It's been a long haul these last couple of weeks, with new projects and courses to teach at work, and budget season fast approaching at the local school committee table. School vacation was cancelled, and the skies and ground remain dry as a bone despite the calendrical claim of New England February, leaving us grey and wan in the pale light of almost-winter above the equatorial line. And here at home, the stress is sky-high, thanks to an unfortunate incident at the beginning of the month that turned us into a single-car family struggling to make ends and [...]
Musical visionary Bill Monroe, who got his start alongside brothers Charlie and Birch in the depths of the great depression, and subsequently performed as a solo act and bandleader for over sixty years until his death in 1996, was not just the father of the music we call bluegrass; he was its most prolific writer and disseminator. As composer and arranger, he created or recreated hundreds of songs; as progenitor, he found, groomed, and composed and performed alongside 161 Blue Grass Boys in a half century before sending them back out into the world to spread the gospel. [...]
Musical visionary Bill Monroe, who got his start alongside brothers Charlie and Birch in the depths of the great depression, and subsequently performed as a solo act and bandleader for over sixty years until his death in 1996, was not just the father of the music we call bluegrass; he was its most prolific writer and disseminator. As composer and arranger, he created or recreated hundreds of songs; as progenitor, he found, groomed, and composed and performed alongside 161 Blue Grass Boys in a half century before sending them back out into the world to spread the gospel. [...]
Once again, we're off to spend the weekend at the always amazing Joe Val Bluegrass Festival out at the Sheraton in Framingham, MA. This year's lineup is stellar as always, with young sensation Sierra Hull, Steve Martin touring and recording companions the Steep Canyon Rangers, new Boston-based all-girl quintet Della Mae, long-time fave the Clare Lynch Band, and special guest spots from banjo master Bill Keith and folk singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards holding down a powerhouse three days of music. We've covered most of these artists before, so instead of fishing for some new [...]
Peter Mulvey was one of the very first artists we wrote about here at Cover Lay Down, way back in October of 2007; at the time, we claimed that Mulvey has the versatility of the true cover artist, and the knack of bringing new meaning to a wide breadth of song , citing both his 2002 covers album Ten Thousand Mornings, recorded live in the Davis Square subway station just outside of Boston, and his collaborative work with lo-fi coverfolk supergroup Redbird, as ample evidence. Since then, we've come back to Mulvey's work [...]
It's not the newest trend in the webiverse. See, for example, Hangin' Out On E Street , the Bruce Springsteen-solicited covers project we noted way back in February of 2009, or The Stand Ins project , which had Bon Iver, The New Pornographers, David Vandervelde, and other indie names taking on the tracks from Okkervil River album The Stand Ins as it was released in 2008. But the songwriter-specific video covers project concept seems to be peaking, with several major collections in process as we speak. Today, we present our [...]
Student grades are due tomorrow, but we went to church anyway - we had to sing, and anyway, after two years of semi-regular practice as a Unitarian Universalist, I have come to a place in my life where I find peace and solace in shared practice which starts and ends with love and service, togetherness and open-ended truths, and a shared commitment to social justice. Much of this is due to the particulars of our chosen worship setting. The UU church which we attend is in transition, with an interim minister who has my [...]
When we started our New Artists, Old Songs series back in 2008, the goal was to feature otherwise-unknown artists who were just starting to hit the proverbial radar. And though we still try to balance ourselves between the new and the longstanding - knowing that introduction of the new and reframing of the familiar better serve us all if grounded in the depths of history, concerned that the temptation to tip into the world of mere promo passalong could trap us yet - since then, we've returned to the premise numerous times, cautiously optimistic about that [...]
Apocryphally, If I Needed You came to Townes Van Zandt wholesale, in a dream, wherein he envisioned himself a famous folksinger, and the song as his biggest hit. When he awoke, he wrote the song down, changing but one line in transcription, and the rest, as they say, is history. Of course, Townes did indeed become famous, though partially posthumously, and surely not on the same scale as he envisioned in his nocturnal emissions. But as I've noted several times in these virtual pages, I discovered the work of [...]
Apocryphally, If I Needed You came to Townes Van Zandt wholesale, in a dream, wherein he envisioned himself a famous folksinger, and the song as his biggest hit. When he awoke, he wrote the song down, changing but one line in transcription, and the rest, as they say, is history. Of course, Townes did indeed become famous, though partially posthumously, and surely not on the same scale as he envisioned in his nocturnal emissions. But as I've noted several times in these virtual pages, I discovered the work of [...]
Happy Birthday to Warren Zevon, whose graveled voice I never truly appreciated until his final album was released just before his death in 2003. Known for his pithy, sardonic wit in song and social commentary - enjoy every sandwich , his oft-quoted insight on dying which would later become the title for the first of two posthumous tribute albums, is a terse encapsulation of that observational mastery which shines through his back catalog - the man who released just twelve studio albums in 35 years was nonetheless a respected mainstay of the rock circuit, celebrated by his [...]
Winter has finally arrived in mid-New England, dropping just enough snow on the ground to keep us inside while the kids head out for sledding and snowplay. And so we spend a mellow Saturday at home by the pellet stove, coffee in hand and slippers on our feet, letting soft music serve as the soundtrack for our lives. We'll have our usual full weekend feature tomorrow, but for now, here's some songs that truly speak for themselves. The Chieftains ft. Bon Iver: Down In The Willow Garden (trad.) [...]
A two-fer today, folks: a British artist and a California couple matched in their versatility and the breadth of their journeys, similar in the way they pull on and play against the older sounds of their respective regions, yet quite different in their influences and output. Let the featurettes begin! Tim and Nikki Bluhm are a busy pair: she's a solo artist with an incredible second album on the market; he plays backup for her in five-piece country rock band Nikki Bluhm and the Gramblers , [...]
Texas-born, Oklahoma bred singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave is a regular on the Northeast festival circuit; I've managed to catch his act many times in the last two decades, on main stages and side sets, and I've never failed to be impressed. But that first time was a revelation, serving as a potent introduction to the crossover country/folk Red Dirt subgenre, and - more significantly - to the historically-grounded poetry and achingly vivid performance of a folk artist who remains one of the most respected songwriters and interpreters in his field. LaFave isn't a melodic [...]
You know how sometimes something wonderful and new just falls out of the ether into your consciousness, and changes your life? Ever had it happen twice in a 24 hour period? I didn't go looking for Noah and Abby Gundersen; they simply showed up on the radar unannounced, first in an omnibus post over at Songs For The Day , which led me to a heavenly, almost-a capella four-part take on Helplessly Hoping recorded, gloriously, in a freaking cathedral , and then tonight, alongside a few familiar and [...]
The January release holds a special place in the ebb and flow of artistry; though it runs the real risk of being forgotten by the time it comes to make our year's end lists, it also finds the market just gearing up again after a spate of holiday absence and Christmas releases. Thanks to tip-offs and promos from the usual sources, our fresh eyes have spotted three albums - each one due to drop this month, all well worth watching for - plus a few bonuses on the event horizon. As always, read and click for [...]
It was inevitable, I suppose. When we started this blog way back in 2007, Rihanna was just another rising star in the pop world, a Barbadian teenage beauty queen with a sweet backstory and her first multichart number one single just starting to get coverage. But ignoring the 23 year old superstar gets harder every year. Her continued work as a performer of hits, and as a collaborator with other rap and pop stars of no small stature, is readily admired by fans for its power, and for the confidence she brings [...]
As I wrote just over a year ago in a 2-part feature on How To Be A Coverblogger [ Pt. 1 / Pt. 2 ], keeping a coverblog requires a touch of obsession, an itch to live the writing life, and a willingness to keep a keen eye on a select handful of trusted sources. But though we watch the other coverbloggers carefully throughout the year, we are folkies first and foremost here at Cover Lay Down. And - as we noted atop our year's end mix - some of the [...]
It's not a new year's song, per se, though traditionally sung at midnight here and abroad. Rather, its message of friendship everlasting after a life well- and long-lived finds voice in, and brings hope and closure to, a multitude of celebrations throughout the English-speaking world, predominantly funerals and other ceremonies of remembrance. I posted a set of covers of Auld Lang Syne back in the waning days of 2009, too. But the Robert Burns poem and its various melodies seem particularly apt this year. For we heard its [...]
We follow over a hundred blogs, and listen to everything that's sent to us, but we can't claim to be completists here at Cover Lay Down. The world of folk is too big, and the borders fluid and everchanging; even if we had the luxury of listening full-time, we'd surely miss some of the good stuff. But 2011 was a year which found us particularly removed from the outside world. New teaching assignments at the desperately struggling inner-city school where I teach had my head down for weeks on end, developing [...]
Cover Lay Down
[LISTEN] Gotye (Passion Pit Remix)
Big Boi & Theophilus London (feat. TRE LUCE) - 'She Said OK'
