X SXSW 7 Hillgrass Bluebilly Showcase, Featuring Peewee Moore

Check out the 7th Annual Hillgrass Bluebilly Showcase in Austin, TX on March 14th

The 7th Annual XSXSW Party for Hillgrass Bluebilly Records. CD Release Party for Left Lane Cruiser. One man folk-storm Possessed by Paul James. , The Boomswagglers and all the way from Alabama.. The Pine Hill Haints & Andy Dale Petty. $10 Only 3 miles from downtown Austin. Less than 3 miles if you are on the East side. Make sure you get there at 7:30 pm to check one of our newest recording artists in Peewee Moore.

J.B. Beverley Debuts At #1 On Amazon Alt. Country & Americana MP3 Charts

J.B Beverley debuts at #1 on the Amazon Alt. Country & Americana charts for the week of 11.12.13

We have to apologize to our pals over at Hillgrass Bluebilly and Possessed by Paul James for unseating them at the #1 spot on the Amazon MP3 best seller list for Alt. Country & Americana, with J.B. Beverley's new album. The first round is on us, next time we cross paths, but then again, yall are Texans and I am guessing we better, load up the artillery, hahhaha!

Damn cool to know that two indie labels are conquering spots on the digital charts and showing that you can do it with a DIY attitude and purely through great music.

Order your copy now from Amazon

Get a copy on CD

Sturgill Simpson On Playing The Grand Ole Opry, From Saving Country Music

I feel as if I was part of rare treat being able to see Sturgill Simpson a few years back in his older project Sunday Valley. Had never heard of the band but a few folks said to stick around and check them out. This was down in Texas during SXSW of 2011 and happened at a showcase put on by Keith of Hillgrass Bluebilly and Trigger of Saving Country Music. As soon as hit those first notes on the guitar and let loose a signature sound I was hooked. 

Now Sturgill has gone solo and stripped back on the guitar shredding and focused more on the craft of songwriting and is truly upping the ante. I sure as hell hope that he doesn't leave his amazing style of guitar picking in the dust as it is a breath of fresh air and a shot in the arm that brings country rock into a new light.

Check out the article on Saving Country Music

Sturgill Simpson, one of underground country music's best kept secrets

"But Sturgill’s Opry debut may have an even greater personal significance. To explain, here is Sturgill Simpson on his Opry debut, in his own words.
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I credit my 82 yr. old Grandfather Dood Fraley more than anyone on Earth for, among many other things, my musical education. He’s the greatest man I’ve ever known…Period. 

He used to sit me on the couch next to him when I was a child and make me watch Hee-Haw and TNN and tell me which performers were good and which ones were a joke or just holding the guitar as a prop. He spent his entire childhood growing up in Eastern Kentucky so poor it can’t be put into words. They had one radio in the coal camp that every one would gather around every Saturday night and listen to The Grand Ole Opry. He always talked about how The Opry was like magic coming out of that box. I know what it feels like hearing Bill Monroe for the first time on a cd player but it’s tough to imagine what it must have been like hearing that voice blast out of a radio in the 40′s as a nine year old boy. Anyway, he’s been really sick lately so when I got the news he was the first person I called…his words summed it up better than I ever could. 

 

He told me, “That’s it bud..that’s the biggest honor in Country music..that’s what you’ve been working so hard for all these years whether you knew it or not. If you never sing or record another note, you ain’t gotta prove nothing else to nobody after that. Don’t worry about what they’re doing now, just go do it your way and I’ll be right there with ya."

I made my album for him and no one else and it got me “here”…It aint much but “here” is a place I can go to sleep at night feeling pretty ok with. There is really nothing I can say that captures how proud I feel knowing he lived to see this and that he’ll be standing backstage watching his grandson step into that circle just like every single damn one of the heroes he raised me on has before me. There’s not a whole hell of a lot in this world I take seriously, least of all myself. But this I do,..The Opry is a living testament to the heritage of American Country Music and that’s about as serious as anything can be.

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You can listen to Sturgill Simpson’s Opry debut on WSM Online between 7 PM and 9:15 PM Central Friday (8-23).

Purchase Sturgill’s latest album High Top Mountain.

UPDATE (8/23): Sturgill played “Water I A Well” and “Life Ain’t Fair & The World Is Mean” on the Opry. For those that missed it, it will be archived in about a week or so here: 

http://www.wsmonline.com/watch-listen/opry/

Here’s a few pictures:

Picture from backstage:

Sturgill Simpson Tour Dates:

Sept. 1 – Rosemary Beach – Rosemary Beach, FL
Sept. 4 – The Altamont – Asheville, NC
Sept. 5 – Scenic City Roots – Chattanooga, TN
Sept. 6 – The New Vintage – Louisville
Sept. 7 – Barley’s Tap Room – Knoxville, TN
Sept. 8 – Eddie’s Attic – Atlanta
Sept. 9 – Georgia Theatre, Rooftop Series – Athens, GA
Sept. 11 – The Evening Muse – Charlotte
Sept. 12 – The Pour House Music Hall – Raleigh, NC
Sept. 19 – Americana Music Festival – Nashville
Sept. 21 – The Groove – Nashville
Sept. 26 – Red Dirt Dance Hall – Tulsa, OK
Sept. 27 – Wormy Dog Saloon – Oklahoma City
Sept. 28 – The Foundry – Dallas
Oct. 1 – The Western – Scottsdale, AZ
Oct. 3 – The Griffin – San Diego
Oct. 3 – The Hotel Cafe – Los Angeles
Oct. 5 – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival – San Francisco
Oct. 30 – Music City Roots – Nashville

The Boomswagglers Are Invading Your Town

Below is a damn great write up on the Boomswagglers who are working with Hillgrass Bluebilly Records. These fine folks down in Austin, TX who are responsible for putting out quality music such as James "Slim" Hand, Possessed By Paul James, Restavrant and quite a few more. After hearing some tracks by the Boomswagglers, we know you are going to dig the tunes as they cannot be pigeon holed. Their sound is distinctive, raw and on point, just the way we dig it.

Check out that is Hillgrass Bluebilly

Link to original article on Saving Country Music

"Every once in a while you have and artist or band come out that is so pure, so raw, and so good, it is destined to self-destruct from its own internal pressure. Such was the case with the original incarnation of The Boomswagglers, a two-piece band consisting of Spencer Cornett and Lawson Bennett. The name “Boomswagglers” came from their real-life experience of living in a shack, eating out of cans and living off the land, spending days hunting arrowheads like modern day Mark Twain characters.

During this period they both became highly-skilled guitar players and wrote some of the most authentic country songs you will find recorded in the modern era. Hillgrass Bluebilly Records in Austin, TX got a hold of The Boomswagglers long enough to try and record an album, but the project almost seemed doomed from the beginning; they were just too raw, too real. It resulted in a rough, disjointed project that Hillgrass didn’t feel confident enough to put their stamp on, yet as bits and pieces leaked out over the years, The Boomswagglers slowly became underground icons from their raw songs and occasional performances around Austin, TX. After years of the public itching for the project’s release, Hillgrass Bluebilly finally released a Boomswagglers album as a bootleg for a short period.

The Boomswagglers - The Bootleg Beginnings From The Shack Out Back

Something about the authenticity of the whole thing made The Boomswagglers’ bootleg arguably one of the best, most engaging projects released in all of 2011. At some point Hillgrass Bluebilly took the bootleg down, and since then Saving Country Music has been flooded with questions and requests of where to obtain this rare piece of audio gold. The original Boomswagglers album has become an underground classic, and Hillgrass Bluebilly has finally decided to give it a proper physical and digital release, with a brand new version completely remastered from the original studio sessions.

The new Bootleg Beginnings from the Shack Out Back will be a collector’s edition that will include a handmade emergency fishing kit attached to the CD, with a hook, line, and various lures. The physical release date will be July 12th, with the CD Release party happening at Antone’s in Austin, TX, with Hellbound Glory and Cade Callahan performing as well. The digital worldwide release will happen August 21st. ***UPDATE – You can now pre-order the CD!

Guitar player/songwriter Spencer Cornett still plays under The Boomswagglers name with other players, while Lawson Bennett is now the proprietor of the Mustache Podcast."

Original “Two Guns Up” Review of The Boomswagglers’ Bootleg Beginnings

Handmade fishing kits for collector's edition

Image of the inside CD, taken from actual newspaper clipping

XSXSW 5 - The Real Country Party In During SXSW

Saving Country Music did a great write up for 2012's XSXSW - 5 which will feature Hellbound Glory as one of the main acts along with Possessed By Paul James. Below is the full post from Saving Country Music and it looks to be a great event.

Link to original post on Saving Country Music

I am very excited to announce a unique partnership between Saving Country Music, Hillgrass Bluebilly Records & Entertainment, and Muddy Roots Music (The Muddy Roots Festivals) to bring together the 5th Annual XSXSW showcase, aka XSXSW 5, as part of the annual mid-March gathering of the tribes in Austin, TX known as South By Southwest.

The idea is to create a larger and more robust footprint for underground country and roots music at what is the yearly premier music event for the independent music industry, held in the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Unfortunately over the years, SXSW has become more “industry” and less “independent” as the festival has grown, and it has become a logistical nightmare for bands and fans alike to attend. SXSW is in essence a “pay to play” event, asking for non-refundable money for artists to be considered for officially-sanctioned showcases, and the event overtakes the entire downtown corridor of Austin for official SXSW use.

The spirit behind XSXSW is to offer fans and artists an alternative to the SXSW madness, while still giving them the opportunity to take advantage of the massive collection of talent, resources, and networking capabilities SXSW affords, and unlike many SXSW events, it is completely open to the public. This is the 5th year Hillgrass Bluebilly has thrown the XSXSW event, and Saving Country Music and Muddy Roots are coming on board to give the showcase that much more support and impact. Previous XSXSW acts include Los Duggans, Left Lane Cruiser, Hillstomp, O’Death, Austin Lucas, & The Harmed Brothers.

And this is not just important to artists and people in and around Austin. XSXSW 5 will be a national event, with a national focus, yet still in the original spirit of SXSW of showcasing local talent next to national acts. For folks from Texas, the Southwest, or anywhere else that can’t make it to other big independent roots events like The Muddy Roots Festival, Farmageddon Fest, The Deep Blues Festival, etc., this might be your chance to take part in a large scale event. And for those that can’t make it at all, the event will be broadcast right here on SCM LIVE, giving rise to national, and international participation via the web.

And since the event is being held at The Austin Moose Lodge on the east side of town, just outside of the SXSW madness, it offers an alternative to Austin locals who regularly avoid the annual festivities because of the headache they create. Ample parking, huge indoor/outdoor facilities, 3 stages, yet not too far out of the city makes the Austin Moose Lodge the ideal location. And as Hillgrass Bluebilly founder Keith Mallette states, The Moose Lodge embodies:

…a revival of “lost America”, for our friends and family to have a place of our own. A place that IMPROVES & BUILDS FOR US as we bring them beautiful, exceptional music that you just flat out cant get anywhere else… and prove once again that you never know where a song might take you!

This initial lineup of bands is just the tip of the iceberg of what the two day event will include, but we wanted to make folks aware of what will transpire. Florida’s Cracker Swamp Productions is also involved, and other entities and sponsors will be coming on board soon. Stay tuned to Saving Country Music for more announcements and information on XSXSW 5 as March gets closer.

• Hellbound Glory
• James Hand
• Possessed by Paul James
• Rachel Brooke
• Husky Burnette
• Lone Wolf
• Ruby Jane
• Restavrant

Hellbound Glory will be a headliner at XSXW - 5 in Austin, TX - March 16 - 17th 2012