Levon Helm & Ray LaMontagne Hit the Road

It blows my mind when I overhear people talking in public, saying there is no good music out there. To my mind, there is plenty! In fact I would say that music is exploding right now, and all you have to do is start looking. My YouTube searches take me down the rabbit hole. Hours can be spent on exploration, from one to the next. And that is true across the genres, though I am ever amazed at the level of talent that Americana is attracting. A good place to start that search is through the Americana Airplay Chart. This week the top three positions are held by Robert Plant & Band of Joy, Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses, and Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs, whose CD God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise is now at #3. This album represents the first time that Ray has produced, and has collaborated with other artists. The Pariah Dogs are Jennifer Condos, Jay Bellerose, Eric Heywood, Greg Leisz, and Patrick Warren. It is Ray's 4th studio CD, and it has been particularly well received. The Associated Press calls it, “one of the year’s best.” The New York Daily News says the album is, “one of the stand out releases of the year," and The Boston Herald said Ray “has an innate down-home grit and his music possesses a simmering roots-rock fire."

The big news is that Ray and the Dogs are on the road for a limited run with Levon Helm, of course who needs no introduction for his deep catalog of music with seminal Americana group, The Band. In 2007, Levon released Dirt Farmer, his first solo studio album in twenty-five years, which garnered him a 2008 GRAMMY for Best Traditional Folk Album. That same year Helm was also was given the “Artist of the Year” Award by the Americana Music Association. Then last year, Levon delivered Electric Dirt, which yielded his second consecutive GRAMMY, this time in the inaugural category of Best Americana Album in 2010. The Levon Helm Band features Levon Helm, Larry Campbell, Jim Weider, Amy Helm, Teresa Williams, Brian Mitchell, Erik Lawrence, Howard Johnson, Clark Gayton, Jay Collins, Byron Isaacs and Steven Bernstein.

The two acts are co-headlining an eight-city run which started yesterday in Jacksonville, FL and will be wrapping up in Austin, TX on November 12th. Hope you are in the path of this tour! And as an incentive, here is a bit of Levon video from the PBS special Ramble at The Ryman, and a bit of Ray LaMontagne from the BBC Sessions.

- Jessie Scott

Sarah Jarosz "My Muse"

I am a firm believer in destiny, karma, and in the idea that my Mom floated, that 'each child is born with a loaf of bread.' The concept is referenced in a Financial Times Press article and by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his remarkable book Living to Tell the Tale. He is a worthy read, by the way. Children, in essence, create their own wealth, and arrive in this world with their own path to walk. As a parent, if one provides the way for them, then nature will take its course. And so it is with Sarah Jarosz. She is yet another in the parade of incredible musicians that grow out of the fertile Texas soil. There is something in the water here, I tell ya! Sarah grew up in Wimberley; started singing at the tender age of two, and started jamming in a weekly bluegrass confab after she picked up the mandolin at age ten. She had already begun piano at six. Looking at her website is a trip as this past year Sarah was nominated for a GRAMMY, two Lone Star Music Awards, three Austin Music Awards, and an Americana Honor and Award. This of course is for her debut CD of 2009 Song Up In Her Head. We had the delight of recording her last year at Americana Fest on the Music Fog bus, and when she was added to perform at the Awards Show this year, well we couldn't help ourselves but to invite her back!

Today, Sarah Jarosz is releasing two brand new songs under the title The New 45, that were recorded this past summer. Her original composition "My Muse" will be one of the songs on her as yet unnamed full-length CD due in Spring of 2011, and the exclusive Bill Withers' classic "Grandma's Hands," which will not be on the forthcoming album, and is only available with today's digital release. Look for a limited vinyl pressing of The New 45 available later in the month, online and in select stores. The other cause for celebration is Sarah's Austin City Limits performance coming up this Saturday, November 6th. As they say, check your local listings. She will be performing "My Muse" in that show, and we also captured a version of it while in Nashville a few weeks ago for the Americana Festival.

- Jessie Scott

The John Henrys "White Linen"

In my post Halloween sugar buzz, I did some time searching the web for stories about John Henry, the folk hero who "died with a hammer in his hand, Oh Lord." Man vs. Machine in melting pot 19th century America. Coming to terms with the Industrial Revolution, with people losing jobs to the changing times, with traditional labor roles being replaced. Kinda like today. You can read about the era and the forces at hand in the book Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend.

The band The John Henrys emerge from rich traditions, but one would have to say they have fared better in their conquering of machines. The four band members work collectively on their songwriting and the storytelling is paramount, but here's the twist; their musicianship veers off from the traditional path one would expect from their namesake. “We picked the The John Henrys for our name because the story is such an inspiration,” says vocalist and guitarist Rey Sabatin Jr. His First Nations and Acadian heritage, along with his day job as a luthier, gives the band its Cajun flavor. Rey, along with Steve Tatone (keyboards) Doug Gouthro (guitar) Daryl Quinlan (bass), and Geoff Ward (drums) have been working together to create music since 2003. They released their eponymous debut album in 2004 and followed up with Sweet As The Grain in 2006. Along the way, they have shared the stage with artists like The Sadies, Cuff the Duke, The Golden Dogs, Elliott BROOD, and Femme-bots. Their third album White Linen took seven months to record, and they whittled it down from 17 songs to 11 before it saw light of day earlier this year. Here is the title track, from the Music Fog sessions in Nashville during the recent Americana Fest.

- Jessie Scott