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

The Bridge "Rosie"

Music is not a competition, though coming off the GRAMMYs®, we do have to acknowledge that there are "winners," and I suppose only one at a time can be at the top of the heap. I do like the visual of the long distance race, especially when you think of it being a marathon, with all those runners lining up at the start. People can finish at their own pace. They run their own race, some to conclusion, no matter when that happens. There is plenty of room in the field for everyone who wants to participate. I actually think of the 'music biz' that same way. There is always plenty of competition. A runner knows they cannot get there by looking over their shoulders. Eyes on the prize, hold on, and just keep going.

Photo Credit: Alicia Rose It is not ever enough just to make great music. That is just the first part, then you have to go out and work it. And that goes on from year to year. It is great when a band can just keep working the cycle. Keep growing, keep becoming, keep creating, keep touring. I knew The Bridge, who hail from Baltimore, had that kind of drive, when I met them around 5 years ago. We had them come into the XM performance studio to lay a set of live music down for us at X Country. They brought some personal touches that were a tad weird for a roots band, like that Kenny beatboxed and played his mando through a pedal board, so he could get it to sound like horns. All good, all inventive stuff.

The Bridge has just released a new CD, National Bohemian, produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, and there are a serious string of tour dates coming. Cris Jacobs is lead vocals and guitar, Kenny Liner on mandolin (and mouth), Dave Markowitz does bass and vocals, Patrick Rainey plays saxophone, it's Mike Gambone on drums, and keys are Mark Brown; they swing it sweet for a roots rocking good time. "Rosie" is the first video from the album. Note the retro hipster attire and engaging vibe.

- Jessie Scott

Tommy Emmanuel "Sanitarium Shuffle"

It is hard not to live in the past, when you have decades of 'history.' That means decades of fuzzy memories, of savored moments, and yes, some you just want to forget. Having music as a passionate pursuit, which thankfully marches on, helps to make each day present time. And you don't have to forsake the old to embrace the new. My iPod spans somewhere in the vicinity of 75 years of recorded music. It makes for whiplash segues sometimes, but the songs are like jewels, they shine in their own light. From the Memphis Jug Band doing "He's In The Jailhouse Now," to the Black Keys, Decemberists, Spoon and the new Gregg Allman and Hayes Carll albums. LOVE music. Keep on bringing it.

Use to be that I would spend hours in record stores, looking at the alphabetical bins for the tactile, first with singles, then LPs and CDs. Now I gaze in wonder at the new music lists, clicking next page, and then the next. I was just looking at today's new releases; from the abovementioned Hayes Carll KMAG YOYO, to the Drive-By Truckers Go Go Boots, to the brand new Tommy Emmanuel, Little By Little, a two disc set. There are not enough discs in the world for me of Tommy's imaginative, acrobatic, and effortless music. As we bring you video, his playing is all the richer for the pictures of what his fingers are doing. It is utterly amazing to watch him. But you could just as easily close your eyes to allow the music to wash over you, too. We recorded Tommy Emmanuel this past September at the Americana Fest in Nashville. "Sanitarium Shuffle" is from his 2006 album Endless Road.

- Jessie Scott