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We are back! Let's see... Friday, I headed to Tennessee Brew Works to catch a pair of Kerrville New Folk Festival winners: Aaron Smith from Arkansas and Justin Farren from California as they kicked off a run of shows up the East Coast. Great beer, great food, and great hangs with new and old friends.
From there, I headed to The Basement to catch Matthew Paige (of Blackfoot Gypsies) - I believe my first time seeing him solo - he was fantastic, then Darrin Bradbury, and then Jeremy Ivey (recently signed to ANTI records (as was Darrin) with his band The Extraterrestrials. A wonderful night of music and another reminder of why Nashville is still a cool place to be a music fan.
Now, it is time to jump into another week of shuffles, and as always, we kick things off with shuffle from my Music City Monday Spotify playlist - compromised of new and older music from people who do or did once call Nashville home.
Let's just shuffle!
"Everybody's Watching" by Blackfoot Gypsies
Speaking of Blackfoot Gypsies (if you read my opening remarks you will know that I was), we have a track from their To the Top album. Blackfoot Gypsies are veteran's of the Nashville music community, and they are a valuable part of that community. They are a dynamic live band made up of great musicians and people.
"Marching 100" by Runner of the Woods
Next up, we have a track from Thirsty Valley from Runner of the Woods. Their music has been described as countrygaze and sometimes has a bit of a Cajun flavor to it. This is a very evocative song that really hit me.
"If Not Now When" by Aaron Lee Tasjan
Aaron Lee kind of belongs to the world now, but he is still very much a part of the Nashville community. This a track from his most recent album Karma For Cheap. I know I am not alone in wondering what he's got up his sleeve next. A great songwriter, an amazing guitar player, he's Americana, he's punk, he once sang Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" at an Americana Fest kick-off event. Oh, and he is one of the kindest people I know.
"Meridian Rising" by Paul Burch
Next up, we have the first of two tracks today and the title track from Paul Burch's landmark Meridian Rising album. This a rather brief and beautiful instrumental number. Paul Burch has a weekly radio show on WXNA called Works Progress Radio Hour (Wednesdays from Noon to 1pm).
"Shame" by Will Payne Harrison
We have recently started digging into Will Payne Harrison's forthcoming Living With Ghosts album. This song goes back to his East Nashville Blues release. A song I can relate to all too well.
"Workin' On Me" by Foster and Lloyd
By the mid-80s, Bill Lloyd was a fixture in Nashville's rock/pop scene. In 1986, he teamed up with Radney Foster for form the successful country music duo Foster and Lloyd. This is a track from their third album - Version of the Truth. The album boasts an incredible lineup of talent. The album was released in 1990. Last year, it was reissued with some extra songs. Bill Lloyd has remained a fixture on the Nashville music scene, and Radney Foster has continued with a successful solo career.
"Poor Don't Vote" by Paul Burch
Track number two from Meridian Rising. The album is a fanciful biography of country singer Jimmie Rodgers who died in 1933. This song is unfortunately as topical today as it would have been in Jimmie Rodgers time.
"Gimme the Sun" by Microwave Mountain
Next up, more Sick Licks from Microwave Mountain - one of my favorite Nashville bands. Band leader Jamie Timm is an active sideman for several great Nashville bands.
"Never Gonna End" by Gina Sicilia
Next up, we go back to Gina Sicilia's 2017 album Tug of War. She released Heard the Lie in 2018, and she is already working on her next album. Sicilia is a powerhouse blues based vocalist and songwriter.
"Bed of Bad Luck" by Little Bandit
Next up, we have Little Bandit with a track from his album Breakfast Alone. Alex Caress writes beautiful, emotionally powerful, and often funny songs. It was artists like Foster and Lloyd (and Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam) who first convinced this wanna be punk rock kid that country music wasn't all square, and it is artists like Little Bandit who constantly remind me that is still true.
"Black Jack's Tune" by Davis Raines
We close things out with a track from one of Nashville's finest songwriters - Davis Raines is originally from Alabama where he worked in the prison system for a time. He has been a long-time fixture in Nashville and if you see folks like Mark Robinson or Jon Byrd (to name just two) you will likely hear at least one song written or co-written by Davis Raines. This is from his Going to Montgomery album.
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