Crackerboots "Only Time Will Tell"

Happy New Year to You from all of us. I think we all secretly are wishing we could have been at MusicFest at Steamboat this year, especially as the tribute artist was Cody Canada of Cross Canadian Ragweed. Good on you Cody and Shannon. Here's to making music and a great 2020!

Speaking of making music, want to hear something crazy about Nashville? In Music City, home studios are illegal. Right? What with so many creators in this, of all towns, one should be able to make music any way one wants to. My friend Luella of Crackerboots created a petition to get that law changed. Signatures, please! 

Hey, I am getting ready for a cruise! Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches sets sail this week with The Mavericks, Band of Heathens, and Lee Roy Parnell, just to name a few. I’ll write next from the high seas, but in the meantime, enjoy today’s video, from the aforementioned Crackerboots, it is “Only Time Will Tell” from our private session with them last year in Nashville. Let’s drink to the new year, and the clarity of 2020!

- Jessie Scott

Brennen Leigh "Little Blue-Eyed Dog"

Here’s to the New Year. We Music Foggers are hoping you have had a warm and wonderful holiday season. With a new decade upon us it begs for a look ahead, as well as a look back. I think one of the most significant things that occurred in music in this last year, was the Ken Burns Country Music documentary. It is about to re-air, all eight parts of it, in all its glory, so check your local PBS listings. The music has changed names through the years, from Hillbilly Music, to Country & Western, to Americana; we MFers are keenly aware of the earthiness and attention to real life that is woven into the people’s music. Just as O Brother seeded a new generation in embracing the music, we hope once again that this watershed moment will spark new interest.

Old timey never went away, and it sits as the basis of so much of the music that we love. Today’s video brings it twofold. It’s Brennen Leigh with Noel McKay on guitar and backing vocals and Melissa Carper on upright bass. ”Little Blue-Eyed Dog” not only takes one back, but reminds us that the small comforts are what make life complete. Whether a dog or a cat, it is unconditional love. May you have that comfort and joy as we head into the next decade.

- Jessie Scott

Bishop Gunn "Anything You Want"

This time of year brings an avalanche of lists! It is great to look back on all the amazing music that was released in 2019, but I just saw a list of the top 15 cities for musicians. Weirdly, Nashville was not Number 1. Of course, you know that I think it is the very best location for artists along with the music business in general. As far as the other kinds of lists, WMOT just published the Top 100 Album Spins of 2019, and I encourage you to check it out, there is lots of tasty stuff to be found on it.

We are all looking forward to 2020, and I am hoping we see a new album from Bishop Gunn in the new year. Bishop Gunn is steeped in the music of The Delta, and along with the likes of Marcus King, Whiskey Myers and Black Stone Cherry, they keep the Southern Rock cooking. They will finish out the year in style, on the road with Blackberry Smoke for a few more dates, including New Year’s Eve in Florida. From a private session at the start of the year, here is the Music Fog recording of Bishop Gunn with “Anything You Want.”

- Jessie Scott