John Mellencamp and Stephen King's dramatic musical, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County will debut as a theatrical presentation beginning April 4 in Atlanta; a guest star-packed studio concept album will follow on May 22, via Hear Music, in both a single disc and 3-CD deluxe edition. Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Taj Mahal and Neko Case are set to sing on the project, with Matthew McConaughey, Meg Ryan, former boxer Joe Frazier and Costello doing readings, as well. Both projects are produced with the input of producer T-Bone Burnett — who described the sound as [...]
Our review of the stellar new collection of Bob Dylan covers in support of Amnesty International.
This compilation is not accompanied by an instalment in the country history, because the next chapter goes with the next mix. And, in some ways, it makes sense that this mix has no history (of course, the timeframe is covered by past articles in the series) because the late 1970s was a time of hiatus. Many of the stalwarts of just a few years earlier ceased having strings of hits, and those artists who had grown out of the Outlaw movement now had their day. In this mix, the likes of Guy Clark, John Anderson, Larry Jon Wilson [...]
This version of "Sunday Morning Coming Down" was recorded live at The Johnny Cash Christmas Show in 1978.
Thanks in large part to country-influenced acts like The Byrds, The Grateful Dead and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, rock fans were starting to dig the country scene — not Nashville's crooners or John Denver, of course, but the Outlaws, Gram Parsons and some of the old pioneers. Some of California rock's great names had their roots in playing bluegrass; people like Eagles co-founder and Flying Burrito Brother Bernie Leadon, the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and the singer-songwriter J.D. Souther, who wrote for the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, the Texan "Queen of Rock" who made her start as a country [...]
Ever wonder what will happen during the last five minutes of late-night TV talk shows? Here are tonight's notable performers: The Late Show With David Letterman (CBS): Joan Baez & Kris Kristofferson The legendary singer is supporting new album How Sweet The Sound with current tour mate Kris Kristofferson. Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC): Junip The [...]
Beat Surrender favourite Ronnie Fauss has another EP out soon Any Lovin' Way But Wrong features a quartet of songs from his favourite singer-songwriters and will be available to download on iTunes and Amazon - better still you can purchase the tracks direct from the man himself via PayPal for a $5 - here's the info , the EP was recorded with a handful of friends contributing pedal steel, banjo, piano, organ, harmonica and electric guitar to Ronnie's acoustic guitar and vocals, Clay Pigeons (Blaze Foley) Just The Other Side Of [...]
The traditional country stars — Conway Twitty, George Jones, Tammy Wynette Charlie Rich, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride — were still selling many records in the 1970s, and periodically crossed over to the pop charts. Singers like Donna Fargo evoked the good old days with happy songs like The Happiest Girl In The Whole USA. These were still the Opry years — in fact, in 1972 the Grand Ole Opry opened a theme park called Opryland, and wo years later moved out of its long-time home, the Ryman Theatre, to Opryland. But the Nashville scene no longer monopolised country, [...]
Friday fun: ► Filter's Culture Collide festival continues its multinational merriment at various venues in Echo Park, highlighted by some some folks you probably already know (Yacht, Avi Buffalo, Ximena Sarinana, the Postelles) and some you might want to investigate — including Australia's WIM (that's their video for "See You Hurry," above), Demark's the Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Belgium's the Black Box Revelation and Australia's the Morning After Girls (whose late set Thursday was great). Plenty of SoCal artists too, including Jason Falkner, the Henry Clay People, Hands and Writer. Full venue, set time info [...]
Norah Jones' last side project (providing vocals for Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi's Rome ) may have had more star power, but her next outing has just as much retro flair. In January 2012, EMI's Milking Bill Records will release Jones' country-tinged band The Little Willies ' effort of covers, entitled For The Good Times . The 12-track effort features covers from a variety of down-home legends, including Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and many more. The LP is the band's follow-up to 20062s self-titled debut, which featured [...]
JAMES BLAKE, TEENGIRL FANTASY ( Wonder Ballroom , 128 NE Russell) James Blake might be quiet in sound, but his deeply personal and evolved take on restrained dubstep packs a mighty wallop. The Londoner's wounded vocoder-assisted croon draws comparisons to his pal Justin Vernon (Bon Iver, duh), and his deeply focused live show will send your heart aflutter. EZRA ACE CARAEFF GRAND REOPENING: SONS OF HUNS, THE LORDY LORDS, ADVISORY, THE NO TOMORROW BOYS ( Club 21 , 2035 NE [...]
It was the age of the country songwriter, with people such as Harlan Howard (Heartaches By The Number), Hank Cochran (I Fall To Pieces), Roger Miller (Billy Bayou), Willie Nelson (Crazy), Mel Tillis (Detroit City), Tom T Hall (Harper Valley PTA) and the Bryants (Love Hurts) creating many classics. Some of them would become stars in their own right. None maybe more so than Kris Kristofferson, a man whose early biography reads like a far-fetched penny novel. Many of the songs he is known for were first recorded by others, sometimes several times. With the arguable exception of Me And [...]
Beck , Devendra Banhart , and She & Him 's Zooey Deschanel and M Ward , are among the artists who contributed to a forthcoming new compilation album by country music duo, The Louvin Brothers. The compilation album, titled ' Handpicked Songs 1955-62 ', is set for release November 7 and features hand picked songs by the duo covered by artists including Dolly Parton , Kris Kristofferson , and Graham Nash . Also set to be reissued on November 7 will be the duo's 1959 album, ' Satan [...]
The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival has announced its 2011 lineup, featuring HSB mainstays like Bela Fleck, Emmylou Harris , Kris Kristofferson , and Robert Plant , alongside less bluegrass-ey artists like Bright Eyes , Broken Social Scene , Buckethead , Fitz & the Tantrums, Kurt Vile & the Violators, and MC Hammer (no, seriously; he's running the annual children's program). The three-day music festival is FREE and will take place September 30th through October 2nd in Golden Gate Park (at the Speedway Meadow). Hardly [...]
A look back at Johnny Cash's 'American Recordings' series, with highlights from each album.
Download a Free Covers Album of American Outlaws Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and More
A few months ago my dad and I went to see Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson in Milwaukee. Their catalogs and showmanship still holds up after all these years. A highlight amongst many that night was Haggard's "Ramblin' Fever." This weekend the Republic of Texas Biker Rally invaded Austin. The streets are filled with motorcycles and you can hear exploding exhaust pipes all through the night. Many locals feel the same way they do about ROT as they do SXSW. I ducked into the [...]
Filed under: The Hit List Songwriters have often penned odes to being hot for teacher. But in the '80s, the Police turned the tables with 'Don't Stand So Close to Me,' about a teacher who lusts after a student. That [...]
From the late 1960s through the early '70s, Mickey Newbury released a string of classic albums that helped to redefine the definitions of/blur the boundaries between country, folk, and the burgeoning singer/songwriter movement. The word "seminal" gets thrown around pretty loosely these days, but to give you an idea of Newbury's importance in the aforementioned context, both Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark made their initial move to Nashville because their fellow Texan Newbury was there, and Kris Kristofferson, another Lone Star export to Music City, once said "I learned more about songwriting from Mickey than I did any other [...]
Last weekend's Stagecoach , the country music cousin to Coachella, capped three consecutive weeks of music at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, offering a diverse lineup of veterans, commercial stars and indie artists. Photographer Scott Dudelson sent along this gallery. For a good read, check out Randy Lewis' review in the Times.
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Skrillex Uses Satanic and Homosexual Influence to Win Grammys
A-Trak - "Round of Applause" / "Where My Money At" (MP3 Download)
Diplo & Usher “Climax”
Warm Brew – “Creep (Serk Remix)”
