Category: Music News

New bluegrass album: The Long And Lonesome Letting Go

Jim Lauderdale taps the ever talented Po’ Ramblin’ Boys for a new bluegrass album. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

On September 15, Jim Lauderdale and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys released The Long And Lonesome Letting Go, a twelve-song LP of all-new Lauderdale co-writes—half of which was written with Po’ Ramblin’ Boys guitarist Josh Rinkel. Other co-writers include 10-time IBMA Award winner Becky Buller, North Carolina old soul Joe Newberry, well-traveled producer/songwriter Jimmy Ritchey, and rising young guns Logan Ledger and Alex Leach. Whether as co-writer, bandleader, master of ceremonies, or musical ambassador for musical styles or states, Lauderdale has been one of Americana music’s all-time great collaborators and The Long and Lonesome Letting Go stands as one of the best collaborative works in his 36-album discography. (IV-PR, 2023)

“When he came to ask about making an album, we were seriously blown away,” says C.J. Lewandowski, mandolinist of Grammy-nominated bluegrass outfit The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. “It was really validating—Jim Lauderdale calling us to do a bluegrass album,” says Lewandowski. “We must be doing something right,” says one of the genre’s most promising young torchbearers who saw Lauderdale perform many times throughout his upbringing in Missouri.

Lauderdale and The Po Ramblin’ Boys shared the album’s lead-off track, “Long And Lonesome Letting Go,” another co-write, this time with prolific writer and seasoned multi-instrumentalist, Bob Minner. Joining the already-stacked lineup is one more unmistakable voice; that high tenor of Bluegrass Hall of Famer Del McCoury. Fans can hear the up tempo heartache of “Long And Lonesome Letting Go” here or at No Depression where “Long And Lonesome Letting Go” is in their Bonus Tracks column.

Jim Lauderdale and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys will both be headed to this year’s IBMA World Of Bluegrass conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, performing The Long And Lonesome Letting Go tunes together as well as separate sets of their own original songs. 

The Long And Lonesome Letting Go track list:
Long And Lonesome Letting Go (2:43)
She’s On A Different Train (2:31)
I’m Only So Good At Being Good (4:13)
You Fell Off The Face Of The Earth (2:51)
Last Resort (2:50)
Ghost Of A Rose (3:51)
Darkness Is The Other Side of Light (2:41)
If I Could Only Get My Heart To See (2:20)
That Was When We Were Together (2:40)
A Better Place (2:36)
She’s The Light (3:31)
Drop The Hammer Down (2:35)

Jim Lauderdale Tour Dates:
September 29 FRI IBMA Bluegrass Live Raleigh, NC
October 5 Suwannee Roots Revival Live Oak, FL
October 5 Boot Barn Hall at Bourbon Brothers Gainesville, GA
October 12Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival Waycross, GA
October 17 Jim Lauderdale live at People’s Brewing Lafayette, IN
November 10 Center Austin, TX, United States
November 11 Jim Lauderdale with special guest Tony Ramey Richardson, TX
November 16 The Franklin Theatre Songwriter Series: Sierra Hull, Jim Lauderdale, Bobby Tomberlin, & Lillie Mae Franklin, TN, United States
November 17 Jim Lauderdale LIVE Paducah, KY, United States
February 4 Outlaw Country Cruise 2024 Andover, FL, United States
February 15 Tractor Tavern Sunny Sweeney Seattle, WA, United States

Po’ Ramblin’ Boys Tour Dates:
September 30 IBMA World of Bluegrass at Red Hat Amphitheater Raleigh, NC
October 16 Gatlinburg Craftsman’s Fair Gatlinburg, TN
October 17 Gatlinburg Craftsman’s Fair Gatlinburg, TN
October 18 Gatlinburg Craftsman’s Fair Gatlinburg, TN
October 19 Bluegrass Island Music Festival Manteo, NC
November 3 The Rex Galax, VA

New album release: Last Chance To Win – East Nash Grass

Last Chance To Win is the new album by East Nash Grass. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

For five years running, East Nash Grass has been perfecting their sound as a band via a weekly engagement at Madison, Tennessee’s beloved Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge. Dobro legend Jerry Douglas calls East Nash Grass a “band of ringers,” saying, “The sound they make when they play together rivals that of any of their main gigs.” Every member is an accomplished professional in their own right on the road with national touring acts, and each would be a featured musician in any band. With James Kee on guitar, Cory Walker on banjo, Harry Clark on mandolin, Gaven Largent on dobro, Maddie Denton on fiddle, and Jeff Picker on bass, East Nash Grass is a band of all-stars, without question. Unlike many all-star bands that come together for one album or concert, East Nash Grass is a band in the true sense. Each member contributes their energy and their creative work to the group; the sum of which is miraculously greater than its parts. Last Chance to Win, the latest album from East Nash Grass is now available everywhere. (IV-PR, 2023)

Following in the footsteps of the Bluegrass Album Band, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, and many more, East Nash Grass has officially solidified its position as your favorite bluegrass band’s favorite bluegrass band. Out now, Last Chance To Win shows off the group’s instrumental prowess and songcraft for those not lucky enough to have seen it in person. For those who have, it is a stark reminder of the greater sum of East Nash Grass’s already great parts.

Fans can stream or purchase Last Chance To Win.

Last Chance To Win track list:
Last Chance to Win
I Almost Told Her
East Due West Blues
Papa’s on the Housetop
Jenna McGaugh
How Could I Love Her So Much
When You Come Home
Starlet Iris
Magic City Grey
Love Slippin’ Away
Railroadin’ & Gamblin’

Catch East Nash Grass on tour:
September 20 – Lyons, CO – Planet Bluegrass at Wildflower Pavillion
September 22 – Buena Vista, CO – Billy Strings Renewal
September 23 – Buena Vista, CO – Billy Strings Renewal
September 27 – 29 – Raleigh, NC – IBMA
September 30 – Searcy, AR – Get Down Downtown 2023
October 27 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley*
October 28 – Chattanooga, TN – Barrelhouse Ballroom*
November 3 – Hope, AR – Hempstead Hall – U of A Hope

*supporting Yonder Mountain String Band

New album release: River – Bonnie Montgomery

Bonnie Montgomery’s new album River will be out November 3, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Raised in rural Arkansas on a soundtrack of southern gospel, Texas swing, Delta blues, and Ozark bluegrass, Bonnie Montgomery trained as an opera singer before launching her award-winning career in outlaw country. While she is not in the spotlight of big budget beer commercials, at least yet, she may just be the most interesting woman in the world. From the high-brow—Montgomery is a classically trained opera singer and wrote a folk opera that ran at New York’s Medicine Show Theatre and was praised in The New Yorker; to the “low-brow”—she was crowned “Outlaw Female” at the infamous Ameripolitan Awards for her non-operatic, country-tinged solo career, amongst a slew of other awards; to life well-beyond music where she became a certified Reiki master in the ongoing process of healing her body from years on the road and from a commercial airline crash in 1999 when she was still a teenager. In all, Montgomery has lived a wonderfully diverse life, full of ups and downs, but until now, has not managed to connect all of her dots in a way she has been happy with. (IV-PR, 2023)

On November 3, Montgomery will release a brand new album entitled River, an eclectic and electrifying amalgamation of every corner of her life and music career up until now. River is a versatile record that shows just how broad Montgomery’s vision of American roots music can be as it flows freely from one genre to the next. It is the crystallization of a sound Montgomery has been creating for years, blurring the boundaries between different formats while presenting Montgomery not only as a powerhouse vocalist but as an autobiographical storyteller and captivating songwriter, too.

“This is the most straight-from-the heart album I’ve ever cut,” says Montgomery, who headed to Texas to record River with co-producer Kevin Skrla. “I’ve always been a multi-genre artist. I have a classical background, but I’m a big fan of soul music and rock, too. Country music was the soundtrack of my childhood. All of that went into River. Making that album felt like the first time I could be me, sing my heart out, and not worry about fitting into any specific box. It was pure. It was freeing.”

With the help of Holler., Montgomery recently premiered the first listen from River with her song “Modern-Day Cowgirl’s Dream.” Dubbed “A real life account of what Montgomery calls “honky-tonkin’ around Texas,” “Modern-Day Cowgirl’s Dream” rides a half-time country backbeat and phase-shifted Telecaster licks to tell the story of “cowboys, neon nights, jumping in the cold springs, and crashing at Miss Whitney Rose’s house—she also sang on the track—and waking up just to do it all over again.” The accompanying music video was directed by actor, singer, Broadway-veteran, and GRAMMY-winner, Zachary James. “We had fun shooting it at the White Water Tavern in Little Rock, where I’ve played hundreds of times,” remembers Montgomery. “The Shoot turned out a little raunchy and reckless, just like the song.”

Fans can watch the video for “Modern-Day Cowgirl’s Dream” and pre-order or pre-save River ahead of its November release. Tour dates and ticket information is available online. 

River tracklist:
River
Modern-Day Cowgirl’s Dream
No Way Around It
I Was Fine
Half Drunk
Leon
Check For Your Time
Seventeen
I’ll Know
This Town

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New album release: Nothing But Green Willow

Martin Simpson and Thomm Jutz’s generation collaborates for their upcoming album Nothing But Willow: The Songs of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry, out September 29, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Martin Simpson is an English folk musician and guitarist, known for his innovative and eclectic approach to traditional music. In the mid-1980s, Simpson moved to the United States, where he came to the attention of a wide range of American artists with whom he then collaborated. Amongst the albums released during his US tenure, Cool & Unusual, won the Indie Award for best instrumental album in 1998. In addition to his work as a musician, Simpson has also been involved in music education, teaching at universities, and leading workshops and masterclasses around the world. (IV-PR, 2023)

Raised in the Black Forest of Germany, Thomm Jutz has become an American roots music treasure. His virtuosity, eloquence, and clarity of expression have made him a linchpin of Nashville’s creative community, and in 2020 his To Live in Two Worlds, Volume 1 was nominated for the Best Bluegrass Album Grammy, making him the first immigrant to receive a nomination in that category. He has written numerous Bluegrass number ones, and his songs have been recorded by John Prine, Nanci Griffith, The SteelDrivers, Balsam Range, and more. Jutz has a Master’s degree in Appalachian Studies from East Tennessee State University and wrote his thesis on Grammy-winner Norman Blake.

When Thomm Jutz got together with his latest trans-Atlantic collaborator, Martin Simpson, the pair bonded over their long-running obsession with Cecil Sharp’s 1916 and 1918 collection, “English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians;” particularly those tunes from singers Mary Sands and Jane Gentry. The longevity of the original songs drew the pair in but the latest single from their upcoming album Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs Of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry, pulls from generations of different versions of “The Wagoner’s Lad.”

Folk Alley gave fans an exclusive first listen to the single, writing, “Jutz’s and Simpson’s gem-like version shines in all its facets.” Fans can pre-save Simpson and Jutz’s version of “The Wagoner’s Lad,” check out the previously released album track “Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies” featuring Cara Dillon, and pre-order or pre-save Nothing But Green Willow ahead of its September 29 release via Topic Records.

Simpson and Jutz both clearly see the crucial need for each new generation to reinvent these folk songs. “I strongly believe that innovation requires preservation,” says Jutz. “How can we claim to play traditional music or write ‘Folk music’ without knowing the roots of it?” Fortunately for all involved, the pair found a host of others in agreeance and brought together a mix of roots artists from both sides of the pond—Sierra Hull, Angeline Morrison, Odessa Settles, Tim O’Brien, Tammy Rogers, Seth Lakeman, and more—to create an homage to the bridge from Appalachia to England and back, just as the songs of Sands and Gentry originally did.

Nothing But Green Willow track list:
“Fair Annie” feat. Emily Portman
“Geordie” feat. Sierra Hull & Justin Moses
“Pretty Saro” feat. Odessa Settles
“Edward” feat. Seth Lakeman
“Edwin in the Lowlands Low” feat. Tim O’Brien
“Jacob’s Ladder” feat. Dale Ann Bradley & Tim Stafford
“Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies” feat. Cara Dillon
“The Wagoner’s Lad” feat. Martin Simpson
“Married and Single Life” feat. Tammy Rogers
“The Gypsy Laddie” feat. Thomm Jutz
“The Suffolk Miracle” feat. Angeline Morrison
“I Whipped My Horse” feat. Fay Hield
“Awake! Awake!” feat. Thomm Jutz

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Upcoming new album release: Blue Hour – Eddy Lee Ryder

Eddy Lee Ryder’s new EP, Blue Hour, will be released September 15, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Last time I wrote about this artist, it was with the news that her song Smoke and Mirrors was used in the hardcore slasher horror movie Terrifier 2. In today’s music news, Eddy Lee Ryder recently announced that her new EP, Blue Hour will be released on September 15, 2023. The announcement comes on the heels of her latest single, Holy S**t I Think I Love You, which the soulful rock belter calls her favorite song she has ever written. (Eddy Lee Ryder, 2023)

Singer, songwriter, and free spirit Eddy Lee Ryder creates haunting songs that tell dramatic stories through a slightly warped lens. Eddy’s unconventional, theatrical approach to songwriting explodes and sparkles with ‘70s good-time rock riffs, spiced with complex poetry. Proclaimed “demented pop,” her music is propelled by her charismatic voice and lyrics inspired by an intense bizarre world. Lonesome as she is wild, Ryder paints languid, sadly beautiful portraits of love and life on the margins with the moody and satirical depth of Father John Misty and the country-influenced textures of Roy Orbison or Glen Cambel but with a captivating voice all on her own.

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New album release: Try To Make It Fly – Lonesome Ace Stringband

Lonesome Ace Stringband’s upcoming Try To Make It Fly follows the trio’s legendary live show energy into a new era of Americana-leaning lyricism. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Lonesome Ace Stringband brings grit, skill, and abandon to Americana music, bridging old-time, bluegrass and folk traditions into a seamless hybrid of original material that is at once fresh and timeless. Instrumentation alone sets this Toronto-based trio’s sound apart: consisting simply of fiddle (John Showman), clawhammer banjo (Chris Coole), and upright bass (Max Heineman). Call Lonesome Ace Stringband whatever genre you want – they are just unorthodox enough to be brilliant. The spine-tingling harmonies and interchanging lead vocals only bring more magic to the equation. They have become festival favorites at Rockygrass, Celtic Connections, Winnipeg Folk Festival, MerleFest, and regularly tour the USA, UK, Germany and, of course, Canada. With more than a decade of group music-making under their belts, they are releasing their fifth album, a feisty and mighty collection of all-original material titled Try To Make It Fly on October 13, 2023. (IV-PR, 2023)

The release of their brand new album Try To Make It Fly marks not only their reinvigorated, live-on-stage sound but also a venture into more Americana-leaning songwriting. “We have a unique take on all of the traditional material we do and wanted to keep pushing our sound to new places,” says Showman—not unlike the paths taken by legendary predecessors like John Hartford or The Band. While Lonesome Ace Stringband’s finely tuned musicianship and command of the old-time and bluegrass music catalog has garnered new listeners and premier festival slots, the trio finds comfort in reaching out to a new, song-hungry audience. “It felt like a place where we could be ourselves as writers and craft music that would fit the genre regardless of what we found ourselves writing about lyrically.” Add that to the trio’s already dynamic concoction of fiddle, banjo, and bass, and the results reveal a bright future for the ever-evolving Lonesome Ace Stringband.

Folk Radio UK premiered the album-opening track, Sweeter Sound, which features the band’s inspired, layered harmonies. The song opens with Showman’s somber fiddle pull before Coole joins in on banjo, igniting the rollicking journey to “make a sweeter sound.” According to Malone, “The opening line of the chorus, ‘Try to make it better than the way we found,’ is something of a mantra for the band. Perseverance and belief in what you love to do and trying despite evidence of success is the essence of its message.”

Fans can stream or purchase Sweeter Sound, check out Lonesome Ace Stringband’s previously-released, BBQ-flavored single Smoke on the Shoulder music video and pre-order or pre-save Try To Make It Fly ahead of its October release.

Try To Make It Fly track list:
Sweeter Sound
Praying For Rain
You’ll Be There
First Frost/Blue Grouse
Midnight Band
Come With Me Tonight
Simply Going Sideways
Crossing The Junction/Deer River
Smoke On The Shoulder
The Echo
Country Mile
Lonesome Ace Number 1

Catch Lonesome Ace Stringband on tour:
August 26 – Sorrento, BC – Nimble Fingers Bluegrass & Old Time Workshop and Festival
September 2 – Pilesgrove, NJ – Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival
September 15-16 – Flagstaff, AZ – Pickin’ In The Pines Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Festival
September 19 – Nashville, TN – AMERICANAFEST
October 18 – Cambridge, MA – Club Passim
October 19 – Exeter, NH – The Wood Barn
October 20 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Caffe Lena
October 21 – Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center
October 22 – Greenfield, MA – Hawks & Reed
October 23 – New York, NY – City Vineyard at Pier 26
October 25 – Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java
October 26 – Oberlin, OH – Music at Riverdog
October 28 – Manitowoc, WI – Sabbatical Brewing Co.
October 29 – Holland, MI – Park Theatre
October 30 – Ann Arbour, MI – The Ark
November 1 – Toronto, ON – The Tranzac Club
November 22 – Edmonton, AB – Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society
November 23 – Saskatoon, SK – The Bassment
November 24 – Red Deer, AB – The Velvet Olive
November 25 – Calgary, AB – Foothills Bluegrass Circle Music Society
November 27 – Missoula, MT – Longstaff House
November 29 – Sisters, OR – The Belfry
December 1 – Portland, OR – McMenamins White Eagle Saloon & Hotel
December 2 – Seattle, WA – Ballard Homestead
December 3 – Victoria, BC – Victoria Event Centre
December 4 – Vancouver, BC – The Anza Club
December 5 – Oliver, BC – The Oliver Theatre

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

New album release: Been A Long Time Comin’ – Listening Party

Listening Party’s new album Been A Long Time Comin’ will be out August 25, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

After years of performing live, Wisconsin-based folk-rock duo Listening Party—Jacob Wood and Weston Mueller—found themselves staring down a pandemic, down a band member, and contemplating whether to keep on track or give it up altogether. Fortunately for the group’s rabid and quickly growing fanbase, Wood’s and Mueller’s passion won out and the pair entered the recording studio with a catalog full of new stories to tell. Their latest album Been A Long Time Comin’ highlights Listening Party’s perseverance to carry on through the Covid-19 pandemic and mutually parting ways with a longtime bandmate and friend. Due out on August 25, the new album, their fourth full-length and first output in four years, is the product of this new journey. (IV-PR, 2023)

Recorded at Axis Studios, a converted 19th-century chapel that sits atop a hill in Hartland, Wisconsin, with studio owner Vinny Millevolte, Been A Long Time Comin’ takes the group’s folk, rock, and Americana influences to new horizons, the non-traditional recording space inspiring each new song in a way Listening Party had not experienced before. At the heart of the album, storytelling and melody reign supreme, while the songs seek to examine stories rooted firmly in the joys and perils of everyday life. The band seeks to capture “the bombastic attitude and instrumentation of Midwestern Folk/Americana.” The songs are accented and driven by a “howling” harmonica and a church piano. At their core, the band and album remain true to the “intimacy” of storytelling and melody.

Listening Party recently shared their first single from Been a Long Time Comin,’ the slow burning “Same Ol’ Problems.” The tune begins as a somber piano and guitar duet which crescendos to Mueller’s introductory lyrics: “Digging my grave before I’m gray, feels like I’m wasting my life away.” Written about moving on from a friend whose addiction has taken hold and changed them, fundamentally, the band says the song highlights the “hope of recovery balanced against the despair of relapse,” or put more simply in the song’s ultimate line, “It’s always the same ol’ problems.” Throughout, layers of new instruments build to emphasize Mueller’s reflective lyrics. The song closes in a self-described “upbeat cacophony of sound” driving through the final repetition of “the same ol’ problem” and arriving at the finish line feeling complete yet contemplative.

Fans can hear “Same Ol’ Problems” at this link and pre-order or pre-save Been a Long Time Comin’ ahead of its August release.

Been a Long Time Comin’ track list:
It Ain’t So Bad
Same Ol’ Problems
All The Way Down
Wastin’ Time
Took a Walk
Buck Moon
3 Eggs (Wisconsin Weather)
Reckless
Comin’ to Your Town
Good Intentions
Bad Luck

Catch Listening Party on tour:
August 3 – Milwaukee, WI – Back Room at Colectivo*
August 4 – Appleton, WI – Relay For Life Fundraiser
August 5 – Appleton, WI – Mile of Music
August 6 – Appleton, WI – Mile of Music
August 7 – Milwaukee, WI – State Fair
August 9 – Kenosha, WI – Bristol Woodstock
August. 12 – Milwaukee WI – State Fair
August 13 – Malone, WI – Ziegler Winery
August 17 – Greenleaf, WI – Ledgestone Winery^
August 18 – Green Bay, WI – Badger State Brewery
August 19 – Grafton, WI – Sahale Ale Works
August 25 – Milwaukee, WI – Anodyne Coffee Co.
August 26 – Germantown, WI – Old Germantown
August 27 – Elkhart Lake, WI – Tiki Bar at Elkhart Lake
September 2 – Mauston, WI – The Rock
September 3 – Madison, WI – Twisted Grounds
September 4- Kenosha, WI – Petrifying Springs Biergarten
September 8 – Joliet, IL – Joliet Area Historical Museum
September 9 – Menasha, WI – Heckrodt Wetland Reserve
September 14 – Milwaukee, WI – Explorium Brewpub
September 15 – Franksville, WI – Franksville Beer Garden
September 17 – Valders, WI – Camp Sinawa

*Supporting The Brevet
^Supporting Them Coulee Boys

Listening Party. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
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Sips and Sounds of the West at the Briscoe

Enjoy a night of live music in the heart of the River Walk at the next Sips and Sounds of the West this Friday August 4, 2023. Photo: Briscoe Western Art Museum, used with permission.

Kick back and kick up your heels on the banks of the River Walk at the Briscoe Western Art Museum’s Sips and Sounds of the West. Filling the museum’s Jack Guenther Pavilion and McNutt Sculpture Garden, the evening features live music, drinks and food flowing through the pavilion and under the watchful eyes of the fantastic bronze sculptures that call the garden home on Friday, August 4. (Briscoe Western Art Museum, 2023)

San Antonio’s preeminent classic country cover band The Texases will fill the evening with your favorite country hits from ‘66 to ’96 for a great date night or a night out with friends. With the option to be in the garden or indoors enjoying a cool breeze thanks to air conditioning, the evening is the perfect summer treat. The ticketed event begins at 6:30p.m. with music from 7p.m. – 8:30p.m. and drinks and food until 9p.m. from La Gloria’s food and margarita truck.

Sips and Sounds of the West tickets are $15 for museum members and $20 for nonmembers. The event is for ages 18 and up. Tickets will be sold at the door as available. The Briscoe is located on the south end of the River Walk, near the Arneson River Theatre and La Villita, with convenient parking at the Riverbend Garage directly adjacent to the museum or one of many downtown surface lots.

Photo: Briscoe Western Art Museum, used with permission.

New single: Two Faced – Stella Prince

Evocative and enchanting, Stella Prince releases her 8th single, Two Faced, with Steve Fishell on August 4, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Born and raised in Woodstock, NY, Stella Prince is the only child of creative parents. She was immersed in music from an early age thanks to her parents’ extensive all-genre CD collection and her frequent attendance at concerts where she first encountered artists like Levon Helm, Amy Helm, Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary), Tracy Bonham, and Natalie Merchant. Growing up, Stella was also heavily influenced by pop and oldies music; she has always known that she wanted to be a performer for as long as she can remember. In 2021, she began to release music and play live, travel to Nashville and Los Angeles, gain representation in the music industry, and book her own performances. Stella released four singles in 2021: “The Rain Might Fall,” “Scared,” “Before You Leave,” and “Alone for the Holidays.” Stella is thrilled to continue to release music into 2023 with her 8th single, “Two Faced,” featuring Steve Fishell on steel guitar. It will be independently released on August 4. (Dreamspider Publicity, 2023)

Authentic and from-the-heart, Stella Prince’s melodies delve deep into your spirit with her evocative and relatable songs. Her poetic lyrics, in tandem with the atmospheric sounds of her vocals, acoustic guitar, and musical compositions, appeal to a diverse, multi-generational audience. Stella Prince’s musical influences span decades—from country and folk music’s renowned voices of Judy Garland, Karen Carpenter, Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, and Dolly Parton; to the pop icon Taylor Swift. Think Country Press says, “Imagine the perfect mixture of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and Judy Collins all packed into one young musician.” Fans can pre-save “Two Faced” ahead of the release. 

For this newest single, Stella had the pleasure of working with Steve Fishell, a Nashville-based pedal steel guitarist, Grammy-winning record producer, and educator. Emotionally moving from the start, accentuated by Fishell’s pedal steel, with the harrowing opening lines, “You got her right where you wanted… Lonely enough so she’d take the bait… Blinded by words that were only an empty promise… Desperation paves way for mistakes.” The heart of the song is in the chorus: ‘There’s all kinds of empty… but the hardest one to take… is lies that seem tempting… Loneliness is two faced.’ Self produced, “Two Faced” was recorded at the legendary Sound Stage Studios on Music Row in Nashville with Sound Engineer Kameron Luchterhand.

“My big goal is for someone to play my song and think, ‘That’s exactly how I feel…’ I want my songs to resonate with everyone, every generation, every issue: loneliness, fear, all of that.” – Stella Prince

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New album release: Sweethearts – Christian Parker

Christian Parker breaths new life into the Byrd’s classic country leaning album with new LP Sweethearts. It will be out August 18, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Christian Parker is an American recording artist, guitarist and songwriter. He knows his way around a song, and his musical vision enables him to deliver electrifying licks on rock anthems as well as cascading layers of acoustic guitar on ballads of love and loss. Parker started taking guitar lessons when he was 12, the day after John Lennon was killed, and learned how to play “Rocky Racoon” that same night. The New York-based musician released his first album, Reflections of Tomorrow, when he was 17, launching a music career devoted to introspective songwriting marked by its attention to the world around him. Since then he has released six studio albums, including his forthcoming Sweethearts, Parker’s version of the classic Byrds’ album Sweethearts of the Rodeo. His albums have earned him praise from No Depression, Blues Blast, and Jambands. His most recent, Every Passing Mile and Best Kept Secret, contain previously unreleased material written over the last two decades. In addition to his solo work, Parker has played lead guitar in the Waydown Wailers, rockers who have shared stages with Z.Z. Top, Charlie Daniels, Lady A, and New Riders of the Purple Sage. (IV-PR, 2023)

On August 18, Parker will release his version of the Byrds’ now-legendary country-rocker, Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Titled Sweethearts, it features his rollicking band and support from pianist Earl Poole Ball and pedal steel from JayDee Maness—both of whom played on the original record back in 1968.

Just as then-new Byrds member Gram Parsons loved the Louvin Brothers, Merle Haggard, and Cindy Walker—and wanted to deliver faithful versions of their songs “The Christian Life,” “Life in Prison,” and “Blue Canadian Rockies”—so Parker delivers the Byrds’ versions in tender renditions that capture the groundbreaking character of the original album. Throughout Sweethearts, Parker’s vocals echo the purity of Parsons’ efforts to import the clarity of county music into vibrant rock rhythms. In addition to the original eleven songs on Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Parker has included three more classics: “I Still Miss Someone,” “Satisfied Mind,” and “Drugstore Truck Driving Man.”

Parker shared the first single from Sweethearts, the album-opening “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” with premiere partner The Bluegrass Situation. “I first heard this song by Bob Dylan on an acoustic guitar. But I was hooked when I listened to the opening pedal steel guitar on the Byrds album,” says Parker. “This song was in my repertoire for decades, and I felt like I was recording an old friend. Tracer James’ interpretation of Lloyd Greens’ pedal steel guitar opens Sweethearts up perfectly and having Earl Poole Ball in the studio, who played piano on the original version, was magical for me.” Finding room between James’ scampering steel licks and Ball’s gospel-inflected piano runs, Parker delivers the song’s iconic refrain: “Whoo-ee, ride me high / Tomorrow’s the day my bride’s gonna come.” The cascading piano on the outré is Parker’s distinctive take on this buoyant song.

Fans can hear “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Sweethearts ahead of its August 18 release.

Sweethearts track list:
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
I Am A Pilgrim
The Christian Life
You Don’t Miss Your Water
You’re Still On My Mind
Pretty Boy Floyd
I Still Miss Someone
Hickory Wind
One Hundred Years From Now
Blue Canadian Rockies
Life In Prison
Nothing Was Delivered
Satisfied Mind
Drugstore Truck Driving Man

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Sweethearts release date