Tara Nevins "Nothing Really"

They should just go ahead and rename the month of December to Christmas. The radio stations have gone wall to wall Christmas music, The stores are decked, the lights are lit, the commercials are screaming ‘buy.’ I did see a very cool thing today, The Salvation Army at Rockefeller Center weren’t just ringing their bells, they were singing and dancing to the songs on the street. I must say, it elevated it to a brand new place. I was instantly infused with the spirit of the season. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying bah humbug to the rest of the seasonal items, either. I love the holidays. Making new traditions, observing those handed down, spending time with the ones you love, sharing food and good times, exchanging gifts, thinking about what someone would like when you buy that gift. I don’t think we often take enough notice of the others in our life, and Christmas is a good excuse to get out of our own brains and focus on others. Lovely.

In the spirit of giving, we bring you Tara Nevins. She is the consummate musician. From her solo stuff, to Donna The Buffalo, and everything in between, she surround herself with like-minded minstrels. Last time we filmed her was two years ago at Americana Fest in Nashville. She brought The Believers with her to the Music Fog Bus, and we proceeded to have an inside window on hatching the creative process. This time, at Americana Fest in October, we had the honor once again when she brought Rose Sinclair and Chris Henry to play with her. She is fearless in her quest to explore. The song “Nothing Really” is on her latest album Wood And Stone, which came out this year, on which she peers into her own heritage. It is her first solo album since Mule to Ride in 1999. Here is the Music Fog rendition of “Nothing Really,” filmed at Marathon Recorders in Nashville.

-Jessie Scott

Kenny Vaughan "Shimmy"

The GRAMMY® nominations were announced on Wednesday, and we salute all the folks that got one. Confused as they can be in terms of where to put what album, our sincere congrats go out anyway to:
Best Americana Album: Emotional Jukebox — Linda Chorney, Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down — Ry Cooder, Hard Bargain — Emmylou Harris, Ramble At The Ryman — Levon Helm, Blessed — Lucinda Williams.
Best Blues Album: Low Country Blues — Gregg Allman, Roadside Attractions — Marcia Ball, Man In Motion — Warren Haynes, The Reflection — Keb’ Mo’, Revelator — Tedeschi Trucks Band.
Best Folk Album: Barton Hollow — The Civil Wars,  I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive — Steve Earle, Helplessness Blues — Fleet Foxes, Ukulele Songs — Eddie Vedder,  The Harrow & The Harvest — Gillian Welch.
Best Recording Package: Reckless Kelly — Good Luck & True Love
Best Engineered Album (non-classical): Sarah Jarosz — Follow Me Down
Best Engineered Album (non-classical): Gillian Welch — The Harrow & The Harvest
While we are at it, nods also go out to Brian Setzer, The Decemberists, Mumford and Sons, Eric Brace and Peter Cooper, Jeff Beck, and Jim Lauderdale. The complete list is here. Can’t wait for the GRAMMYs, happening on February 12th in LA. We wish everyone good luck.

I know that one of these years, Kenny Vaughan will bag one of those awards. Yes he will. He started kicking around Nashville in 1987, where he played with The Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Patty Loveless, Rodney Crowell, Marshall Chapman, Kim Richey, and Greg Garing, with whom he joined in the reclaiming of Nashville’s historic Lower Broadway district. They played in the back room of Tootsie’s, planting the seeds for the future in what was once thought of as Skid Row, that has now grown into the bustling downtown mecca. Along the way, Kenny hooked up with Marty Stuart, and is a revered member of his Fabulous Superlatives. It was about time that Kenny put a record out of his own. V is it, and we were delighted to invite Kenny Vaughan to Marathon Recorders while we were in Nashville. He brought the boys; Rich Brinsfield on bass, and John Radford on drums. And they did rock. Behold, the Music Fog version of “Shimmy.”

-Jessie Scott

Gurf Morlix "The Parting Glass"

Heading to New York today, gonna see the sometimes sincere, sometimes funny, always entertaining Canadiana artist Corb Lund at Hill Country Barbecue Market. Leave it to me to leave Texas, land of serious smokers, to eat Texas Q in NYC, but it is the real deal. I like that the music is as much the real deal, as the food is, that makes for a perfect night out. Real stuff; life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Make the most of every day, because we only have so many. We share that too, the end, no one gets out of this world alive.

Gurf Morlix has today’s song. He introduced it to us by saying, ”A friend of mine emailed me and said you'd like it (the song), and I said why, does someone die in it?  He said yeah, but that's not why you'll like it. I learned it, and really liked it and starting doing some digging into it and found out it's at least 400 years old.  Maybe Robert Burns had something to do with it.  It's about a dying man's last drink, a pint of ale, and it's called “The Parting Glass.” It has the feel of Auld Lang Syne in it as well, and it would make for a mournful song as the year wanes. December starts today…the end is near. Gurf is the real deal too, catch him on a European tour for most of the month. We are so glad he came by Marathon Recorders in Nashville during Americana Fest to film “The Parting Glass” for Music Fog.

-Jessie Scott