Billy Burnette "Tear It Up"

You probably already know how Kickstarter works, but if we do not make our goal, we don’t get any of the money pledged. And though we had a good head of steam at first, it slowed down quite a bit over last weekend, and I fear that with the final weekend upon us, it might do the same thing. That makes me a bit nervous. We have until this Thursday in the early morning to hit our mark of $15,000, with your help through Kickstarter, in order to make our Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s a reality. Or the cat wins! (Editor's note: Go ahead, click it. You'll just add to the 70+ million views of an angry cat. We'll be right here with our less viewed, but far more tasty music videos.) Please share our project with your friends on Facebook to help us get the word out and hit our goal, so we may continue to archive great Americana music and intimate performances.

We had a brush with rock and roll royalty as we invited Billy Burnette to appear in front of our cameras during Americana Fest in Nashville this past October. He has written songs that have been recorded by artists that span the genres; Ray Charles, Cher, Roy Orbison, to Glen Campbell, George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Faith Hill. He is a sought after guitarist that has toured with Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, and as a member of Fleetwood Mac. And he rocks, so let’s “Tear It Up,” with a song from his Memphis in Manhattan release. Here is Billy Burnette with Kenny Vaughan, Dave Roe, and Jimmy Lester, filmed during the Fall Music Fog Marathon, from Nashville's Marathon Recorders. You got to roll with it. Yeah you do!

- Jessie Scott

The Civil Wars "20 Years"

Man oh man, is it hard to break a band these days! You know the system has broken down, because radio doesn’t play much new music anymore. The new artists you are exposed to are a mere trickle, from what used to be a flowing fountain of discovery and ascendancy. I have ranted many times about it all, and it still blows my mind that once music was so important to so many of us, and yet a few decades later, we are lost at sea. The sad truth is, even if a band gets some radio play, it is not enough to really penetrate our consciousness. It take so much more than that now; festival plays, television soundtracks, placement in TV commercials. It ain’t just radio, like it was in the old days. Thinking back on the last couple of years, let’s take a look at Lady Gaga. It was more than a year after I heard ABOUT her, that I actually heard a song FROM her that I could name, let alone hum along to. It certainly does help when someone who has prevailed then endorses another artist. That happened when Taylor Swift tweeted about The Civil Wars.

Photo Credit: Allister Ann

The Civil Wars have had the fairytale ride these last couple of years. It has been exciting to watch them explode on the scene, especially for how rare that occurrence is these days. It certainly doesn’t hurt that they are unique in concert, so minimal, yet so powerful. Joy Williams and John Paul White are up for two GRAMMYs® this Sunday; for Best Folk Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance. We wish them ‘bon chance!’

We had the great fortune of having them perform during our Spring Music Fog Marathon last March, at Threadgill’s in Austin, Texas. Here is “20 Years” from that session.

- Jessie Scott

Tommy Emmanuel "Timberlake Road"

1975 found me in New York, on the radio at groundbreaking country station WHN. Having left the rock and roll world behind, I started hanging out in New York’s country venues, where I promptly fell back in love with all the flavors; country rock, honky-tonk, close harmonies, western swing. The shuffles, the anthem, the waltzes, and the joy and the sorrow of it all. This past Monday night I was brought back to that place by John Lilly, who played my concert series, The School Night Sessions, at Threadgill’s. He brought an unbelievable group with him: Bill Kirchen on guitar, Tommy Detamore on pedal steel, Bobby Flores on fiddle, Ric Ramirez on upright bass, Floyd Domino on keys, Tom Lewis on drums, and Brennan Leigh doing harmony and percussion. She actually opened the show, too, along with Noel McKay. It was a magical night with a dream band to celebrate the release of John Lilly’s new CD Cold Comfort. Well worth picking up a copy for its well written, and beautifully executed songs. Makes me so glad I get to do what I do.

There is majesty in music. When the opportunity arises for its elegance to wash over us, to connect with us cerebrally, physically and psychically, that’s the trifecta of human communication. Music Fog has been so lucky to be in the room to capture lightning in a bottle. BTW, we are still in need of your help to make our Music Fog Marathon during SXSW® music week a reality this March. Time is running out on our campaign to raise $15,000 to cover travel, streaming costs, and all event production expenses. If you like what we do, please pledge what you can, and share the Kickstarter campaign with the other roots music lovers you know. At risk are hours of live music streaming, months worth of our fan-favorite videos that would be produced from these performances, and potentially the overall daily Music Fog experience---we need to have sessions in order to share with you each day!

Heading back to Nashville for today’s video. We filmed Tommy Emmanuel at our traveling recording studio during the 2010 Americana Fest. Tommy hung out and watched us work before it was his turn. Love, Love, love what he brings, with fingers flying and palpable joy. Here is “Timberlake Road” from the album Only.

- Jessie Scott