If you have never watched Ken Pomeroy perform or have never seen a photograph of her, you might have a hard time believing that the powerful voice and weighty lyrics come from someone so young. The Moore, OK, Cherokee singer-songwriter is a budding 19 years old. And if you think that's impressive, wait until you hear the album, knowing she penned some of the songs on today's release, Christmas Lights in April, as early as age 14.
Saturday night’s show with Chris Jones and the Flycatchers, RC & The Ambers and Kyle Nix and the 38’s, might have been one of the best shows of 2021. Normally you don’t see this many members of The Turnpike Troubadours on the stage at Cain’s Ballroom without it being New Year’s Eve, but Saturday night was an exception. The line to get into Cain’s stretched down the block, a line full of many people who had driven in from other cities and states after rumors had been swirling all week that the show would turn into a Turnpike Troubadours reunion. This was largely due to the news that the Troubadours had reunited and would be hosting a show at Red Rocks on May 14th.
Before Shooter Jennings began producing Grammy-winning records for Brandi Carlisle and Tanya Tucker, he was producing albums for American Aquarium, Jaime Wyatt, Duff McKagan (of Guns n Roses), and shock rocker Marilyn Manson among others. But, the first artist to hire Jennings as a record producer was Jason Boland for the Dark and Dirty Mile album in 2013. Shooter returns to the controls for the new release from Jason Boland and the Stragglers titled The Light Saw Me.
Independent music venues were among the many small businesses crushed by the effects of the Covid pandemic. Virtually every city can count at least one that was forced to close permanently. Many have only begun to host shows but with strict mandates forced by state or local governments and some still have yet to re-open. But, others have found a way to survive and are back to a regular schedule of live music. Recently, the calendar worked out where Mike and the Moonpies were winding down a tour with a swing through the Deep South all within a few hours of our Birmingham, Alabama home. We were able to catch the last five-night run but this isn’t about the band or those shows. It’s a celebration of the venues where they played.
I would be lying if I didn’t feel excitement and a tinge of fear when I heard that Emily Scott Robinson had a new album coming out this fall. You see, I get nervous when an artist releases a new album following an album that I love. Part of me worries that the new album won’t resonate with me as much, or maybe their growth as an artist has somehow outgrown me, but I need not have worried with Emily Scott Robinson and her new album, American Siren, a spectacular and soulful follow-up to Traveling Mercies, her 2019 album, which was my first introduction to her. There’s a lot that’s happened in the last two years. The world looks a bit different, of course, but Robinson was signed to Oh Boy Records earlier this year, and it seemed like a match made in heaven and placed Robinson among contemporaries every bit as talented as she is. Although Robinson’s songwriting and lyrics are as good as ever, they’ve also matured on American Siren, a sentiment that Robinson herself shares.
Has it really been 16 years since Hayes Carll released his Little Rock record? Every other song then seemed to be uptempo and filled with his now-signature wit and sly humor. We tend to remember all his clever tunes and forget just how many of the songs he has written over the years carry depth and compassion. On his new release, You Get It All, Hayes Carll has moved into a new echelon of singer/songwriters with a collection of 11 songs that convey a new level of poignancy and maturity.
Despite every obstacle that has been thrown out, the last year has been busy, yet fruitful for the Tulsa-based artist, Joey Frendo. Not even a global pandemic kept him from making good on becoming a solo artist. Today, the debut EP, Stone Mason’s Son, gets released into the big, bright world for all to discover.
The road to making this EP started in Frendo’s home state of Michigan. He completed this leg of the journey when his new family recently relocated to Tulsa, OK after his wife received a job opportunity they couldn’t pass up. Frendo began his singer-songwriter career in Grand Rapids, MI while fronting an indie rock band from 2014-2019. He was a lyricist and singer for the band; learning the piano during those years and then expanding his instrumentation to the guitar in January of 2020. Frendo says, “learning guitar really has driven my songwriting output since, and allowed me to finally write in a way that is totally representative of myself.”
In an era where production is the pursuit of perfection and recording artists aren’t allowed to be anything but overly polished, this album is refreshing. A path to recording that most would consider dangerous, bold, and even risky, The Incredible Heat Machine was recorded live with no overdubs. It has a very 'in the room' feeling because of this. It is humans playing instruments to make music without autotune, correction and separation, a recording method that some may consider antiquated, but produces the perfect forms of imperfection.
Reckless Kelly is celebrating 25 years as a band in 2021; having been founded in 1996 by brothers Willy and Cody Braun in their home state of Idaho before moving to Austin. Their latest record American Girls/American Jackpot is a double album released last year in the middle of the pandemic; “Not the best business decision,” as front man Willy Braun says. The last time we saw RK in concert was in the fall of 2019. Ryan Engleman of the Turnpike Troubadours had just filled the guitar spot, then recently vacated by longtime member David Abeyta. Now it was time to see how the group was holding up after spending so much time in their online “Quarantine Kitchen” last year. Our mission was to catch Reckless Kelly on the last shows of their September run; 3 shows in 3 nights in 3 states at 3 very different venues.
When Lance Rogers sipped from that teeming fountain of creative mystic, he drank the whole damn thing dry. Bone dry. Desolate dust left swirling at the bottom of the well kind of dry. Thankfully, with the release of his debut, self-titled album, Rogers has given us all a taste of his gift, and it’s nothing short of breathtaking – another example of the Kentucky influence burning from the Appalachian foothills.
“To release my debut album feels like the first day of kindergarten in a way,” says Rogers of the accomplishment. “Nerves and joy, a little crying. The thing about starting kindergarten is that there’s years and years ahead of you, ones that will form you and test you. I feel like that, but I’m excited to keep walking down this path. It’s my hope that this album will open a few doors and minds, and will be the opening scene of a series of authentic and true-to-life albums into the future.”
Justin Clyde Williams told me in a brief email interview that “My mom's side of the family are a bunch of grassers and she's a rocker so I had a bunch of old country and bluegrass sitting around a lot of southern rock, of course your parents' music ain’t cool which led to a real long metal phase.” His website bio summarizes this perfectly, stating that he was “Raised on the sounds of traditional country and bluegrass music with a variety of influences…” and that he “...always leaves people wanting more with an unwavering experience that is blunt, therapeutic, candid and above all - unforgettable.”
With running themes of love, loss, redemption and catharsis, Empty Rooms has all of the elements listed above, incorporated into an enduring country album. Williams’ vocals (he says humbly, “I think I could stand a vocal lesson or 12”) have beautiful Appalachian depth with contemporary clarity, and when combined with acoustic guitar and fiddle, weave the listener into a relatable fabric of bad decisions, regret, and taking the chance of alienating loved ones to chase a dream.
It’s hard to mention festivals and live music these days and not mention the fact that people have been hungry for both, due to a lingering pandemic that has made live music and large crowds an iffy situation. It’s also worth mentioning with festivals and promoters trying to make up for lost revenue, that holding a festival in 2021 can either be a dismal failure or a resounding success. Thankfully, the folks behind Born & Raised fall in the latter category. There were no water shortages, muddy campgrounds or freak weather to contend with on a balmy, late September weekend in Pryor, Oklahoma. Held at the same grounds as Rocklahoma, which occurred not even 2 weeks earlier, Born & Raised ran like a well-oiled machine. Schedules were kept, there were food vendors galore, and any last-minute artist cancellations were replaced before the festival even took place. The only negatives I witnessed were sound issues on more than one set at the Neon Moon stage and the overwhelming heat. The music was a mix of well-known and up and coming artists, and festival-goers spoke of the campgrounds and how they spent more time than usual there, foregoing music to hang out longer with new and old friends.
If Red Dirt music was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, its soul resides in Tahlequah, and there is a spot in Cherokee County along the Illinois River that is sacred ground to the Red Dirt music family. Diamondhead Resort hosted the Medicine Stone festival from its beginning as the brainchild of Jason Boland and the Turnpike Troubadours who would select the majority of the artists on the lineup and headline on Friday & Saturday. The festival grew each year and quickly became the “go-to” Red Dirt party. Then came the summer of 2019 with Turnpike’s “indefinite hiatus” and an ugly lawsuit against the manager of the festival (who also happened to manage both Boland & the Troubadours), and the future of Medicine Stone was in serious doubt. Robert Earl Keen filled the headliner spot in Turnpike’s place and the 2019 show went on.
When reviewing the third EP from Sara Trunzo, Cabin Fever Dream, this listener was immediately struck by what seemed like the magical, vocal embrace of a mature Edie Brickell. Make no mistake, however, Trunzo’s Americana musical sound and songwriting style are all her own.
Sara has a comparatively uncommon background for Americana: working-class Catholic school in New Jersey, followed by college, and eventually landing in rural Maine where she worked with food banks and food security programs across the state. The end of a relationship ultimately led her to songwriting, to Nashville for a time, and back to Maine. The rural Maine backroads, lifestyle, and unique perspectives that Trunzo had grown to love are now the underpinning inspirations, and sometimes, featured heavily, in the songs of Cabin Fever Dreams.
R.C. Edwards was the foundation on which the Turnpike Troubadours was built. He was always right in the middle of the stage watching Evan Felker’s back, since the beginning of the band, in 2005. RC & the Ambers has been keeping Edwards busy since the Troubadours went on indefinite hiatus in the summer of 2019.
Edwards wrote or co-wrote more of the Turnpike Troubadours great songs than many realize, but seemed content to remain mostly in the background until his moment to shine came during the encore set. That was when he set the bass down, picked up the acoustic guitar and stepped up to the mic to sing “Drunk, High, and Loud.”
We’ve got a new single from Matthew James Adkins today, a Michigan-based, self-proclaimed, “karaoke cowboy”, whose debut album, Stoned On My Own, is out everywhere on September 17th. Adkins journey into music isn’t your typical one. He wasn’t born into a musical family and didn’t grow up with a guitar in his hand. He did however, feel drawn towards music from a young age and begin composing his own songs. The influence of a bluegrass guitarist and finally getting his own guitar took Adkins to the next level.
Having lived a life much like a country song, heavy on the substance abuse and sadness, one might think Stoned On My Own would draw heavily from the older country sound, and although there are country embellishments and signs of Adkins influences, like John Denver and Willie Nelson, it’s an album that also has an unmistakable Muscle Shoals vibe, due to many of the contributors on the album.
“Maybe I Wanna Cry” starts off with a slow burn of Jimmie Bones’ B3 organ, making way for a finger-picked acoustic solo and some barely discernible German speaking, adding to the mystique before kicking in with the full band plus horns and backing vocals combination that serves as a stunning signature sound for Adkins and company.”
Western Swing and Texas Waltzes have inspired Summer Dean her whole life. Growing up on her family’s ranch, those were the style of songs that embodied the soundtrack of her formative years. Summer draws imagery and experiences from the western spirit to formulate her full-length album, Bad Romantic. One must have grit to survive the rancher’s way of life, but there is a vulnerability that is also inescapable when tending to something that can easily succumb to elements out of your control. Those characteristics are the foundation this album was created on.
What do we do when we get back to normal / And we find ourselves out in the world again
What do we do when we get back to normal / And we find we’re somewhere we ain’t never been”
Jason Eady has given us the best summary of the pandemic I’ve yet heard in “Back to Normal,” on his new release, To the Passage of Time.
The ten tracks all feature the resonant vocals of Eady supported by thoughtful arrangements which provide the perfect backdrop for tremendous songs.
No matter what the subject of the song, Jason Eady’s voice draws you in and makes you believe. Whether it’s the recitation of his grandfather’s life story in “French Summer Sun,” or the more lighthearted “Saturday Night,” that voice just wraps around the lyrics and carries you along. You want to cheer for the narrator in “Gainesville” and hope he really is going back when he says, “I mean it this time,” and you understand completely when he sings, “There’s a lot more to living than just being alive,” in “Possibilities.”
