Bryan Dunn "Sweetheart Of The Music Hall"

Saturday, ahhhh! It feels so fine this time of year, I am loving these long days, they are made for playing in the extra hours of light. When the night comes, there is that delicious warm air to envelop you. And the sense of adventure and freedom that comes with not having to wear an overcoat. Especially on the streets of New York, it is glorious the less you have on - or have to carry.

Bryan Dunn has credentials that include Austin, TX and NYC. There seems to be a lot of that going on these days. His new album, Sweetheart Of The Music Hall came out in early April. The album title is as much of a nod to the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo as it is acknowledgement to the musician's collective at New York's Rockwood Music Hall.  "For a long time, it seemed like Austin had a community of musicians but New York had a scene," says Bryan. But, when Rockwood opened and the late nights started, that changed. Suddenly you were playing for, and with, people because it was fun, not because you had an agenda. There were nationally known acts mingling with locals, but it didn't matter. People went there to listen, not to be seen."

We have an exclusive video premiere for you today, the title track, "Sweetheart Of The Music Hall," is loosely (and totally fictionally) based on musician Misty Boyce, who plays piano on the song. Bryan comments, "We had this beautiful album cover and thought it would be cool to give it a backstory. We'd discussed this whole elaborate detective/femme fatale noir style thing but the budget was a little small so we thought 'oh, let's just kill everybody in the band." More murder and mayhem? Delightful...Cheers!

-Jessie Scott

The Hobart Brothers & Lil' Sis Hobart "Ballad of Sis (Didn't I Love You)"

Hell yeah, I love it when women rock. It seems to me most people don’t know that side of Susan Cowsill. The early stuff with The Cowsills takes precedence, in all its pop glory. Susan rocked hard with the amazing Continental Drifters. I was among the lucky that got to see them bring it on one night at the Austin Music Hall in Austin, TX during SXSW years ago. It was like watching Fleetwood Mac, only hip. We loved the beautiful, poignant Susan Cowsill stuff that we got to film almost two years ago at Americana Fest. But now comes a new incarnation.

Susan is well met in the latest chapter of her very varied career. The Hobart Brothers & Lil’ Sis Hobart bring her together with Jon Dee Graham and Freedy Johnston. Glory day, this is fun stuff. OMG, I Googled, and came up with a different Hobart Brothers with the slogan ‘Performance Welding Products. That is about perfect.

The three powerhouse singer-songwriters got together in an Austin backyard back in 2010. They started to reminisce and write songs about their early days working in restaurants, and thus, they named themselves Hobart after the commercial dishwasher found in restaurant kitchens. They wrote ten songs with a span of subjects for what was to become this album. Here is one of the tunes, “Ballad of Sis (Didn't I Love You)," from the album, At Least We Have Each Other, done up Music Fog style, from the Spring Marathon at Threadgill’s during SXSW. Let’s rock out for a Friday!

-Jessie Scott

Phoebe Hunt "Sugar"

Did you see the Transit of Venus on Tuesday? It is the last one for a hundred+ years - the last time it happened was in 1882. Ya gotta wonder how the ancients even knew about this stuff when you can’t look directly at the sun. How wonderful those inquisitive minds were that looked at the world and ask why…didn’t just ask, but sought answers, and that got handed down sometimes over centuries. This seems so arcane to me now, that spirit of cooperation feels quaint and old fashioned. Not that there aren’t scientists who still operate with the awe and the discipline, but since there are so many people who seemingly don’t believe in science anymore, I wonder what the world will be like when the next transit occurs in 2117.

Culture matters. Our lives are so busy, so demanding, it is important to take time for awe wherever it comes from. For me, the renewal comes from music. Phoebe Hunt came to visit us during our Music Fog Marathon in March at Threadgill’s WHQ in Austin. Phoebe went to school at University of Texas. She spent her college years touring with folk trio the Hudsons. I first met her through the eclectic Belleville Outfit, who burst onto the scene with energy and mad skills. I was standing in the wings at The Ryman Auditorium during an Americana Honors and Awards show, watching them delight the Lifetime Achievement Award winners with their joyful performance. Phoebe carries that with her in her solo career. She has a new EP just out, which was recorded in LA. The song “Sugar” can be found on it. Here is the Music Fog recording, with sister Stephanie Hunt and Ali Holder helping out.

-Jessie Scott