Sturgill Tells the Story: The Ballad of Dood & Juanita

Sturgill Tells the Story: The Ballad of Dood & Juanita

Mandy Mitchell

Sturgill may have had the title for his latest concept album, The Ballad of Dood & Juanita, in his head for years, but he reportedly kept hitting a wall when it came to actually bringing the idea to fruition. Simpson stumbled upon inspiration during his recent drive home from Oklahoma after wrapping up filming for Sorcese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, in which Simpson co-stars. According to Simpson, the drive proved fateful when he found himself in the clutches of Willie’s 1975 conceptual masterpiece Red Headed Stranger. After listening to the album 7 or 8 times on repeat, he mentally blended the album’s style and purpose with a picture his wife had recently sent him of two antique Kentucky long rifles and his long-held notions of a tribute album for his grandfather Dood, whom fans met in Panbowl and came to know better in Hero. Sturgill says it took two days for the entire album to culminate lyrically, with Sturgill’s grandfather Dood stepping into somewhat of a historical fiction protagonist role and each supporting character, Sham, Sam, and Juanita, being paid homage with their own individual tune. With the writing done, Sturgill called upon the talented musicians who helped him create his last two bluegrass albums to help give his bird of a story a song in its throat. Willie even lent ol’ Dood a hand, cranking out a signature Spanish guitar solo on Trigger that deftly gives structure to our meeting with Juanita during the tune by that name. The entire process “from coming into [Sturgill’s] head and out of the speakers” took a mere five days.

Corduroy Brown: Let Me Know

Corduroy Brown: Let Me Know

Phillip Ring

Albums come along that pose questions. Some of them are interesting. Some of them are less interesting, and yet more are mundane. Corduroy Brown’s Let Me Know asks how do you take a life threatening, life altering event and find something positive in it? How do you express fear, relief, and joy, while exercising reverence for obstacles most of us are fortunate enough to not have a baseline for? How do you accomplish all of that without being preachy, or worse, cheesy?

Let Me Know answers all of these brilliantly, in a way that’s a joy to listen to. In a room of special albums, this album is still special. It comes with a sense of true humility, wonder and a kindness that’s becoming ever more rare. It’s a truly inspired, and inspiring, album.

Train to Birmingham: Peacemaker Festival

Train to Birmingham: Peacemaker Festival

Derek Scudder

With high temperatures hovering just below the century mark on the last weekend of July, the banks of the Arkansas River in Fort Smith was certainly not the most comfortable place to spend a weekend outdoors with live music, but a diverse lineup and solid production made it worthwhile.

Peacemaker turned seven this year and the festival has overcome some huge obstacles the past two summers. In 2019 the Arkansas flooded the festival site just weeks before the event but the river receded and the show went on even though they had to find a replacement headliner for the Turnpike Troubadours who had just gone on permanent hiatus. Of course last year’s pandemic shut down most festivals but Peacemaker held on even with some last-minute lineup changes and literal last-second changes from the state health department to stand as one of the few two-day outdoor festivals in the country. This year it was the heat that tried to ruin the party but this is one tough festival.

The Barlow – A Colorado Band Putting Their Own Mark on the Scene

The Barlow – A Colorado Band Putting Their Own Mark on the Scene

Erik Guthrie

The boys from Oklahoma may roll their joints all wrong, but the fellas of The Barlow are rocking the Colorado music scene exactly right! Based out of Denver’s northwest suburb of Arvada (Arvada? The last noteworthy thing to come out of there was some band called The Fray), these four guys have a mission that drives every gig, every performance, and clearly, their first two albums. That mission: to demonstrate exactly how essential their take on Country-Rock is to the entire genre. To brush them off as just another upstart trying to ride the coat-tails of an already established country genre, simply because they do not call Oklahoma or Texas home, is to demonstrate a profound lack of understanding for what the Red Dirt movement is all about: authenticity, experiences, humility, and stories that resonate because you relate to the characters in the songs (hell, maybe you even lived those stories). They also have just enough hard-edged, honky-tonkin’ Friday night energy to have some rowdy fun! What The Barlow brings to the table will spin you up, get you re-energized about this Country music subculture we all adore, as though you were just hearing Robert Earl Keen, Pat Green, Randy Rogers, Ragweed or Turnpike for the first time, falling excitedly in love all over again.

Mike and the Moonpies: One to Grow On

Mike and the Moonpies: One to Grow On

Derek Scudder

At its heart, Mike and the Moonpies is a dance band made for filling up the floors with everyday folks looking to cut loose and have some fun. The band’s eighth studio album One to Grow On celebrates the workingman and his day to day efforts to get ahead.

"I wanted to create a record you could crank loudly in your truck on Friday afternoon at quitting time," says frontman Mike Harmeier, who wrote One To Grow On in his backyard studio on the outskirts of Austin. "To do that, I developed a narrative and a central character. It's a guy who's working hard to make ends meet, all while living in the moment and hoping to stay appreciative of the things he has. A guy who takes pride in what he does but is still searching for a balance in his life. There are a lot of similarities between him and me."

“Everyone I know who isn't a musician is working construction.” adds Harmeier.” They're putting one foot in front of the other and trying to appreciate the moment they're in, while basically working 24/7, 365. A lot of people live their lives that way, and they inspired me to write a workingman's story.”

John R. Miller: Depreciated

John R. Miller: Depreciated

Ryan Bush

With a simple name and veins flooded with creative magic, John R. Miller has etched his brand across the musical landscape, demonstrating this gift with his solo debut album, Depreciated – an eleven-chapter odyssey drenched in talent. Throughout the years, Miller has gained notoriety amongst the explosion of musical brilliance smoldering from the Appalachian foothills and the streams of the Shenandoah Valley. With bands including Prison Book Club, The Fox Hunt, as well as The Engine Lights, Miller continued to grow and fine-tune his craft, which is exemplified though Depreciated – each track penned by the dusty backwoods poet himself.

Gathering from personal experiences and fueled by Miller’s wandering van tromping about the countryside, Depreciated offers a sound that captures much of the influences that played through Miller’s own speakers – an eclectic and genre-bounding balance.

Tosha Hill: Forty Miles

Tosha Hill: Forty Miles

Derek Scudder

Tosha Hill loves writing songs and the stories she tells about their creation are nearly as delightful as the tunes themselves. Whether it’s the tale of having to write a song on a ukulele instead of a guitar because there wasn’t enough room in the car on a family trip to Missouri, or a song written while on the Natchez Trace on the way to visit a family member in the hospital in Tupelo (she got better), or the time she wrote a song while on a road trip to Atlanta to see an Emmylou Harris show; Tosha knows how to set the scene for the genesis of her songs.

She is an Alabama girl from the Muscle Shoals area and her powerful voice carries some of the soulful magic that seems to emanate from that particular stretch of the Tennessee River. Tosha is working her way up the Nashville songwriting food chain and already has penned tunes with John Oates (of Hall & Oates fame) and Hall of Famer Brenda Lee (another wonderful story about that session!). Nashville studio players back the tracks on the record but onstage she is joined by her brother Josh on guitar and Caleb on percussion. Her debut EP Forty Miles is a 5-song selection from an already large catalog of self-written tunes, many with the help of her daddy, Billy.

Shelby Lore: Great Unknown

Shelby Lore: Great Unknown

Jolene Horihan

Have you ever gone to a show or a festival and there’s that one name on the bill that you have never heard of and they end up being the dark horse of the lineup? Well, over the Memorial Day weekend I attended a small festival in “Almost Indiana” (Warsaw, KY) and that was where Shelby Lore became my dark horse. Honestly, I didn’t know if it was a female or male, solo artist or band. But it didn’t take long for me to figure out that he, Shelby Lore, was a highly anticipated act that weekend. His name seemed to be on everyone’s lips leading up to that Saturday afternoon set. Attendees and artists alike all reminisced on what a talented guitar player Shelby is and what an energetic show he and his bandmates, Luke Estep and Tyler Kiser, put on. My friends were not wrong. In no time, Shelby and the band had the crowd on their feet - smiling, singing, dancing and cheering. I also overheard lots of folks getting excited for his upcoming album to be released. That album, Great Unknown, dropped over the weekend (July 10) and now you can see for yourself what all the buzz is about.


Train to Birmingham: July 2021

Train to Birmingham: July 2021

Derek Scudder

No live music experience can match a Texas dance hall on a Saturday night with a hot country band on stage and a roomful of people two-stepping around a hardwood floor. When that dance hall is the Old Coupland Dance Hall and that band is Mike and the Moonpies, you have officially arrived in Honky-Tonk Heaven!

Working out a road trip itinerary that would get me from a Cody Canada show in Gun Barrel City, Texas, to a Blackberry Smoke show in Lake Charles, Louisiana, I found a Mike and the Moonpies show that fit perfectly. Little did I realize how life-changing that decision would be.


Wild Earp: Dyin’ for an Easy Livin’

Wild Earp: Dyin’ for an Easy Livin’

Phillip Ring

How do you make a Wild Earp record? Take a honky tonk band, drench it in Tequila, put nine people on stage, have a revolving host of talented writers and a charismatic frontman. That’s a start. I had the opportunity to catch up with Wild Earp himself, a Chicago-based musician who has previously released some material in more of a solo fashion, and is now getting the posse together to bring some depth to the songs that define him and the Free For Alls.

When I heard the first track, it felt like line dancing on mescal--trippy, fun, loud, smiling. The album is packed with that kind of energy: it makes you want to move, has deep hooks, and doesn't take itself too seriously, but it is art. The kind of art that only a thoughtful artist can make. It pays respect to the albums and artists that paved the way with a degree of showmanship that’s often lacking in the current landscape of toned-down Americana.

From the opening beat of “Ain’t It a Shame (When Your Horse Goes Lame),” you immediately know this isn’t going to be a single man and an acoustic guitar telling you why the world should be more serious. But that doesn’t mean that Earp and the Free For Alls, who contributed tracks, have nothing to say. Kiley “Sweet Sassy Molassey" More offering her first writing effort for the band with “Smile Like That,” proves the writing talent of the band isn’t isolated to its front man, nor is the vocal talent. This album feels like what a wife picks up on her wedding day: something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. It’s eclectic and full of surprises, and manages to not get too wrapped up in a formulaic nostalgia, even though the record is clearly influenced by musicians that wrote within eras passed.


The Mallett Brothers Band: Gold Light

The Mallett Brothers Band: Gold Light

Derek Scudder

What does a band from Maine sound like? When you hear that a band plays “Southern Rock” you have a good idea what you’re going to get. Many artists from Texas and Oklahoma share musical qualities. Some cities have a “sound” that makes them unique such as New Orleans, Memphis, or Seattle. But Maine? The Mallett Brothers Band is from Maine and it turns out what they play is some damn fine rock n’ roll.

Gold Light is the band’s eighth studio album since they formed in 2009. All ten tracks on the self-produced record were written by Luke and Will Mallett. As for what fans can expect, singer/guitarist Luke says “We ended up picking out the songs for this record based on a rough outline of the Hero’s Journey, applied generally to the creative life, the rock and roll life or however you want to think about it. Reflecting that, there is definitely a lot of turmoil on this record, but overall it’s pretty optimistic. We’ve all needed all the joy we can get over the past year, and there’s a lot of it on here.”


Flatland Cavalry: Welcome to Countryland

Flatland Cavalry: Welcome to Countryland

David Overstreet

Many bands & artists spent 2020 wondering if they were going to survive and what they were going to do next. That was not Flatland Cavalry. It appears that they spent 2020 getting more comfortable in their own skin and more confident in who they were as individuals, as artists, and as a band. And nowhere is this more apparent than in their new album, “Welcome to Countryland." This album not only has them doubling (some might even say tripling) down on the sound that has made them a leader not only in Texas country, but in the more traditional country music stylings as well. But in that vein of confidence, they have stepped out of their comfort zone to write and record songs that depart from their very recognizable style. And this new confidence looks good on them.


Sethaferg: Starless

Sethaferg: Starless

Phillip Ring

Seth Ferguson, the Appalachian Justin Timerblake, one half of the Keekers and Ferg #1 Podcast Show, future hillbilly pop star? Anyone following the pre-release of Starless has been witness to what I would consider to be one of the most entertaining, confusing build ups in music history. For those who haven’t, it's a tale of a man who has struggled with marketing an album through traditional means. There are a lot of people that will hear the new album with some measure of confusion; it’s an album that is only possible through an Appalachian voice, but isn’t what one would consider regionally typical. There isn’t a banjo anywhere on the album, but there’s a lot of drum machine, disco pop, and hip hop influences.

Train to Birmingham: May 2021

Train to Birmingham: May 2021

Derek Scudder

Blackberry Smoke frontman Charlie Starr recalls the first time his band played at the Shed in Maryville, Tennessee. He says he doesn’t remember the year but they were asked to open for Cross Canadian Ragweed. Blackberry Smoke returned to the Shed this month for two consecutive weekends of headlining shows at the legendary smokehouse & jukejoint in the beautiful hills of east Tennessee. Starr says he had just spent some time with Cody Canada in Key West at the Mile 0 Festival and had told him, “you’re partly to blame for all of this,” meaning the help Cody had given not only Blackberry Smoke but so many of the other artists at that festival was the reason for the popularity of the music.

The opportunity that live music presents for learning about new music is unmatched. I enjoy getting to the show early to catch the opening act. Sometimes, it’s a brand new artist trying to find the best way to present their songs; it could be a band with years of experience but still no big breakthrough. There are so many other stories for musicians still paying the dues of the road, and I have already seen some opening bands this year that have caught my attention.

RC Edwards has stayed busy since the Turnpike Troubadours hiatus began nearly two years ago. His side project, RC & the Ambers, has been active with gigs around their home base of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Last year, the band went into the studio and recorded the Big Country record which is set for release later this year. I recently caught RC & the Ambers opening two shows for Cody Canada & the Departed . I had also seen them last fall in Tahlequah and the band has gotten even tighter over the past few months. Edwards has hung up his bass for an acoustic guitar and handles lead vocals; Amber Watson is featured vocalist. The band features a mandolin, upright bass and another guitar. They played a few songs from the new album and featured a few of the Edwards-penned tunes from the Turnpike catalog (so good to hear “Wrecked” and “Kansas City Southern” again). The new duet arrangement of “Fall Out of Love” spotlights Amber and fans would like to hear more from her than just one solo per show.

I have been a Black Lillies fan since the release of “Whiskey Angel” in 2009, and got to see several early shows with the band performing at a high level especially one night when they opened for the Turnpike Troubadours in Birmingham. The Hard to Please record had just come out featuring the sassy title track and “40 Days” which features Cruz Contreras rocking the electric piano. I had a nice conversation with him at the break and he was so excited about the future of the band and later went back onstage for an encore with Evan Felker. Not long after, their equipment trailer was stolen from a hotel parking lot in Houston. They lost equipment, merchandise, and some irreplaceable instruments. Some band members quit as well, causing Contreras to change the sound of the band which was now without a female voice. A “farewell for now” post on the band’s website marked a pause in Black Lillies activities while Cruz works on a solo career. He opened a show for Blackberry Smoke at the Shed near his Knoxville, Tennessee home and was accompanied on vocals by his wife, Molly. They opened with the Black Lillies classics “Two Hearts Down” and “Smokestack Lady” and later included the soaring “Whiskey Angel” duet as well as the earlier-mentioned piano-rollicking “40 Days.” I was right down in front for the Contreras set and was surprised (and a good bit disappointed) at how many Blackberry Smoke fans had never heard of the Black Lillies, even those who lived in the area! Cruz Contreras has been performing acoustic shows and has a solo project ready with a release hopefully later this year.

Two nights in Inman, Kansas introduced me to openers Jay Statham & The Tokie Show, and Kyle Killgore. Statham claims that “Tokie” represents the mixture of Texans and Okies in the band. He’s got a fire burning when he’s on stage and a driving, guitar-led sound. “Pieces” and “She Ain’t Looking for Love” both rocked the set. I’m going to keep an eye out for him. Wichita’s Kyle Killgore has a confident look and a clean Heartland country/rock sound. “Livin’ On the Run” gets a good workout in the live set and I love the Chris Knight shout out in the lyric!

Hayden Haddock is giving this music thing a big push with his new Red Dirt Texas record which has several solid tracks including one of my new favorite party songs “Whiskey Did You Miss Me.” Haddock has a genuine Texas drawl, a traditional look, and professional marketing that could help him break through. Jason Lerma of Aaron Watson’s band brought his distinctive guitar talents to Haddock’s band when I saw him at the Majestic in Fort Smith, Arkansas; he also sat in with Jason Boland’s band later that night.

I first remember seeing Waves open for Cody Canada & the Departed in 2019 at Gruene Hall. The band is comprised of teenagers from the School of Rock in New Braunfels, Texas which is operated by Shannon Canada and her husband, Cody. Their son, Dierks, plays guitar for the group but this is not “his” band. Elysha LeMaster handles lead vocals with the presence of the seasoned performer that she is; I’ve also seen her and the band open at the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa and the famous Mule Barn in Justin, Texas. Guitarist Peyton Glasco recently joined the Departed on a weekend run that began at Knucklehead’s in Kansas City. He handled merchandise sales and would join Cody Canada and the band on stage later in the show. What an education! Drummer Ben Mitchell is the machine that drives the band and this band rocks. Luke Wilson lays down a solid bass and adds backing vocals. Each time I see Waves, they have improved as a band and are learning what it takes to succeed as touring musicians.

While Blackberry Smoke was hosting the second weekend of the Brothers and Sisters Reunion, where was Cody Canada? He was spending that week in May on the road opening a five-show run for Dierks Bentley and his sold-out dive bar tour. Remember the days when Dierks would open shows for Ragweed? Get to the show early. You never know who you might see.


The Steel Woods: All of Your Stones

The Steel Woods: All of Your Stones

Derek Scudder

“I don’t think people fully understand so I’m just gonna say it right off the bat. Jason “Rowdy” Cope was and has always been The Steel Woods.” That’s how fellow musician Brent Cobb described the importance of the band’s co-founder, co-songwriter, and guitarist in an extensive Facebook post. Cope passed away in his sleep earlier this year on January 16th at age 42. He lived with both physical and mental agony before being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in late 2018, and, in recent years, overcame the twin demons of alcohol and PTSD. After his diagnoses, Jason had done all the right things to get his life back on track and was clean, sober and in good mental health according to his family, and proven by his clear toxicology report.

One to Watch: Dave Shoemaker “Foreverything”

One to Watch: Dave Shoemaker “Foreverything”

Ryan Bush

Love is an art all its own. It breathes life into the soul and can make the heart feel more than ever thought possible. It’s the ups and downs. The good and bad. Growth and loss. Sharing each breath next to the one who is your living muse. Southeastern Kentucky’s Dave Shoemaker has managed to capture all of this emotion with his newest single, “Foreverything” - a poetic testament that paints the reality of pure love and all of its power.

A flourishing songwriter with deep lyrical prowess, Shoemaker cut his teeth on an eclectic line of musical genres, all of which have impacted his sound, along with a voice that is jaggedly soft, rising and falling with each word and verse.

“I grew up listening to classic rock radio and back porch pickin’ at my grandparents'. In middle school/high school, I fell in love with the Seattle sound and really came to love Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, and I still do love and listen to those bands. I'm a lover of music and I feel like I draw a lot of inspiration from music of all spectrums, whether it be Ralph Stanley to Neurosis or Guy Clark to The Drive By Truckers. I'm all over the place with my musical taste,” Shoemaker shared.

Interview with Van Plating

Interview with Van Plating

Melissa Payne

You’ve got quite a colorful sonic history, with a background spanning classical music, bluegrass, and indie rock. Could you name one thing you’ve learned from each of those genres that you’ve put to use in your current career as a solo artist?

From classical music I learned discipline. Intense, mind over matter, ninja level discipline. You can’t learn to be a good violin player without hours and hours of focused practice in the studio. It takes years of study before you even sound decent, and a mastery of the instrument takes an honest lifetime of study. I used to practice 3 hours per day plus rehearsals and lessons, as a minimum maintenance routine. In college, I’d be so exhausted from a full course load plus studio hours that I’d fall asleep in the practice rooms and the security guards would wake me and kick me out.

I’ve worked through sickness and physical pain. That toughness was bred into me by the violin. The discipline it took from me for 20+ years, all the way through college, gave me the focused determination it takes to be ok with writing songs by myself for hours and working on my own as a solo artist. Once I'm in the zone I don’t break focus.

Bluegrass music was the heart of my granddad Given’s family. He was my mothers’ father and my favorite person in the world. He had a bunch of brothers (8 I think?) and they would play barn dances all over Alabama when he was in his youth. They were a poor sharecropper family that moved around a lot. They relocated to Florida to pick fruit after the Great depression and brought music with them. These men were wizened and gray by the time I came along, but the family kept a weekend tradition of playing bluegrass music in the round out in my grandparents front yard in Eustis on many a weekend day. From the time I was small they’d shove me to the middle with my tiny violin and eventually I got the hang of following chord progressions by ear and I’d play along. By the time I was grown I could hang pretty well, although I don’t think I’ll ever be as fast a guitar picker as any of those guys were. So improvisation is a skill I learned from them that I use all the time.

The Shootouts: Bullseye

The Shootouts: Bullseye

David Overstreet

It had been a long time since I just had fun listening to an album, but the Shootout’s latest album, Bullseye, was just that; 13 new tracks of pure fun! I truly enjoyed this album because of their unique sound, which I like to refer to as being vintage western swing brought into the 21st century, yet still being very true to those roots.

For a sophomore album, what impressed me the most is that they remained true to their sound. Many groups, when achieving success on their first release, feel that they must do something over the top to beat their previous achievement. When those groups do this, they seem to lose something in their sound and in their souls. The Shootouts remained true to themselves and their sound, which their fans greatly appreciate.


Ritch Henderson: "Lithium"

Ritch Henderson: "Lithium"

Melissa Payne

A self-described Appalachian storyteller, Ritch Henderson’s sound is best described as eclectic, taking cues from southern rock, country, and even folk. Even the artists that Ritch lists as influences, like Janis Joplin to the Turnpike Troubadours and Drive By Truckers, reflect the different aspects of his sound. A Marine veteran, one might be surprised to find Ritch now touring his way around the country, slinging songs as comfortably he is, but Ritch is no stranger to his music. With family influences growing up, it seems his road hasn’t been easy, but he draws from his own life struggles and triumphs for his forthcoming album, Fallacies and Four Letter Words, which will be out later this year. The new single, “Lithium,” which will be featured on the album, is out today.

Chris Blevins: Grief, Love and Other Gifts

Chris Blevins: Grief, Love and Other Gifts

Derek Scudder

I interviewed Chris Blevins in late 2019 about the exciting plans he had for the upcoming year, including three record releases and a new baby. His son was born last May but the records never came out because 2020 turned the other plans sideways. 2021 is finally offering a reset to the year that was put on hold.

The duet project that Chris had called Grief back then is now titled Grief, Love and Other Gifts, and is being released on Tulsa’s Horton Records. “This started out as a very single-minded project and quickly became something else entirely,” Blevins explains. "We changed the title because albums, when they have a specific intention, I think they’re a bit amorphous in what the expectation of the creator is and as we added songs and subtracted some songs that were maybe not as strong it just became a different thing and it no longer fit that paradigm and we shifted more and I changed the title as a result of that.” He added, “The tone of some of the songs initially was grief and very much centered around the prospect of grief and how we process that and now it’s more in line with just human experience and the different facets of that and how we process those.”


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