Playlist week of 28th June 2014

2014-06-28

28th June 2014 – BBC Playlist

Brand new music from Dolly Parton, Rodney Crowell and Joni Harms. Plus classics from George Morgan, Keith Whitley and Nanci Griffith

Alan Jackson signing label deal 25 years ago

Presley & Taylor - Kickin’ Back NEW Single

Alan Jackson - Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow | Album: Here In The Real World (1990) CD - MP3 - UK iTunes 

Kellie Pickler - Closer To Nowhere | Album: Woman I Am (Nov 2013) CD - MP3 - UK iTunes  (June 28, 1986) BIRTHDAY 

George Morgan - Room Full Of Roses | Album: CD  (June 28, 1924; died July 7, 1975 (aged 51) BIRTHDAY

Keith Whitley & Lorrie Morgan - I Just Want You | Album: A Tribute Album (2008) MP3 (July 1, 1954; died May 9, 1989 aged 34)) BIRTHDAY

Ward Thomas – Footnotes (Happy Ending) | Album: Footnotes (EP) MP3 - UK iTunes

Tony Joe White - That’s The Way A Cowboy Rocks & Rolls | Album: Live From Austin TX MP3

David Berkeley - Back To Blue | Album: The Fire In My Head (2013; Folk/Indie/Alt) MP3

Michelle Wright - The Wall | Album: Reasons Why (1999) CD (July 1, 1961) BIRTHDAY 

George Ducas - All Kinds Of Crazy NEW Single

Carolyn Martin - The Waltz You Saved For Me | Album: A Platter of Brownies: The Music of Milton Brown MP3 - UK iTunes

Felicity Urquhart - City Of Light | Album: City of Light (EP) UK iTunes NEW Single

Gator Park - Hayseed Highway | Album: TBA MP3 - Amazon.com NEW Single

Holly Williams - Giving Up | Album: The Highway UK Release 2 June 2014) CD

Johnny Lee - Cherokee Fiddle | Album: (July 3, 1946) BIRTHDAY

Raelynn - God Made Girls NEW Single

Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett - Five O’Clock Somewhere | Album: Greatest Hits Volume II CD

Dolly Parton - Miss You – Miss Me | Album: Blue Smoke NEW CD - Smart Choice Music (Deluxe Edition)

Aaron Tippin - When Country Took The Throne | Album: Call Of The Wild CD (July 3, 1958) BIRTHDAY

Joni Harms - West Texas Waltz | Album: From Oregon to Ireland NEW MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com

Nanci Griffith - Ten Degrees & Getting Colder | Album: Other Voices Other Rooms (1998) CD (July 6, 1953 (age 60) BIRTHDAY

Rodney Crowell - The Flyboy & The Kid | Album: Tarpaper Sky NEW CD - MP3 - UK iTunes - Smart Choice Music - Amazon.com Some really lovely tracks

Leslie Satcher - Love Letters From Old Mexico | Album: Love Letters CD - MP3

Jimmy C Newman - Alligator Man | Album: Cajun Classics CD UK iTunes (born August 29, 1927 - died June 21, 2014 in Nashville; aged 86) R.I.P

Mary Gauthier - False From True | Album: Trouble & Love NEW CD - MP3 - UK iTunes - Smart Choice Music

Heather Pierson - It’s Time To Go | Album: The Hard Work of Living CD - MP3

New on The Show

Carolyn Martin

“The Waltz You Saved For Me” - “this was the one that particularly struck me, I love the fiddle and the steel on that particular track” -- Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire

Western Swing  / Swing / Country

Record Label: Java Jive Records

Singer Carolyn Martin has been described as “… a winning throwback to the days where emotion was measured and artful rather than loud and histrionic.” From European concert halls to intimate venues at home in Nashville, fans have come to know Carolyn as a vocalist with a unique sense of musical style, a charismatic stage presence and a voice that exudes passion and experience – the soulful elegance that is the very essence of music.

Carolyn Martin is a native Texan who has lived in Nashville for many years. She began singing professionally while growing up in Abilene, and began travelling and performing throughout Texas and the rest of the US a few years later.

Since settling in Nashville in 1985, she has had the pleasure of working with many of the most talented musicians and singers in the world.

Carolyn was a member of Nashville’s Time Jumpers, a western swing band comprised of Nashville’s finest session musicians and singers for 11 years.

Her music draws inspiration not only from the classic western swing groups of the 1930s through the 1950s, but also from the big band swing era, Broadway show tunes, and southern blues.

Her CD "Cookin' With Carolyn" was named the 2011 Best Western Swing Album by the Western Music Association while her prior project, "Swing" was named as one of the top Swing CD's of the year in 2009.

Carolyn was named the 2010 Western Swing Female Vocalist of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists and was nominated by the Western Music Association for 4 awards in 2010 (including, Album of the year and Female Vocalist of the Year) and was inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall Of Fame in 2011.

On Carolyn's latest project, the band and her decided they would tap into the roots of the genre – and that led them straight to the music of Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies.

In the end, the 16 songs on “A Platter of Brownies” are a fair representation of the Brownies’ varied repertoire. Their goal was not to duplicate the sound of the original recordings; the arrangements, which were group efforts done in the studio immediately prior to recording, were fashioned to suit their inclinations and musical tastes while trying to retain the energy and spirit of the Brownies’ wonderful versions.

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Gator Park

“Hayseed Highway” - “I really do like their sound” - Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire

Three voices. Two brothers. One best friend. Gator Park, a vocal trio steeped in the classic country tradition of storytellers like Rodney Crowell and Alabama, is proof that there’s strength in numbers.

Formed during the hottest days of a Tennessee summer, the band began as a casual jam session between friends. Bryan Hobbs and Kerry Justin Degman started swapping songs in “the treehouse,” a small shed nestled into the woods behind Bryan’s home. Within weeks, they were joined by Bryan’s younger brother, Andy Hobbs. Drawing on a mutual appreciation for old-school country tunes anchored by strong, linear storylines, the guys began creating their own material. Since everyone contributed to the song writing process, they decided to share the frontman role, too, with all three musicians sing.

By the end of the summer, Gator Park had written an album’s worth of material. Looking for a producer who shared their vision, the guys flew to southern California, where they teamed up with Max Collins, frontman of the ’90s alt-rock band Eve 6. After recording the bulk of their album at Collins’ L.A. studio, the entire crew flew back to Nashville, where Gator Park wrapped up the recording process at Blackbird Studio, one of the most famous studios south of the Mason Dixon Line. The band’s team expanded, too, with Chuck Ainlay (Steve Earle, Miranda Lambert) and Ben Folwer (Hank Williams, Jr.) doing the final mixes.

The result? The Lake, a sharp, sweeping debut album that paints the picture of three grown men who haven’t forgotten where they came from. It’s an album rooted in memories, anchored by three-part harmonies and sweetened by a combination of fiddle,  acoustic guitar, pedal steel and B3 organ.

Their single “Hayseed Highway” (First Base Records / Jerry Duncan Promotions) was sent to country radio on June 24, 2014

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RaeLynn

“God Made Girls” – “Really like the vibe to this... Rather good I thought” - Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire

Billboard Feature 26 June 2014
CLICK to ENLAGE

20-year old Racheal Woodward, best known as RaeLynn (born May 4, 1994) in Baytown, Texas. 

Her musical roots are hereditary for she comes from a very musical family, constantly dazzling audiences singing at church. 
One of Rae’s many inspirations was her brother Jake who is in the Grammy nominated band “Leeland”. At the age of 11, RaeLynn’s love for country music was born. One afternoon after listening to “Me and Charlie Talking” by Miranda Lambert, she had her mother buy the album. RaeLynn still to this day looks to Miranda as her inspiration.

RaeLynn blew the judges away with her rendition of “Hell on Heels” by the Pistol Annies at the blind auditions for second season of The Voice. RaeLynn chose Blake Shelton as her coach. She continued to gain national attention and support with her twangy voice, bad ass country – rock performances, great fashion sense, and adorable personality. Rae was eliminated on April 18, 2012 during the quarter finals.

Her 2012 single "Boyfriend" reached #32 on Hot Country Songs

RaeLynn (Valory) has been working on her radio tour, and BMLG is prepared to release her first official country radio single >> "God Made Girls" in June 2014.

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Heather Pierson

“The Hard Work of Living” -  “A perfect one to go out with, really nice” - Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire

Location: Mount Washington Valley, USA  Genre: Folk: Folk Pop

Record Label: Vessel Recordings

Singer/songwriter/performer/adventurer. Honest, heartfelt, soulful.

Honest, stirring Americana tales of real life, despair and hope.

Born to a Scottish émigré mother and Navy veteran machinist father just west of the Ozark Plateau in Joplin, Missouri, Heather began in life in the single-traffic-light town of Galena, Kansas.  Music was constantly spilling out of the speakers of her parents’ stereo – a diverse playlist that included The Allman Brothers, Kansas, Cream, The Beatles, KISS, Cat Stevens, Mario Lanza, Jose Feliciano and Anne Murray.  

This diversity served to open Heather’s young mind to the rich and varied language of music and to lay the foundation for her future endeavours and experimentations.

Heather Pierson is a pianist, multi-genre singer/songwriter and performer and winner of the 2012 New England Songwriting Contest. From New Orleans jazz to poignant folk narratives and Delta-style blues to soul-stirring instrumentals and chants, Heather’s live performances move seamlessly and effortlessly from one style to the next, and a growing catalog of wildly divergent CD releases reflects her boundless creativity. Her seventh CD, THE HARD WORK OF LIVING, features her Americana/folk/roots songwriting, including her award winning single “A Hard Man To Please”. It is the culmination of her explorations with the acoustic guitar – a delicately crafted collection of songs that have already been winning her entry into songwriting contests and listeners’ hearts all over the United States. From the gospel-infused “Let It Roll Off Your Back” to the heart stopping “I’ll Never Know Freedom Again” to the achingly beautiful title track, lovers of the honesty and passion of Americana and roots music will find a new emotional home in this album.....Read More Bio

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Playlist week of 21st June 2014

Playlist week of 21st June 2014

2014-06-21

21st June 2014 – BBC Playlist

Brand new music from Kenny Chesney, Sturgill Simpson, Joni Harms and Holly Williams.

Plus classics from The Highwaymen, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Buffett and Kathy Mattea.

The Bittersweets - Long Day | Album: The Life You Always Wanted (June 2006) UK iTunes

M Callahan - God's Green Earth | Album: Chicken On A Chain (EP; Feb 2014) Hotdisc #186 June Single MP3 - UK iTunes

Kathy Mattea - She Came From Fort Worth | Album: Willow In The Wind (1990) CD (June 21, 1959) BIRTHDAY

Sturgill Simpson - Voices | Album: Metamodern Sounds in Country Music CD - MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Claire Lynch - Pee Wee And Fern Voice | Album: Moonlighter (1995) CD

The Time Jumpers - The Woman Of My Dreams | Album: The Time Jumpers CD

Holly Williams - Railroads | Album: The Highway CD - MP3

Robby Hecht - Papa's Down The Road Dead | Album: Robby Hecht (25 March 2014) MP3 - UK iTunes

Cassadee Pope - One Song Away | Album: Frame By Frame CD - MP3 – UK iTunes

Jim Reeves - I'll Fly Away | Album: The Great Jim Reeves Box Set 8CD (H&H Records) 170 tracks (including 92 overdubs). For more information visit www.jim-reeves.com/greatjimreeves , see the track listings here and order from www.jim-reeves.com

Rose-Mary Lou - Million Dollar Cowgirl | Album: Million Dollar Cowgirl MP3 

Aoife O'Donaovan - Red & White & Blue & Gold (Single) Album: Acoustic Sessions Single MP3

Kenny Chesney - American Kids | Album: TBA NEW Single

Philip Claypool - Come On Back Home | Album: Come On Back Home UK iTunes  NEW Single

Jessi Alexander - Kristofferson | Album: Down Home MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com “It’s great, great tribute, it’s a really brilliant album” - Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire

The Highwaymen - Silver Stallion | Album: The Highwayman Collection (2000) CD (Kris Kristofferson; June 22, 1936) BIRTHDAY

Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash - Don't You Think It's Come Our Time | Album: Out Among The Stars (June Carter June 23, 1929; died May 15, 2003 (aged 73)) BIRTHDAY

Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson - Because Of You | Album: Reba Duets CD - MP3

Jamie Lee Thurston - 15 Minutes | Album: I Just Wanna Do My Thing (2009) MP3 - UK iTunes  Hotdisc #186 June 2014 Single

Jeni & Billy - McHenry Street | Album: Picnic In The Sky CD Baby Live Review at Barnsley Folk Club

Lorrie Morgan - Strong Enough To Cry | Album: My Heart (1999) CD (June 27, 1959) BIRTHDAY

Bryan Mayer - This Is Me (Radio Edit) (July 2012) MP3 Hotdisc #186 June 2014 Single

Joni Harms - From Oregon to Ireland | Album: From Oregon to Ireland NEW MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com

Jimmy Buffett - Havana Daydreamin | Album: Sun Sea and Magarettas NEW MP3 - UK iTunes

Blacktop Gypsy - Traci | Album: Whirlwind (Sept 2011)

New on The Show

Sturgill Simpson

Hometown: Jackson, KY

Record label: High Top Mountain Records / Loose Music

Current Location - Nashville, Tennessee

Sounds Like: Merle Haggard/ Waylon Jennings

Influences: Appalachian Mountain Music, Traditional Bluegrass, Traditional Country

Roots Country / Country Americana / Alt. Country

Formerly the leader of Sunday Valley, an energetic roots outfit that made some waves in the early years of the new millennium, Sturgill Simpson gained greater renown as a solo artist, thanks in large part to his muscular 2013 solo debut High Top Mountain. 

Sturgill Simpson's authenticity stands out like an island of hope in a sea of tacky. Pure and uncompromising, devoid of gloss and fakery. Bonafide mountain hillbilly soul.

Sturgill announced the release of his sophomore record, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (10 tracks) which  released May 13, 2014 via High Top Mountain Records. It nods to the genre-expanding Ray Charles 1962 classic Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. It hints at the psychedelic sounds found within, a departure from Simpson’s first album, which drew comparisons to the music of Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. “I think that there is a lot of room in country music for progression and sonic oscillation, which is what I wanted to explore.”

It tells you he's going to fold country's conventions over on themselves as if he's trying to create some kind of musical space-time portal. 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. Check out his single “Living The Dream” 

See Maverick Magazine New To You feature - Image

Billboard Charts:  For the chart issued May 31, 2014 Metamodern Sounds In Country sold 5,500 copies to land at #59 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart and #11 on the Billboard Top Country Albums

Official UK Country Album Chart (Week Ending May 24, 2014): “Metamodern Sounds In Country” made a debut at No.2 buoyed by a recorded session on Radio 2’s Bob Harris Country.

Previously his album HIGH TOP MOUNTAIN landed at No.19 fo week ending March 1, 2014.

Sturgill Simpson has been added to Zac Brown Band‘s ‘Great American Road Trip’ as support on select East Coast dates this summer.

On June 29th he will play the Acoustic Stage (Afternoon show) at the Glastonbury Festival. A Full Band UK & Irish Tour has been lined up: Tues 30th September 2014 (Nottingham, The Maze), Wednesday 1st October (Bristol, St. Bonaventure’s), Thurs 2nd October ( Liverpool, Leaf), Fri 3rd Oct (Cork, Triskel Arts Centre), Saturday 4th Oct 2014 (Dublin, Whelan’s), Sunday 5th Oct (Glasgow, Oran Mor) and Monday 6th Oct (Gateshead, The Sage)

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Jamie Lee Thurston

“15 Minutes” –  “Toby Keith vibe about it, really like that, great up-tempo, would be a great line dance” - Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire

Hometown: Waterbury, Vt.  Current Location: Nashville, TN

Record label: Snakebit

Influences: ZZ Top, Hank Williams jr., Waylon Jennings, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jerry Reed, AC/DC, Johnny Cash,

Born the youngest of three and raised in New England, Jamie Lee comes by his talent honestly.

A third generation musician, Jamie Lee's father was a renowned bandleader fronting a variety of musical groups in Vermont. His grandfather and various uncles played fiddle and piano. As a teenager, Jamie Lee worked as a roadie for his Dad's band and right after high school, he graduated to play guitar.

Years of playing in bars and clubs across the Northeast and Canada soon drew the attention of a wider audience. Opening for superstar country acts such as the Dixie Chicks, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Billy Currington, Travis Tritt and Charlie Daniels, Jamie Lee was bitten by the Nashville bug. A 2003 collaboration with producer Gregg Brown led to a record deal with Warner Brothers, followed by another project with the legendary writer and producer Chuck Howard. A publishing deal with EMI led to songs being recorded by the likes of Trace Adkins and Montgomery Gentry.

In 2009 Jamie Lee scored his first major national airplay when Rodney Atkins covered "15 Minutes," an instant hit that Jamie Lee penned with his prolific writing partner, Tony Mullins.

Released to Europe in June 2014 “15 Minutes” made a bow at No.7 on the Hotdisc Top 40 chart and has climbed so far to No.6

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Robby Hecht

Singer/Songwriter  Hometown: Nashville, TN

Awards: 2010 Telluride Bluegrass Troubadour Winner

2008 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Winner

Influences: Paul Simon, Jim Croce, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Dan Fogelberg, Otis Redding, David Gray, Joni Mitchell, Josh Ritter, Marc Cohn...

A proper artist struggles to influence life’s signal to noise ratio. Under the right kind of concentration, the static grows quiet. The extraneous and the superficial are pared away. And precious human qualities are held still, carefully turned over and inspected for illuminating details. 

In Robby Hecht’s case, this effort emerges as music that invites and even induces the listener to a similar place of serenity, clarity and patience. “When I’m writing by myself something can take three years until I get past my own self-editing phase,” says Hecht about his meticulous approach. “Everything I write I’m trying to capture some kind of truth that I haven’t heard anyone say in that way before.”

Raised by Midwestern Jewish parents in the conservative South, he became accustomed to – but never comfortable with – frequent questions about which (Christian) church he attended. His tastes in music in his teens ran the gamut from Def Leppard to The Grateful Dead.

For his third album, a self-titled collection of twelve lovely and insightful songs, Hecht turned to Nashville’s Lex Price, a low-key sonic master who’s worked with with k.d. lang, Mindy Smith and others, as producer. The honestly recorded, elegantly mixed record is well positioned to stir the hearts that have been stirred before and more besides....Facebook Profile

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Rose-Mary Lou

“Million Dollar Cowgirl” – “This one’s great, I really do like this title track” - Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire

Artist, Singer, Songwriter, Musician

Singer, songwriter,composer, Rose Mary is recognized a most accomplished performer. Her musical influences are mostly  rooted in Vocal Art, Musical Theatre, Americana Folk music,  Country, Blues, Gospel and Jazz.

Her Show also reflects her liking for, Celtic, Soul, Swing and Cajun & Tex Mex music. Rose Mary cut an exquisite  album she entitled »Million Dollar Cowgirl » in Nashville TN-USA . 

Her most accomplished to date, she penned and co-arranged ten out of the eleven engaging melody driven songs engineered by Eric Hellerman (Martina Mac Bride) and Gary Paczosa (Alison Kraus, Dolly Parton…) Featuring some of the Most renowned among Nashville outstanding session players (Paul Franklin-Stuart Duncan- Eddye Bayers, Brent Mason…).

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Aoife O'Donovan (pronounced “ee-fuh”)

“Red & White & Blue & Gold” – “Really nice voice hasn't she” - Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire

AAA/ Americana/ Folk

The thing about fossils is that they take a very long time in the making, and it’s not an entirely intentional process.

2013 saw the launch of Aoife O'Donovan's solo career, the culmination of a decade spent playing in the celebrated progressive string band, Crooked Still, and collaborating with Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Ollabelle, Sometymes Why, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, Sara Watkins, Kathy Mattea and many more. FOSSILS was a mix of influences, sounds and genres, but remained firmly grounded in her folk roots. She served briefly as The Duhks' front woman in 2007.

Aoife spent the year traveling across the country for more than 250 shows, touring solo and with a full band as she shared the stage with The Milk Carton Kids, Ben Sollee, Prairie Home Companion, The Lone Bellow, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Elephant Revival and more. Along the way, she also made stops to visit with friends at radio. A radio acoustic sampler was pulled from some of those stops, including NPR's Weekend Edition and her visit to the Americana Music Association's annual festival.

The track played “Red & White & Blue & Gold” (Single) is available for download at:
Amazon UK and UK iTunes

Aoife will be performing on Saturday, June 28 on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury and in London on 1st July at The Borderline.

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