American Roots UK Gives Peewee Moore Tremedous Review On Hs Latest Album

Read the fantastic review over on AmericanRootsUK.com

"This is Peewee Moore's third tremendous album of modern 'Outlaw country.' I use the word 'modern' simply to distinguish him from the 'old timers' Bobby, Willie, Waylon, etc. because there are differences despite Peewees close stylistic links. The big thing is that his music has a total lack of sanitization whilst the other three, at least early in their careers, were dictated to by the record companies, as a consequence of which, whilst they were always edgy, some of that record company way of doing things can't have failed to have smoothed off some of the harsh edges. This is not the case with Peewee's music, which on occasions is raw and edgy but at the same time incredibly melodic despite a hardness that adds an aggressive and at times slightly threatening nuance to his work.  

The Big Lessons of Sturgill Simpson’s Success, From Saving Country Music

The Big Lessons of Sturgill Simpson’s Success, From Saving Country Music

Damn is it great to see Sturgill Simpson doing so well with all the accolades from his latest album. The bigger elements come from a few simple ingredients that he figured out how to mix up into a tasty stew. If you ever had the chance to see what he had cookin' in Sunday Valley, then you know the depths to which his catalog can traverse. Read more from the great write up on Saving Country Music below.

Sturgill Simpson Featured Song On Paste Magazine

Sturgill Simposon feature post about new track on Paste Magazine

"Following his acclaimed 2013 debut, Sturgill Simpson has announced the release of his sophomore record, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. Raised in Kentucky, Simpson’s authentic Americana sound has earned him comparisons to some of country music’s early stars. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music is set for release May 13 via High Top Mountain Records. Simpson’s longtime friend Jason Seiler, known for his illustration of Pope Francis XV1 for Time Magazine, was recruited for the album’s cover art.

Simpson’s tracks are reminiscent of 1970’s country music, and with tracks full of emotion—both sad and fierce—Sturgill creates nostalgia for country music of days gone by."

Read Paste Magazine

Sturgill Simpson Tours The UK And Gives A Dose Of Real Country Music

Country legend in the making, Sturgill Simpson

Link to The Upcoming UK

"Country music is not for everyone. As a European, usually, you love or you hate it. Unless you’re into the history of the south of the United States, or unless you’re into the genre tout court, you won’t find hipsters listening to it. It may be the last genre that is still pure and not contaminated by modes and cheap fashion trends. Many don’t know how important and influential country music has been for folk and rock music. That’s why, yesterday in Portobello at Rough Trade West, the average age of the audience attending the show was more then 45, but the quality of the gig was ageless.

Sturgill Simpson is from Kentucky and has spent his last week in the UK, traveling to present his new record High Top Mountain, a compendium of how country music should sound and should be written. Classic references, classic instrumentation (mostly a steel guitar) and a classic topoi in the lyrics of the songs (love, hate, betrayal and that leitmotif of a man belonging to a territory, typical of country music). “My Great Grandfather spent his days in a coal mine and his nights on the porch in a chair. Now he’s in heaven and down here in hell the rivers run muddy and the mountains are bare”, he sang in the superb Old King Coal. With a guitar and with a powerful, deep voice, Simpson played just six songs from his last record, but the intensity of the execution and the undeniable talent of this man made the experience very touching indeed.

“I’m trying to pay homage to my family and where I’m from”, said Simpson in a recent interview, and considering the remarkable songs played at the venue, we trust him. Songs full of stories and traditions – both in the ballads (Water In a Well, Hero) and in the richer songs (Railway of Sin, Poor Rambler) – engaged the audience in a religious-like and respectful silence. High Top Mountain is a record about defeated people and injustice (“Born on a summer day in some dark holler, way back in the hills of Perry County. Well he grew up poor and he never saw a dollar, but a dollar ain’t no good in a coal camp anyway”) but thank goodness, as he very well proved, Simpson is not defeated."

Sturgill Simpson live review from the United Kingdom

Willie Nelson Turns 80 And Keeps On Truckin'

The more things change, the more things stay the same. Or at least we hope a few things will continue to flourish as life continues on. Willie Nelson turns 80 today and for fans of all music genres, his mark on songwriting, live performances and country music as a whole, will forever be renowned. Congrats hoss on shaping the world around you, to be what you see fit. Having never followed convention and bucking all trends, you are hero amongst legends.

Read original post on Aquarium Drunkard

The red headed stranger on stage and doing what he knows best

"On Tuesday, Willie Nelson will turn eighty years old. If you happen to have caught him live lately, that might take you by surprise. Willie won’t be the first touring octogenarian — Ralph Stanley’s still on the road at 86; Chuck Berry, who is the same age, is still banging around St. Louis; and Yoko Ono, 80, was alive and screaming on last year’s collaboration with Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore. Even the Old Possum George Jones made the rounds right up to his death last week at the age of 81. But on-stage, Willie seems nearly ageless. His band might have lost a step in the last few years, but Willie, if anything, has only gotten better over the past decade or so. Despite (or perhaps because of) his battles with carpal tunnel, his playing has become freer, slightly more impressionistic, pushing him as near to the avant-garde as anyone who’s shared the stage with Toby Keith can reasonably get. This is not hyperbole.

Shotgun Willie and a cold can of Budweiser

But what truly separates him from his peers, aged or otherwise, is the songs. When Phosphorescent released their 2009 tribute album To Willie, we declared Willie to be “a master of the human condition, a lonely and frustrated chronicler of the Great Country Virtues — whiskey, Jesus, sin, redemption, murder, love doubt — plucking great stabs of heartache and celebration like so many nylon guitar strings.” Even at his age, having played the majority of the songs on his nightly setlist for over forty years, he still seems to know this about himself, or at least about his work as a writer and performer; he’ll goof his way through “Me and Paul,” raising his eyebrows ironically at drummer Paul English as he recounts their Nixon-era exploits, but when he shifts into “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” or “I Never Cared for You,” he sells it like the heartbreak’s still fresh. As long as those songs are around, it will be.

In honor of the eightieth birthday of The World’s Greatest Living American, here’s ten of his slightly lesser-known tracks, a Willie Nelson 201.

__________________________________________________________________________________
In 1956, Willie worked as a radio announcer in Vancouver, Washington, and sold a simple gospel song called “Family Bible” for a mere $50. Though it was his first sale, and the song became somewhat canonical in the world of country gospel, Willie’s take on it wouldn’t find a home on an album until 1971′s morality tale Yesterday’s Wine. (Oddly enough, the track would warrant an album of its own in 1980). The song itself is more of a nod to the culture of Christianity than it is an actual spiritual song. Over tasteful fiddles and pedal steel, Willie remembers the family gathering around the table to hear Bible stories and his mother’s faithful strains of “Rock of Ages.” When he finally gets to the moral — “This old world would better be / If we’d find more Bibles on the tables” – we have to wonder whether Willie’s more in favor of the Word of God or the spiritual bonds of family and memory, or whether we can even have one without the other.

Willie Nelson :: Family Bible

Kicking off with a jagged Spanish guitar run, “I Never Cared for You” is Willie’s first great kiss-off. It slides quickly into Willie’s voice, solo with reverb. “The sun was full of ice and gave no warmth at all,” Willie sings. “I never cared for you.” And just like that, a loping Mexican rhythm fills in behind him and he’s in the saddle, riding out of town with his back to Main Street. Soon enough, he’d retire from country music and leave Nashville, retreating to the hills of Austin, Texas, where he’d emerge several years later, reenergized and playing a rock and folk infused version of country music that would scare Nashville out of its platinum pants.

Willie Nelson :: I Never Cared for You

By 1973, Willie Nelson needed a hit of his own. He’d left Nashville something of a failure; Ray Price and Patsy Cline had made household names of “Night Life” and “Crazy,” respectively, but Willie had yet to score one on his own. Back in Texas, Willie penned “Sad Songs and Waltzes,” a lament for, well, lamentation. Willie, always the gentleman, tells his ex-lover that he’s writing a song about her but, not to worry, as no one would ever hear it. “Sad songs and waltzes aren’t selling this year,” he explains, a pedal steel dragging behind him. Though Shotgun Willie was a critical smash, it would be a few more years before the sad songs and waltzes on Red Headed Stranger would sell in the millions.

Willie Nelson :: Sad Songs and Waltzes

Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings

A hit for Roy Orbison and the opening title track from one of the few essential Christmas records in any genre, “Pretty Paper” is more a moral quandary than celebration of the season. Coming at the end of a nine-album streak of classic albums that concerned themselves as much with morality, Christian devotion, and the afterlife as they did with drinking and loving, “Pretty Paper” is one of Willie’s more complex songs. Though it moves slowly, with all the tenderness of new lovers on their first Christmas, its stroll takes it downtown, to the shopping crowds, where it tries to avoid the gaze of the beaten-down. The narrator struggles with whether or not he should stop and help, and we’re left with the laughing down the streets, muffling the cries of what’s right in front of us.

Willie Nelson :: Pretty Paper (Pretty Paper)

While still a brokedown songwriter going by his middle name of Hugh, Willie charmed Charlie Dick, Patsy Cline’s husband, over drinks at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, eventually convincing him to pitch “Crazy” to his wife. Surprisingly, Patsy hated Willie’s speak-singing style and dismissed the track; it wasn’t until her producer, Owen Bradley, re-arranged it into a ballad that she sang it, rocketing its melody up and and down the scale with gold-straw precision. Willie’s original version captures more of the song’s darkness, though, his voice sounding as if it were recorded in the alleyway between Tootsie’s and the Opry.

Willie Nelson :: Crazy

The live version of “Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer)”, from 1978′s Willie and Family Live, showcases Willie’s fleet-fingered picking and the power-oomph of the Family Band, Willie near-rapping over the top like a newscaster — “You can’t go home if you’re going by the mill, cos the bridge washed out at the bottom of the hill.” This version, from 1973′s Shotgun Willie, finds the Family more subdued. They’re playing behind the party here, a bit weary, slightly resigned but not completely given over to the idea of staying a little longer.

Willie Nelson :: Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer)

“Down Yonder,” a barroom-piano driven instrumental track written in 1921 by Russian-born composer L. Wolfe Gilbert, has somehow emerged as one of the most enduring tracks from Willie’s most popular album. Thanks in no small part to “Little” Sister Bobbie Nelson’s fleet-fingered piano playing, “Down Yonder” has remained a live staple in the Family’s set for thirty-plus years.
Willie Nelson :: Down Yonder

Willie Nelson On Stage in the 1970's

Country music has a tendency to amplify everyday realities, which is a sterile way of saying that when country musicians sin, they sin hard. This live track from 1977 finds Willie up Whiskey River without any semblance of a paddle. Jerry Jeff keeps him in the hold until the M-O-T-H-E-R spellout at the song’s center. “M is for the pickup truck,” Willie begins, and it doesn’t get any better from there. He eventually spells out “M-R-E-A-R” (that first R being for “reverse on the pickup truck”) in what has to be one of the most bizarre, embarrassing, and hilarious moments a major star has ever allowed to be released. Still, the thumping drums, Jerry Jeff’s bark, and the clarinets honking in the background make it sound like it was one hell of a party.

Willie Nelson :: Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother (via Jerry Jeff Walker’s A Man Must Carry On)

Some songs are bigger than any one performer. Neither of these songs were written by Willie, nor are they necessarily associated more with him than with any other artist, but when the Family Band launches into spiritual mode after two and a half hours of hardcore country music, there’s no better celebration in the world. Willie’s hands are tired from having plucked away at Trigger, his face is sweaty but (always) smiling, and his one index finger is pointing heavenward in a move he stole from Billy Graham and made his own. The beer halls clap their hands and stomp their feet on wooden boards, gone off hard to the same place that audiences have been going for years. Sometimes it takes good country music to help us clap our hands again.

Willie Nelson :: Will the Circle Be Unbroken / I’ll Fly Away

“Willie Nelson’s reggae record” seems more like a headline on The Onion than an actual reality, and, true to form, most of Countryman is a misguided joke. But the centerpiece, a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s classic “The Harder They Come,” finds the project at its height. Over the reggae backbeat and Mickey Raphael’s stuttering harmonica, Willie strums a steel-stringed acoustic while a Jamaican-accented choir coos. The result is something that pays equal tribute to both country and reggae without feeling at all contrived. words/ m garner"

Willie Nelson :: The Harder They Come

Billy Don Burns Still Holding Down The Alternate Country Charts

Billy Don Burns is still holding position on the Alternative Country Charts

Billy Don Burns is featured on the Alternate Root charts

Kara Clark Interview, From Kudzoo

There are a lot of reasons for someone to write music that resonates from within the soul. It could be the burning need to get the ideas out of your head, that create a temporary paralysis resulting from not letting the ideas flow. Or it could be like many folks, an inborn addiction to which there is no known cure, except for hard work and dedication to your craft.

From the amount of material that is sent over to us from Kara Clark, we know this songstress puts her time in and is constantly writing new drafts. Kara's approach is refreshing, as we can sense her ideas evolving and becoming something greater than what an mp3 allows. Damn stoked to hear the full breadth of the new material and to be able to put a release date on it later this year.

Keep up with Kara Clark on Facebook

Kara Clark, new material in the works

Check out original interview in the online magazine Kudzoo

"Nashville is filled to the brim with country music hopefuls. Young men in cowboy hats and sexy young girls who made their way to Music City from far-flung cities in California, New York, Ohio and Nevada. People with heads full of dreams. Dreams of country music stardom. Dreams of packing arenas and standing beneath the warm glow of the spotlight and singing their country-pop hearts out, selling millions of CD's and even more download's. Artists who would sell their very soul for the opportunity of becoming one of those cookie-cutter country stars who all look the same and sound the same.

However, if you dig down just a tiny bit, past those layers of generic wanna-be's, you will find some genuine talent tucked away in the dim recesses of Nashville. Something fresh, something different. Something honest. Something called Kara Clark.

Kara has been called everything from gothic country to outlaw country. Fact is, she kind of defies classification. She is a little bit country and little bit rock n' roll, all wrapped up in shades of black & gray and covered in tattoos and lipstick. Her's is a unique voice. A wake up call in the city of musical sheep.

KUDZOO caught up with Kara Clark to find out a little bit about her background, what turns her on and her thoughts on the bizarre music business of today.






Tell us about where you were born and where you grew up.

I was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. I also spent a lot of time with my grandparents in Logan County, West Virginia where my sister and I played in creeks, pumped water into the sink to wash dishes and sat by a coal stove at night. My mom and dad divorced when I was three, I think, so she raised us and we had a great stepfather as well. My other grandparents lived in Huntington. My grandfather was a politician so my sister and I experienced two different types of living, it was good. I had a good child hood. Yes, I know the whites, we all knew of Jesco years ago, we didn't think anything out of the ordinary about them. I get asked that a lot.

When did you first become interested in music?

I didn't do any music growing up. I got kicked out of glee club in junior high for being a smart ass. I did what you do, graduated, went to college, got married, had kids. It wasn't until I was drunk singing karaoke one night that people kind of stopped and said, "where did that come from?" I responded with "I have no idea."

I entered some silly contests in West Virginia and won. It was bizarre to me. I got a used guitar and taught myself to play and started writing songs. I think everyone thought I had lost my mind. To be honest, they probably still think that.

Looking back on my life, I think it was always there. I wrote poetry and I used to sing when nobody was looking. I can remember singing Juice Newton like a fool. Also, as my grandmother aged, we found a hope chest full of keepsakes and there was a drawing I had done at 6 years old. It was a guitar and a microphone. My mom and I got chill bumps. Of course, I lost the drawing in typical Kara fashion.

Before that, were you a fan of music?

I have always loved music. I have gone through so many phases, some are too embarrassing to even mention. I was lucky to have seen Waylon with my dad when I was little. I was also lucky that my mother let me go to my first concert in the 4th grade. I think it was Rod Stewart. I was a rocker in junior high and high school. I remember seeing KISS in the 8th grade and my best friend and I were scared to death when WASP opened. I've seen Metallica so many times that my neck is permanently injured. After my metal phase in high school, I switched back to country. I love the classics, always have.

During high school, what were your future plans?

In high school, my only plans were drinking and drugs. That was my wild phase, not my college years, I was settled down by then. I barely made it through high school, I was so wild that there was no way I was thinking about my future. My poor mom, I worried her to death, I am sure. My senior year, I was shipped to my dad, a state trooper and I straightened up.

What made you move to Nashville and when did you arrive?

To be honest, my marriage was on it's last leg, we gave it a shot. I had been writing and making horrible cassette tape demo's of cover tunes. A musician friend I had made online had lived here for 25 years and knew this town. I had never even been here. She told me to send her a demo and she would be honest and let me know if I should, up and move here. She got with me when she heard it and told me to move if I could. She said I would stand out. That I am different. So, my then husband said he would move us here if it was what I wanted. I sat on it for a few months and then just packed up and moved here. I had never even sang in a band. It's kind of funny now.

Did you visit and "check it out" before hand?

No, my sister and I came to see about houses, but we ended up on Broadway and got nothing accomplished.

How do you find Nashville as far as from the perspective of a writer/performer trying to be heard?

That is a tough question because a lot of my own struggle has been my own fault. It's taken me years to realize this, but I do now. I have been lucky because I do think I stand out, so people know who I am. But at the same time, I have boxed myself in to an extent. I didn't do it on purpose, all of my songs are from the heart and just who I am, but I think people assume, it's all I can do and that is just not true.. I write a ton of different stuff, but have been so stubborn, way too stubborn. I have recently decided as long as I have true to myself, it's not a sell out. I have had several very important people tell me lately that I am missing the boat by being so stand-offish and by being so dead set to change the opinions of alternative country. I have many radio friendly songs just sitting here and that is just stupid.

You have written some great songs already. Have you been pushing songs to the publishers of Music Row?

I have never pushed for a writing deal. I think I have been so focused on the artist "Kara Clark" that I just let the songwriter take the backseat. I knew nobody was gonna cut anything off my records, so I just would write "pitch" stuff and let it sit here. I taught myself piano, mainly because I wanted to play "I'm Not Lisa" and after I learned it, a flood of songs came to me and I really like playing the piano. It also brings out a different style in me. A more vulnerable Kara and that is okay with me. I am ready to pitch songs now.

I hear you have done a bit of co-writing. Who are some of the folks  you've written with?

The majority of my stuff, I write by myself or with David Walker, who plays in my band. I wrote "Relapse" with Travis Meadows, he is amazing. I have written a couple with Jeremy Bussey. Again, I fault myself for not being in the "Nashville writer circles." I haven't networked or reached out to other writers, but all this is changing now.

Do you do the songwriting sessions, where you go into a room with others at a designated time and hammer out songs? What is your approach to songwriting?

I have done that once with Karen Staley, it went well. Sort of surreal, one of the first songs I ever "covered" was "Let's Go To Vegas." She wrote that and I was in a room writing with her. Up 'til now, I just get these hooks in my head and I run with them. I am primarily a lyricist. Every song on my records are all my own lyrics. I struggle with melodies, but not as much lately. I generally start at home and write it. If I can't get the melody, I will got to someone to help with the part. Hell, I have hummed melodies to people just because I am not a great guitar player and can't get them to sound right. My nephew helps me sometimes with that.

Who are your favorite or most influential songwriters?

Anthony Smith, Edwin McCain, Karen Staley, Chris Wallin, Jeffrey Steele, Leslie Satcher

Same question, but musicians?

My influential musicians are all over the map. I love everyone from Edwin McCain to Tool, to Journey, Cash, Waylon, Shooter, Hank III, Little River Band, Linda Perry (laughs), that sounds crazy. To sum it up, I am influenced by people who do their thing, stick to it to be true, be different and not give in. It's easy to sound or be like someone else already doing it it. It's tough as hell to be who you are and be successful. But all the ones who were true to what they believed in, will always last through time.

As far as performing, you still do solo stuff right?

Yes, actually acoustic gigs are far easier for me. Less overhead, more freedom to play a lot more material.

And the band? Who all plays in your band?

Right now, it depends on the gig, who I hire for it. Keeping an original band together at my level is tough and stressful. My piano player, David Walker is always with me.

Kara Clark will be building a huge fan base in 2013 with her new material

What have been some of the high points for you in your career thus far?

I am fortunate that my very top favorite artists or writers know who I am and I have met them all. I am lucky to have had press quotes from Shooter Jennings and Edwin McCain and Anthony Smith. Not many people get down here and actually get to know their main influences.

Tell us about your CD Southern Hospitality. Who produced, who played on it, all about it. Enquiring minds want to know.

I was lucky to make that record. I was lucky to be able to choose the songs that went on it. I wrote it all, had co-writers on many of the songs, but that record was all me — and being told "go make it, who cares what anyone thinks" was a great feeling. I had some of my band play on it. I played acoustics on it. Kenny Olsen, Wayd Battle, Dave Macafee, Mark Lambert all played on it. I called Brent Mason to play on two tracks and my engineer said, "you just don't call Brent Mason" (laughs) I do. I got to use Peter Keys from Skynyrd, I had great players on it.

What are your future plans?

I have a few things to think about right now as far as this latest record and the artist side of my career. I am not sure which road I am gonna take. Right now, my main focus is gonna be songwriting, getting my catalog organized, really concentrating on co-writing and pitching songs. I have way too many to just sit here and wait for someone to knock on my door.

I am also getting ready to start a new project, but I'm not allowed to talk about it. Get me drunk and I might.

And now, the important questions... What is the average air speed velocity of an unladen sparrow?

Shut up.

What is your favorite television show?

I love all true crime shows. I love Grey's Anatomy, I know, I know — I don't even care who knows it. I have love trash reality tv. I feel like I write such sad songs, I am allowed to watch that Honey Boo Boo and I wish she had a Kara Clark tshirt. Oh, turtle man is awesome to. The Kardashians are idiots.

What is the greatest record album ever recorded in the history of the world?

No pressure huh? I don't think I have just one favorite. The first thing that popped in my head was Rumors (Fleetwood Mac).

Name your five favorite musical acts?

Drive by Truckers, Hank 3, Journey, Edwin McCain and Shooter Jennings

If Carly Rae Jepsen got into a fight with Taylor Swift, who would win?

Who the fuck is Carly Rae Jepsen? Taylor Swift is perpetually 14, but I think she may have a mean streak deep down. I'm kidding.

What is the most important thing in life?

My children, period."

 - Michael Buffalo Smith

Billy Don Burns On The Ralph Emory Show

Can Billy Don Burns Become The New Beacon Of Underground Country Music In Europe?

Billy Don Burns is a feautred artist on Dutch Radio for Country and Americana

CountryFile is the country/americana show on Radio HavenstadFM.

Broadcasted live on air, each Sunday 12.00 – 14.00 CET.

Cable FM 104.1, ether FM 105.4 and live stream on www.Havenstad.FM

Billy Don Burns Has Fans Far And Wide And Including Martina McBride

Much of life is all about who ya know or being at the right place and right time. I have come to the conclusion that opportunity is where talent and hard work collide. Billy Don Burns has been lighting fires far and wide with his gritty form of songwriting about hard living characters and the tribulations that life sets before us. We find great joy in knowing that even main stream artists across country music, tip their hat to ol' BD. Have a look at some of the quotes on Billy Don from Martina McBride's site.

Purchase your copy of Billy Don Burns latest album

Billy Don Burns, latest album, Nights When I'm Sober... Portrait Of A Honky Tonk Singer

Link to thread on Martina McBride's site

"Billy Don Burns is the ultimate Road Warrior of country music, and very under-appreciated for his talent. He's lived the life, paid all imaginable dues, and writes with more heart than any singer out there. If you haven't listened to his wealth of music, you haven't heard country music."

"Billy Don Burns is the most honest person writing and singing today. His songs transform you into another world. Each song creates a special picture in your mind. His voice pulls you into an intimate place in your heart. Real is the word. This generation connects to BDB like no other artist out there right now. He would make a great touring partner for Martina McBride. She has the clear voice. He has the real voice. A great match!!!!"

"Billy Don Burns is the best songwriter/singer in country music of this decade. He writes, yes, but when he sings to you with that sexy voice, you fall into the story being told in the song. You feel every emotion he releases. He has LIVED each song. He doesnt make up something, he writes what he has lived. If you ever meet him and let him sing to you, you will understand. Listen to Lonesome 77203, Fall on my sword, running drugs out of mexico. Aaron Rogers and me, the most romantic is Loving Arms. Take a chance....it is worth it."

Billy Don Burns being talked about on Martina McBride's site

 

Hellbound Glory To Be Featured On NBC's - The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase

Big news in the world of Hellbound Glory folks. As anyone knows who is a fan of underground country, roots and americana music, the fellas in Hellbound have been pounding mile after mile and winning over fans in every club they go into. They are just about to embark on a new endeavor by being featured on NBC's The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase, which is a songwriter showcase in the round. Tickets are available so follow the links below and get yer asses to NYC and join in on the good time.

Support Real Country Music

Link to the Jimmy Lloyd Showcase on NBC

Hellbound Glory in neon lights, this is how real country should be.

"NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Sep 17, 2012) - The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase, a nationally syndicated TV show on NBC's digital network, will begin producing live events to complement its televised platform to bring much needed attention to talented up-and-coming musicians. The series will feature three songwriters on stage, each in turn performing a song and talking about the story behind it and its genesis.

Jimmy Lloyd will host the New York City based events and perform and will feature a rotating cast of up-and-coming and well-established songwriters.
The events will be filmed live for incorporation into episodes of The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase.

The inaugural event will kick off on October 11th at Hill Country on 26th street in Manhattan and will feature Leroy Virgil of Hellbound Glory, Sean Walsh from the band National Reserve and Jimmy Lloyd.

"We're thrilled to be partnering with Hill Country Live for this event. Much like our TV show, the folks at Hill Country act as a launch pad for artists on the verge, staging the best songwriters and bands that you will soon be hearing about, and creating multi-media opportunities to catapult them to the next level. Our aim is to make this the premiere songwriting event in New York City," said Jimmy Lloyd.

Seth Rothschild, Assistant Director of Hill Country Live had this to add: "We're excited to be partnering with The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase, and look forward to developing future events together. We are also beyond thrilled to be able to showcase bands like Hellbound Glory at our venue. They are dynamic, honest and soulful. They are right in the center of the bulls-eye of artists whose story we'd like to help tell: 'We've had 'em at our SXSW showcase and playing our NY and DC venues. Now, it's on to the Jimmy Lloyd show!' Hill Country will be very proud to host them in such an intimate setting.""

To attend this event, follow this link: http://jimmylloyd.eventbrite.com/

The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase currently airs in the following US cities: New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, Dallas, Miami, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

For more information on The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase, please visit jimmylloyd.com

For more information and background on Leroy Virgil and Hellbound Glory, please visit hellboundglory.com

For more information and background on Sean Walsh, please visit, http://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-NATIONAL-RESERVE/116585918356020

For more information on Hill Country Live, please visit, hillcountryny.com
 

Hellbound Glory's, Leroy Virgil will be a featured songwriter on NBC's The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase

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

Aaron Rogers, Billy Don Burns and Waylon Jennings Are All Linked...

In a matter of weeks, Billy Don Burns new studio album will be hitting the shelves and playlists world wide. There is also a key ingredient to this album, who has been an unsung hero and worked with Billy Don on the album over quite a period of time and who is also appearing on the upcoming posthumous Waylon Jennings album. Folks, if ya haven't heard the name of Aaron Rodgers, well remember it now.

Aaron is a guitar pickin' and slingin' magician along with one hell of a producer and engineer in the studio. Oh yeah, he is a stand up individual more importantly. Don't let us try to convince ya though, even Billy Don wrote a song about him that will be on the album.

Order Billy Don Burns new album now

Along with Billy Don's album he also was played guitar on the new Waylon Jennings record that was recorded right before he passed on, with greats such as Reggie Young, Richie Albright and Tony Joe White. With his body of work and reputation growing like gang busters, Aaron Rodgers will surely become a beacon of light in Real Country Music. A few major new projects are in the works with Aaron and we will keep ya posted on whats being cooked up.

Aaron  Rodgers plays guitar on the new Waylon Jennings album due out in September

Link to writeup on RoughStock.com

"A new album from outlaw country legend Waylon Jennings will be released this September, filled with recordings the icon made during the last few years before his death in 2002. Jennings spent hours in a recording studio with his longtime accompanist, Robby Turner and together they laid down twelve tracks using just Waylon’s guitar and vocals and Turner’s bass.  All songs were personally selected by the country star, ones that resonated in a deeply personal way and reflected his state of mind, his passions, and important statements he wanted to make about his life.  The duo planned out the future instrumentation that would be added to the tracks, but Jennings was never able to complete them.

10 years after his passing, Turner returned to the recordings, finishing each song to honor Waylon’s vision of what would turn out to be his very last album.  Bringing in musicians who had long worked with Waylon, such as Reggie Young, Richie Albright and tour mate Tony Joe White, Turner painstakingly created the album that Waylon set out to make.  "Waylon knows he's surrounded by friends and all that hear this will feel as if they know Waylon in all his authenticity," explains his widow, country singer Jessi Colter.  With his family’s blessing,Goin’ Down Rockin’: The Last Recordings of Waylon Jennings will be available on September 11 (Saguaro Road Records).  No one has ever heard these performances before; they are Waylon’s last gift to his fans.

Jennings wrote 11 of the 12 songs that appear on the new album, a testament to the personal nature of the recordings, and they reveal an artist in the midst of a final creative peak.  In addition to his own songs, the album includes Tony Joe White’s “Goin’ Down Rockin’” (on which White himself is a guest). In all, the album will feature eleven songs that have never been released before."

Goin' Down Rockin' - The Last Recordings of Waylon Jennings Tracklist:

1. Goin' Down Rockin (Featuring Tony Joe White)

2. Belle Of The Ball

3. If My Harley Was Runnin'

4. I Do Believe

5. Friends In California

6. The Ways of the World

7. Shakin' The Blues

8. Never Say Die

9. Wasting Time

10. Sad Songs & Waltzes

11. She Was No Good For Me

12. Wrong Road To Nashville

Produced by Waylon Jennings and Robby Turner, and to be relased through Saguaro Road Records.

Billy Don Burns - It Would Kill Mama

Billy Don Burns new album, Nights When I'm Sober... Portrait Of A Honky Tonk Singer, will be coming out July 10th and we are damn proud to be putting out this album. The song writing is a master class in how to write a story and the production is well beyond good. This is the type of record that will be around for a long time to come and Billy Don Burns is already hitting the road in force, so go out and see him live.


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Original gas can won on ebay

Custom Gas Can Banjo created for Billy Don Burns

Gas Can Banjo #10 created for Billy Don Burns

Ever think about using those forks from Waffle House for something else?

Detail on the neck and top of gas can