Lost Bayou Ramblers "Les Filles A Nonc Elaire"

Happy Mardi Gras! I wish I could be in New Orleans where, party aside, it is a day of religious celebration with friends and family coming together to share food and make memories. It is ironic that the day is now more known for its excesses. In typical 'next best thing to being there' fashion, on Sunday my club Midtown Live presented CJ Chenier & His Red Hot Louisiana band. With Creole food and Zydeco dancing, a fine time was had by all. We braved the cold, with the temperature dropping Sunday night in NY to 1 frigid degree, so these were hardy souls to come out! Midtown Live is the site of another Let's Zydeco concert on February 27th, when Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys come to town.

A few weeks back during our Music Fog Mini Marathon, we had the pleasure of filming The Lost Bayou Ramblers. They bring the strings and the soul, and the feel of a sultry day amid still water with Spanish Moss hanging in the trees. The band was formed in 1999, a family affair, by brothers Andre and Louis Michot. They learned roots Cajun music performing with their uncles and father as part of Les Frères Michot which was founded in the 80's. They were voted as Best Cajun Band in 2012, 2013, and 2014 by Offbeat Magazine's "The Best of the Beat" awards.

On this Mardi Gras Day, as we dream of warmth and sunshine, the Lost Bayou Ramblers provide the perfect accompaniment. This was our loudest session of the day, so it's best you play it loud, too, and dance!

- Jessie Scott

Dale Watson "Give Me More Kisses"

Awards season is solidly upon us. The GRAMMYs© were Sunday and the good news is it seems the roots music categories are expanding every year! Music Fog congratulates all the nominees, and tips our collective Fog hat (ahem) to the winners, among them triple awardee Rosanne Cash, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jo-El Sonnier, Johnny Winter, Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer, Jack White, The Earls of Leicester, and Mike Farris, who is coming to NYC, playing Midtown Live this Friday evening. (Click for tickets.)

A few weeks ago, Music Fog set up on a Sunday at Midtown Live to film seven artists, including Dale Watson. He has spent a musical life pursuing pure Honky Tonk, Rockabilly and Bakersfield spirit; what country music was known for in decades past. These sounds are sure not being heard right now on mainstream country radio, which is obsessed with what I call "Party Country." Hoist your 6 pack, there’s a girl in the front seat of your pick-up truck in her cut offs, as you head down to the lake to party. Oh, what a stereotype that has become. Country used to be about so much more.

Dale Watson not only honors the traditions in song but in his actions, founding the Ameripolitan Music Awards in 2014. The second annual event is happening on February 17th in Austin, TX at The Paramount Theater, and a limited number of tickets are still available. Awards are being handed out for Honky Tonk, Rockabilly, Western Swing, and Outlaw. It will be a gala evening celebrating real deal stuff. If you are in the Austin area, we highly recommend getting over to see it in person. We grabbed a tune to get you in the mood from Dale Watson & His Lone Stars, which originally was released on the album El Rancho Azul in 2013. Here is the Music Fog recording of “Give Me More Kisses.”

- Jessie Scott

Mipso "Tried Too Hard"

Living in the music is what I love best. It was great to “get the band back together,” as the guys traveled up to New York to film our first new sessions in nearly two years. Man, it felt good to have the Music Fog crew back together, this time in the Chandelier Room at Midtown Live. Let me tell you a little bit about this new club. The initiative is to book Roots Music of every description there. We will welcome Ronnie Fauss and Anne McCue this week in support of their brand new projects, then next week GRAMMY® Nominee Mike Farris is coming to play. Check the schedule at midtownlive.com, there are lots of supercool folks coming to see us. You should too, if you are around the NYC area and want to hear some great Americana music.

More than anything, Music Fog is excited to bring you some new music. People ask me all the time about how I find bands, and for sure, one of the ways is through trusted sources. In this case, I got turned on to Mipso through Dave Magazine, with whom I used to work. He is down in NOLA now, at House of Blues, and is rocking it down there. Mipso is on a tear of its own, visiting 26 states in the first two months of 2015. The North Carolina renegade traditionalist quartet has been together since 2010. Jacob Sharp, Wood Robinson, Joseph Terrell, and Libby Rodenbough bring close harmonies and effortless music. We sure do hope you enjoy this song, which was on their 2013 release Dark Holler Pop. Now here’s the Music Fog recording of “Tried Too Hard.” We’re back!

- Jessie Scott