James McMurtry "Melinda"

We have been remiss in our duties. The Americana Music Association put together a free compilation album for download on Amazon and we haven't told you about it...yet! It's got tracks from John Hiatt, Elizabeth Cook, and Steve Earle, among the 12 songs by artists who we also think should be heard. It's called the Americana Music Awards Sampler. It contains tracks from some of the folks that were nominated for this year's Americana Honors & Awards, held last month, of which Marty Fitzpatrick and I anchored the webcast for Folk Alley. It was a magical night at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The very last of the 12 tracks for FREE download is from James McMurtry, a song from his most recent studio CD, Just Us Kids, "Bayou Tortous." A sweet couple...kinda sorta a love song. In other James McMurtry news, one of my very favorite magazines, Garden & Gun, has an insightful article about James that captures him faithfully; as he turkey hunts on his grandfather's land with the author, Rick Bass. It also connects to a recommended playlist James put together on iTunes. A very cool list indeed.

Over the years, James has refined his sound, becoming an impressive, and expressive, guitar player. And he has walked down some mighty dark and lonely roads in his music. He's peered into the nooks and crannies of forgotten America, with faithful portraiture to how those lives are being lived. He has made it all come alive with the articulation of his characters in their sometimes impossible situations. That said, I am always surprised by James' romantic side. Through the years and the albums, I get the sense that he is driven to get the words down and put them to music, scanning their cadence for the perfect fit. Whatever they are, and wherever they take him...and us. He seems to live inside his own head restlessly, always pondering. And so the pureness of this love song is all the more sweet for its lack of dark corners, though who knows, there could been some lurking in there anyway. The album it's from is Where'd You Hide the Body from back in 1995. We bring you this version from our Threadgill's session during SXSW 2010.

- Jessie Scott

Mike Farris "Oh, Mary Don't You Weep"

Mike Farris is a force of nature. With 2007's Salvation In Lights, his second solo album, he emerged full blown in his new incarnation, delivering Americana Evangelism, having shed the skin of an earlier, much unhealthier center stage role for the Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies. He is a lesson for us all. He lived the binges; drugs and drinking and excess; 'too much ain't enough' lifestyle that so often accompanies success. Then he literally got religion, and left the bad habits behind in 2002. It has been a solid last three years, as Mike channels his energy into his music. And what energy it is. Pure white light. Seeing his show is an instant 'click' moment. Infectious, powerful, a tour de force. He takes the stage with the intensity of a tsunami, and you feel washed clean by the sheer joy of it. I don't care which of his albums you buy, but trust me on this one, buy one and you will buy them all. He is a secret weapon of Gospel - good tidings, GLAD tidings.

Photo Credit: Ed RodeHis latest, The Night The Cumberland Came Alive, features Sam Bush, Kenny Vaughan, Byron House, Ketch Secor, and The McCrary Sisters. It is a 6-song EP to commemorate and celebrate the rebirth of Nashville, after the "1,000 year" flood that took place on May 1, 2010. The project was recorded just weeks afterwards, set forth to help rebuild and repair the flood damage. There's a cool article about the project in this month's special Americana issue of the Direct Buzz.

When I saw him on the schedule for the Americana Fest, I was SO excited, we just HAD to have him come by. We booked him at 9am! Then I was kicking myself, because I wasn't there, having been called away to a meeting, knowing what I was missing. As I have said before, I don't often tell the guys what kind of musical experience is coming their way. But I texted Beans & Aaron and said, "Mike is on his way over to blow your mind." He even does that solo! Check him out live for a jolt of love. He is wrapping up some dates in Spain, and then will be returning to the US. I'll tell you, too; be prepared to be blown away, VERY blown away.

- Jessie Scott

Tony Joe White "Polk Salad Annie"

For over 40 years, his voice has romanced us; his songwriting has transported us to the rich loam of Louisiana. His signature sound is unforgettable and there ain't nobody who even comes close. His first contract, to Monument Records, was signed in 1967. His music has lived in all the "and" categories: Rock and Roll, Country and Western, and Rhythm and Blues. Tony Joe White is an early Americana pioneer, but this past decade has been particularly fruitful with the releases One Hot July, The Beginning, and his duets album Heroines featuring Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, Jessi Colter, and Lucinda Williams. Then that was followed by a live Austin City Limits performance, Live from Austin, TX, then Take Home The Swamp, and Uncovered, which featured JJ Cale, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler. Whew!

Tony Joe White has a new CD out called The Shine, and that is cause for celebration. It is a swampy, southern soul stew; raw, stripped-down and intimate, allowing his sultry delivery to take center stage. And he is on tour, oh yeah. If you haven't seen him perform, you owe it to yourself to get to one of his shows. I met up with Tony Joe for an interview just south of Nashville in the late 90's, when I was an editor at The Gavin Report, and doing the syndicated weekly radio show This Week In Americana. His manager took me out the back door at the end of our session, and showed me a plant. Tall, stalky and leafy. He said it was polk salad. And that wherever Tony Joe goes, they find it growing...we're talking Japan, Australia...and utterly magical. We are pulling one out of the Johnny Cash Show archives, a version of that song from the first of two appearances Tony Joe made on that iconic and ground breaking television series. "Polk Salad Annie" with Johnny from 1970.

- Jessie Scott