Gus Clark

One Liner: Throw-back country and Americana done really well.

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but Americana, country, roots

Home: Seattle

Poster Position: Not on the poster
Weekend One Only.  

Saturday.

Thoughts:   On Spotify, his stuff is titled "Gus Clark & the Least of His Problems" which is both a mouthful and pretty damn fun sounding.  According to Wikipedia, Gus Clark is dead.  He was a Belgian jazz pianist who died in Antwerp in 1979.  But this is apparently not a hologram jazz concert, because this dude's online bio says he is a Seattle-born crooner who left home at eighteen armed with a backpack and a mandolin.  Supposedly, he travelled by freight train and "the kindness of those still bold enough to pick up a hitchiker."  Sounds like ended up back in Seattle after his travels, and now plays his Americana and country music all over town.  The throwback style here is making me think of Charlie Crockett.

Two albums - 2018's A Bit of Country Music and 2022's Some of My Songs.  Those are whack album titles, man.  The debut album doesn't have much in the way of streaming numbers, and the newer album just has one that is getting numbers.  "Sing a Song" has 452k on Spotify.

A little barroom jazzy feel and a voice that is bordering between Joe Ely and Randy Newman.  I'll also give you the biggest tune from that first album - "I'll Go Down Swinging," with 79k streams and a more explicitly country sound.

C3 should have saved this dude for their country music festival next April.  He would have hit the nail on the head for that thing.  I actually like it - I've just been letting it reel off for a while, and the harmonies and old-school stylings are just fun the way that some of those other classicists can be in the country world.  If he wasn't scheduled for noon on a Saturday, I'd say sign me up.

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram

One Liner: Real-deal guitar-slinging blues

Wikipedia Genre: Blues, rock, blues rock, soul, gospel

Home: Mississippi

Poster Position: Level 3 (15) 
Weekend One Only.
Saturday.

Thoughts:  Always sort of fascinating to see someone make carbon copy music in a classic, niche style.  Like Billy Strings making old school bluegrass.  This dude is making real deal, spot-on southern guitar blues that sounds like it could have been plucked from Muddy Waters catalog.  

He's 24 now, but he was making a name for himself as a teenager.  He learned the guitar from an arts and education program at the Delta Blues Museum in his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, and one of his instructors gave him the nickname Kingfish after a character in the Amos n Andy show.  This is a funny quote, about conversations with friends about being into old school music: " "Man you young but you listen to that old, sad stuff." I'm like, "Man, I ain't really like that, I'm listening more for a culture thing, you know? This is history. This birthed what you guys listen to today, because you know rap is nothing but the blues' grandchild." "  He's performed at lots of festivals, played for the Obamas at the White House, appeared on the TV show Luke Cage, and won a Grammy award.

The thing here is that he's got a great voice, in addition to being a whiz on the guitar.  Whole package.  Two albums, 2019's Kingfish and 2021's 662.  I've been just letting this roll on for two days while I work, and it's really solid stuff.  Top track is "Been Here Before," from the debut album, with 5.4 million streams.

Makes me think of one of the songs on the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.  The top track from the newer album is the title tune.  3.4 million streams.

More fireworks and representing his home.  Love it.  Sounds fantastic.  I'd go check this guy out - although I think he would be more fun in a smaller venue.  Bring it.

Early James

One Liner: Blues rock magic from another dude in Dan Auerbach's stable

Wikipedia Genre: Americana, alternative country, alternative rock, blues, folk, folk rock
Home: Birmingham, Alabama

Poster Position: 25
Weekend Two Only.  Friday.

Thoughts:  Okay, hell yeah.  Just the initial guitar licks of the first song has me in on this one.  That is some guitar goodness right there.  Comes on like it is about to be a jam band meander, but then when the vocals come in you can tell that it is more of a bluesy guitar rock stunner.  This song jams.  "Blue Pill Blues"  1.4 million streams.

Before you watch that video, and see the label that he is signed to, I require you to make one guess as to which label out there is going to have a throwback blues rock guy signed to their roster.  If you said Third Man, I can see it, but it is almost always going to be Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound.  My man looks like he takes a lot more than just the boner pills, man.  I wonder if he actually has eyes, or if he just has to squint his eyelids to handle the fact that he lost his eyes by taking too many boner pills.  Homie looks like Chris Pratt staring into the sun in a hat made from a tea cozy.  But whatever, he can look like he wants if he is going to churn out freaking killer songs like that.  I love it.

Fredrick James Mullis, Jr. is our man here.  He was sixteen when he received a guitar for Christmas and started doing music.  A friend was the frontman for a band called Fire Mountain who told Early that he could open for them if he would write his own stuff.  He moved from Troy, Alabama to Birmingham when he was 21, and Auerbach spotted him.  They went into the studio and Auerbach produced his debut (and only) album, Singing for My Supper.  Released in 2020.  He was supposed to them go out on tour supporting the Black Keys, The Lone Below, The Marcus King Band, and Shovels and Rope, but that fell through because of the dumb pandemic.  I dig this description from the New York Times: "tattered and nervous, with a grainy quaver."

No other track breaks the million stream barrier, but he's got one with 463k streams.  "It Doesn't Matter Now."  But I figure I should check out the newest single instead, to see what he is bringing to the table here two years after the debut album.  This is "What a Strange Time to Be Alive."  30k streams.  2022 release.

Aw man, pizza and beer sounds really good right now.  Also, he definitely has eyes, but when he sings he really likes to squint them.  That is a good, laid-back shamble of a track.  Edges into country, but still bluesy as hell.  This is that classic Auerbach touch - like he's done with Yola or Robert Finley - keep them using classic instruments and pushing forward with their skill as solid singers and instrumentalists, without relying on fancy mixing or studio trickery.  The single before this was "Tumbleweed," and its got some serious guitarwork and good groove.  I really like this stuff.

I'm sure he'll get a garbage slot to play, but I'd definitely check this out.

Buffalo Nichols

One Liner: Rootsy bluesman with all the right notes.

Wikipedia Genre: no Wikipedia, but I'll just say Blues and roots
Home: Born in Houston, but raised in Milwaukee.

Poster Position: 18
Both Weekends.  Sunday.

Thoughts:  His real name is Carl Nichols, but I dig the stage name, which is why he is the first band I'm checking out on the poster.  This is super legit.  Listening to these tunes makes me feel like I'm watching Oh Brother Where Art Thou or Justified.  Just feels like I've entered a portal back to a time when a guy would do an entire show or record that sounded like he was pouring his heart out over basic, rootsy instrumentation and his soul.  And he is really good at what he does.  

Now, will there be people who want to see that these days?  No clue.  But there is no way you can deny the fact that his voice and these tunes are spot on perfect for a bluesman revival.  He's signed to the same label as the Black Keys, which also makes sense.

Only one album, 2021's eponymous debut.  The top track is "Lost & Lonesome," with 949k streams on Spotify.

No real videos, no Wikipedia.  You'd think that he could work at the marketing just a little since he's already playing out-of-fashion music. Either way, it is a great song, feels like when Gary Clark Jr. takes off his SRV cape and goes for a rootsy number.  Excellent voice, good lyrics, cool guitar-work.  Checks all the boxes.

"Another Man Done Gone" is an old song - covered many times, even by Johnny Cash.  But Nichols has adjusted the lyrics with "Another Man Gone" to call out issues for the Black Lives Matter era.  It used to just sing about how "they killed another man," but now the lyrics are more modernized for today.  In whatever version, “Another Man Done Gone” was never specific, merely lamenting “they killed another man.” Now we get: “Another woman is dead/Turn signal wasn’t on they locked her up and now she’s gone,” (referencing Sandra Bland, probably) or “No need to hide behind a white hood/When a badge works just as good.”

I'd go see this.  We'll see what the schedule ends up looking like, but this feels like a real talent who could be at the start of a cool career.

Joy Oladakun

One Liner: Low key folky R&B with a great voice.

Wikipedia Genre: folk, R&B, pop, roots rock
Home: Casa Grande, Arizona (now Nashville)

Poster Position: 16
Weekend One Only.

Friday at 2:30 on the Lady Bird Stage.

Thoughts:  Her top single features Maren Morris, so I figured this was going to be a country thing, but it is not a country thing.  Her self-penned Spotify bio says that she is a songwriter, a sensitive stoner, and that she lives in Nashville with her girlfriend and dog.

Her discography is a little confusing.  Wikipedia says she released Carry Me in 2016 after a kickstarter campaign.  Then it says on July 17, 2020, she released 2020's In Defense of My Own Happiness.  Then it says on June 4, 2021, she released her third studio album In Defense of My Own Happiness.  And when you look on Spotify, she indeed has two albums with the same title and mostly different songs on them.  Not sure why she recycled the album name.

She's got a great voice.  Many of her songs are very low key, not much in the way of accompaniment, so the voice is what is showcased.  "sunday" is the top streamer, which is from the first of her two albums with the same name, her second album.  14.4 million streams.

"I keep God locked in a picture frame, so I feel a little better 'bout my numbered days" is a great line.  She said " 'Sunday' is the song that 12-year-old Joy, seated in the back of church youth group, needed to hear. She needed to hear that you can be queer and happy. Queer and healthy. Queer and holy. She needed to see married women kissing and playing with their kids."

She does a very spare cover of "My Girl" that is lovely.  The Maren Morris-assisted tune - "Bigger Man" is also good, lyrically interesting.  "taking the heat" keeps making me think of the Billy Joel song "Vienna."  I think it's just the tune, because lyrically they are nothing alike.  Overall, most of these songs are very chill - there isn't a lot of instrumentation to clutter up the singer-songwriter vibe.  Her second-most streamed is a single from 2019, called "Blink Twice," with 6.2 million streams.

Organ/synth instead of guitar, but see what I mean?  Just the most basic of a tune in the background of the vocals.  I kind of wish for a little more action from a band, but I also get the idea of making the lyrics the centerpiece of the track.  And some tracks, like the opener from her newest album, include a drummer and some strings, but I still have a yearning for a real band to jam in the background.  Like, "i see america," that one drives a little bit and sounds more interesting to me.

I don't think I'd go out of my way to see this, but its nice.  If I ended up at this stage I'd probably enjoy it.

Brittany Howard

One Liner:  Alabama Shakes singer doing her own thing

Wikipedia Genre:  Americana, blues rock, garage rock, roots rock, soul
Home: Alabama

Poster Position: Late Addition.

Both Weekends.

Thoughts: If you've read this blog before, you know that I have loved the Alabama Shakes.  Went to see their show both weekends when they came to ACL last time, rated their album my number one disc of that year, it is one of the few albums I actually have downloaded to my phone for constant listening.  I'm a fan.  So, this is their lead singer, who sure seems like the heart and soul of the whole band.  She was also the same for another band she started, called Thunderbitch.  great band name.

Only five songs available on Spotify.  "I Wonder"gives off a sort of jammy vibe - like Robert Randolph and the Family Band or something.  "When My Man Comes Home" sounds like a Norah Jones joint.  "History Repeats" sounds more like a regular Shakes song, if they were trying to sing a Sly and the Family Stone song and had borrowed Sly's guitar effects pedals.  Actually, "Stay High" might sound more like a regular Alabama Shakes song.  That is her most streamed, at 1.7 million streams.

Those bells make it sound like Dan Auerbach produced the track, but it also sounds like regular stuff from the old Shakes album.  The other single, which was just released on Aug. 14, is "He Loves Me" and has that same sort of sound.

Huh.  Pretty sure that song is about God loving her despite her being a little shit.  Pretty freaking good song.  Love the guitar sound in there.  Those samples are from a sermon by Reverend Terry K. Anderson, a Houston-based pastor Howard discovered through YouTube.

She has a full album due this month - Sept. 20 - named Jaime, after a sister who passed away from cancer when she was a teen.  I read a Rolling Stone article about the new album, and it sounds like a very personal record.  Not only that song above, but also a song about her mixed race parents, and one about being "a little gay black girl and having a crush on an older black girl" while growing up in the deep South.  I'm excited for the whole album.  Her voice is killer and she can slay on the guitar, so bring it to me.

Brandi Carlile

One Liner: Great lyricist walking the line between rock and Americana

Wikipedia Genre: Folk rock, Americana, alternative country, alternative rock
Home: Originally Seattle, I think now in Boston

Poster Position: 4
Day: Saturday at 4:30
Both Weekends.

Thoughts: I appreciate that the first like of her Wikipedia article says "Not to be confused with Belinda Carlisle," which immediately made my brain start singing "Heaven is a Place on Earth," which is never a bad thing. But, that is not this lady.  This lady is a rough-hewn storyteller of very good Americana, like a slightly country Indigo Girl (for me at least).

Here is an interesting portion from Wikipedia, just because I'm interested in some of the factoids made important here: 

Carlile owns a rhodesian ridgeback dog, a horse, a goat, five chickens and a cat. She wears AURYN tattoos on her shoulders. She is a Christian.

A few thoughts.

1. I love the recitation of her animals.  Although it seems to me that the cat is getting a shitty deal here, being listed after the chickens and the goat.  i think a normal listing of animals would involved dog and cat being first.  Chickens last.
2. Funny, the way that they say she has "AURYN  tattoos," as though that is an everyday word that everyone should know.  From what I can tell in 30 seconds of research, that is a reference to the Neverending Story and is a medallion that can do cool shit.  It also says "DO WHAT YOU WISH" on the back, so maybe that is why Brandi digs it.
3. The "She is a Christian" thing seems like an odd thing to just tack onto the end of that paragraph.  Maybe not.

Her 2018 album is great.  By The Way, I Forgive You is a tough collection of good stories, and some strong statement songs.  Very nice folky/Americana tunes.  Before listening to this, I thought this was going to be Nashville-style country, but none of these really fall into the usual country tropes, they stay out on that Americana thing, which I like much more.

She sounds like Lucinda Williams at times, Aimee Mann in bits, and other times like Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders, with a vulnerable tilt to her voice that is very endearing.  Lyrically, this disc can be fantastic.  "The Mother" is very good.  "Hold Out Your Hand" has an annoying way of feeling like I'm being yelled at, until the bridge makes me feel nice again.  But just about every other song on here is good.  The top song is the second one on the album, "The Joke," with 1.4 million streams.

Killer video.  I had decided to write out some of these lyrics, as she sang them, but then I freaking teared up again like an old man.  "Don't ever let them steal your joy, And your gentle ways, to keep 'em from running wild.  They can kick dirt in your face, Dress you down, and tell you that your place, Is in the middle, when they hate the way you shine."  I can't help of think of my own boy and reconsider how I need to treat his gentleness as a positive instead of weakness.  Dammit Brandi.  I have work to do around here, man.

I sure wish we still had a television channel that provided us with music videos all day long.  Although if that was on there I'm sure half the country would just change the channel.  I love it though.  Enjoyable album.

She dropped out of high school, in a little town near Seattle, to pursue music full time, and when she was 16 she was a backup singer to an Elvis impersonator.  I wish I hadn't heard that fact.  Now I can't hear her sustained notes without thinking of Elvis.  "uh wella wella wella JOOOOOKES ON THEM!!!"  She began her solo career performing in Seattle clubs with her twin brothers (who are apparently still the core of her band now, which is cool), and then signed with a label to release her first album, 2005's Brandi Carlile.  This one walks a line between Americana and rock, like a folk album with real guitars.  

2007's The Story was her big hit album, mainly because of the strength of the title track, which has been featured on everything from Grey's Anatomy to Portuguese beer commercials.  Also, it was produced by T. Bone Burnett and had Pearl Jam's Matt Chamberlain on drums, which is tight.  Here you go, "The Story" with 42.3 million streams.

Love when the electric guitars kick in for some thump.  "Even when I was flat broke, you made me feel like a million bucks."  Good one.  Although very rock forward, when I've been telling you all about how Americana-based she is.  This album has more of a rock sound to it, several times.  "My Song" sounds kinda like a Melissa Etheridge power-anthem.  This is out of order, but I need to talk about it right here - ten years after this album, she released a new version for charity, full of other people covering each track from this album, and its rad.  The Story & Cover Stories is Carlile's songs, covered by people like Dolly Parton, Pearl Jam, Adele, Indigo Girls, and the Avett Brothers.  The Dolly one is very good, the Pearl Jam one is high octane tastiness, and Adele kills it.  

Oh, I was about to go OFF about her next album, but only now did I realize that my child just changed my Spotify stream from home, meaning that I was just listening to some awful Nashville garbage by something named Kane Brown.  Thank God.  Every freaking day when they get home from school.  I don't know how many times I have tried to get them to change their login to use their own Spotify.  Ugh.  Anyway, back to a lovely listen to Margo Price covering one of the Carlile tunes.

2009's Give Up the Ghost is Americana with a touch more of the traditional country sound.  Produced by Rick Rubin, and yet its pretty mild and has no major streaming hits.  2012's Bear Creek is pretty folky Americana, really in the Patty Griffin mold.  Quite nice.  2015's The Firewatcher's Daughter is a little more rock and roll than Americana.  Well, maybe like the country version of rock and roll where people add claps over a twangy guitar solo.  But this one finally hit the top of the Rock Album Chart, which is a departure for Carlile for sure.  The top track from that one is called "The Eye."  She sure does like to call songs "The" something, huh?

Just over 7 million streams, and pretty prominently features her brothers and some tight harmonies.

Finally, Wikipedia also notes that she has "announced the creation of her own music festival, Girls Just Wanna Weekend. This festival will occur in Mexico in January 2019 and will be fronted by all-female musicians such as Indigo Girls, Maren Morris, Margo Price, Patty Griffin, and others. Carlile was inspired to create her own festival after participating in the Cayamo Cruise festival for numerous years."  Hell yeah.  Can dudes go?  I like Margo Price and the Indigo Girls!

Oh, you knew she had a Tiny Desk, yo.

Keeps close to the Americana flavor on those tunes.  Also, this Tiny Desk is from 2012, so a lot has changed since then...  Also, you can really see those tattoos in that video.  I get them now.

As for this show, I'm gonna choose Highly Suspect over this.  Sorry to say it, because I genuinely have enjoyed this music, but I'm just going to need to rock and roll, man.

Shakey Graves (2018)

One Liner: Excellent local musician and songwriter doing bluesy rock

Wikipedia Genre: Americana
Home: Austin

Poster Position: 6
Day: Sunday at 7:00
Both Weekends.

Thoughts: Last played the Fest in 2015, but as a local guy its good that they brought him back.  Solid, shambling, raw rock.  I've written a few reviews about him in the past, and I'll regurgitate some of that here for the factual portion of this review.  

• Austin High Maroon (like fellow ACL'er Gary Clark Jr.  Loyal Forever, baby!).
• His stage name came from a campout with friends when a drunk/high dude and muttered something like "spooky wagons." The guys on the campout then made their own campout scary names, and this guy's was Shakey Graves.
• But his real name is Alejandro Rose-Garcia.
• He does this rad thing on stage where he just plays every instrument by himself:

Simple and tight, but raw and feral.  His debut album (And The War Came) got positive reviews and looks to have gotten some good listening on Spotify as well, with several songs over a million listens. 
Here is the first video I ever saw of this dude, when a brother-in-law showed it to me to see how insane it is for him to play everything.  I would hurt myself. Seemed totally impossible to me:

Wild, right?   His most streamed track, by far, is "Dearly Departed" with almost 40.3 million listens.  

This music is fun rock and roll, that just skirts my sweet spot.  I think a full band would help him flesh out the songs a bit more to really capture the fun of these songs.  A tight bass line, someone really playing the drums instead of just kick and tambourine, and I think these could be even better. That being said, I still dig what he's doing here.

He released a second album in 2017, which is mainly notable for the length of the album title.  Shakey Graves and the Horse He Rode in On (Nobody's Fool and The Donor Blues EP).  Wins the award for longest, weirdest album title of anything I've heard recently.  Weird stuff.  
I saw Graves play the AllATX benefit show last year, and he was fantastic.  Such a cool sound, all alone on the stage, playing the kick drum and guitar parts himself while still managing to sing lyrics on time.  I feel like I can barely chew gum and walk, and this guy can somehow sing complicated lyrics as three of his four appendages do different things at the same time.  
For the most part, this album sounds like he is still doing that same thing, with electric guitar, kick drum, and his voice as the only sounds.  Oh, and some tambourine too, which I suspect he is also doing.  A few other additions here and there, but they are few.  With only those instruments, the sound is spare throughout.  "If Not For You (Demo)" has crept up and won the top streamer from this album, at 7.8 million streams, even though it is a song that was already on that first album...

Ah man, he hired a drummer!  WTF!?  Just kidding, its actually great to hear him add in another full set of instrumentation instead of just the simple kick drum.  Fun ass song.  Got some blues rock chug and grunge crunch to it that sounds really good.

Strangely enough, his most popular track on Spotify is a single from 2016 that isn't on any of the albums.  "Tomorrow," with 25.9 million streams.

Something about this dude just seems highly cool.  Like he would be a good dude to have beers with and talk music.

Finally, a 2018 album that I hadn't heard yet.  2018's Can't Wake Up.  Has a bit of a psych rock vibe - the album opener chimes like a My Morning Jacket tune.  Good.  And although that one ("Counting Sheep") has the most streams on the album, I'm going to give you the second place tune because its another really solid song.  "Mansion Door," with just over 2 million streams.

Heck yes.  Great sound, good lyrics, overall right up my alley.  And he has finally brought in a full band, which gives these tunes a deeper richness and funk than he could deliver when playing all the instruments himself.  "Aibohphobia" has orchestration and a weird lilt like an old Looney Tunes soundtrack that erupts into a grungy solo and then a chilled outro.  I like this album quite a bit.

I'd absolutely go see him.  Sunday night is pretty bare on my list of exciting bands, so this one is a definite yes during that time slot.

Lucie Silvas

One Liner: British pop early, morphing into rootsy almost country, with dramatic violins always involved.

Wikipedia Genre: Pop, Adult Contemporary, Americana, Country, Roots
Home: Jolly old England.

Poster Position: 28
Day: Saturday at 3:30
Weekend Two Only.

Thoughts: Always interesting when you try out one of these artists who are relegated to the absolute bottom of the poster, and (1) they have a bunch of albums; and (2) they're actually pretty good.  I mean, I know that the talent scouts at C3 aren't going out there and picking bums to come play the Fest, but its still intriguing to find a gal from England who can crank her voice relegated to the area of the lineup reserved for Kiddie bands.  Also interesting that someone on that area of the poster gets a 3:30 slot, against good shit like The Breeders and Japanese Breakfast.  I wonder how the posters are actually put together?  I'm sure the people up at the top have negotiated their ego boost on the poster as part of their contract to play the Festival, but what about all the people in small type?  Weird.

Anyhoo!  The tunes.  She has a few new singles out, and I like this much more than some of the other tunes in her most popular list.  "What You're Made Of" is her most popular track right now (other than those new singles), and is just a little cheeseball for my taste, all majestic strings and power belting.  4.3 million streams.

Oh yeah, get that wind machine going while she plays the piano.  That tune is from her debut album, Breathe In, which came out back in 2004.  Her bio says that she was born in England, but honestly her accent in that song doesn't betray any Brit.  

She was signed to a record deal after dropping out of high school to pursue music, but her first single bombed and the label dropped her.  She signed with a new label to write songs, and a few years later, she went for it again and released that 2004 album.  She released another in 2006, but none of those songs are in her top ten.  Also on that first album, she does a cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" that is kind of interesting for its novelty, but suffers from the same schlocky strings and cheese.  Her voice reminds me of one of those Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, etc. types from this same era.

She then waited about ten years before releasing her most recent album, 2015's Letters to Ghosts.  Her most streamed song is a 2015 single, but it doesn't even appear on that album.  This is "Perfect," which has 5.3 million streams.

Ahhhhh.  Its because that is a One Direction song that she covered.  So I'm sure the army of 1D fans found her cover and streamed it a bunch, to make this her top track.  Kind of sad, actually.  Especially the little ad in the video telling people to click to hear more from her.  And again, that song is a little much for me, maudlin violins and dramatic piano.  That 2015 album actually has a semi-country sound to it, which is a departure from the prior tunes, but kind of reminds me of Sheryl Crow (try "Shame" to hear it).  Not a great album, but has some good moments.  I'm guessing the country vibes comes because she married one of the Brothers Osborne a few years ago.

But I'll leave you with her currently most popular track, one of her 2018 singles that look to be on an upcoming new album.  This is "Girls from California," with 60k streams.

Still with the violins, but I appreciate the spaghetti Western vibe of this one.  More than likely not going to go see this one, but I appreciate the fact that she has a killer voice and I may actually enjoy her new album.

The Texas Gentlemen

One Liner: Roots rock by a badass backing band out on their own

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, Roots Rock, Americana, Southern Rock
Home:  Dallas

Poster Position: 25
Day: Sunday at 12:15
Weekend One Only.

Thoughts: Frickin' awesome.  Like Southern Culture on the Skids met up with Little Feat to make a Allman Brothers album with the ghost of Jimi Hendrix and an occasional appearance from Waylon Jennings ghost.  They don't have a Wikipedia page, but their Spotify bio makes them sound interesting - a studio band and gig band for big time guys like George Strait, Ed Sheeran, and Kris Krisofferson, and small fry acts like Paul Cauthen and Kirby Brown (and also apparently Leon Bridges and Shakey Graves).  They only have one album, and the mythology on it is that their main guy, Beau Patrick Bedford, had booked time at Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, to produce an album for another artist, but when that other artist failed to show up, Bedford called his buddies from the band and they made good use of the studio time.  TX Jelly is the album, released in 2017, and it kinda rules.

The top song, by a good-sized chunk, is the mostly-instrumental funk jam burner called "Habbie Doobie," with 478k streams.

Funky junk is the first layer, with a little slice of Wonder's "Boogie on Reggae Woman," and some rad guitar licks and barroom piano, like a big party where no armadillos got hurt.  This article claims that the song was their jam opener without a name, and they just started calling it Habbie Doobie, without any deeper meaning to the name.  Well, OK, but I would have liked it more if you had a reason for that weird name.  Either way, it kind of rules.

But then the band tosses a curveball out and does "Superstition," which sounds more like Paul McCartney doing a sax-drooled love track that also happens to mention ghost fellatio.  Or the oddly lyricked and kind of mournful "Trading Paint" about road rage tough guys.  But I'm going to present you with the excellent "Shakin' All Over," even though it isn't in their top four.  51k streams.

Live version, so slightly tweaked versus the album track, but you get the idea.  Some guitar explosions, some deep down soul roughness, good harmonies.  I dig it.  "Pain" is also cool, and their second-most jammed tune at 180k streams.  Funkier, kinda Beatles-y.  Then the third most popular track is on some Aaron Neville/Sam Cooke shit - "Bondurant Women."  They made a super weird, kinda funny extended video for that last song.

I can't think of the last time I looked at a YouTube video that had zero comments.  I mean, someone out there is always going to say "awesome!" or "you dudes suck ass!" or "You cn Earns big monies if you work from home in my program!!"  Weird.  But kind of a funny, low rent take on the Hands on a Hard Body movie.

I dig the tunes, would love to see them, although as usual, they are first weekend only.  Booo.

Valerie June

One Liner: Cool mix of folky soul and bluesy Americana from a gal with Medusa's hair
Wikipedia Genre: Americana, alternative, roots rock, folk, blues, soul, bluegrass, ethereal, dream pop
Spotify Says Similar To: Hurray for the Riff Raff and Rhiannon Giddens
Home: Memphis

Poster Position: 14
Slot: ?

Thoughts: It is weird, I know I have read her Spotify bio before, because it talks all about how she went on some MTV series called $5 Cover, which shows Memphis musicians as they hustle to pay the rent, live life, and play music around Memphis.  I recall that discussion, but I can't find that I actually wrote anything about her at the time, which is kind of annoying.  Anyway, her sound is cool, a mashup of southern roots-y stuff, bluesy rock and folky Americana.  I like it.
She's got two albums on Spotify, 2013's Pushin' Against a Stone (produced with Dan Auerbach) and 2017's The Order of Time.  Both are very good.  Her top song, both in number of streams and in current popularity on Spotify, is "Astral Plane" from that new album, with 3.9 million streams.

Her voice is very pretty, but it's got a rasp to it that makes it even more interesting to me. It's slightly different and, I'd say better, than the many other generically good singing voices I've heard in the past few months.  Very chill song.
"Wanna Be On Your Mind" shows hallmarks of the Dan Auerbach sound, that southern organ and xylophone under a smooth groove of bluesy singing.  That one is the most popular from her older album, with 3.3 million streams.

I dig that one for sure, and in fact enjoy that older album more after several listens to both of them.  I like the new one as well, but the older one just has a funkier, blues-ier thing going on.  I'd go watch her do this thing in person, I think she's pretty awesome.

Sleepy Man

One Liner: Bluegrass boy band from New Jersey (for real)
Wikipedia Genre: Bluegrass, country, Roots music
Spotify Says Similar To: Steep Canyon Rangers and Cadillac Sky
Home: Lebanon Township, New Jersey

Poster Position: 26
Slot: Saturday, ?

Thoughts:  Their Wikipedia page speaks of several albums in their history, but none are available on Spotify.  All you get on Spotify is a 2014 EP and then two 2016 singles.  Their website has a non-bio that looks like they just kept the place-holder page in their web-publishing software.  But the photos on that website show that these guys look like they are about 13.  It's like a bluegrass boy band!  And the lead singer sounds like some emo singer I know.  Or is it the Yellowcard guy?  It's a very high pitched voice that sounds a little odd over the top of the rip-roaring banjo attack.
The most popular track on Spotify for them right now is one of those two new singles, "Your Smile," which has 126k streams.

Someone has noticed that using "wooooaoooohh, woooooaaaooooohhh" in pop songs is a key ingredient to success.  This sounds, other than the underlying banjo plucking, like some pop song that I'd hear on the radio right about now, a pop track from the newest boy band, that just happens to include banjo.  Their other recent single, "Feeling I'm Awake" sounds more like a purposeful homage to Mumford.  And several of the songs on the EP sound like a young lady singing them, but I assume it is the same dude.  For the next song, while it isn't their most listened to, I think the breakdown action on "By My Side" is worth giving this one to you to hear.  221k streams.

Live version that involves a weird emotionless girl from Finland, but you get the idea.  I find it fascinating to watch the eight year old (probably eight, I'm not looking it up) pick the shit out of that banjo while appearing to barely move.  The acoustics of that video are garbage, but their tune is great and they seem pretty rad.  And then there is this shit.

Holy hannah.  Banjo baby breaks it down, the pretty one with the guitar tears it up, then violin guy fires up that bow.  I'm a big fat sucker for the bluegrass breakdown freakout.  I'd be the guy in the aisle screaming WHOOWEEEE! and slapping myself in multiple places while kicking those around me.  OK, dammit, now I want to look up their ages.  How can they do that shit with their hands?

Here is a TED talk video from 2012 where the banjo player really does look 8.  Hold on... they just said he was 10.  Wikipedia says they were born in 2002, 1998, and 1997, so by now these guys are actually super crazy old, like between 15 and 20.  Ha!  At 15 I could probably strum, very slowly, a G, D, and C on the guitar.  These kids jam.  Don't know if I'll actually go see it in person, but they really can jam out.  Oooh, look, they play Saturday.  I'll make my kids go watch this and then tell them how disappointed I am in their lack of ability.

The Revivalists

One Liner: Jammy rock band from New Orleans with a big current alt rock radio hit.
Wikipedia Genre: Alternative rock, roots rock, indie rock, jam band
Spotify Says Similar To: Perpetual Groove and Galactic
Home: New Orleans, LA

Poster Position: 7
Slot: ?

Thoughts: 7th row on the poster is pretty impressive.  I've been saying for years that these guys should have been invited to come out to ACL.

I feel like I've talked about this over and over, but it looks like I've really only discussed it the one time when I reviewed their most recent album, 2015's Men Amongst Mountains, but I know the pedal steel guitar player for this band, Ed Williams.  I don;t know him well or anything, so don't start asking me for tickets or something, I'm just trying to give a tiny bit of a brag here while I can.
When I was a junior (I think) in college, I got to go to Miami for Spring Break with one of my best friends from college (Jason, the guy I always do ACL with each year) and our respective girlfriends (now wives = score).  We were staying with Jason's girlfriend's dad in Miami, who had this freaking ridiculously amazing house that made us all feel like the coolest people on the planet.  Like an episode of MTV Cribs that we got to go inhabit for the week.  That trip was fun as hell.  Anyway, the little brother of my friend's girlfriend was this surly little teenager who was trying to hang with us but still show how uncool it was to have to hang with us, and so at one point, he looked over to me as I sat by the pool sipping some frozen drink and enjoying myself, and he says (in a very condescending voice) "You have a lot of freckles!"  Which was a sick burn.  And off the top of my head, I just responded that "yes, yes, I do."  The cool college kids laughed at that (and have ever since), but now little Edward is having the last laugh because his band has become a big hit.  I got to see them play at the Parish a few years back, and they bring a ton of energy to their shows and really jam it out.  Jason and I hung with them in the green room before their show started, and they all seem like legitimately cool, down-to-earth guys who enjoy doing what they are doing these days.

So, yeah, that big hit.  The band's 2015 album seemed to not do much for years (I'm actually not sure about that, but literally was released on July 17, 2015 (and apparently sold 3,000 copies in its first week), and then it was only recently that they started getting a ton of play on the alternative rock stations.  That seems like a long ass time to wait for a hit to come along, more than a year.  I'm super curious how that came about for them, but I can't come up with an answer from looking at the web right now.  The odd twists and turns of the modern radio landscape.  But, now they've got a whopping 14.1 million streams for "Wish I Knew You," which dwarfs any of their other tunes.

Another 4.8 million views of that video too.  Funny video of old people grooving and a good tune as well.  As I noted when I first reviewed the album, the good stuff on there is also "Keep Going" and "All in the Family."  "Monster" is good too.  I think these guys are at their best when they embrace the jamminess of their sound and involve all of the instruments into a groove.

Before the newer album and the bigger hits you've got on there, the big song was from 2014's City of Sound.  When I saw them live, and somehow the college-aged kids around me knew all the lyrics, it was "Criminal" that everyone seemed to be there to hear.

Yeah, get right up in that groove right there.  Good stuff.  And the use of the pedal steel is just different - I mean, other than Robert Randolph, what big bands are out there using the steel for their searing guitar solos like this?  If you do a google search for that information, you mainly get stuff about classic (and by classic I mean dead) steel guitar guys or country music people.  I don't know, I know I'm biased here, but I think it makes for a much cooler sound to have the sax and steel added to the otherwise normal rock band sound to get something more interesting and full-sounding.  So, I'm a fan of these dudes and would enjoy seeing their set again.

Recommend?  Yes.

Israel Nash

One Liner: Classic Neil Young, and then some shape-shifting into Ryan Adams and the Stones

Poster Position: 19

Thoughts: Holy Goldrush, Batman.  Could this dude sound more like the best years of Neil Young's catalog?  I don't think so, but I'm loving every second of it.  2014's Isreal Nash's Rain Plans (yes, that is the title of the album in Spotify) is the prime example, but 2015's Israel Nash's Silver Season is right there with it as well.  For a second there, I was wondering if his last name was given him because of another famous Nash, who maybe used to do some music with Neil Young, but not so much.  His real last name is apparently Gripka.  And he looks like a damn caveman.  And he also happens to now live in Dripping Springs, which is kinda cool.

His top song, the title track to that 2014 album, has 585k streams and is a damn beauty.

I'm putting that track "Rain Pains" into my chill music playlist immediately for future enjoyment. Love it.  I literally woke up this morning singing this, but then morphed in my mind into singing an old Neil Young track.  His more recent album has that same sound, with the most popular track being "L.A. Lately," with just over 114k streams.

Nice, right?  I love this laid back sound, it feels very true and real.  It also helps that I still enjoy some of the old Neil Young albums from time to time (just used one last week while road tripping with the family to Colorado), and so this hits a sweet spot for me.

But wait, as you go back into his catalog, he actually channels other bands in his earlier days.  His live album (2011's Barn Doors Spring Tour: Live in Holland) sounds very much like a Sun Volt (or maybe Wilco) album.  And he channels the Rolling Stones well as well, see the hella good "Louisiana," from Barn Doors and Concrete Floors.  

Pretty amazing facsimile of the old school Stones.  And then the songs on New York Town, from 2009, make me think of Ryan Adams the entire time.  Here is "Evening," which has 114k streams.

I'm digging this guy a lot.  He kind of exists right in the sweet spot of a lot of music I enjoy, and he also perfectly matches the mood of the last few days in Austin, rainy and cool and grey.  I'll definitely make an effort to go see him play.

Luke Winslow-King

One Liner: New Orleans jazzy singer/songwriter

Poster Position: 25

Thoughts:  I was calling this ragtime in my head all day, and I suppose that could be accurate, but its more like the sounds of New Orleans from a guy who is standing on the corner singing his heart out.  According to his bio, he came from Michigan but went to school in New Orleans and ended up making it his home.  He's got four albums out, with the most recent being 2014's Everlasting Arms.  His most popular track comes from that album, called "Swing that Thing."

This is more of a straight-forward rock song, but believe me, the majority of his music is more of a jazz-based strolling music.  414k streams for that track.  He frequently collaborates the lyrics with a female singer, who is named Esther Rose on some videos, so I assume it is always her.  Here is his second most popular track, called "Moving On (Towards Better Days)."  This track has 91k listens and comes from his 2013 album The Coming Tide.

Nice little toe tapper.  I've made a run through all four albums, and they are all quite nice. HIs top ten songs on Spotify are all from those more recent two albums, and in a strange development, guess where his most popular city is on Spotify?  You'd think New Orleans, right?  Or maybe Houston.  Or Brooklyn.  Nope, it is Madrid.  And Barcelona somehow comes in third.  Maybe he just had a Spain tour?  Ah yes, the Internet says he played Spain in June and is in Italy now.  So maybe that is the reason.  This is good music.  I hope he brings a full band of brass instruments and hammers us with some loud Crescent City funk and jazz.

Mumford & Sons (2016)

One Liner: Rootsy Folk Revivalist Kings! (if you ignore that 2015 album)

Poster Position: 1

Thoughts:  Look, I get it.  That last album (2015's Wilder Mind) was disappointing.  But people need to chill out about the hate.  One album where these guys branch out and try a different sound shouldn't somehow invalidate the two albums of really excellent and kick ass music that they put together before then.  I know someone can likely argue with me about the genesis of the throwback stomping roots folk rock movement, but to me its these guys.  And they did it with no warning, just a guerrilla attack blast of banjo and emotionally-charged power.  When "Little Lion Man" started getting alternative radio play, from 2009's Sigh No More, I think we were all kind of confused about what was going on, and then you found yourself standing on top of your Accord, ripping off your shirt, pumping your fist, and yelling about how you really f'ed it up this time.

That chorus, and then the soaring aaaaaahhhhhaaaaaahhhaaaaaaa! in the middle are just so great.  And they still feel real and unsullied after several years and a load of copy cats. That one clocks in at 124.5 million streams on Spotify, which is only good for second place on their list.  I actually would have expected that "The Cave" to be the top track off of that album, but it only fires up 118.8 million listens.  The banjo speed on that track is impressive. But that album was massively popular, selling enough to become more than 3x platinum in the U.S. and similarly huge in other countries.

The second album, 2012's Babel, didn't sell as many copies, but won the Grammy for Album of the Year and felt even bigger than the first disc.  They didn't stray from the original formula, sticking to fist pumping banjo rock and earnest lyrics with great sing-along choruses.  The big hit from this album, and the band's biggest track overall, is "I Will Wait," with over 150.5 million streams.

I have a special spot in my heart for that song because when my youngest kiddo was still very small, that was about the only song she knew the lyrics to and it was damn cute when she would repeat along with it in the back seat of the 'burb as we tooled around life.  Anyway, Babel picks up right where Sigh left off and is excellent.  I can get it if you don't like rock or dislike bluegrass or whatever, but it is hard to deny the propulsive joy I feel when I hear these songs.

And then the third album.  Oh, that third album.  As I said in my original review of the album, it isn't actually bad music, its just disappointing because of the legacy created by this band. If this album had been released under a pseudonym, no one would have noticed it because it is generically blah, but people wouldn't have crapped all over it either.  Just another middling soft rock album in a pile of eight billion that have disappeared into history.  But because it was Mumford, and they turned their back on their core sound and style, everybody hated it.  I just read something in Rolling Stone where one of the band members said they could have made Sign No More 2, but then they all would have been depressed. I don't know, man, is it better to be depressed because fans and critics alike hate your new album, or to be depressed because your massively popular third album just won some more Grammys and created world peace?
My assumption is that they wouldn't make their set all about the new album, but then again I figure they will introduce a few of these songs. From looking at setlist.fm, it looks like we can expect to hear "Snake Eyes," "The Wolf," "Believe," "Only Love," "Wilder Mind," and "Tompkins Square Park," so maybe a third of the set will be the new songs.  More than I expected.  But I suppose things could change when they are not on their official "Wilder Mind" tour.  We shall see.

And since that weak third album, they just recently decided to go even further afield from their original sound and go full on Paul Simon and give their music the Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints treatment.  A short five song EP called Johannesburg came out a few weeks ago, and is actually really enjoyable.  Of course, I am a sucker for Graceland and even facsimiles of Graceland (like Vampire Weekend), so this one hits a sweet spot for me.  The EP was a project with Baaba Maal ("legendary Senegalese singer"), The Very Best ("Swedish-Malawian" "electronic pop collective"), and Beatenberg ("South African pop trio"), hammered out when Mumford & Sons toured down to South Africa and decided to make something with all of these disparate artists. I get that some people may continue to crap on the band here, for a imperialistic appropriation of sounds or sonic tourism or whatever, but if anyone seems earnest and real about just wanting to join up with these people and make music, its these guys.  Screw it, I like these songs.  The album opener is "There Will Be Time."

I see the poor banjo guy picking at his axe during that video, but I can't say that I hear any of the old school banjo-fied soul Mumford, but you definitely get the fist-pumpingly earnest sing-along that honestly just gave me goosebumps in watching that video.  The second track, "Wona" sounds just like Vampire Weekend to me.  I couldn't find who sang it in a 3 second google search, but if it isn't Ezra Keonig I'd be surprised.  And then the closer, "Si Tu Veux" is a real beauty.

I've been bummed for years that I missed out on a special show they did in Austin.  They had a show with the Austin High Band, in which I was a player back 20 something years ago.  

Man, I wanted to be part of the drum line something fierce.  And I think this was part of this cool tour they did where they traveled across the country on a train (the Railroad Revival Tour) and played shows with Edward Sharpe and Old Crow Medicine Show from the train. Sounded so cool.  But I missed out on that.  I don't plan to miss out on them at the Festival this fall.  Excited for the show.