This Is Us” post-Super Bowl episode and ABC’s infamous 2017 Oscars — it’s still the second-worst Oscar ratings in its history.
It wasn’t that difficult to increase viewership since 2018’s show hit an all-time low, drawing 26.54 million viewers and a 6.8 rating in the 18-49 demo. There’s nowhere to go but up.
Read More: Oscars 2019 Review: The Academy Giveth and It Taketh Away, But That Was One Helluva Show...
Good news, but not exactly great. While the show is TV’s most-watched entertainment telecast in two years — No. 3 behind last year’s “This Is Us” post-Super Bowl episode and ABC’s infamous 2017 Oscars — it’s still the second-worst Oscar ratings in its history.
It wasn’t that difficult to increase viewership since 2018’s show hit an all-time low, drawing 26.54 million viewers and a 6.8 rating in the 18-49 demo. There’s nowhere to go but up.
Read More: Oscars 2019 Review: The Academy Giveth and It Taketh Away, But That Was One Helluva Show...
- 2/25/2019
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
Oscar voters were determined to spread the love around this year, and boy, did they, with each of the eight best picture nominees getting at least one award, and none getting more than four. Nonetheless, there was a clear sweep on the show — by music. In a year where, only a month ago, the conversation was about how the telecast’s producers were working as hard as they could to rid the show of excess music, in the end, the Academy Awards were dominated both by striking musical performances and movies with music as a central element.
Could it be more ironic? Wherever he is now, musicals-meister Stanley Donen had to be smiling (even if he did have the audacity to die apparently past the Academy’s In Memoriam deadline). Somewhere up there, he was singin’ in the shallow, like the rest of us.
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper were...
Could it be more ironic? Wherever he is now, musicals-meister Stanley Donen had to be smiling (even if he did have the audacity to die apparently past the Academy’s In Memoriam deadline). Somewhere up there, he was singin’ in the shallow, like the rest of us.
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper were...
- 2/25/2019
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – After all the controversies that beset the 91st Academy Awards, the actual event continued to surprise, with the stunning upset of Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”) as the Best Actress honoree – besting heavily favored Glenn Close – to the naming of “Green Book” as Best Picture, which overcame a backlash regarding the liberties of its based-on-truth story.
The ceremony, which took place on February 24th, 2019, was a breezy affair (compared to the length of other Oscar ceremonies), coming in under three and half hours, and was the first to take place without a host since 1989. To celebrate the band Queen and the film “Bohemian Rhapsody,” singer Adam Lambert and the surviving members of the band opened the show with “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” to blast everything off. The awards themselves were then given out in an efficient pace, interrupted only by the performances of the Best Songs...
The ceremony, which took place on February 24th, 2019, was a breezy affair (compared to the length of other Oscar ceremonies), coming in under three and half hours, and was the first to take place without a host since 1989. To celebrate the band Queen and the film “Bohemian Rhapsody,” singer Adam Lambert and the surviving members of the band opened the show with “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” to blast everything off. The awards themselves were then given out in an efficient pace, interrupted only by the performances of the Best Songs...
- 2/25/2019
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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