Wild Ponies "Lullaby"

What a weekend, between the Kentucky Derby and Mother’s Day, there is plenty to celebrate, of course while we collectively recover from Cinco de Mayo. Been a busy few days, that’s for sure.

Don’t know if you have been clocking this trend, but there are lots of couples making music together. Several have even appeared in front of the Music Fog cameras. Whether we talk about the Mastersons, Shovels and Rope, Whitehorse with Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams (who I got to see at City Winery Nashville on Thursday night), it is great to watch all these folks navigate the art, the commerce, and interpersonal to make it work.

Photo Credit: Stacie HuckebaIt seems like a million years ago when we first met up with then acoustic duo Doug and Telisha Williams. There was homemade hooch involved, and a giddy time on the Music Fog bus, back when we HAD a Music Fog bus. That was Memphis in 2010, and I am happy to report that D&T have a new album about to hit, this Friday, under their band name Wild Ponies. Radiant is the follow up to 2013’s Things That Used to Shine. Doug and Telisha are still exploring, still restless, still reinventing, but their love of noir is as strong as ever. The sonics are edgier now, and with the addition of Megan Jane on percussion there is added pathos, but then “Lullaby” ain’t your typical Mother’s Day tune. I think all of us in the room were moved by the intensity when Music Fog filmed Wild Ponies at 3rd and Lindsley Backstage this past January. Here is the Music Fog recording of “Lullaby" which you will find on the new album, out Friday.

- Jessie Scott

Sarah Potenza "Granddad"

Back in January, I was doing some club hopping around Nashville, and I kept running into people who said they were playing for the Music Fog cameras the next week. I had booked a slew of bands for our upcoming video shoot at 3rd & Lindsley, but I wasn’t sure who they were playing with so I was a bit puzzled. I ran into Michael Webb first, and he said he was coming to see us. Then Joe McMahan said the same thing, and then I ran into Lisa Oliver-Gray, and finally I asked who she was coming to play with and she told me Sarah Potenza. AHA! Super cool. Sarah brought a big aggregation of folks, but it immediately felt like home with so many familiar faces.

It was our first time filming Ms. Potenza, whom you might know from her appearance on The Voice Season 8 last year. She has a new album, Monster, coming out in August, and is busy on the road with upcoming festival and club dates. See her in the Northeast this week, and then this weekend, Sarah swings down to play the venerable MerleFest in Wilksboro, NC, where I am sure she will blow the proverbial roof off. She brought a smoking hot band to us: Ian Crossman on guitar, Ron Eoff on bass, Josh Hunt on drums, Laura Mayo along with Lisa Gray on backing vocals, with Michael Webb on keys and Joe McMahan slinging guitar. “Granddad” is a haunting melody, performed here for the Music Fog cameras in a slower and more deliberate tempo than earlier versions you might see on the web. It reminds me of the simmering Bobby Gentry tune “Ode To Billie Joe.” Promise me this, you will go see Sarah Potenza when she comes your way. This here is powerful stuff!

- Jessie Scott

Sierra Hull "Queen of Hearts/Royal Tea"

So, here's a question. What were you doing when you were 13 years old? Me, I was playing kickball and trading baseball cards. (Wish I still had those!) Why is it that some people have such a clear path illuminated for them? Sierra Hull was already on her way at age 11, when Alison Krauss called her to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry to perform with her. Sierra signed her first record deal at 13, with Rounder Records, and for the decade the bluegrass world has been her home. The yearning came to reinvent, to explore, to push free, and at 24, with the aid of producer Bela Fleck, Sierra Hull has released the abum Weighted Mind. It is a major move toward artistic freedom.

This music is effortless, elegant, evocative. Bluegrass instrumentation and foundation gets new life breathed into it to become an orchestral expression. There are no structural limits. The coloration of the instruments, the voices, the interplay, all of this is simply delicious. Sierra Hull’s exploration is a testament to human restlessness. I can’t wait to see where her music takes her next.

Music Fog filmed Sierra Hull, along with Ethan Jodziewicz on upright bass and Justin Moses on banjo, at 3rd & Lindsley Backstage this past January. Here they are performing one of my favorite songs on the new album, "Queen Of Hearts/Royal Tea." Catch this trio on tour this spring. Enjoy, let your imagination run free.

- Jessie Scott