Charlie Robison "John O'Reilly"

Man oh man, the allergens are raging here in Texas. The weather has shifted, bouncing back from the crazy-cold winter weather of a couple weeks ago to the temperate 70s with sunshine. It feels good, and not just to humans, EVERYTHING is growing. Be forewarned, if you are thinking about migrating to Austin, there is plenty of particulate matter in the air. Right now, Cedar, Juniper, Elm, and Ash are high. It is weird, because you think you are coming down with something, but you don't actually get sick. That is a good thing, but that doesn’t stop everyone from talking about it all the time. It even has a name - Cedar Fever, and don’t forget that follows Sweater Weather. Yes, I still watch SNL.

Just a month ago, we were deep in the swaddling at The MusicFest in Steamboat Springs. Bundled up, with long johns, boots, and layers. And we met a man, similarly attired, who was able to sandwich a visit to the Music Fog studio at the Steamboat Grand in between his other gigs. When Charlie Robison comes to visit, the door opens wide. I asked him to surprise us, and he sure did, pulling “John O’Reilly” out of his bag of tricks. The song functions in so many ways; an Irish drinking tune, with fighting, gambling, intrigue, emigration, and yearning for home. Charlie is doing some planning for beach weather, as he is throwing his second Bay Bash in Rockport/Fulton, TX, on July 3rd. We’ll bring you details when they are posted. In the meantime, let’s hoist one, and listen to the Music Fog recording of "John O’Reilly," originally found on the Step Right Up CD, which came out in 2001.

- Jessie Scott

Warren Hood & The Hoodlums "The More I See You"

It has been a pretty good week in Americana. First the GRAMMYs®, which featured performances from The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons with Bob Dylan doing a rousing version of "Maggie's Farm." There were awards picked up by the late Stephen Bruton and T Bone Burnett for the Crazy Heart soundtrack, and T Bone and Ryan Bingham for "The Weary Kind," Mavis Staples, Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Patty Loveless, Patty Griffin, Marty Stuart, and Neil Young. Heady stuff indeed.

Then the Bonnaroo lineup was announced, with plenty of Americana participation; Robert Plant & Band of Joy, Mumford & Sons, The Decemberists, Ray LaMontagne, Alison Krauss & Union Station with Jerry Douglas, Gregg Allman, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mavis Staples, Loretta Lynn, Wanda Jackson, Justin Townes Earle, Abigail Washburn, Ryan Bingham, Deer Tick, Amos Lee, Hayes Carll, and Railroad Earth. This year is the tenth anniversary of Bonnaroo, and it sounds like a must!

We have our sights set on SXSW®, though, as that comes up first, about a month from now in March down here in Austin. Music Fog will be doing our four day unofficial showcase at Threadgill's South. We have been doing it there, through the magic of chicken fried steak, for the last four years. Our lineup is being finalized as we speak, and so I suspect we will be announcing it VERY soon. Lots of cool stuff is coming, we promise you that. Shall we savor something from last year's set? I think Warren Hood and The Hoodlums fit the bill. Though they aren't on the B'roo list, Lord knows they SHOULD be! You can catch them at Old Settler's Music Fsetival this April in Austin. There are plenty of other dates, too. It doesn't matter where you see Warren, just that one of these days, make sure that you do. As a case in point, here is "The More I See You."

- Jessie Scott

Madison Violet "Small of My Heart"

Memphis is fine this time of year. It is much more temperate than it was last year at this time, when the Music Fog crew was parked in a tour bus out in front of the Memphis Marriott Downtown. That is the headquarters of the Folk Alliance International Conference. It is quite an event, housed under one roof, bringing a cocoon like vibe to the goings-on. It brings a grand sense of community. It started yesterday, and goes until Sunday, February 20th. On tap are panels, workshops, instrument clinics, and a keynote address from Jac Holzman, legendary founder of Elektra Records on its 60th Anniversary. There are countless artists playing, there are upstairs suites where the live music goes into the wee small hours. There is lots of Red Bull being consumed, let me tell you! And we wish we could have been there this year, ah well.

So the next best thing just might be to bring you something from the Music Fog bus from last year. We had such a blast with everyone coming to visit, that it was hard to pick which one to bring you today. Drum roll please...it's Madison Violet! They are not at Folk Alliance this year either, though, having chosen to stay north of the border. But last month they were in Grenada...check out this Dinghy Concert Series performance they did! So fun!

"Small Of My Heart" comes from their 2009 album No Fool For Trying. It was produced in Toronto by Les Cooper (Jill Barber, The Good Lovelies) and featuring a stellar cast of musicians including Treasa Levasseur, Paul Mathew, Cindy Fairbank, Joel Stouffer, Victor Bateman, Adrian Lawryshyn and Chris Coole. If you are wanting a path to do some musical discovery, there you go! Here is the Music Fog version of "Small of My Heart," filmed during the 2010 FAI.

- Jessie Scott