HoneyHoney "Angel of Death"

I did the bounce up and down the stairs at the Cannery Row complex in Nashville on Saturday night, and one of the bands I caught was Honeyhoney. First a bit of history. The neighborhood used to be industrial, and blighted at that. When I lived in Nashville in the late 90s, I worked just up the railroad tracks at Cummings Station. There was an abandoned feel to it all, and it is so good to see a reclamation of the buildings. The area is starting to come alive again. The Cannery has been a venue since the early 70s, and has been through the twists and turns of eras and changing needs. The building now houses three venues: The Cannery Ballroom, The Mercy Lounge and The High Watt. The Cannery was built in 1883 as a flour mill and later was used to grind coffee. It earned the name of The Cannery in 1957 when the Dale Food company bought it and began processing food there.

Now a bit of history on the band Honeyhoney. Suzanne Santo (vocals/banjo/violin) and Ben Jaffe (vocals/guitar) came together in Los Angeles where they meld Woody Guthrie-esque folk with the ghosts of Buffalo Springfield and Gram Parsons, for an earthy and energetic brand of Americana. Oh, and they rock on stage, spinning a captivating web that will make you want to get closer. They are embarking on the three-month long “Ten Buck Tour” with Joshua James this Friday, September 21st in Albuquerque. I love this video, one of the tunes from their Billy Jack album, here is “Angel of Death.”

-Jessie Scott

The Black Lillies "Goodbye Charlie"

Travel is a series of snapshots, impressions, and vignettes. For whatever reason, my experience at Americana Fest in Nashville this time was filled with heartfelt moments, often from total strangers spontaneously sharing stories. Oh yes, there were many magical music moment. The Americana Honors and Awards Show on Wednesday night at The Ryman Auditorium was simply spectacular. Every year we are amazed that it achieves the mark set by the previous year, and somehow, it just grows in stature each time. I watched, I listened, I absorbed! From the industry panels to the Americana Board and Membership Meeting, to a cool career counseling panel called Staying Alive hosted by Tamara Saviano, Tom Killorin and me, I tried to make the most of the landscape. You have to know that I missed the Music Foggers terribly. So many people asked after them and wished they were attending the conference, as did I. Oh what we could have captured with the 100 official artists and legions of other who were on hand.

Our Lone Star Music, KDRP, Hill Country Live and Luckenbach, Texas party on Saturday afternoon was a treat, with performances from John Fullbright, The Trishas, Jesse Dayton with Kinky Friedman and a special surprise set from Jimmy LaFave and Tim Easton. And did you know that there is a new Kinky Tribute album coming from Jesse? Yes indeed, it’s called Jesse Sings Kinky and it’s being released this fall!

There were so many stellar performers and great days and nights. Just as an example, I was in attendance for one evening that rolled with one fine band into another at the Basement: Lydia Loveless, Angel Snow, Sons Of Fathers, The Deep Dark Woods with Kendel Carson, and The Black Lillies. Music Fog filmed Cruz Contreras and Co. Last year during our capture at Marathon Recorders during the 2011 Fall Music Fog Marathon at Americana Fest. Bidding ‘adieu’ to Nashville for another year, here is “Goodbye Charlie.”

-Jessie Scott

Whitey Johnson "Memphis Women and Fried Chicken"

What a week it has been! I love the close in accessibility of Austin Bergstrom Airport! Flying out to Nashville, the airport was full of friends, all of whom were coming to the Americana Conference too. Sunny Sweeney, Hayes Carll, and John Evans were some of the folks I ran into who were departing Austin, and then I ran into Suzanna Choffel just landing from NY for a Texas run of dates. She’ll be at Threadgill’s later this week. The camaraderie started with the flight, and then tumbled into the week’s event, music, food, panels. It is so good to charge one’s batteries being with the music community. I will have another post about all the showcases and some highlights, but here was an early one.

I tried to keep it fairly low key for day one of Americana Fest, but managed to run into Sean McConnell who was recording at RCA Studio A, and then ran into Patterson Barrett, Tim Easton, Amy Speace, Anna Egge, Doug and Telisha Williams at the Five Spot. I capped the night off with Gary Nicholson doing his Whitey Johnson blues set at Bourbon Street in Printers Alley, with stellar players joining him on stage including Reese Wynans and Colin Linden, a great band totally in the moment. Here is a taste of the Whitey Johnson magic, with one of my favorite songs, “Memphis Women and Fried Chicken.”

-Jessie Scott