Miss Tess & The Bon Ton Parade "New Orleans"

New Orleans. We are driving around town listening to the soul of the city, community radio WWOZ. Between the funky oldies and the Dixieland and the Louis Armstrong – the cool horns, the hot Hammond B3, the licks and the grooves, I am in musical heaven just from the radio.  We took a drive into the bayou, to Morgan City, for some sightseeing, to the mouth of the Atchafalaya, and then paralleled the Mississippi River for a while.  Levees to the left. Poverty, oil fields and plantations to the right.  Why is life so unbalanced? But the overarching principle here, is to enjoy the moment no matter who you are or what you have got.  

"New Orleans” comes from Miss Tess and The Bon Ton Parade.  They recorded it for the Music Fog cameras a year ago in March at Threadgill’s.  The ease and spirit that this song embodies is the prevailing wind of the Big Easy.  There is a sassiness, a certainty, and an innuendo to it all, that is assured, insinuating, and I must say, very appealing.  Miss Tess and the band are gigging, if you want some more.  And Miss Tess has a throw down every Wednesday via YouTube, where she challenges you to give her a tune to cover.  She takes song requests in order, learns the song, videotapes it wherever and with whoever she feels like playing with. Cool. “New Orleans” now from Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade, as I bid NOLA adieu.

- Jessie Scott

Kevin Welch “Flycatcher Jack and The Whippoorwill's Song”

I am walking the thoroughfares of the French Quarter, hearing the whispers and seeing the ghosts. Eating the remarkable food of NOLA, and encountering street scenes with music tumbling out from the balconies and the hurricane doors and windows.  It is always a good touchstone to come here, to see the mix, to feel the immigrant nation that spawned the greatness of America.  Everyone is in it together to make a multicultural society, stronger than the sum of its parts.  Song is a universal truth, one that we can all share, one that can touch all hearts.  Kevin Welch is one of those songwriters, that can take it off the printed page and make it float in the air, hologram like.

Before we bring you “Flycatcher Jack and The Whippoorwill's Song,” I just wanted to make sure you know that Kevin will be in the house to salute another exceptional songwriter, Guy Clark, for "Wish I Was In Austin:  A 70th Birthday Tribute to Guy Clark" on November 2nd.  Guy himself will be in attendance for the evening at The Long Center, in Austin, Texas.  It will be an evening honoring the majesty of Texas’ homegrown song, to benefit The Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University, San Marcos.  The evening will feature appearances by Terry Allen, Shawn Colvin, Rodney Crowell, Joe Ely, Rosie Flores, Radney Foster, Terri Hendrix, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jack Ingram, James McMurtry, The Trishas, Jerry Jeff Walker, and surprise guests.  The concert is the companion to the release of the double CD set,  "This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark", which features many of the people who will be on stage.  Kevin Welch will be there, and so today we bring you a special moment with Kevin from MusicFest earlier this year, when he stopped by the Steamboat Grand with Dustin Welch in tow. 

- Jessie Scott

The Defibulators "Your Hearty Laugh"

I am starting to get really excited about the Americana Music Association’s Conference, which is coming up in three weeks in Nashville. We had a blast last year, taping scads of artists, and running around town to see more of them at night. Music Fog will be there again in full force. We are taking the Marathon Recorders for our home away from home this time. It's in Marathon Village, where WRLT, Lightning 100 can be found, along with lots of other artistic endeavors. It was where the Marathon car was made way back when.  We will be making magic of our own. I can’t wait to share this year’s line up with you.

One of the bands we met during last year's AMA festival is bringing us today’s video. The Defibulators travel in a spiffy vehicle of their own, a 1977 Dodge ambulance.  Listen for two of their songs in the independent feature film, The Dry Land, or during The Rejection Show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC, where they serve as house band.  From last year’s Americana Fest 2010, here’s “Your Hearty Laugh.”

- Jessie Scott