Video: Alison Krauss "Paper Airplane" available Tuesday (April 12th)

The Album is amazing. Wait one day, and you will hate yourself!!!
itunes

Upcoming Release Highlights - May

May 6th:

Jeb Loy Nichols - Days are Mighty. I will have a full post on this the next few days.

Sierra Hull - Closer. I've written about her before. This 16 year old virtuoso will release her Rounder debut. A Bluegrass who's who guests on the album and Ron Block (Alison Krauss & Union Station) produces.

Liste on MySpace

May 13th:

Old 97s - Blame it on Gravity. Nothing else will matter to me on that day.

Stubbs BBQ SXSW 2008:
MySpace


May 20th:

Cory Morrow - Vagrants & Kings You can listen to He Carries Me and Pre-Order on his website.

Sonny Landreth - From the Reach Sonny’s new album is an album of duets. It will feature guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Vince Gill, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Dr. John and Jimmy Buffett.

Live at Crossroads Music Fest with Clapton:

Sonny Landreth: 'Hell At Home'

May 27th:

John Hiatt - Same Old Man. Another day where nothing else matters.
MySpace

Settin' the Woods on Fire: This Week's Charts

This is a bi-weekly feature in which I post on AWT the top albums and debuts in the airplay charts from Americana Music Assoc., XM Cross Country and FMQB Non-Commercial Adult Alternative chart. Links to all of these charts are found to the right in the AWT favorite links list.

Americana Music Association - Airplay Week og January 28th
1) Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
2) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
3) Tift Merrit - Another Country
4) Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
5) Willie Nelson - Moment of Forever
6) Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
7) Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh - Holdin' Our Own...
8) Mando Saenz - Bucket
9) Drive-By-Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
10) Will Hoge - Draw the Curtains

Debuts

23) Paul Thorn - A Long Way From Tupelo
26) Malcolm Holcombe - Gamblin' House
31) Amanda Shaw - Pretty Runs Out
33) Allison Moorer - Mockingbird
34) Blind Boys of Alabama - Down in New Orleans


XM Ch.12 Cross Country - Cross Checking week of Jan. 28th
1) Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
2) The Bridge - Th Bridge
3) Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
4) Bleu Edmondson - Lost Boy
5) The Sadies - New Seasons
6) Miles from Nowhere - Bloodlines
7) Blue Rodeo - Small Miracles
8) Will Hoge - Draw the curtains
9) Cross Canadian Ragweed - Mission California
10) The Deep Dark Woods - Hang Me Oh Hang Me

Debuts
47) Drive By Truckers - Brighter that Creation's Dark

FMQB AAA Non-Commercial - Airplay Week of Jan. 28th
1) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
2) Cat Power - Jukebox
3) Nada Surf - Lucky
4) Radiohead - In Rainbows
5) Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static
6) Tift Merrit - Another Country
7) Bruce Springsteen - Magic
8) Sharon Jones - 100 Days
9) Eric Lindell - Low on Cash...
10) KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic

Debuts:
27) Nicole Atkins - Neptune City
28) Richard Julian - Sunday Morning in Saturday's Shoes
29) Moe - Sticks and Stones
30) Ray Davies - Working Man's Cafe

Settin' the Woods on Fire: This Week's Charts

This is a bi-weekly feature in which I post on AWT the top albums and debuts in the airplay charts from Americana Music Assoc., XM Cross Country and FMQB Non-Commercial Adult Alternative chart. Links to all of these charts are found to the right in the AWT favorite links list. These are the first charts I am posting for 2008.

Americana Music Association - Airplay Week og January 7th
1) Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
2) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
3) Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
4) John Fogerty - Revival
5) Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
6) Shooter Jennings - The Wolf
7) Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck
8) Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - Live from Ruhr Triennale
9) Gougers - A long Day for the Weathervane
10) Various - Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino

Debuts
33) Tift Merrit - Another Country
37) Sara Cox - Crowded is the New Lonely

XM Ch.12 Cross Country - Cross Checking week of Jan. 7th
1) Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
2) Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
3) Bleu Edmondson - Lost Boy
4) The Bridge - Th Bridge
5) Miles from Nowhere - Bloodlines
6) Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck
7) Shooter Jennings - The Wolf
8) Deadstring Brothers - Silver Mountain
9) Cross Canadian Ragweed - Mission California
10) Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - Live from Ruhr Triennale

Debuts
47) Red Stick Ramblers - Made in the Shade
48) Steeldrivers - Self-Titled
49) Marah - Angels of Destruction

FMQB AAA Non-Commercial - Airplay Week of Dec. 31st
1) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
2) Bruce Springsteen - Magic
3) Iron & Wine - The Shepherds' Dog
4) Radiohead - In Rainbows
5) Neil Young - Chrom Dreams II
6) KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic
7) Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
8) Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
9) Spoon - GaGaGaGaGa
10) Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer

Debuts:
18) Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static
22) Sheryl Crow - Detours
24) Keller Williams - 12

Grammy Nomination for Some AWT Favorites

Although I don't really care for the Grammys, there are some AWT favorites that received nomination and I wanted to point them out

Feist - Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album
Paul McCartney - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Solo Rock Performance
U2 - Best Pop Performance By a Group, Best Rock Performance By a Group
Plant & Krauss - Best Pop Collaboration
Beck - Best Solo Rock Performance
Bruce SpringSteen - Best Solo Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album
White Stripes - Best Rock Performance By a Group, Best Rock Song, Best Alternative Album
Wilco - Best Rock Album
John Fogerty - Best Rock Album
The Shins - Best Alternative Album
Alison Krauss - Best Country Female Vocal Performance
Miranda Lambert - Best Country Female Vocal Performance
Trisha Yearwood - Best Country Female Vocal Performance
Steve Earle - Best Country Collaboration
Willie Nelson - Best Country Collaboration
The Greencards - Best Country Instrumental
Jim Lauderdale - Best Bluegrass Album
Cherryholmes - Best Bluegrass Album
Tony Trischka - Best Bluegrass Album
Ricky Skaggs - Best Bluegrass Gospel Album
Bettye Lavette - Best Contemporary Blues Album
Doyle Bramhall - Best Contemporary Blues Albumn
Peter Case - Best Traditional Folk Album
Levon Helm - Best Traditional Folk Album
Charlie Louvin - Best Traditional Folk Album
Steve Earle - Best Contemporary Folk Album
Patty Griffin - Best Contemporarey Folk Album
Tom Waits- Best ContemporaryFolk Album

Ron Block of Union Station Finishing Production of Album by Mandolin Prodigy

As Allison Krauss tours with Robert Plant in Spring of 2008 members of Union Station are going to be working on various projects. One of these projects is currently under way. Ron Block is working on production of an album by 15 year old Bluegrass Mandolin prodigy Sierra Hull. The album will be released in the Spring of 2008 on Rounder. Contributing musicians include Tony Rice, Dan Tyminski and Rob Ickes. However, dont't think that she will intimidated sharing the studio with these legends. She has already shared the stage with Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, IIIrd Time Out and appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. She also appeared on the Randy Khors video on CMT that has been previously featured here on AWT. She wrote several of the songs for the album, which will be her second release. She released her first album Angel Mountain in 2002 when she was only 10.

She has done all of this by the age of 15 and what have I done my life? Well to quote Jimmy Buffett "I'm an over 40 victim of fate."

Check out this video:

Settin' the Woods on Fire - This Week's Charts

This is a bi-weekly feature in which I post on AWT the top albums and debuts in the airplay charts from Americana Music Assoc., XM Cross Country and FMQB Non-Commercial Adult Alternative chart. Links to all of these charts are found to the right in the AWT favorite links list.

Americana Music Association - Airplay Week of November 26th
1) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
2) Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
3) Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
4) John Fogerty - Revival
5) Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck
6) Various - Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
7) Shooter Jennings - The Wolf
8) Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
9) Kane Welch Kaplin - Kane Welch Kaplin
10) Lyle Lovet and His Large Band - It's Not Big It's Large

Debuts
35) Bridge - The Bridge
37) Bleu Edmondson - Lost Boy

XM Ch.12 Cross Country - Cross Checking week of Nov. 26th
1) John Fogerty - Revival
2) Emmylou Harris - Songbird
3) Legendary Shackshakers - Swampblood
4) The Sadies - New Seasons
5) Shooter Jennings - The Wolf
6) Cross Canadian Ragweed - Mission California
7) Jim Lauderdale - Bluegrass Diaries
8) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
9) Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck
10) Miles from Nowhere - Bloodlines

Debuts
None

FMQB AAA Non-Commercial - Airplay Week of Nov. 26th
1) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
2) Bruce Springsteen - Magic
3) Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
4) Iron & Wine - The Shepherds' Dog
5) Mark Knopfler - Kill to Get Crimson
6) Neil Young - Chrom Dreams II
7) John Fogerty - Revival
8) Marc Cohn - Giving Up the Ghost
9) Ben Harper - Lifeline
10) Chuck Prophet - Soap & Water

Debuts:
28) Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River
29) Ween - La Cucaracha

Alison Krauss, Robert Plant and T-Bone Burnett on Charlie Rose

Many thanks to Ashley. Whose comment let me know about T-bone, Robert Plant and alison Krauss on the Charlie Rose show today.

Here is an excerpt from the interview

Merle Haggard - The Bluegrass Sessions

It seems a lot of artists are jumping on the acoustic bandwagon and putting out Bluegrass albums these days. So it would be real easy for such an album to get lost in the shuffle. Not so when the artist is Merle Haggard. In fact, you have no choice but to listen. Recorded at Ricky Skaggs place in Hendersonville, Tennessee; The Bluegrass Sessions features an all-star lineup:

Marty Stuart - Mandolin
Carl Jackson - Guitar
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Charlie Cushman - Banjo
Aubrey Haynie - Fiddle
Alison Krauss - Voclas on "Mama's Hungry Eyes"

In recent years Haggard has experienced a renaissance and has released some albums that could rank up there with his classics. Too bad the Nashville brass has failed to notice. Unfortunately that is the current reality of mainstream country radio. Legends like Merle Haggard don't get airplay. His songwriting has been served well by the years and lyrically he is writing introspective songs characterized by depth and honesty. For example, on "Learning to Live with Myself" he sings, "I learned to live with my darlin' God took my darlin' away. Down through the years he took all my peers and left me here in the clay ... Til he gives me the call the hardest of all will be learning to live with myself." Or consider the words from "Pray", "Get your eyes off yourself. Think of somebody else. Imagine how hard life could be. Count your blessings again. Kiss the lips of your friend and pray, pray, pray. Not that Haggard leaves the honky tonk behind, as evidenced by "Runaway Momma," but I think this introspective journey is one we will all take before the end of our lives. After all he has come through in his life, it is good to see Haagard look back and realized he enjoyed the journey.

Watch this in Studio video of "Holding Things Together:



This review also appears on: Twangville

Settin' the Woods on Fire- This Week's Charts

This is a bi-weekly feature in which I post on AWT the top albums and debuts in the airplay charts from Americana Music Assoc., XM Cross Country and FMQB Non-Commercial Adult Alternative chart. Links to all of these charts are found to the right in the AWT favorite links list.

Americana Music Association - Airplay Week of October 15th
1) Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
2) John Fogerty - Revival
3) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
4) Lyle Lovet and His Large Band - It's Not Big It's Large
5) Kane Welch Kaplin - Kane Welch Kaplin
6) Dwight Yoakam - Dwight Sings Buck
7) Bruce Springsteen - Magic
8) Kelly Willis - Translated from Love
9) Various - Goin' Home a Tribute to Fats Domino
10) Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger

Debuts
29) Duncan Earl Walters - Guardian
34) Gougers - A long day for the Weathervane
36) Doyle Branhall - Is it News
39) Chuck Prophet - Soap and Water

XM Ch.12 Cross Country - Cross Checking week of Oct. 15th
1) Various Artists - Song of America
2) Various Artists - Wounded Heart of America Songs of Tom Russell
3) Walt Wilkins and the Mystiqueros - Diamonds in the Sun
4) Shawn Camp & Billy Burnette - The Bluegrass Elvises
5) Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
6) The Derailers - Under the Influence of Buck
7) Kane Welch Kaplin - Kane Welch Kaplin
8) Terri Hendrix - The Spiritual Kind
9) Lyle Lovet and His Large Band - It's Not Big It's Large
10) Lee Rocker - Black Cat Bone

Debuts
48) Gougers - A long day for the Weathervane
49) Billy Joe Shaver - Everybody's Brother
50) The Sadies - New Seasons

FMQB AAA Non-Commercial - Airplay Week of Oct. 15th
1) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
2) Ben Harper - Lifetime
3) Bruce Springsteen - Magic
4) Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
5) John Fogerty - Revival
6) Mark Knopfler - Kill to Get Crimson
7) Iron & Wine - The Shepherds' Dog
8) Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquest
9) Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
10) Jose Gonzales - In our Nature

Debuts:
30) Radiohead - In Rainbows

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss to release duet album on October 23rd

Modern day Bluegrass is expanding in directions that would make Bill Monroe Squeamish. I don't know that any Genre of music has seen more creativity, innovation and great musicianship at one time as Bluegrass is experiencing this decade. When I heard the idea of taking Bluegrass' ultimate diva and getting her to record a duet album with Robert Plant it seemed to be pushing the limit too far. Would they work together well? Would their voices be compatible? I have to admit I was skeptical. However, after hearing one cut off the album and listening to the video below on the making of the album, I am sold. Raising Sand is going to be a great ablum.

Prodeuced by T-Bone Burnett and featuring collaborators such as Norman Blake and Greg Leisz, they cover a wide variety of the American songbook. They sing songs from Tom Waits, Gene Clark, Sam Phillips, Townes Van Zandt, The Everly Brothers, and Mel Tillis. The album will release on October 23rd and I would not miss it.