It is travel day, though I daresay, for some this whole week has been the great escape. Of course there is the attendant hustle and bustle if you are doing the entertaining. Hope your preparations are nearly completed, and that you will have a warm and wonderful time. For those of us who have lost loved ones, whether through death or by parting, let us take a moment to remember sweet times together.
This song makes me cry. Gretchen Peters visited us during our Music Fog Marathon in Nashville in October with Barry Walsh. She is about to release a new album, Hello Cruel World in January, which is being hailed as her bravest ever. We will be bringing you some tunes in future posts that Music Fog recorded from the upcoming album, but in the meantime, the snow is coming down (well, it is in this song) and the holiday is upon us. We are traveling, “On A Bus To St. Cloud.”
Christmas in love. Sigh...honestly, is there anything more wonderful than sharing the holiday with a new partner? The intimacy is worth the price of admission alone. The exchanging of gifts is almost superfluous, but is especially delicious with a sip of the bubbly. And no matter whether graced by material wealth, love provides its own ‘in it together, for richer or poorer’ kind of bond. If you are newly in love this Christmas, may your holiday be especially bright.
Today’s video is the perfect soundtrack tune to celebrate romance. Carrie Rodriguez gifted us with a brand new song when she visited Marathon Recorders in Nashville in October during Americana Fest. It is simple and pure and joyous. Carrie is plenty busy, as she does dates with Luke Jacobs, and then a few with the masterful Bill Frisell in Texas, the second week in January. Then look out for The Acoustic Cafe Tour, featuring Erin McKeown, Carrie Rodriguez and Kelly Joe Phelps after that.
Carrie brought Hans Holzen (acoustic guitar), Kyle Kegerreis (bass), Ryan Lovan (drums), and Luke Jacobs (electric guitar) to the Music Fog Fall Marathon. Here is “Lake Harriet,” and a wish from us, for love to surround you too.
They should just go ahead and rename the month of December to Christmas. The radio stations have gone wall to wall Christmas music, The stores are decked, the lights are lit, the commercials are screaming ‘buy.’ I did see a very cool thing today, The Salvation Army at Rockefeller Center weren’t just ringing their bells, they were singing and dancing to the songs on the street. I must say, it elevated it to a brand new place. I was instantly infused with the spirit of the season. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying bah humbug to the rest of the seasonal items, either. I love the holidays. Making new traditions, observing those handed down, spending time with the ones you love, sharing food and good times, exchanging gifts, thinking about what someone would like when you buy that gift. I don’t think we often take enough notice of the others in our life, and Christmas is a good excuse to get out of our own brains and focus on others. Lovely.
In the spirit of giving, we bring you Tara Nevins. She is the consummate musician. From her solo stuff, to Donna The Buffalo, and everything in between, she surround herself with like-minded minstrels. Last time we filmed her was two years ago at Americana Fest in Nashville. She brought The Believers with her to the Music Fog Bus, and we proceeded to have an inside window on hatching the creative process. This time, at Americana Fest in October, we had the honor once again when she brought Rose Sinclair and Chris Henry to play with her. She is fearless in her quest to explore. The song “Nothing Really” is on her latest album Wood And Stone, which came out this year, on which she peers into her own heritage. It is her first solo album since Mule to Ride in 1999. Here is the Music Fog rendition of “Nothing Really,” filmed at Marathon Recorders in Nashville.
