The best country songs tell great stories. Well, singer-songwriter Zach Schmidt has got a bunch of ’em. All the better, they are drawn from his own life experiences. The now Nashville-based Schmidt has lived a life of wanderlust, having bicycled across the US and worked on a Texas cattle ranch. No surprise to anyone, Schmidt […]
Monday Morning Video – Fred Eaglesmith “Freight Train”
Fred Eaglesmith is a songwriter’s songwriter, a talent whose commercial success has never matched the esteem in which his peers hold him. Here’s a song that I’ve heard countless other artists cover over the years. In his introduction, Eaglesmith talks about the Alan Jackson version and why he tours in an old converted school bus.
Monday Morning Video – Loretta Lynn
This week we’re going to pay a Monday Morning Video tribute to an true legend of country music, Miss Loretta Lynn. Lynn has released nearly 50 albums over her six decade career, the most recent being this year’s Full Circle. The album is her first in more than ten years. This video takes us back […]
Monday Morning Video – Jerry Reed “Eastbound and Down”
I heard a bar band rip into this song, the theme from the movie “Smokey and the Bandit”, a few weeks ago. Let’s just say that the crowd erupted and was quick to join in for the chorus. “East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’, we gonna do what they say can’t be done.”
Come Dancing with Dietrich Strause (A Video Premiere)
Bostonian by way of Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Dietrich Strause is back with a remarkable new album, How Cruel That Hunger Binds. Strause has a musical catalog that is filled with songs that call to mind the elegant pop standards of the 1950’s, a quality that is even more pronounced on his latest outing. How Cruel That […]
Monday Morning Video (and Audio) – Willin’
“Willin’,” by the late Lowell George, is one of those songs that many may not know by title but is immediately recognizable when it’s heard. It’s also a song to which many artists have gravitated over the years. Here is a video playlist of wonderful cover performances, starting with Uncle Tupelo and working through Tom […]
Shakin’ with Session Americana
Every once in awhile, there is an artist whose album is so anticipated by the Twangville Posse that a couple of us pile on for a team review. Session Americana, who has just released a new album called Great Shakes sits firmly in that category. MAYER’S TAKE Session Americana stretch out on their latest album. […]
Monday Morning Video – Josh Ritter Sings to the Dogs
Last year’s Sermon on the Rocks was yet another fine addition to Josh Ritter’s musical catalog. Let’s kick of the week by digging back into said catalog for this rousing rocker that kicked off 2007’s The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter.
Mayer’s Playlist for July/August 2016, Part 3
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Stay Gold by Butch Walker The opening guitar riff of the lead-off track sets the tone right out of the gate: Butch Walker is ready to rock. His last album, 2015’s Afraid of Ghosts, was a somber and moving reflection on the loss of his father. After the catharsis that came […]
Monday Morning Video – Stevie Ray Vaughan
Sixteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost one of rock and roll’s guitar greats. Here are two classic Stevie Ray Vaughan performances captured at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ back in 1985. First up is the blistering “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” followed by the sweet and soulful “Live Without You.”