Miles Gannett’s single from solo debut Meridian out now

Miles Gannett’s Meridian album is due out on April 16 but the first single is out now. Photo: google

Miles Gannett, a Louisiana native, who now calls Maryland home, hears the seamless character of all music, blending and balancing strains of bluegrass with psychedelic folk textures, classic country phrasing with the propulsive notes of acid rock, and earthy blues with spectral ambience. His inventive lyrics combine the curious meditations of Jason Isbell with the story-song style of Townes Van Zandt and John Prine and the swinging rhythms of Willie Nelson. Gannett put together a group called Fractal Cat in early 2011, recording three albums of original music with them and building a reputation on Baltimore’s airwaves and live music scene. After meeting up with recording engineer/producer Frank Marchand to record Fractal Cat’s third album, Gannett started working on his “first countryish album,” which reflects his deep love of progressive bluegrass and classic country. That album, Meridian, will be released on April 16, 2021. (IVPR, 2021)

Produced by Gannett and Frank Marchand, Meridian is one part country and western, one part bluegrass, and one part roots-rock; seasoned, simmered, and garnished with a dose of psilocybin mushrooms. A pinch of overdriven guitar and a dash of Latin percussion in the occasional tune round out a unique, cosmic foundation from which Gannett tells his stories. “Meridian”—the first track on Gannett’s debut solo album of the same name—paints a waltzing, pedal-steel steeped picture of beauty in disrepair; of a city that was once grand and of the kindness of its current-day residents. On Friday, Glide Magazine premiered “Meridian,” saying, “Gannett’s warm vocals carry listeners on shimmering waves of pedal steel through various musical landscapes.” Hear “Meridian” now right here and pre-order or pre-save the entire Meridian album ahead of its April 16 release date at this link.

Gannett’s music honors the contours of traditional music even as he continues to innovate freely and ingeniously within those contours. “I’m always adding elements that might be considered irreverent or blasphemous. I always try to build on old music, but I am not making museum music.”

Meridian Track listing:
Meridian
The Lucky Ones
Thunder River, Tumbling Down
Persuasion
Let’s Have Each Other for a While
Short Haired Willie
Give and Take
Spores on Grass
Screw Loose
Dark Time
Long Burning Bridge
Maria Sabina

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Miles Gannett’s Meridian release

Marc Scibilia releases new single from Seed of Joy deluxe reissue

Marc Scibilia’s Seed of Joy album’s deluxe reissue is set for April 9. Rivals is the first single from that album. Photo: google

Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, chart-topping singer/songwriter Marc Scibilia has been on a steady rise ever since the 2012 release of his breakout single, “How Bad We Need Each Other.” In the last several years alone, he has racked up more than 125 million streams across platforms, garnered praise from the likes of pop star Demi Lovato and Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, and toured with James Bay, Zac Brown Band, Butch Walker, and Nick Jonas, among others. (IV-PR, 2021)

Since its release last year, Marc Scibilia’s album Seed of Joy has been streamed more than 130 million times across digital platforms, garnered 700,000+ monthly listeners on Spotify, and physical copies of the album sold out on the day they were announced. His fans—new and old—cannot get enough of his ability to observe profound moments in his personal life and craft them into universal anthems and ballads for others to love or grieve with. With Seed of Joy, Scibilia’s calling card is the purity found in simultaneously caring for his father during a hard-fought bout with brain cancer and watching life bloom in his young family. It is his simple reassurances of love that are equally felt when whispered to one or sung out to millions. On Friday April 9, Scibilia will share an expanded, deluxe edition of Seed of Joy with his fans, and its first single, “Rivals” is available right now at this link.

A love song custom-made to reverberate from the rafters (just as soon as live music is back), “Rivals” exemplifies Scibilia’s mastery of the whispered verse turned soaring chorus; equally at home in sold out venues and on road trips with the windows down. “I wrote ‘Rivals’ at a hotel Munich, Germany, while on tour with Robin Schulz,” Marc says. “We were playing these massive arena shows. It was a career highlight but it reminded me of the things that are most important to me. I always had my friends, family…the things that have no rivals.” His stomping, brassy ode to those friends and family is a perfect fit for the same arenas from where it came. He recently performed the song live via SPIN’s Instagram—watch the performance here.

Posthumous Tony Joe White album Smoke from the Chimney

Tony Joe White’s Smoke from the Chimney is set for May 7 release. Photo: google

Across five decades as a performer and storyteller, Tony Joe White—a.k.a. “The Swamp Fox”—left an indelible mark on American music. His catalog offers indisputable classics such as “Polk Salad Annie” and “Rainy Night in Georgia” and his songs have been recorded by Ray Charles, Kenny Chesney, Waylon Jennings, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, and Tina Turner. On Friday, May 7, Smoke from the Chimney, a nine-song album of never-before-heard Tony Joe White tunes, will be released on Easy Eye Sound. Produced by Dan Auerbach and rounded out by Nashville’s most seasoned studio musicians, Smoke from the Chimney started out as several unadorned voice and guitar demos from White’s home studio before being transformed into full band arrangements harkening back to the albums he recorded in the late 60s and early 70s in Nashville and Muscle Shoals—just as he was emerging as an internationally recognized songwriter and recording artist. (IV-PR, 2021)

On Friday, NPR/World Cafe gave fans their first listen of “Boot Money,” a gritty, thumping ode to keeping a little bit of extra scratch hidden away. “Boot Money” comes accompanied by an animated video from director Robert Schober which colorfully places White and Auerbach in the recording studio to kick off the tune before following along while White lives out the song’s storyline. Fans can see the video for “Boot Money” at this link and pre-order or pre-save Smoke from the Chimney here.

After his father’s death in 2018, Jody White, White’s son and manager, started transferring his father’s multitrack home recordings to digital files. Looking back on the moment he unearthed the demo of “Smoke from the Chimney,” he recalls a mix of happiness, gratification, and shock. As he continued to find other songs that did not make an album, he moved the material into a separate folder. Within a year, those select recordings would evolve into Smoke from the Chimney. Jody says that even in those basic tracks, that definitive Tony Joe White groove instantly stood out. “He always finds a tempo and a pocket that is exactly right. And it’s a little bit different than anybody else would choose themselves,” he says. Jody believes that his father would love the way Smoke from the Chimney turned out.

Smoke from the Chimney Track list:
Smoke from the Chimney
Boot Money
Del Rio, You’re Making Me Cry
Listen to Your Song
Over You
Scary Stories
Bubba Jones
Someone Is Crying
Billy

“Smoke From The Chimney” is more than a faithful tribute to one of the great Americana musicians and national treasures, performed by an ensemble who capture the DNA of Tony Joe White’s songs with beauty, warmth, and reverence.” – NPR’s Bruce Warren

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band releases all-star cast cover of Bob Dylan classic song

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band gathers all-star cast for a timely cover of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin. Photo: google

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band gathers an all-star cast for a timely cover of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’. In the fifty-seven years since Bob Dylan released his career-altering folksong, the times he sang of did seem to change. But now, in another period of national unrest, a President refusing to concede defeat or peacefully transfer power, and a renewed fire for justice in the long-fought battle for civil rights, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s new version of Dylan’s classic sounds more poignant and insistent than ever before. On Friday, JamBase shared NGDB’s star-studded version of Dylan’s classic and is available for “name your price” purchase on the band’s Bandcamp page with all proceeds going to Feeding America. On February 8, the song will become available on digital service providers with those proceeds also going towards Feeding America’s cause. (IVPR, 2021)

Amidst the compounding, pleading verses of Scottish ballad by way of Greenwich Village, the Dirt Band’s distinguished musical guests—Jason Isbell, Rosanne Cash, The War And Treaty, and Steve Earle, all of whom are no strangers to writing and singing their beliefs on record, each step to the microphone to contribute a verse with Isbell also adding slide guitar—carry the same tone and energy in their voices as the song’s writer did almost six decades ago; an unfortunate but earnest reaction to the all too evident parallels between now and then. “It moved me deeply then and that hasn’t changed,” NGDB founding member and lead singer Jeff Hanna notes. “The lyrics are as relevant today as they were when Dylan wrote it. Maybe even more so.”

Produced by Ray Kennedy, “The Time’s They Are A-Changin’” was collectively recorded up and down the east coast. John Leventhal recorded his wife, Rosanne Cash’s vocals in their New York City home studio and Steve Earle contributed his verse via the world-famous Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village. In Nashville, NGDB and guests joined Kennedy in his Room & Board Studio. Rounding out the already outstanding cast of characters on this track are all the current members of NGDB—Jeff Hanna (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Jimmie Fadden (drums), Bob Carpenter (accordion), Jim Photoglo (electric bass), Jaime Hanna (electric guitar), and Ross Holmes (fiddle and mandolin)—as well as Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, The Wallflowers) on additional drums and Nashville songwriting legend—and Jeff Hanna’s better half—Matraca Berg on harmonica and harmony vocals. “We’ve got great admiration for all of these folks, not only as artists, but more importantly, as people,” says Hanna.

“I’ve been a fan of Bob Dylan’s since I was a teenager, living in California. I was fortunate enough to see him sing The Times They Are A-Changin’ in concert the year the song was released: 1964.” – Jeff Hanna.

New music release: Bullseye by The Shootouts

The Shootout’s sophomore album Bullseye will be released on April 30. Photo: google

The Shootouts are known for their energetic blend of honky-tonk, Americana, and traditional country. After releasing their acclaimed 2019 debut Quick Draw, the band charted Top 50 on Americana radio and in 2020, were nominated for an Ameripolitan Music Award for “Best Honky-Tonk Group.” They have shared the stage with luminaries Marty Stuart, Jim Lauderdale, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Radney Foster, Sheryl Crow, and many more. Produced by Grammy-nominee and BR549 founder Chuck Mead, their new album Bullseye ranges from catchy pedal steel-filled numbers (“Everything I Know”) to two-step worthy tunes (“Here Come The Blues”) to never recorded fan live favorites (“Rattlesnake Whiskey” and “Saturday Night Town”). (IVPR, 2021)

On Friday April 30, The Shootouts will release their sophomore album Bullseye via Soundly Music, but Wide Open Country just premiered a video for the album’s first track, “Rattlesnake Whiskey,” a live staple and fan favorite from the band’s catalog that is finally being immortalized on record. Fans can watch the video for “Rattlesnake Whiskey” at this link, pre-order or pre-save Bullseye here, and get a glimpse of the album’s eleven other songs via The Shootouts’ album preview video.

Equal parts vintage Nashville, Texas swing, and Bakersfield bravado, the new album draws heavily from the music on which the band’s members were brought up, packaging all of country music’s classic subgenres in their modern, signature sound. Produced by former BR459 lead singer Chuck Mead, Bullseye has The Shootouts mining their roots and expanding the territory they explored with their debut album, Quick Draw. The songs invoke a wide array of country music’s most important contributors, lassoing the band’s classic influences and bringing them straight into the present. The Shootouts’ mission with Bullseye was simply to create an album that puts a smile on listeners’ faces—music that helps them escape from the difficult times they have recently faced.

“For everyone’s sake, this needed to be a fun record. We’re living through a time where people are suddenly out of work, have lost loved ones, and have been experiencing unimaginable stress on a daily basis. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes, we want them to take a break, crank it up, and enjoy themselves.” – Ryan Humbert, The Shootouts’ lead vocalist, guitarist

Bullseye Track Listing:
1. I Don’t Think About You Anymore
2. Rattlesnake Whiskey
3. Another Mother
4. Hurt Heartbroke
5. Bullseye
6. Here Come The Blues
7. Everything I Know
8. Waiting on You
9. Missing The Mark
10. I Still Care
11. Forgot to Forget
12. Saturday Night Town

Willie Nelson’s iconic 4th of July Picnic to air as concert film

Willie Nelson’s annual 4th of July Picnic will air as epic hybrid concert film. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

This year, Luck Productions is bringing Willie Nelson’s annual 4th of July Picnic to the people: part Picnics past, part what is to come and all in the spirit of the Picnic’s storied history. On Saturday July 4 starting at 3:30pm Central, fans will be able to enjoy interviews with characters from the Picnic’s past and see new, live performances from their favorite Luck Family artists. (Luck Productions, 2020)

Luck Productions was set to host the 47th annual event, welcoming the Picnic back to its hill country home, and while friends and family will not be crowding into Willie’s Luck, TX, ranch this summer, the man himself will be performing alongside his band from his nearby recording facility, Pedernales Studios. In addition to Willie, performers will include the likes of Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley, Margo Price, Steve Earle and Kurt Vile. Tickets for digital admission are $35 ahead of the event and $45 day-of-show are available online.

This July 4th, the Picnic will kick off with a Prime Cuts episode with Chef Scott Roberts of Salt Lick BBQ and special guest Ray Benson, followed by live-streamed performances from Luck’s Saloon and Chapel stages before leading into a 90-minute concert film segment. The film will feature remote performances from Picnic artists, an all-star house band curated by The Texas Gentlemen’s Beau Bedford, featuring Charlie Sexton, John Michael Schoepf, and Josh Blue, and interviews and Picnic memories stitched in throughout. Additionally, SiriusXM’s Willie’s Roadhouse will broadcast the 90 minute stream to subscribers.

Tickets to the event grant access to highly curated food and beverage delivery packages from Assembly Kitchen, Austin Food and Wine Alliance grant recipients, and Sourced Craft Cocktails. One dollar from each ticket sold will support The Luck Reunion Fund, managed by the Austin Community Foundation, directly benefiting five designated organizations. Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, and Karbach Love Street will also be matching donations. Beneficiaries for this event include All Together ATX, Six Square, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, SIMS Foundation, and Central Texas Foodbank.

Performances will include Willie Nelson & Family , Asleep At The Wheel, Charley Crockett, Devon Gilfillian, John Doe, Johnny Bush, Kinky Friedman, Kurt Vile, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Matthew Houck (Phosphorescent), The McCrary Sisters, Particle Kid, Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Shakey Graves, Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, The Peterson Brothers, Vincent Neil Emerson and Ziggy Marley.

“Our goal with the 2020 Picnic is to bring it back to what it was—in the only way we can during these times. We were set to host this year’s event at Luck, to welcome the Picnic back to its hill country home. The Picnic is really one of a kind, it has always been scrappy. Cars on fire. Mass arrests. You name it…it happened at the Picnic.” – Ellee Fletcher Durniak, co-founder of Luck Productions

Guitarist Eric Johnson at the Aztec Theatre

Eric Johnson, the Austin, Texas based prolific guitarist, vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist, will release a new studio offering titled EJ Vol II, on February 28, 2020. To celebrate this 11^th studio album, Johnson has a 55-date tour planned, spanning nearly 3-months. The tour will hit every major city across the U.S. and will also enter into Canada, for one show in Toronto as well. Locally, he will be performing at the Aztec Theatre on Thursday January 30. (Mad Ink PR, 2020)

With EJ Vol II, he presents new repertoire that combines electric and acoustic arrangements and once again represents a collection of originals with a couple of select covers. Among the new songs, there is deep meaning and messaging with each track, sometimes figurative while at times literal. On “Waterwheel,” he captures personal feelings about the gift of the flow of the spirit and synchronicity of all things under the universe in creation, utilizing the water wheel or an old paddle wheel that turns in water as the metaphorical symbolism. The song “Golden Way,” approaches finding the true higher path in life, while the poignant “For the Stars,” captures his introspection surrounding the loss of his mother as he looks up towards the sky at night wondering where she is now. Along with the 11 original songs there are two covers on the album; The Beatles “Hide Your Love Away” and Eric’s arrangement of Bert Jansch’s take on the traditional “Black Waterside.”

The new 2020 tour titled “Classics: Present and Past” will feature EJ Vol. II alongside selections from his prolific career. The EJ touring band will feature Roscoe Beck on bass (Leonard Cohen, Robben Ford, Dixie Chicks), Tom Brechtlein on drums (Kenny Loggins, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Robben Ford), and on keyboards + second guitar, Dave Scher (a rising star from the Austin music scene).

Among Johnson’s many accolades are a Grammy award for “Cliffs of Dover,” a lifetime induction into the Guitar Player Gallery of Greats and his listing among the “100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century” by Musician. In his hometown of Austin, a city full of guitarists, the readers of the Austin Chronicle have voted Eric Johnson the city’s “Best Electric Guitarist” and “Best Acoustic Guitarist” in their yearly poll year after year. They also named him “Electric Guitarist of the Decade” and one of the top five “Musicians of the Decade.”

“Classics – Present and Past” Tour. Complete tour available online.
January 14          Miner Auditorium                      San Francisco, CA
January 15          Crest Theatre                               Sacramento, CA
January 16          Sunset Cultural Center              Carmel, CA
January 17          The Grove of Anaheim              Anaheim, CA
January 18          The Regent Theater                    Los Angeles, CA
January 19          Majestic Ventura Theater         Ventura, CA
January 21          House of Blues                            San Diego, CA
January 22          Rialto Theatre                             Tucson, AZ
January 23          The Crescent Ballroom              Phoenix, AZ
January 24          KiMo Theatre                              Albuquerque, NM
January 25          Paramount Theatre                    Denver, CO
January 26          The Lincoln Center                     Fort Collins, CO
January 29          House of Blues                             Dallas, TX
January 30          The Aztec Theater                      San Antonio, TX
January 31          House of Blues                             Houston, TX
February 1          Paramount Theatre                    Austin, TX
February 18       Cain’s Ballroom                            Tulsa, OK

Pearl announces January programming

pearlfitnessinpark — Fitness classes are just one series of events taking place at Pearl in 2020. Photo: Pearl, used with permission.

For 2020, Pearl is excited to announce Thinking & Drinking at Pearl—the newest offering in the array of amazing programming already hosted throughout the year. In addition, Pearl will bring back free weekly fitness sessions open to the public to begin the first week in January and continue into the warmer months. (Pearl, 2019)

Thinking & Drinking at Pearl
Join us for a series of philosophical conversations about music. Why do we listen to sad songs if they make us sad? Should Bob Dylan have been eligible for the Nobel Prize in Literature? If an improvisation is made up on the spot, how can we expect it to sound good? These are just a few philosophical questions about music—fundamental conceptual questions raised by the way we make and listen to music. Led by Trinity University professor Dr. Andrew Kania, guests will get a chance to think through some of these issues out loud—helped along by libations from the best of the Pearl’s drinking establishments. Each session is capped at 15 participants and includes two beverages. Tickets available online.

- Wednesday, January 15 at 6p.m. – High Street Wine Co.
  Sad Songs Say So Much: Music and Emotion – If music is just sounds, how can it be happy or sad? What is the significance of our emotional responses to music? And why do we listen to sad music if it makes us sad?
- Wednesday, January 22 at 6p.m. – Southerleigh
  Strange Sounds: What is Music, Anyway? – Musicians seem to be able to incorporate just about any sounds into their compositions. But what makes those sounds music? How can one note be higher than another? What can the musical experiences of deaf people tell us about music?
- Wednesday, January 29 at 8p.m. – Jazz, TX
  Making Music: Performance, Improvisation and Recording – What is the difference between being overheard making music and performing for an audience? Are recordings just that – records of performances – or are they an art form in their own right? What makes a performance an improvisation? This conversation is followed by a live performance.

Pearl is thrilled to continue free community workout classes led by local fitness providers weekly on Tuesday evenings beginning in 2020. Throughout the year, partners will include Pilates Platinum, Smart Barre, Nomadik Yoga, Zumba with Mau Garcia and Joy Ride.

- Tuesday, January 7 | Pilates Platinum | 5:30p.m. | Pearl Park
- Tuesday, January 14 | Pilates Platinum | 5:30p.m. | Pearl Park
- Tuesday, January 21 | Pilates Platinum | 5:30p.m. | Pearl Park
- Tuesday, January 28 | Pilates Platinum | 5:30p.m. | Pearl Park

“Pearl is dedicated to bringing San Antonians and visitors together through compelling, dynamic events. The thoughtful 2020 programming will help everyone start the new year off right and further enhance Pearl’s offerings.” – Elizabeth Fauerso, chief marketing officer, Pearl

Pearl Brewery
303 Pearl Parkway, Suite 300
San Antonio, TX 78215
(210) 212-7260

Pearl to host third annual holiday Posada on Wednesday

This Wednesday December 18 from 6:30p.m. to 9p.m., Pearl will host its third annual Posada, inspired by the Mexican tradition of Las Posadas. Community members are invited to join the Posada and become pilgrims traveling by candlelight in a procession throughout the property, beginning at Pearl Park. (Pearl, 2019)

Las Posadas is a nine-day Christmas celebration in Mexico and Latin America, centered around the ritual re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s quest to find lodging in Bethlehem. The evening includes live mariachi music, lotería, traditional Mexican bingo for children and traditional treats of buñuelos, tamales and Mexican hot chocolate provided by Ms. Chocolatier, Churro Star, La Hacienda, CIA and Panifico Bakery. This event is free and open to the public. Representatives from Mission Concepción and Father David Garcia will lead community members in a procession throughout the Pearl property followed by live music by Mariachi Mexica.

Pearl Campus
303 Pearl Parkway
San Antonio, TX 78215

Evenings on the Edge at Topaz: summer pool parties to benefit charities

eveningsonedge — This year’s Evenings on the Edge at Topaz pool parties begin on Thursday June 6. Photo: La Cantera Resort & Spa, used with permission.

Evenings on the Edge at Topaz are evening events that benefit local charities and feature live entertainment. This series of popular sunset adult pool parties is back this summer at La Cantera Resort & Spa every Thursday beginning June 6, except for Thursday July 4, and running through August 8 from 7p.m. to 11p.m. Tickets are $30 if purchased in advance; guests must be 21 and over and ID is required. Event is free for resort guests: all they must do is simply present their key at the register desk to receive their wrist bands. Tickets at the door are $40 and Valet at the door is $10. (La Cantera Resort & Spa, 2019)

Ticket includes a summer-inspired cocktails and live performances and/or DJ, all with the unrivaled Hill Country views as backdrop. This year, the series includes themed evenings and additional fun and excitement. Attendees will receive a complimentary cocktail upon entry and a Moet Chandon toast at sundown. In the event of inclement weather, ticket will be honored at a future event based on availability; tickets are non-refundable.

Ten private cabañas also are available for rent and require 24-hour cancellation. A portion of ticket sales and cabaña rentals benefit local charities. A Topaz Sunset Pass is available for $150 per person ($300 value) and includes one ticket to each Evenings on the Edge event. Available through week 6, July 18, of 2019 Evenings on the Edge season. Detailed information on cabaña rentals and Topaz Sunset Passes is available online.

• Thursday, June 6 – San Antonio Zoo; Theme: Yacht Club; Music by The Night Owls
• Thursday, June 13 – Viola’s Huge Heart; Theme: Summer Chic
• Thursday, June 20 – San Antonio Food Bank; Peanut Butter and Jelly donations requested
• Thursday, June 27 – Silver and Black Give Back; Theme: Throwback Thursday – wear vintage jersey
• Thursday, July 11 – Culinaria; Theme: White Party
• Thursday, July 18 – August Heart; Theme: Summer Chic
• Thursday, July 25 – Fashion Group International; Theme: Best of the 70s and 80s; Music by Finding Friday
• Thursday, August 1 – Eva’s Heroes; Theme: Little Polka-Dot Bikini
• Thursday, August 8 – San Antonio Library Foundation: Theme: Beach Party; Band TBD

La Cantera Resort & Spa
16641 La Cantera Pkwy
San Antonio, TX 78256
(210) 558-6500

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