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Americana Music Association Festival Blog, Sept. 16-19, 2009 — Vincent Wynne
WEDNESDAY NIGHT, SEPT. 16, 2009
Antje Duvekot, The Basement
Antje Duvekot is a rising star on the singer-songwriter/folk/Americana music scene. She has a lovely Irishy sounding voice and plays guitar probably as good as James Taylor. Duvekot is a deep thinker who keeps a blog on her website, where she speaks openly about her religious and political views. Perhaps the $100,000 check Bank of America wrote her in 2007 for her song "Merry Go Round" has something to do with her willingness to risk alienating some of her fans -- perhaps not. Does this sound as odd to you as it does to this writer? MBA is currently gouging its cardholders with huge interest rate hikes in order to pad their bottom line before it becomes illegal to engage in this kind of unethical behavior. Hey Antje, while you're pondering Thomas Jefferson's hypocrisies on your blog, perhaps you should re-consider who you sell your art to. Seriously, a bank? Here's a blog idea: please write about how you rationalized selling this song to such a corrupt and unethical company. This should be good. Seriously folks. Berklee and Belmont should consider adding a few ethics courses to their Music programs. Antje gets an "A" in songwriting and a "D-" in ethics. Ah shucks Vince, can't we all just get along? Peace, Love, and sell sell sell.
Sarah Siskind, The Basement
ListenNashville loves Sarah Siskind. So while John Fogerty was tearing up the Mercy Lounge stage with a long set of CCR songs, this writer was front and center for Sarah, and loving every minute of it. Siskind's latest record features the superb guitar player Joe McMahan and the jazzy sick drummer/producer Ian Fitchuk. Siskind's live sets are always uber-tight, and this night was no exception. Sarah's husband joined her on background vocals as well as Julie Lee on several songs. Do not miss Sarah Siskind on the Ten out of Tenn tour.
THURSDAY NIGHT, SEPT. 17, 2009
Read Vincent Wynne's review of the Americana Music Awards and Honors show at the Ryman on Gibson.com here.
FRIDAY NIGHT, SEPT. 18, 2009
Sara Watkins, The Station Inn
ListenNashville wasn't impressed with Chris Thile's Punch Brothers performance last year at the Station Inn. It wasn't his chops, it was the inability of Thile's 4 movements to connect with the discriminating Bluegrass audience. Now, Sara Watkins has just released her first solo record, and this writer could not pass up an opportunity to see her take center-stage. Yeah, we heard Watkins is working with John Paul Jones blah blah blah. Producers can make records sound perfect, but the live show is what we here at ListenNashville are all about. First things first: Sara looks fantastic. With a golden Southern California tan and sun bleached hair, Watkins delivered a superb set of thought-provoking folksy bluegrass that will appeal to young and old alike. Reminscent of Gillian Welch, Watkins is at her best when singing harmony. Watkins' lead vocals are soft yet authentic--and the songs work for her. Her music walks a fine-line between indie folk and traditional bluegrass. One example of this came when Watkins introduced a song written by Jon Brion. The audience applauded and, sensing a miscommunication, she said "Not John Prine ... Jon Brion." This was such a fantastic moment as this nearly hushed the crowd since most in the room were not familiar with Jon Brion. Yet the performance brought down the house. With her brother Sean on guitar and backing vocals, the capacity-crowd at the world-famous Station Inn was won-over quickly by Watkins and everyone rose to their feet in a standing ovation immediately following the final song of her flawless set. There is no doubt in this writer's mind that Sara Watkins is on her way to becoming a huge name in the Americana music world. Get the record and do not miss her live show on this tour--Nashvillians can catch her again at the Belcourt Theatre in October.
Missy Raines and the New Hip, Mercy Lounge
The music of Missy Raines and the New Hip is a pastiche of Bluegrass and Jazz. Raines sings and plays upright bass. They've recently signed with Compass Records, and the new record is outstanding. The instruments are guitar, dobro, mandolin, bass, and drums. The musicians all appear to be in their early 20s, and each is already a master of their instrument. The best way I can describe Missy Raines and the New Hip is through a recent interaction with a friend. One night I had the CD playing in the background while visiting with friends over a few beers. Near the CD's end, one friend said, "I like this compilation you've been playing." I replied, "It's one band, one CD." Indeed, Missy Raines and the New Hip deliver an impressively diverse blend of jazz, bluegrass, and blues. This was the first time this writer has seen them live, and the live show was impressive to say the least. Raines and crew took the songs to new levels during the live show, proving they have the chops and creativity to hang with the best. Be on the lookout for Missy Raines and the New Hip, get the record, go see them live.
WPA, Cannery Ballroom
WPA stands for Works Progress Association (I think). I grew up on Toad the Wet Sprocket, and I even handed Glen Phillips my band's cassette tape after a Toad show back in 1991. I held Glen Phillips on par with Michael Stipe. Sadly, most of Glen's solo work has been sub-par, boring reflections on a bad marriage and his apparent philosophy to plow forward. Phillips still has a superb voice, and WPA sounded fantastic as a group when Phillips sang the lead vocals. Sean Watkins is a fantastic bluegrass guitarist and he sings a nice background vocal. But he should not be singing lead, and the other guy on violin has a lovely voice for Sunday services. So it went as it always does with Glen over the past 10 years. The first couple songs had me excited, then instead of ramping it up and killing the audience it just got boring. This could be a good band if they would get the right producer who can protect Glen from himself.
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