Please check out the fantastic, everlasting, singing-songwriting, Illinois-born, Nashville-based clawhammer banjo player Abigail Washburn.
It´s oldschool American music as we love @ Kentuckyseven, but it is also a new vibe. It´s folky enough to build a village, adding a Springsteen-magnitude making me huffin n´ a puffin.
Her album ’City of Refuge’ is out, don´t miss this astonishing bluegrassbeauty. Til then, check out the single ’Chains’.
Described as “one of Americas best roots songwriters”, M.Ward has made friends all over the planet since his debut back in 1999.
His albums ranks as “the mother of all front-porch records”. Hold Time (2009) is timeless music, sheer brilliance from a guy who makes it all sound so easy. We all know it aint.
Besides his solo career, Matt Ward is a member of the great folkrock group Monsters of Folk and in the beautiful duo She & Him with Zooey Deschannel. Both of whom I adore. If talent were made into a man…
Born in 1973, raised in Portland, Oregon and with his own twang of reality – this is a guy to follow. I hear Sufjan Stevens & Tom Waits, I hear blues & countrymusic, I hear americana in the true sense.
But most of all M. Ward is his own shepard. A man with a tale to tell and a guitar to hammer. It all makes sense.
He´s playing Dramaten in Stockholm May 9. I will hook up with him beforehand, for ya´ll to read. Stay tuned.
If you come across an artist that describes himself as this guy, Dean Fields does, you wanna know what he sounds like:
”It takes a long time for me to wake up. Often Ill get up in the middle of night, change the cat box, and go back to bed with no recollection of it. Im an over-thinker and an undecider. I make up words. I went to grad school to pursue music and left grad school to pursue music. I moved 7 times in 3 years between 4 states. I have 300 voices with 300 accents for 301 different moods. I cannot park a car. My wife is the coolest person I know. And she is not a horse.”
It got me intrigued, and I started to explore the songs of Mr Fields latest EP ”Under A Searchlight Moon”, which was released March 15. Stumbled over a bunch of well-written songs, catchy tunes with feel. Dean is from Richmond, Virginia and the Americana is more than present in the EP, to say the least.
This artist know his way around words and phrases. The music sounds like there is a straight line between the idea and the songs. Steel-guitars give the ambiance and authenticity that great American songwriters need.
My advice has got to be, check this one out, and hopefully you will find something that will find a place in you too.
You know when you suddenly, while watching a tv-series, hear the tune. The tune you have got to get. It could be that you are looking for these guys.
The Elliots are four extremely talented guys from the Swedish west coast, from the indie-rock-capitol that is know as Gothenburg. They have played together since 1990, and you can tell. Their music is an alternative-indie-rock-pop mashup, with excellence. Somehow it brings up names such as Killers, Band of Horses and with a splash of ”nineties” in it. A real sound, something very credible.
The band has been featured in several American tv-series, which is something not all bands get to experience. When listening to the new album ”Love / Decay”, which is to be released June 10, you know they have created something great. And those of you that pick up that album are in for something really good.
The first single ”When Evil Happens” features guest vocals by Camela Leierth, a perfect match. The Elliots are, Petur Olafsson, Christian Rosengren, Fredrik Berggren and Mathias Flodin.
A full review of the album will be posted closer to the release, but I can tell you this, this is something special. The emotional songs and melodies are magical. You just wait and see.
Sometimes when you see or hear a band for the first time, you just know.
At the extraordinary mini-folk-festival put together by Woody West, I met The Head and The Heart for the first time. And I was floored. The sound, the harmonies and the people on stage, just had me at he…
They were praised at SXSW and no wonder, their music is something else. The American roots are built in, to the very last particle of the sound. The vocals and of Jon, Charity and Josiah together with the rest of the band just exploding off stage, in that powerful feeling of love for what they do. It is breathtaking. In any way possible. It is ”up above” in a way not even the songs can explain.
I know, it sounds like some being in love for the first time, but I am in love. This is something special. Something very rare. I had the pleasure of talking to both Jon and Charity that night, and the feeling just kept going. These are persons that just make great stuff, for the love of it.
The Head and The Heart will release their debut album on Heavenly Records in Europe (Subpop US) and for those of you who haven’t met them yet, I suggest you pick that album up. On April 18. Currently touring with The Low Anthem, if they are heading your way, make sure to hold a ticket.
If you wanna fall head over heels, just like I did, just get on that first date, by listening to the song below. And hopefully, you will hit it off.
You know that real Americana. The one where you can feel that worn out seat of a rugged pick up. That feeling of really dusty boots with worn out heels. And a broken heart.
That kind of Americana is played by The Far West. No more no less. It’s genuine down to that last longneck, sliding over the steelguitar.
The boys, Lee Briante, Robert Black, Erik Kristiansen and Tony Sanborn are hitting the right notes down the road that is great american folk and country music.
They have been described as something like” Waylon’s band jamming with Wilco” which should be something every band like this would put up on their walls and be proud of.
The Dylan-fan will be feeling right at home in songs like ”White Freightliner”, which sounds like its carved out of a 70’s Dylan record, and molded into The Far West.
The debut album is released today, and the band is headed out to SXSW for two shows, 15th and 16th @ B.D. Riley’s Pub and Waterloo Ice house.
April 3rd they will play @ The Grand Ole Echo in LA, with another of the Kentuckyseven favorites, Maxim Ludvig & The Santa Fe Seven. Now there is a show we would like to attend.
There are musicians that hit that note deep down in you, the very first time you hear them. James Vincent McMorrow is one of them.
The man keeps on touching throughout all his music. In the true spirit of real Bon Iver-ish he takes the great genre of singer/songwriting to the next level.
The debut ”Early in The Morning” was released jan 25 by Vagrant Records in the US and will be available in europe march 7 via iTunes. I suggest you pick that album up. If you don’t want to miss out on a great album filled with that sweet sound that is James Vincent McMorrow.
In 2007 the band Everest saw the light of day. The band is Russell Pollard (vocals, guitar, drums, lyricist), Jason Soda (guitar, keys, vocals), Joel Graves (guitar, keys, vocals), Elijah Thomson (bass, vocals) and Davey Latter (drums, percussion).
The debut with the haunting name ”Ghost Notes” came out in 2008 and was warmly welcomed into the musicworld. Their ”Californian Country-Rock” makes a noticeable mark in the sound-scape of great music. The sophomore album ”On Approach” was released in may 2010.
From ”On Approach” comes our song of the day – ”Let Go”… listen in on the great sound of Everest.
