Rodney Crowell "Highway 17"

The weather is turning chilly with winter closing in. As the year winds down with fetes, feasts and fraternity, I get wistful thinking about MusicFest at Steamboat Springs. If you have never been, you owe it to yourself to take the trip one of these years. It happens just after the first of the year, January 5th through the 10th this time around. So when you are facing the last round of New Year's festivities, you have to pace yourself to have enough energy left to make it through an extra 10 days of rocking and rolling. And what a time it is: Texas, Red Dirt and Americana music; The Rocky Mountains and gentle gossamer snowflakes. Sometimes blistering cold, so you have to wear layers, and you have to be prepared to strip them off once indoors. It is the perfect time of year, a fresh start in the fresh snowfall, with Christmas lights still twinkling in the pines. The event is welcoming, set amongst this beauty, and is enhanced even further by the quality of music and the spirit of the camaraderie. The MusicFest Tribute, an annual event, happens on January 8th at the Steamboat Grand Ballroom. It consists of two sets, with the first being a salute by the other MusicFest artists doing cover songs in homage, and then a set by the tributee! Past honorees include Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Guy Clark, Leon Russell, and Kevin Welch. The series is curated by Dr. Gary Hartman, the director of the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University, which is the beneficiary.

This year's MusicFest Tribute artist is Rodney Crowell. Rodney has had, and continues to have, an impressive career, with mainstream country success, and legions of A-List artists who have covered his extensive music catalog. At the turn of the century, Rodney got to reinvent himself, mining introspection, emotion, and current events for an impressive decade of CDs, with the first of the new era being 2001's The Houston Kid. And there is more news, as on January 18th, 2011 Rodney's memoir Chinaberry Sidewalks will be published. He will embark on a series of intimate, one-man shows the end of next month, playing guitar, singing, and re-living the stories in the book. Be on the lookout for a special package of a hardcover copy of the book, an exclusive digital live album, and a VIP laminate for access to a backstage meet and greet with Rodney. For tour dates, and the package, check his website.

Rodney came to visit us in Nashville during our Americana Fest sessions at the Sheraton. He played a particularly haunting tune from The Houston Kid CD, "Highway 17."

- Jessie Scott

Over the Rhine "The Laugh of Recognition"

They are a storied duo, Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, and have been around for 20 years at the core of Over the Rhine. OtR began in 1990, starting band life as most do; with four pieces as a rock outfit. "I was continuing my education, considering my masters degree, when this tall, lanky fella approached me about singing lead for some rock band in Cincinnati," recalls the classically trained Bergquist. "I didn’t just jump at the chance. I lunged."

The name came from the gritty neighborhood Over-the-Rhine, which the band first called home base. They found local success, and started to attract a wider audience with the release of two indie, and beautifully packaged, records. Then they signed to IRS, which re-released their second record Patience with its original artwork. I can tell you that the packaging caught my attention first when I was a radio programmer, and a listen proved that their art wasn't just skin deep. Their catalog is impressive, abundant, and artful.

We all just missed their train trip into the Southwest with Lucy Wainwright Roche, Mickey Grimm, Swan Dive, Michael Wilson and Lynn Neal, as it wrapped up on November 10th, but there are shows ahead that will drench you in sonics and wonder.

And REJOICE! There is a new CD on the way, The Long Surrender, set for release on February 8th, 2011. No need to fret, though, as Music Fog was given the opportunity to record the band in preparation for the new album to come out. Here's an exclusive from Over the Rhine, filmed during our sessions at Americana Fest in Nashville this past September. From the forthcoming CD, enjoy "The Laugh of Recognition." Yum!

- Jessie Scott

Amy Speace "Ghost"

She is a rare bird, with exotic plumage, and a bell-like tone to her exquisite and expressive voice. Amy Speace has three albums under her belt, plus an EP called Into the New: Alternates, Leftovers, & Orphans, that she put out at the beginning of the year. When we were in Nashville this September, Music Fog wound up with some time in the schedule, so we summoned her. I believe we actually had the audacity to call her at 8am, but she is the kind of artist who you can wake early, and won't be surly when you do. She even called her band mates to roust them, too! Alas, festival life means burning the candle at both ends!

Amy has a new tour and project, because, after all, you have to keep things interesting. It is called Decembersongs, and the idea for it was hatched back in February at Folk Alliance, in Memphis, following each artist's separate showcase. Amy thought bringing these voices and personalities together would be, as she says, "extraordinary." The equally intrepid artists are: Dan Navarro, Sally Barris, and Jon Vezner. They will hit the road for eleven shows, criss crossing the regions of the country, for a Christmas Tour. The group plans to play in-the-round, with mostly original holiday songs being performed. And of course, the Decembersongs EP will be available. All the cool kids are doing it!

Sorry to keep the drum pounding on the Christmas stuff, when we haven't even had our turkey yet. But at least it is after Halloween. Ah, but now that I think of it, maybe we should have brought you this song during that holiday! It's called "Ghost," and it will be found on Amy's next CD, which she recently finished recording. It's called Land Like a Bird, and we hear it will be out at the end of March. Here is Amy, who couldn't quite rouse the band during the early morning hours, at Americana Fest in Nashville. We'll take it any way she wants to bring it!

- Jessie Scott

Update on 2010-11-18 14:14 by Music Fog

Amy just announced that you can download two songs free, from her upcoming album, via her website. One of the songs is "Ghost," featured in this article, and the other is "It's Too Late to Call it a Night." Click here.