Sand Sheff has been one of my favorite Colorado Americana artists since my radio days at KRFC in Fort Collins. Sand is, I suppose more technically, a regional West-of-Nashville/East-of-Bakersfield Rocky Mountain Western & Country artist. These days he’s taken up with a band over at Moab, Utah, way–Qucksand Soup, featuring top notch instrumental talent, five […]
Out Like a Lion–New Americana Music Marches In for 2019
Winter’s march to March and Spring has had a soundtrack of the Van Zandt family’s teasers for Sky Blue mixed with each of Steve Earle’s tracks dropped to tease his tribute album to Guy Clark. “Dublin Blues” also did double-duty for St. Patrick’s Day tunes. True to form, the collection of classic Townes tracks is […]
Kacey and Brandi Storm the Grammys
Kacey Musgraves and Brandi Carlile were big winners at the 2019 Grammy Awards this weekend, among the worthy nominees (and the rest). Kacey Musgraves hit the County category hard, with wins for “Butterflies” (Best Country Solo) and “Space Cowboy” (Best Country Song) and Best County Album for Golden Hour, before the big BIG win of […]
JC’s Top Tunes of 2018
We all get to an age when we start to lose our peers. It is hard enough to lose our grandparents, then our parents’ generation, but mortality hits like a load a bricks when the Man Comes Around for men and women who share our timeline. Brandon Jenkins (6/7/69 – 3/2/18) is one. I got […]
Survey Says: Your Fav Roots Music of 2018
End of the calendar year lists propagate like flies at the winter solstice. Many are interesting, but I pay particular attention to the Americana Music Association and the reborn No Depression magazine. AMA Radio Chart The AMA’s Americana Radio Chart went full auto this year, I guess, and now features twice the fun with a […]
Gimme My Grammy?
Nominations for the 61st Grammy Awards are out for the show to broadcast 10 February 2019. Brandi Carlile makes a strong showing across the board, with a nomination for Record of the Year for The Joke with Dave Cobb & Shooter Jennings, producers, Album of the Year for By The Way, I Forgive You, and Song […]
Americana Music Awards 2018: We Can Do Better
Executive Summary: Jason Isbell won the Americana awards. Again. And he deserves it. The Americana Honors & Awards honored and awarded the toast of Nashville for 2018, as voted by the members of the Americana Music Association. I was once one—a member, not an honoree, by gosh. I still self-identify as an Americana fan… much […]
JC’s Top Tunes of 2017
They say art thrives in the face of chaos, that genius requires difficulty that must be overcome. 2017 was a difficult year for many—to the benefit of roots music, and hopefully, eventually, to the greater good. We lost friends like Glen Campbell and Don Williams, and met many new friends, here in Colorado and across […]
Americana Radio Albums 2017
The Americana Music Association released their 2017 Americana Airplay Chart Top 100 Albums. I tend to track the AMA Radio chart fairly closely through the year. Spotify helps feed the new music habit—or is that “enable the new music habit”? While I’ve streamed most of these albums, my spins for 2017* may tune a different frequency […]
Three Ladies and a Cowboy: Buy Good Roots Music for Xmas
Black Friday. Small Biz Saturday. Sunday. Cyber Monday. Whatever Whenever. There’s no good excuse not to buy somebody you love some good music for Christmas. Or Hanukkah, Or Kwanzaa, Or Yuletide. Or Whatever. The Americana Radio Charts et al are bursting with late year releases of Roots and Traditional Country music. New stuff is Autumn […]
