A WEEK FOR GOOD ROOTS MUSIC
Here are a few highlights from my recent week at AmericanaFest — with multiple articles from the festival coming soon!
Tuesday tunes: I enjoyed my friend Jon Byrd’s show (pictured) at Eastside Bowl’s Low-Volume Lounge, which happens every Tuesday at 6 p.m. Nashville time.
Last week, he welcomed special guest Davis Raines, a regular performer at Brown’s Diner in Nashville who writes tough and tender songs about love, violence, and the South. Byrd’s daughter Sara Byrd sang the beautiful and rarely heard “Yes Ma’am,” as performed by Leona Williams in 1970 when she was married to Merle Haggard.
Dream, baby: A bunch of artists rocked the house during a Roy Orbison tribute show last Tuesday at the Five Spot in East Nashville. Jon Byrd, appearing after his earlier show, was the perfect choice to lead an impressive band and three background singers in “Dream Baby.”
Nicki Bluhm showed her range on “Blue Bayou,” Erin Rae belted out “Leah,” and Emma Swift ripped through “Running Scared.” Chuck Mead delivered “Oobie Doobie” with as much thrill as the original must have given 1950s audiences. Nicole Atkins sang a dusky, soaring version of “Crying.” Amy Williams sang a nice, distinctive version of “In Dreams.” Scott Collins hit some falsetto notes opening the show with “Only the Lonely.” Singer-songwriter and guitarist Derrick Hoke helped lead the band, along with drummer Aaron Mortenson and Erin Rae who invited the night’s singers.
This year’s awards: Before her passing, the beloved Dolly Parton recorded a video as her acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th annual Americana Music Association Awards on Sept. 17 at the Ryman Auditorium. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers also accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award, and singer Chris Stapleton performed with longtime Heartbreakers Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair, and Stan Lynch. (I missed the awards concert.) The Heartbreakers also spoke on a panel during the conference with moderator Mark Felsot.
Winners at this year’s awards included Tyler Childers, Album of the Year for Snipe Hunters; Molly Tuttle for Artist of the Year; Gillian Welch and David Rawlings for Duo or Group of the Year; Ken Pomeroy for Emerging Act of the Year; Brandi Carlile’s “Returning to Myself” for Song of the Year; and Mandy Fer for Instrumentalist of the Year.
Respecting your roots: Leslie Fram moderated an insightful panel discussion on how artists can stay authentic while sharing their stories with wider audiences. Natalie Bailey of Lady Savage Management and Tanner Davenport of Black Opry and Thirty Tigers Records joined artist Amanda Shaw, who combines traditional Cajun fiddling with some new twists, on the panel.
Shaw said she purposefully made the decision to describe herself as a Cajun fiddler and her work “wouldn’t be worth it if I had to trade that authenticity.”
Davenport, who has helped lead the Black Opry movement with Holly G., discussed his work with artist Joy Oladokun, who tries to “unapologetically be herself 100% of the time.”
What’s the state of affairs for artists of color in Americana music? “I definitely feel like Americana is a tool and a stepping stone,” Davenport said. “It feels like a door is cracked a little wider, but I still feel like there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”
A chat with legends: As songwriter emeritus Bernie Taupin prepared for the release of his new duet with Brandi Carlile, the two roots-rock icons gathered in conversation on Sept. 16 before an audience at AmericanaFest in Nashville.
Carlile asked Taupin whether he considers himself a poet. “I think it's just as much of an honor to be called a good lyricist,” Taupin said. “I've always regarded myself as a storyteller.”
He loved country music growing up in England. “I always cite Marty Robbins (as an influence) to the point of boredom,” Taupin said said. “I'm a storyteller, not a poet.”
Faces of activism: Journalist Marissa Moss moderated an interesting discussion on what activism in roots music looks like today from different artists’ perspectives, with Mon Rovia, Mary Bragg, Raye Zaragoza, and Chris Pierce.
Mon Rovia spoke beautifully about his intentions in song. “It's so important to know as artists that you're making history,” he said. “In a sense, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Zaragoza, a New York native now based in Los Angeles, said she ended up saying a lot just by being herself as an artist. “There was never a decision to make music of a protest nature,” she said. “I've always just written what I know.”
Salute to Dolly: I missed most of singer Emily West’s tribute show to the recently departed Dolly Parton at 3rd and Lindsley, with a long list of guest performers including Maia Sharp (who sang Neil Young’s “After the Gold Rush” in a trio), and the artist Belles singing her recent duet with Dolly, “Son of Jolene,” among others.
Women and their guitars: I attended an ingenious discussion moderated by journalist Ann Powers of NPR Music, featuring Valerie June, Pieta Brown, Mary Bragg, and Theresa Hoffman from Gibson Guitars. The duo Madam Radar sang a few songs before the discussion and they really rocked.
The panel shared stories of how they learned to play guitar, which instruments have mattered to them, and why they work so hard to make music and perform.
Memphis-based rustic-alternative-folk-and-country-blues artist Valerie June said she remembers hearing Tracy Chapman for the first time while riding in her father’s dump truck. Later, she found out about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Elizabeth Cotton, and shotgun-toting Jessie Mae Hemphill.
“These are changing times. It hasn’t always been something you just saw,” June said of women with guitars. Speaking of the late Ms. Hemphill, she said: “She couldn’t be, but she was. Let’s keep growing.”
Singer-songwriter Pieta Brown said she found inspiration in seeing Loretta Lynn’s story in Coal Miner’s Daughter and later got into Led Zeppelin, realizing “When the Levee Breaks” began with early blueswoman and rock ‘n roller Memphis Minnie. “I just carry them with me,” she said of those inspirations.
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