Carrie Rodriguez "When I Heard Gypsy Davy Sing"

What an image, what a talent, what an amazing entity Miss Carrie Rodriguez is. Just TOO good! Her new album, Love and Circumstance, was produced by Lee Townsend (Bill Frisell, Loudon Wainwright III, etc) and on which she honors other writers; notably John Hiatt/Ry Cooder/Nick Lowe/Jim Keltner (aka Little Village), Buddy & Julie Miller, M. Ward, Lucinda Williams, Richard Thompson, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Bonnie Owens & Merle Haggard, Townes van Zandt, Hank Williams, and David Rodriguez (her Dad). She took her touring band into the studio to record: Hans Holzen (guitars), Kyle Kegerreis (bass), and Eric Platz (drums). Special guests joining in on the recording include Bill Frisell, Buddy Miller, Greg Leisz, and Aoife O'Donovan. Kick ass!

Photo Credit: Sarah WilsonAlso, look for her on the airwaves, as Live & Circumstance - A Carrie Rodriguez Radio Special hosted by Alejandro Escovedo is being prepared for release to radio in early August. In addition to the conversation and interview, it will feature live performances from her record release show in NYC at Joe's Pub in April and from her performance in May at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. And if that ain't enough, the Love & Circumstance Tour is officially underway with shows in Portland, OR; Belingham, WA; Seattle, WA; Crested Butte, CO; Taos, NM; Fruita, CO; Snowmass, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Boise, ID! More in August, plus three extra special shows will be added late in the month with John Prine.

Carrie brought artistry and emotion to our stage at Threadgill's in March, as she stripped down her dad's tune, "When I Heard Gypsy Davy Sing," with Hans Holzen accompanying.

- Jessie Scott

Danny Barnes "Overdue"

I LOVE this...searching for his website, it came up as "Ol' Danny Barnes!" Ain't that a hoot. Danny's site is cool, where the first thing you see is other artist's endorsements scrolling of Danny's work. They include Robert Earl Keen, Tony Trischka, Keller Williams, Sam Bush, and Dave Matthews. More heavy duty name dropping: Danny Barnes plays on the song "Tomorrow Never Knows" on Herbie Hancock's new concept CD The Imagine Project with guest vocals from Dave Matthews. Other contributors to the CD are Anousha Shankar, Jeff Beck, John Legend, The Chieftans, Seal, India Arie, Pink, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Chaka Khan, K’Naan, James Morrison, Wayne Shorter, and Lisa Hannigan. Pretty heady stuff! Of course, I suspect Danny is taking it all in stride by now. Matthews sang on a couple of the songs on Pizza Box, Danny's latest CD. You may have also noticed Danny on stage at Bonnaroo with the DMB last month.

All cozy, all for the very BEST of reasons...it's all about the artistry. Danny Barnes' website is a delight to tool around on. Give yourself plenty of time for the exploration. His "How to Make a Living Playing Music" article is a great read, and there are three "How To Play The Banjo" videos, too, if you are of a mind to learn from the master. But first, here's a Music Fog video to get you in the mood, from the Threadgill's stage this past March. The song "Overdue" is from Pizza Box. Beautiful!

- Jessie Scott

Ray Bonneville "Stand Real Still"

We are far from standing real still, as we're enroute to WoodyFest, the 13th annual event honoring Woody Guthrie. Denise and I are heading north from Austin, the guys are westbound from Maryland, and we'll meet in the middle. Come to think of it, their drive is a little longer than ours, and I guess the actual geographic middle of the country is Lebanon, KS. Well, we are gonna be close enough anyway! More celebration of this great land of ours. It feels especially amazing when you string a bunch of these trips together like Music Fog is about to do.

Photo Credit: Sandy DyasI just can't get on the open road without marveling at the depth and breadth of America. And then there is the depth and breadth of the music created in America. We bring you one of the purest forms today. The blues, with the masterful Ray Bonneville. Born in Canada, and relocating to the Boston area in his early teens, he calls himself a North American. With dual citizenship, he toggles between Montreal and Austin. Perfect. You can hear the New Orleans influence all over his stuff, too, as if the heat of those streets got absorbed into his veins in the 80's when he moved between that city, and Seattle and Paris, France. Ray is working on CD number six, due out this fall. "Stand Real Still" is from the CD Roll It Down from 2004. Here is Ray with Mike Meadows on the Black Swan, and other percussive stuff, from Folk Alliance this past February.

Incidentally, Mike Meadows and Rad Lorkovic are vying (they don't know it, though) for our MVP acknowlegement...Most Video Performances as a side-man in front of the Music Fog lights! I estimate they've each had at least seven appearances!

- Jessie Scott