A rattraper également de 2009, Anthem, le 2ème album de Chris Scruggs, multi-instrumentiste déjà remarqué sur les disques de M Ward, Andrew Bird, Charlie Louvin, George Jones, Neko Case, et aussi connu pour avoir fait partie du groupe retro-country BR549. Chris Scruggs n'est autre que le petit-fils de Earl Scruggs, pionnnier du bluegrass au sein du duo Flatt & Scruggs, et le fils de la

The new song by Chris Scruggs threw me for a loop. It wasn't at all what I expected. In the past I had Chris (who is the former frontman of BR549) pegged as a neo traditionalist content to put out twangy honky-tonk and nothing more. But the guy is young and talented and is setting off in new directions on his new record Anthem . He's enlisted the help of folks like Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), Nick Luca and Paul Niehaus (Calexico), Don Herron and Harvey Brooks (Bob Dylan), BR549 and Kelly Hogan. [...]
Photos by Steve Cross See the slideshows for more photos: part one; part two. Sunday's Save Cowboy Keith benefit--held in honor of local legend Cowboy Keith Thompson, who sustained serious injuries ... Continue reading "Save Cowboy Keith at The 5 Spot 3/29/09" >

I've said my piece on Charlie Louvin back in 2006 ( here ) when he released a comeback record of sorts on Tompkins Square . Now it's two years later and Charlie's back with another set of songs that reside in the hinterland where gospel and country music come together. The new record is called Steps To Heaven and features a small traditional gospel choir of three sisters, pianist Derrick Lee, and Chris Scruggs (from Br549) on doghouse bass and guitar (more on Chris Scruggs over at Postmodern Sounds ). [...]

It is absolutely trivial to note that certain songs crop up over and over again in the folk collector's travels; after all, as our blog subtitle reminds us, when we talk about folk, we're talking about a form that by its very nature treats older songs and tunes as part of the communication which makes us community, available to all who lay claim to culture. But just as true hitmaking is hardly formulaic, it's not often obvious what keeps a song in the stream. Our Single Song [...]

I saw Chris Scruggs , former/on-and-off co-front man and steel player with BR549 , last April and I picked up the tour-only EP Tennessee . I had liked Chris's contributions to BR549, notably his song "Honky Tonkin' Lifestyle," which first appeared on his independent solo debut of the same title (which I was never able to track down) and was later included on BR549's Tangled in the Pines . Scruggs also brought a youthfulness and vigor to BR549, making him, if not a good replacement, per se , for Gary Bennett , [...]