Pieta Brown "Calling All Angels"

Beans and I headed up from the Albuquerque Airport, I-40 to I-25 North. We just crossed the Continental Divide, and though it feels like we are going up, we are holding steady at 7000 feet, seemingly for miles and miles on our way to Telluride for the Americana Music Weekend. It rained a bit, our nostrils infused with ozone and clean, then there was a rainbow (My second this week...a DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!).

Cheap-ass iPhone photoWe passed a rock outcropping that appeared to be round, looking like a spaceship had landed long ago and then just became petrified. Never mind, it's just the 'shrooms talking...or the altitude...high on something that's for sure. Ahhhh perfect, we just saw a Laundromat/fireworks combo store. Yeah.

We see the Rockies way in the distance as we head toward the Colorado border. Wonder what kind of Holy Sh*t moment it was when the pioneers saw them on the horizon. I think it is time for a pit stop, 'cause we can't figure out how to get the A/C to come back on. Need beer...cool, liquor store coming up on the right! Much better now. We are passing volcanic rock, tectonic remnants, caves and mesas in the scrub brush and you know, we are in spiritual land. God's country. Native American country. Angels in our midst. You can just feel them.

Pieta Brown is wearing her dark glasses for the Music Fog cameras, and they are impenetrable. Just as is the Southwest itself. If you are not from these parts, you know you are seeing something you don't quite understand, but you trust the cadence, and how perfect it is. It engenders respect, sobering in how enormous it all feels. Pieta Brown captures what I am thinking exactly, as she sings "I'm Just a Stranger in this Land." "Calling All Angels" comes from her most recent CD One And All. This version recorded solo in February on I-40 - the OTHER side of the Mississippi River in Memphis during Folk Alliance.

-Jessie Scott

David Beck "Brand New Dawn/Running Low"

It was dark-thirty. It was way early. That crunch I heard this morning might just have been the sound of my Blue Tooth being pulverized by my tires as I rolled out on my way to the airport. I feel naked without my earpiece. I hate it when I have to replace perfectly working gear. I love my devices. The Foggers can tell you all about my toys. Hell, we are all addicted. Every one of the crew has his or her "things."

Photo Credit : Jimmy BruchI know David Beck is into the toys thing, too. His are myriad instruments, and all manner of recording gear. He is a whirling dervish of creative juices. He plays, writes, arranges and produces. He is constantly reinventing himself. There are all manner of stage configurations, he is restless to see where he can push it next, for each project he does. David is planning on going back into the studio next month. We caught up with him in March, back before his EP Grand Island came out. Here is a taste.

Jessie Scott

Warren Hood & The Hoodlums "Long Distance Call"

Wow, these past several days have been a blur! I am happy to report that my first time at WoodyFest was everything I hoped and expected. Denise and I drove back to Austin on US-75 down from Henryetta, Oklahoma with green rolling hills, and the occasional town dotting the landscape. Beautiful. I juxtapose that with the Rocky Mountains, which await as tomorrow is the day we arrive in Telluride for the Americana Music Weekend! I just can't say enough about how much I love to keep moving. In search of worthy music. This is such a ride.

Got some time-traveling music for you now from Warren Hood and the Hoodlums, with the sweet, soulful, voice and keyboard wizardry of Emily Gimble, who simply OWNS this! Yes, we are talking Johnny Gimble's granddaughter. Some things just get passed down in the genes. And some things get passed down from masters like Muddy Waters. What a band this is, every single one of them gets it done. See if you hear a horn section fading up and under...it's actually Warren on fiddle! He and Emily are joined by Willie Pipkin, Chris Gilson, and Nate Rowe. We recorded this back in March, and promise to get you some of the stuff we recorded in Okemah by next week, once we come off the road. But this one is not to miss! "Long Distance Call." Makes you want that phone to ring!

- Jessie Scott