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MCP Sessions: Hugh Masterson – “Lost And Found”
Hugh Masterson, Nashville-based alt-country troubadour and the pride of Butternut, Wisconsin, will release his solo debut, Lost + Found, on Friday, June 2nd via Rock Ridge Music. Recently, Masterson, who is a skilled craftsman of all things wooden, invited us to one of his happy places, and performed the album’s title track just for us!
The song tells the story of getting mugged one night in Milwaukee– Masterson was hit in the head with a tire iron and his jaw was broken in two places. “I got beat up just walking around town/Hold my head up high still on the ground/Don’t know why I came here/Don’t know what I’m fighting for,” he sings in the introduction, his raspy voice evidence of life experience, his expression serious as he channels his emotion into his music and recounts the horrific event. “It’s about when you feel like you’re not sure why things happen to you,” he explains. “You’re not sure how to navigate life the best way that you possibly can, because you’re not seeing the signs that you need yet.” We sure are glad his signs pointed to Nashville.
Check out this exclusive performance of “Lost And Found” by Hugh Masterson:
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Queens of The Nashville Boogie Vintage Weekender: Nikki Lane
Last Friday Night at the Nashville Boogie Weekender was a royal affair featuring both the Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson, and the Queen of Outlaw Country, Nikki Lane. After soaking in a fabulous performance from Ms. Jackson, I was on the run to the Nashville Palace Stage for Lane’s rocking country barn-burner. Luckily, the party was just getting started.
The Palace was near capacity as it seemed the entire festival was converging to take in Lane’s show–easily the largest audience I witnessed at a Palace show, with only Wanda Jackson competing for the largest crowd of the whole Boogie. As I made my way to the front of the room, the energy was palpable. Fans were singing along, dancing, cheering–Lane had the room on its feet.
Lane also came dressed for the occasion. For me, a concert is all about the music, but Lane’s custom Nudie-inspired suit was the perfect match for her throwback, outlaw country style, and accentuated her music. As much as her suit drew attention, it’s Lane’s badass presence and infectious songs that allow her to standout in the now crowded Americana/outlaw country scene. Whether singing about drinking, smoking with Willie Nelson, or burning love, Lane exudes an air of danger and fire that excites the heart; in concert, she channels all of this energy through a voice that ranges from innocent to gritty. “Any day or night time is always the right time/Is always the right time to do the wrong thing,” she chanted in the chorus of her hit “Right Time.” Those lyrics are not simply a persona, but embraced by Lane–you might get in trouble if you hang out with her but you’ll have a hell of a lot of fun in the process.
Featuring driving drum beats, electric guitar solos, and perfectly-timed flourishes of pedal steel, Lane’s set made for a raucous honky-tonk celebration. She seamlessly slipped in and out of features with her stellar supporting band, a group that loves to play music and does it well together. The show closer, her new fiery single “Jackpot” from her album Highway Queen, put the band’s talents on display as Lane pushed them into a country-rock frenzy. Both performer and audience had to catch their breath when it was over. From head to toe, from voice to soul, Nikki Lane is exactly what country music needs.
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Queens of The Nashville Boogie Vintage Weekender: Wanda Jackson
It was a royal gathering last Friday night at the 2017 Nashville Boogie Vintage Weekender; with the Queen of Rockabilly taking the Tennessee Ballroom Stage at Opryland Hotel and the Queen of Outlaw Country quickly following at the Nashville Palace, music lovers knew that they were in for a magical evening full of amazing and divergent performances.
The Boogie puts on shows at four stages, so you could tell something special was happening when folks flocked from all over the festival to the Tennessee Ballroom Stage to see Ms. Wanda Jackson. With a regal air, she reigned over the stage and entranced the room before she even hit her first note. Seeing Wanda Jackson perform is not merely a concert, it’s an experience that everyone should have.
Vocally, Jackson has not lost a step. Her voice still draws out the twangy rock tones that hearken back to the purest days of true rockabilly music. Whether singing her own songs, or remembering the influences that touched her career, Jackson lets loose with a fire that can only come from someone whose soul is burning with passion for her craft. She has also surrounded herself with an outstanding backing band, The Ladybirds, who rounded out the lineup.
Jackson’s show included several of her classic songs, but also embraced her recent work with Jack White at Nashville’s Third Man Records. While showcasing the Third Man record The Party Ain’t Over, Jackson added fascinating details of the process of making the album, from receiving the first call from Jack White, to reaching a compromise about the album’s lyrics, to a few jokes about White’s production style. “He’s very persuasive,” she mused. “He’s a velvet covered brick.”
It was in sharing her history–where she came from, how she felt about her journey, her successes and challenges as an artist–that drew the audience in close to learn more about the person who is the musical legend. Of course, Jackson’s career will always be linked to the King of Rock, Elvis Presley, of whom she spoke fondly and of the opportunities he provided to her as a young performer. The crowd roared in approval when she ripped into the King’s “Heartbreak Hotel” in tribute.
While her show clearly touches on the sentimental, the party is still going on for Jackson and her legion of fans. At the Nashville Boogie Weekender, there was no doubt who ruled the rockabilly stage.
While writing this piece I learned of the recent passing of Wendell Dale Goodman. Mr. Goodman was Wanda Jackson’s longtime husband and manager. This came as a shock to me as Mr. Goodman was with Ms. Jackson at the Nashville show. We wish our deepest condolences to Ms. Jackson, her family, and the family of Mr. Goodman.
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Review: Sarah Vista at The Nashville Boogie Vintage Weekender
It happens every time I go to a music festival. Every. Single. Time. It’s also one of my top reasons for going to festivals—there’s always that artist that jumps out at me and makes me ask, “why am I just learning about this person? Why don’t I have these songs on repeat at home?” At the Nashville Boogie Weekender, I was simply blown away by the honky-tonk twang and outlaw lyrics of the United Kingdom’s Sarah Vista.
Vista performed twice during the Weekender and I caught her set in the front room at the Nashville Palace, a setting that presents challenges to artists–it’s a barroom with open air access to the patio. I was immediately struck by Vista’s ability to control the distractions with a voice that rose above the clink of glasses and a stage presence that demanded attention. And about that voice…it was the perfect match for her murder ballads; she lured us with tender inflection and then shut us down with a Johnny Cash growl. Chills ensued when she ripped into her delightfully throwback, deeply ominous, and downright infectious song “I Wish You Hell.” It’s no wonder the song is being featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming spaghetti western The Price of Death.
Her set featured her own often uptempo driving acoustic guitar and the thumping upright bass from “Sheriff” Emma Goss, and joined by members of the Doggone Honkabillies to fill out the band. Together they created a sound suitable for dusty saloons and cowboy juke-joints, frequently eliciting foot stomping and enthusiastic drover-esque hoots from the room.
In addition to the great performance, Vista embraced the festival and the outlaw country style, and had fun doing it all. Even after the show, I spotted Vista taking in many of the other artists’ shows, always dressed to impress with a vast Western wardrobe. She is immersed in her craft and the culture of traditional country music which was reflected in her performance.
I have listened to her works countless times since returning from the Nashville Boogie Weekender and every time I return to her fabulous show at the Nashville Palace. I recommend that everyone saddle up with a few of Sarah Vista’s dark and twangy songs and enjoy the dusty dance-worthy trail.
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Interview: Peter Bradley Adams
Photo: Heidi Ross Birmingham native and Nashville-based singer/songwriter Peter Bradley Adams has lived life on both coasts, with family roots that stretch to the Music City. His brand of heartfelt country dashes the notion that Americana lives in one particular geographical region. “You hear people from all over the country who have a more Americana, Appalachian sound. I lived in New York for a few years, and they had more of an old-time music scene than we do here,” he says. “You can hear it everywhere, it’s an ancient-sounding music, it’s timeless, and spans cultures. You can’t explain why you sound the way sound, it’s just kind of magical,” he adds. “It’s what resonates with you.”
Adams has music embedded in his DNA; with professional musicians in various familial generations, he spent his formative years immersed in it all. “I also obsessively listened to records as a kid, I took refuge in music, even as a child,” he explains. “Music was just what I wanted to do.” Classically-trained on piano, Adams began composing, pursued a degree at the University of Southern California, and went to work writing for television. “It was soul-crushing work. I wanted to write things that meant something to me,” he says. “In 2000, I finally hit the wall and did what I wanted to do.”
Recently, he released a new album, A Face Like Mine, his sixth solo effort, which has already garnered well over 1 million plays on Spotify. The self-produced record tells a tale of love, loss, home, and hearts all set to the gentle guitar and subtle banjo sound for which Adams has become known. “An album comes about when there is a batch of songs that has survived my process,” he laughs. “Lyrically, things come organically. I don’t really sit down and decide I’m going to write a song about a person, I envy people who can do that sometimes. I just let it rise up and see where it goes. There are pieces of my life in my songs, but I want them to be bigger than just my life,” he adds. “Even making up characters for songs requires you to draw upon your own experiences, I rarely have a song that’s a confessional, journal entry kind of song.”
“It’s the first record that I feel like sounds like ‘me,’” Adams continues. “As a singer, I’m just now starting to sound like myself. There was a lot of being afraid and inhibited before, I felt like I had to have this certain sound. Now, I’m letting go of that,” he says. “I’m still getting there.”
Purchase A Face Like Mine: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-face-like-mine/id1217457081
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MCP at The Nashville Boogie Vintage Weekender, Part 1
Put on by Muddy Roots Music, the Nashville Boogie Vintage Weekender, part car show, mixed with vintage vendors, a record convention, and a whole heap of music, features everything from rockabilly legends to country crooners. With over 90 acts on the bill, it took some strategy to see as much as possible.
The Boogie shows span four stages–two at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and the other two at nearby honky-tonk, The Nashville Palace. Feeling like getting the day started with some blues and rock-infused Americana country, I headed to The Nashville Palace to take in Webb Wilder’s show. Wilder’s crying guitar and Nashville-inspired wordsmithing were the perfect companions to an ice cold beer on this early Friday afternoon. With lonesome pedal steel in the air, Wilder set the Palace aglow with classic country charm.
Around the corner in the front room of the Palace featured the outstanding voice and catchy murder ballads of outlaw country singer Sarah Vista; it was then back to the Parlor Stage at The Nashville Palace to welcome home country music legend Kay Adams for her first concert in almost 30 years–she hadn’t missed a step. Adams seemed genuinely appreciative of the gathered crowed and favored us with a set of classics, including “She Didn’t Color Daddy,” “Roll Out the Red Carpet,” and “Little Pink Mack,” and also took the time to give a little history and songwriter context for each song. It was an honor to witness her return to the stage.
With night upon us, the Boogie was just getting started; the legendary Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson, reigned supreme at the Opryland Hotel’s Tennessee Ballroom. Her endearing mixture of storytelling, classic rockabilly, and witty humor made her show one to remember. Ever the entertainer, Jackson controls the room like royalty and backs it up with her haunting voice.
As with all festivals, there is a bit of overlap with scheduling, but with some hustle and determination, I was quickly back to the Palace to check out the Queen of Outlaw Country, Nikki Lane. With her fiery stage presence and unapologetic, in-your-face sound, Lane turned the Palace into a raucous honky-tonk party. Through several of her hits, the crowd danced, cheered, and sang along, but the place was electric when she went into her recent rockabilly inspired single “Jackpot”–a song matched to her impeccably fashionable style for the evening.
It was going to be hard for any band to step on stage after Nikki Lane’s performance, but the legendary Texas band Asleep at the Wheel was up to the challenge. Asleep at the Wheel used a dynamic blend of acoustic guitar, pedal steel, and strings while going through their catalog of hits and crowd favorites.
Back at the Ballroom Stage at the Opryland Hotel, something special was getting ready to happen. I made it back just in time for The Country Side of Big Sandy. Known for his voice that was made to sing rockabilly, Big Sandy is no stranger to headlining music festivals and even appearing at the Grand Ole Opry. However, for the Boogie, he was stepping outside of his comfort zone and doing a classic honky-tonk inspired country set. Throughout the show, Big Sandy joked about being nervous and frequently thanked the supportive crowd. If he was indeed nervous, it didn’t present itself in his performance, as he could hold his own with any of the classic country icons.
The Ballroom stage filled up with Boogie attendees for the swinging sounds of Stray Cat Lee Rocker’s double bass style. Rocker got the place jumping as the dance floor filled with couples dancing and twirling to classic rockabilly tunes.
The clock struck midnight and Hillbilly Casino took the Ryman Garage Stage at Opryland—this band puts the rock in rockabilly. The Boogie faithful put every ounce of energy they had into dancing, jumping, and singing along which seemed to somehow fuel the band to play even harder. While Hillbilly Casino had me fired up for more, I had to call it a night and rest up for the next day at the Nashville Boogie.
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Interview: Future Lives
For decades, Athens, Georgia has consistently been a wellspring of groundbreaking music, of which R.E.M. and The B-52s are fine examples. Townsfolk joke that it has something to do with the latitude and longitude of Athens’ geographical position on the planet. “There’s something with the Earth’s magnetic pull that causes this massive creative energy that runs through everything in Athens,” laughs Brandon Taj Hanick, frontman of Athens-based anti-folk collective Future Lives, a “supergroup” of sorts, made up of former members of King of Prussia and The Drive-By Truckers. “You’re never too far removed from anyone in town, everyone is connected in some way, people are in multiple bands at a time,” he continues of the Athens scene. “We got together about two years ago; I pulled in friends of mine, and made some new ones along the way. It’s a very organic Athens band story.”
Future Lives will release its debut album, Mansions on June 27th; “It’s a long love letter to my wife,” Hanick laughs. “I know that sounds kind of sappy. I’ve written love songs, but never a full love album.” Hanick, who spent years bouncing around the world before moving back to Georgia, explores the concept of home on record “I wrote most of the songs after I moved back to Georgia. It’s about movement; I don’t think home has ever been a physical place for me. Home is where you’re surrounded by love,” he adds. “The album explores settling down without settling, and growing up without growing old.”
The tracks on Mansions are also strung together with spiritual elements. “Living in the South, a place with so much soul, that’s unavoidable,” he explains. “There’s a tendency to steer clear of spiritual stuff in the indie rock world, I’ve done that as well. I didn’t grow up in the church, my dad is Jewish and my mom is Christian, but both are non-practicing. A while back, I started reading the Bible, and a lot of it made sense with my hippie-ish outlook on life—love is the most important thing is what I’ve taken from it,” he explains. “The South is the cradle of American culture—rock n’ roll was invented here, the blues began here, all these genres are heavily based in spiritual music in one way or another. People who play rock tend to shun the spiritual world, but I’ve started to embrace concepts that are bigger than worldly concerns and self.”
The album features 12 Americana-tinged road songs that are ready to inspire and delight eager listeners for the summer tour ahead of them. “I’ve done albums in the past that I like to call ‘widow-makers,’ like the last King Of Prussia album was 20 songs. It was a grueling process,” he continues with a laugh. “This album came together so easily; we kept saying things at the same time, a connection where we sort of know what the others were thinking and what they were going to do musically,” he says. “It was a really fun experience.”
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Interview: The Reverend Shawn Amos
Photo: Beth Herzhaft Interviews are conducted to learn and share someone’s story; in the case of The Reverend Shawn Amos, there are a million narratives from which to choose from a man who has lived several lifetimes already. The son of business magnate Wally “Famous” Amos who had music industry roots, and former nightclub singer Shirlee Ellis, Amos lived a celebrity-like life when with his father, and a harrowed existence with his mother who suffered from severe mental illness, bouncing back and froth between those worlds was challenging, to say the least. “My childhood was sort of a bunch of different childhoods at once,” he recalls. “I got adept at learning how to operate within different kinds of realities early.”
Amos found solace at a young age in writing; “I wrote poems and short stories as a kid, it’s always been a comfort for me, having a private world to express myself in; it was a part of my survival tool kit,” he explains. In college, he was inspired to learn to play saxophone to impress a young lady—“The girl I was dating at the time said I looked sexy holding a saxophone, so I learned how to play it,” he says with a laugh. Playing in bands lead to to singing, which he discovered he thoroughly enjoyed. “I moved back to Los Angeles after college, and I found myself singing; I really liked how my body felt when I sang. I felt like I was getting in touch with a higher consciousness when I was singing, and that lead to writing my own songs.” he says. “My father was an agent and later a manager, so I spent a lot of time in recording studios and backstage at concert venues and on sound stages as a kid. At the time, I remember being bored by it and wanting to be outside playing,” he laughs. “Looking back on it, it was a super informative experience. I was getting a huge education, and it instilled the love of the work in me,” he adds. “I love the craft, and I love doing the work.”
After several musical incarnations in his decades-long career, Amos found himself in a period of self-discovery and acceptance when he embraced the blues. “I feel like it all came together when I went on my blues journey,” he explains. “I finally feel comfortable and committed equally to all parts—writing, recording, and performing. To me, the blues is a music of resilience and joy. It’s a great reminder of our commonality and our humanity. For a long time, I was a little embarrassed by the blues as a black male. I felt like it was like picking at a scab that I wanted to heal. I realized that there’s no greater reminder of, not only the strength of black Americans, but of the strength of the human spirit to triumph under duress, and to create something beautiful from the most trying of circumstances. It’s a reminder that, no matter how low we feel or how challenged we are, there’s always hope and endless possibility in creativity,” he says. “You can go anywhere in the world and play for people of all races and ages and economic circumstances, and all of them will respond to blues music. There’s something so primal about it, it touches this primordial part of our brains. It’s so powerful.”
“I felt this lineage and history that I was a part of,” he continues of his this latest phase of his life experience. “I became very aware that I was part of a continuum, and it made me proud. I’d never felt that degree of pride before, being a black male. I felt proud of what my forefathers had accomplished and given to the world, and I wanted to be a part of that and carry that forward,” he adds. “It connects my head and my heart and my spirit. It’s a joyful experience.”
[The Reverend Shawn Amos will perform at Sambuca in Nashville on Wednesday, May 24th, before heading to Muscle Shoals, Alabama and Memphis, Tennessee. For show and ticket information, click here.]
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MCP Sessions: Justin Townes Earle – “What’s She Crying For”
After a decade-long career as an artist, seasoned performer Justin Townes Earle is in the midst of experiencing several “firsts”– on May 26th, Earle will release his New West Records debut Kids In The Street, which marks his first time working with an outside producer on his first album recorded outside of Nashville. It’s also his first album written as a married man who is about to become a father. Lyrically, Earle has also shifted his tone; for a man who has usually mined inwardly for his inspiration, Earle is enthusiastically looking to the future. “There’s definitely an uplifting aspect to this record in a lot of ways, because I’m feeling pretty positive. When I wrote songs in the past, I was looking in on what I was feeling, but this record’s more about looking outward on what’s happening, and writing about subjects like gentrification and inner city strife,” he reveals. “This record also has more of a soul influence to it, and it’s got a deeper connection to the blues than anything I’ve done before.”
Currently on tour with his longtime guitarist Paul Niehaus, alongside The Sadies as his backing band and support, Earle performed at the historic Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee. Before his show, we extended our microphone to its tallest, and he exclusively performed for us the sweetly meandering “What’s She Crying For,” about encountering an unknown crying woman, and wondering why she’s so blue. Check it out:
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Video Premiere: “Catching You” by The Two Tracks
Wyoming-based band The Two Tracks released their brand new travel-inspired record, Postcard Town, on May 19th; today, the rootsy collective unleashes the in-studio performance video for album track “Catching You.”
The band’s versatility and breadth of styles featured on Postcard Town, all of which come under the umbrella of Americana, celebrate the foundational building blocks of American music. In “Catching You,” The Two Tracks showcase the talents of drummer/percussionist Fernando Serna as they embrace the traditional Mexican style of Ranchera and the Afro-Caribbean rhythms of Cumbia and blend them with folk music. “Fernando has a musical history growing up listening and performing Ranchera and Cumbia music in Mexican bands,” says vocalist Julie Szewc.
The Two Tracks have deftly created a sound that is altogether unique and defies any single genre category. Without further ado, Mother Church Pew proudly presents “Catching You,” the new video from The Two Tracks:
Purchase Postcard Town: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/postcard-town/id1216761620