Logan Ledger "Starlight"

It’s coming up on AmericanaFest, and I gotta say, I am missing the Music Foggers and the zany adventures we always seem to find ourselves in when we are together. Alas, The Fog will not be in the house this year, but WMOT will be broadcasting some cool daytime sessions in cooperation with NPR Music and World Café from the War Memorial Auditorim in Nashville.

Wednesday, September 11th (Wired In series)

• 1pm: Keb Mo

• 2pm: Maggie Rose

• 3pm: Honey Island Swamp Band

• 4pm: Shinyribs

Then...

Off to today’s video, from Logan Ledger who is playing this year’s AmericanaFest. His debut album is coming out in early October. He is a native Californian, blessed with pipes for days and an easy way with a lyric. Don’t just take my word for it, T Bone Burnett has signed him to Rounder Records and has produced his forthcoming album. There are already a couple of songs from it kicking around on the interwebs, available as a preview, so I figured today was a good day to turn you on to the next great Old School Country voice. And if you are coming to AmericanaFest September 10- 15 in Nashville, make sure you catch him in performance! In the meantime, check out this Music Fog solo take of the song “Starlight,” filmed this past February in Nashville.

- Jessie Scott

Seth Walker "Underdog"

I love living in the South for so many reasons, and topping that list has to be that this is where so much of our American music comes from. The Mojo Triangle extends from Nashville to Memphis to New Orleans. It is the geographic region where the Big Bang of American Music 'happened.' It was the imprinting on each other of musical traditions from Native Americans, African Americans, and Europeans that caused its birth, and the many splendid musical traditions that have grown from it over the years. If you want to know more, there is a book and a travel guide. The area was recently renamed The Americana Triangle, and it provides a wonderful opportunity to feel the earth and ethos of where the music emerged. I highly recommend a road trip!

Seth Walker has today’s video, and his music embodies so much of that Triangle good stuff. He brings a bluesy, jazzy, swingy vibe, with plenty of space to improvise. As they say, "It ain’t what you play, it’s what you don’t play." Seth has lived in North Carolina, Austin, Nashville, and New Orleans, and you can feel all those places in his music. He keeps mighty busy on the road. His tenth album, Are You Open? came out early this year, and it is where you will find the original of “Underdog.” We bring you the Music Fog recording, captured this past February in Nashville, as the new record was coming out.

- Jessie Scott

Crackerboots "Lemonade"

Are we about to turn the corner on August? Dang that just doesn’t seem possible. But then, this year has flown by. I am looking forward to a bit of down time at the lake, and then it’s gang busters until Christmas. If you have never been to Nashville, think about coming in for AmericanaFest in September. Nearly 300 artists will be gigging in clubs all over town. Wristbands for the week's nighttime music are a great buy. And oh, the grand smorgasbord of flavors that will be served up that week. Musical diversity is key. Actually, that is one of the things I like best about Nashville all the time. There is so much here to explore!

Today we bring you an aggregation of Nashville A-Listers! Crackerboots is jam packed with talent, and led by the enigmatic gypsy presence of Luella. I got to do a double-bill show a year or so ago with Luella and the McCrary Sisters that was a “take you higher” kind of evening. Luella is a bright spirit, steeped in the love of song. She breezes effortlessly from Gospel to Blues, Soul to Brazilian, whether she is solo, performing as Luella & The Sun, or here with Crackerboots as they bring the jazz. Music Fog filmed “Lemonade” in a private session in February. Drink deep.

- Jessie Scott