Tag: Americana music

Upcoming new album release: Your Very Own Dream – Clay Parker and Jodi James

Your Very Own Dream is set for a January 19 release. Photo: Clay Parker and Jodi James

Before their artistic paths converged in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in late 2014, Clay Parker and Jodi James roamed the musical landscape as lone troubadours, each nurturing their own raw and genuine sound. Now, almost a decade after their first long-distance co-writing collaborations, the duo’s distinct sound has maintained a minimalist yet unpredictable quality—in part by reflecting the ways the artists themselves have changed both together and as individuals. Following their self-titled debut EP in 2016 and 2018’s The Lonesomest Sound That Can Sound, the duo who jokingly refers to themselves as a “band without a name” are returning with a brand new LP in 2024: Your Very Own Dream will be released on January 19, 2024. (IV-PR, 2023)

Parker and James have gained a fanbase by creating worlds within their records, populating each song with points of view that are archetypical yet unique. With Your Very Own Dream, the pair hones this technique to a razor’s edge; equal parts plaintive folk existentialism, blue-note bluster, prairie-fire idealism, and fever-dream ballad with which fans of Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, and Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings will feel right at home. Parker and James consistently present music that carves a most-direct, excess-free path to its listeners and patiently displays the duo’s true nature as creators of a primitive kind of beauty—stark yet expressive, accessible yet deep, shadowy yet real.

The duo recently released the first single from Your Very Own Dream, the James-led, slow-burner, “Nothing At All.” Fooling very little with the trivial and getting to the heart of the matter quickly, “Nothing At All” rides a mellow, mid-tempo arrangement akin to late 90s alt-country acts like Whiskeytown or Uncle Tupelo; a heartbeat of Americana music in the modern age where the song comes first and everything else is lagniappe.

Fans can stream or purchase “Nothing At All” and pre-order or pre-save Your Very Own Dream ahead of its January 19 release.

Your Very Own Dream track list:
Fire For The Water
Hey Hey Hey
Nothing At All
In The Cool Of The Evening
Flatfoot
How High Would I Have To Fly
A Matchbook Song
Your Very Own Dream

Catch Clay Parker and Jodi James on tour:
January 19 – Baton Rouge, LA – MidCity Ballroom – Album Release Show
February 16 – Galveston, TX – Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe
February 17 – Austin, TX – House Show
February 18 – Austin, TX – NeWorlDeli
February 19 – Oklahoma City, OK – House Show
February 21–25 – Kansas City, MO – Folk Alliance International
February 28 – Nashville, TN – 5 Spot
February 29 – Dunlap, TN – House Show
March 1 – Chattanooga, TN – The Woodshop
March 2 – LaGrange, GA – Pure Life House of Music

1705671821

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Your Very Own Dream release date

New album release: Christmas at the Burchills

Christmas at the Burchills is the new album by Beth // James. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

On their new EP, Christmas at the Burchills, Jordan and Mikaela Burchill invite you into their home for the holidays. While the duo goes by the moniker Beth // James, Beth and James are in fact, their middle names. Both Jordan and Mikaela took an interest in music at a young age. Jordan grew up with a guitar in his hands, raised by musician parents, and Mikaela grew up at the studio, singing on records in Nashville since her elementary school years. The young songwriters met in music school and clicked immediately. They moved to Austin, Texas, after graduation, fell in love, and quickly became a duo. They have since released two EPs, one full-length record, and their song “Lion Eyes” was featured in Spike Lee’s Academy Award-winning film, “BlacKkKlansman.” Dubbed “masters of indie-folk” by Austin’s NPR station, KUTX, the Austin duo has cut their teeth touring all across the US, performing as Kerrville New Folk Finalists, and recently got back from a run in Europe and the UK where they played Germany’s only Americana music festival. (IV-PR, 2023)

With their latest EP, Beth // James balance their signature, indie-Americana sound with a healthy dose of varied holiday cheer. Out now, Christmas at the Burchills flies between classic Christmas sounds, touching down for an Elvis cover and Elvis-influenced original, a Hawaiian-infused shot of Christmas paradise, dusty Americana set in Marfa, Texas, and a candle-lit Yuletide ballad.

EP highlight “Tiki Christmas Land” imagines escaping winter heartbreak for Hawaii, drowning your sorrows in Mai Tais and December sun. It is simultaneously cozy as a sweater, and bursting with catchy tropical cheer. Meanwhile, “Marfa Christmas Lights” trades Hawaiian steel guitar for contemplative country western lap steel, serenading the mystical grandeur of west Texas in December. On piano ballad “The Christmas We Used to Know,” Mikaela explores childhood Christmas nostalgia and the difficulty of growing up. Like the writers of many classic Christmas songs, Mikaela grew up Jewish, explaining “as a kid I would always go to my childhood best friend’s house to spend Christmas with her and her family.”

Fans can stream or purchase Christmas at the Burchills in its entirety today by following this link. On December 15, the duo will celebrate their EP release with Beth // James & Friends Christmas Spectacular at Quack’s Soundspace in Austin. Tickets are available here.

Christmas at the Burchills track list:
Tiki Christmas Land
Marfa Christmas Lights
Santa Won’t You Deliver (My Baby This Winter)
Blue Christmas
The Christmas We Used To Know

New album release: Back to the Valley – Low Water Bridge Band

Low Water Bridge Band announces sophomore LP Back to the Valley. Photo: Low Water Bridge Band.

Forged by firelight picking, Low Water Bridge Band’s romping, stomping, country-grass Americana is not for the faint of heart. Since coming together in 2020, they have gone from barnstorming the Shenandoah Valley to festival stages along the East Coast and now, to the delight of their rapidly growing fanbase, the band has announced the follow up to their latest LP, Midnight in Virginia. On November 17, Low Water Bridge Band—Logan Moore (guitar, vocals), Alex Kerns (bass, vocals), Riley Kerns (drums, background vocals), James Montgomery (lead guitar), Justin Carver (pedal steel, banjo),and Rudy Bzdyk (fiddle, trumpet, keyboards)—will release Back to the Valley, an all new, ten song LP. (IV-PR, 2023)

Low Water Bridge Band shared Back to the Valley’s opening track, “Siren Of The Shenandoah,” a shapeshifting ode to the great river that created the valley from with the band was created. “This song came to light after a full moon, overnight canoe trip down the Shenandoah River,” says Moore, the song’s writer and lead singer. “I kept hearing a lonely fox following us along the riverbanks shouting her terrifying scream. I imagined it was the sound of the mythological siren crying out to lure me into the mighty Shenandoah River.” Moore’s imagination went from there, fleshing out the lick-laden song that deftly switches back and forth between a full-time train beat and a funkier, half-time groove. Encompassing everything that Low Water Bridge Band fans are already hip to—clever songwriting, complimentary musicianship, and the ability to creatively freeze a place and time in song—“Sirens Of The Shenandoah” is the perfect lead off track for this next chapter in the burgeoning band’s career.

Back to the Valley was produced by band members Riley Kerns and Logan Moore and recorded and mixed by Kerns at BerryTone Sound Recorders in Berryville, Virginia. Micah Howard contributed vocals on “She Don’t Answer;” “Dear Lord” and “Small Town Affair” feature background vocalists Laura Steinmetz and Jessica Mitchell; and Jake Smith plays baritone saxophone on “Hope It’s You.”

Fans can hear “Siren Of The Shenandoah” now and stay up to date on Back to the Valley ahead of its November 17.

Back to the Valley track list:
Siren Of The Shenandoah
Whiskey Dark
Slow Down
600 Reasons
Hope It’s You
Clarke County Clay
Place On A Hill
Dear Lord
Small Town Affair
She Don’t Answer

1700230024

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Back to the Valley release date

Upcoming album release: Fear of Falling Stars – Kristen Grainger & True North

Kristen Grainger & True North launch new album Fear of Falling Stars – due out November 10, 2023. Photo: Kristen Grainger & True North

In a world thirsting for authenticity and genuine connection, Kristen Grainger & True North offers a wellspring of soul-stirring songs. Led by the enchanting vocals of Kristen Grainger and drawing on elements of bluegrass, country, and Americana, the Pacific Northwest string band writes songs that connect us, illuminating universal truths with haunting beauty. The band is made up of three champion instrumentalists, Dan Wetzel, Martin Stevens, and Josh Adkins, and is fronted by lead vocalist Kristen Grainger, a storied songwriter who has taken top honors at some of the nation’s most prestigious songwriting competitions, including Telluride Bluegrass Festival, MerleFest, and the USA Songwriting Contest. Kristen Grainger & True North launch their new album with the first single Across the Mountains. The new album, Fear of Falling Stars, will be out November 10, 2023. (IV-PR, 2023)

In the first four measures of Kristen Grainger & True North’s new tune Across the Mountains, listeners experience the full range of what sets the award-winning Americana quartet apart; tried and true musicianship and songcraft steeped in both the old and new. With equal focus on compelling songwriting and excellent instrumental execution, this new album offers ten songs that nestle in the ear on the way to the heart. From heart-wrenching ballads to foot-stomping anthems, Fear of Falling Stars reveals a series of musical zoom shots through the windows of modern life.

Fans can stream or purchase Across the Mountains, watch the lyric video, premiered by The Bluegrass Situation, and stay up to date on Fear of Falling Stars ahead of its November release.

Fear of Falling Stars track list:
Don’t Take Me Back
Go-Nowhere Town
Extraordinary Grace
Memories and Moments
Across the Mountains
It’s the Little Things
The Avalanche
Pent-Up
What Might Have Been
Stop Me If I Told You This Before

Catch Kristen Grainger on tour:
November 4 – Seattle, WA – Concerts At Our House Series
November 10 – Portland, OR – PNC Live Studio Concert
November 18 – Portland, OR – Alberta Rose Theatre
November 29 – Sisters, OR – The Belfry

1699625104

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Fear of Falling Stars release date

The Black Lillies’ Cruz Contreras turns the page with psychedelic solo debut Cosmico

Cosmico is Cruz Contreras’ debut album. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Cruz Contreras has impacted Americana music worldwide with projects Robinella and the CCstringband (1998-2007) and The Black Lillies (2009-2019). While in college, Contreras co-founded Robinella and the CCstringband, lending his initials to the string band that featured vocalist and guitarist Robinella, Billy Contreras on fiddle, Taylor Coker on upright bass, Steve Kovalcheck on electric guitar, and Contreras as bandleader on mandolin. A split from his work and life with Robinella in 2007 led to new beginnings for Contreras, who founded The Black Lillies in 2009. The Black Lillies cemented his reputation as an insightful songwriter and a powerhouse vocalist. With the release of his debut album Cosmico, Cruz Contreras is born again, able to express himself with pure artistic integrity and proud to put out this release using his own name; his family’s name. (IV-PR, 2023)

Following a too-long period of self-doubt, both personally and in his songwriting—“It was so confusing because it seems to be what I’ve always been best at and has brought me so much joy,” he reflects—Contreras used the writing and recording process of Cosmico to center himself, push out his musical demons, and open the door for a fresh chapter. The resulting album feels pure; a cosmic amalgamation of influences and personal styles from Contreras’s entire career. Introspective lyrics, inventive musicianship, and a notable psychedelic edge on the production of the album define Cosmico, almost as much as a confident-as-ever Cruz, whose voice has matured into a rich instrument for his elevated lyrics. “These songs are fresh, timely, and especially relatable during these strange times,” Contreras says. “I made Cosmico because the world needs music that brings people together, from all walks of life, more than ever.” Engineered by Craig Alvin, Cosmico is a sonic journey that features Contreras on keyboards in his most intimate vocal and lyrical setting while taking his traditional musical stylings to epic astral regions.

Fans can stream or purchase Cosmico in its entirety by following this link.

Cosmico track list:
Flashing Light
Doin’ Time
Stop Giving Your Heart Away
Call Me Crazy
Separate Minds
Let Somebody Love You
Time Stand Still
Breaking A Habit
Road That Has No End

Catch Cruz Contreras on tour:
October 4-6 – Sevierville, TN – Dollywood’s Harvest Festival
October 26 – Troy, VA – Yarnival 2023
November 3 – Thomas, WV – The Purple Fiddle
December 15 – Roanoke, VA – 5 Points Music Sanctuary

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: 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.
1692969981

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Been A Long Time Comin’ release date

New album release: That Grand, Old Feeling – William Matheny

William Matheny’s new album That Grand, Old Feeling will be out August 4, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

William Matheny is a West Virginia-based singer-songwriter whose brand of Americana music is firmly steeped in the Appalachian storytelling tradition. Written and recorded before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Matheny’s latest record That Grand, Old Feeling is his most expansive work yet, taking narrative inspiration from the eclectic characters who inhabit dive motels and roadside haunts and sonic cues from the work of artists like Magnolia Electric Co. and Drive-By Truckers. Highlights include the slick, brooding “Every Way to Lose,” which Matheny wrote after discovering Alabama’s Wall of Jericho trailhead, and “Down at the Hotel Canfield,” the latter inspired by a visit to a real hotel in Dubuque, IA, that infamously boasts a ghastly history. (IV-PR, 2023)

“Grand Old Feeling” is the first single from Matheny’s new album That Grand, Old Feeling—out August 4 via Hickman Holler / Thirty Tigers. That Grand, Old Feeling follows Matheny’s 2017 album Strange Constellations, which drew critical acclaim from outlets like NPR and PopMatters. Matheny recorded the LP with producer Bud Carroll at Trackside Studio in Point Pleasant, WV. Carroll joins the proceedings on guitar, with Adam L. Meisterhans (guitar), Clint Sutton (drums), Jeremy Batten (piano, organ), John R. Miller (bass, vocals), and J. Tom Hnatow (pedal steel) rounding out the band, and recent Grammy-winner Justin Francis mixed the final product. All of these fantastic players are fellow West Virginians and Matheny’s longtime friends. 

Fans can hear “Grand Old Feeling” at this link and pre-save That Grand, Old Feeling; fans can pre-order the album straight from Matheny ahead of its August 4 release right here. 

Matheny’s style is that of a keen-eyed observer whose stories exist in a beautifully between-the-lines style narrative; equal parts curious and compassionate. Lines in “Grand Old Feeling” like “My mother once said ‘son, you’re a good man,’ like she was trying to convince herself” let the listeners in on more of the story than pages of simple narrative could, granting Matheny more real estate within a four-minute song to bring to life his “grand old feeling” of what it all means. While his personal examples come from years of touring, Matheny admits that the “grand old feeling” isn’t just about his gigging musician life. “For the non-road dogs out there, I imagine you’ve been looking too, maybe in some different places than me, but I’m sure you’ve been searching all the same,” he says. “Speaking to you pilgrim to pilgrim, I hope you find it.” 

1691155750

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

That Grand, Old Feeling release date

New album release: Blood Brothers – Dallas Burrow

Dallas Burrow paints a full circle picture of his home with the first song “River Town” from his upcoming Jonathan Tyler-produced album Blood Brothers. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Dallas Burrow, a Texas-born Americana artist rooted in the tradition of his home state’s songwriting heroes, built a career on both sides of the Atlantic with his 2019 debut Southern Wind. It reached Number 25 on the UK Americana Chart and Number 4 on the US Alt-Country chart, paving the way for a string of cross-country shows alongside fellow road warriors like Charley Crockett. For Burrow—a lifelong explorer who had spent his 20s on the move, chasing his muse across most of America and Europe while rubbing shoulders with luminaries like Bob Dylan and Dr. John—being so far away from home felt natural. Even so, he began missing the stability of his new life back in Texas, where he had built a family and gotten sober. His second album, 2021’s Dallas Burrow, marked both a symbolic and literal homecoming for the songwriter, who recorded the material with modern-day legend Bruce Robison in the rural Texas countryside. His new album Blood Brothers finds Burrow telling the story of his musical roots, his father’s influence on his craft, and his own personal journey as a songwriter; all in his signature, gravely baritone. (IV-PR, 2023)

“River Town,” the opening track from his upcoming album Blood Brothers, rides a pulsing country backbeat and is dressed up with a fiddle, organ, electric guitar, and producer Jonathan Tyler singing harmonies. It tells the true story of Burrow’s small-town Texas upbringing, the leaving, and the coming back to start a family. “After getting in a little trouble, doing a lot of traveling, fast living, and soul searching—and finally meeting my wife and starting to settle down a little—in the end, I realized just what a beautiful area it was to live after all, and the perfect place for us to raise a kid,” he says. The Bluegrass Situation premiered the single, diving more into the backstory.

Fans can hear “River Town” at this link and watch the video for Burrow’s previously-released single, “Out My Window” here. 

With Blood Brothers, Burrow wanted to chase something a little more refined and a little more polished than his previous two efforts: Southern Wind and Dallas Burrow. With the creative vision and technical talent of producer Jonathan Tyler, Burrow took everything he had learned from the last two album cycles, plus a lot more experience on tour, and brought a new outlook—not to mention what he calls “some of the best songs I’ve ever written”—into the recording studio, crafting his best work to date. Existing fans of Burrow’s will find his instantly recognizable songs sung in his signature gravelly tone, but there are hints of something deeper afoot. Musically, the pair of Burrow and Tyler chased down new tones influenced by everything from Stax to Muscle Shoals to New Orleans, but lyrically, Burrow’s journey through his own history and influences steals the show. “The songs on Blood Brothers tell about where I’m from, where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and what I’ve seen,” he says.

Blood Brothers track list:
River Town
Starry Eyes
Devil’s Tongue
Out My Window
Motel 6
A Lot of it Was
Only Game in Town
Blood Brothers
Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold
X Old Flames
Wild Bill
You Go On Ahead
True Believer

Catch Dallas Burrow on tour:
June 23 – San Antonio, TX – The Lonesome Rose
June 24 – San Marcos, TX – Cheatham Street Warehouse
June 30 – Houston, TX – The Mucky Duck
July 7 & 8 – Red River, NM – Motherlode Saloon
July 21 – New Braunfels, TX – Freiheit Country Store
Jul 22 – Luckenbach, TX – Luckenbach Dancehall
July 29 – Hunter, TX – Riley’s Tavern
August 2 – La Grande, OR – Union County
August 3 – Portland, OR – Topaz Farm
August 4 – Sisters, OR – The Belfry
August 5 – Carson City, NV – Nashville Social Club
August 6 – Arbuckle, CA – Burgie’s
August 7 – Bakersfield, CA – Pyrenees Cafe
August 9 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
August 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
August 11 & 12 – Lake Havasu, AZ – Jermey’s Juke Joint
August 13 – Mesa, AZ – Roosters Country
August 25 – Kingsbury, TX – 1281 Sherrill Rd
August 26 – New Braunfels, TX – Riley’s Tavern
September 8 – Driftwood, TX – Wings Over
September 22 – La Grange, TX – Bugle Boy
September 23 – Boerne, TX – Salvador DOBBS
September 30 – Red River, NM – Motherlode Saloon
November 25 – New Braunfels, TX – Riley’s Tavern