Noel McKay "The Old Pawnee Waltz"

Last week we would have convened in Nashville for AmericanaFest! Sure did miss the folks and the fanfare, and especially the music. Thriving Roots took its place, as a virtual Music Conference online, but I sure do hope that we get to come out of the house and be together someday. In the meantime, we have streaming to deliver live music, and thank goodness for that! And since we aren’t traveling the way we used to, there is the romance of the music of far away places that we can virtually travel to. Brennen Leigh’s new album Prairie Love Letter is just out, and it transports us to the turf Brennen grew up on in the upper Midwest. Just beautiful, seeing and feeling those wide open spaces through her music.

Brennen joins partner Noel McKay for this Music Fog video of “The Old Pawnee Waltz,” which transports us to yet another grand vista, in Pawnee, Texas. Noel is also accompanied by Melissa Carper on upright bass and backing vocals. Of course, Noel and Brennen made their way from Austin to Nashville a couple of years ago, and have found a home of like minded artists who honor the grand country music traditions. Here is the Music Fog rendition of “The Old Pawnee Waltz,” filmed during a private session in Nashville last year.

-Jessie Scott

The Cerny Brothers "Night on the Town"

Oh, for a good steak in a restaurant, or a beach vacation, or for a music festival, heck even a single night of music! I know, we are in a marathon, and I hope you too are still quarantining. We do the best we can with the comforts of home and our electronic toys. Oh, and the socials, truly what would we do without the ability to connect through Zoom, Facebook, and the like. It has been a lifesaver. I am even picking up the phone to take an actual phone call here and there. Reach out and touch someone. I am sure you will make someone’s day by caring about them enough to call.

I’m not crying, just trying to come to terms with our new normal. How long will it last, who knows? In the meantime, we have turntables and streaming services and radio. And we have videos. Today’s Music Fog selection comes from the Cerny Brothers. The latest from them is a bona fide dance remix of the song “Days of Thunder.” But today we bring you another from our private shoot with them last year, “A Night on The Town.” We can put on some party clothes and pretend, can’t we?

- Jessie Scott

Will Kimbrough "When I Get to Memphis"

Before our world became so accessible, with highways and easy air travel, songs conjured up feelings about far away places. One could listen and imagine what they were like. There was such romance to it, such an interconnected sense to hearing about Old Cape Cod, Saginaw Michigan, or Santa Catalina. It is strange now to be yearning for far away places, but most of us have the quarantine blues as we stay at home and hardly venture past the city limits.

Photo Credit: Epiphone

Today we head down the Mississippi with Will Kimbrough. New Orleans brings sultry weather and a banquet of flavors and music. Of course, one could hit I-10 for Mobile, Alabama, where a couple of songwriters met a while back, Jimmy Buffett and Will Kimbrough. You know, Will has just contributed four tunes to the new Jimmy Buffett album Life on the Flip Side, which speaks to how fine a songwriter he is. Last year, Music Fog captured “When I Get To Memphis” from Will’s I Like It Down Here album, with Bryan Owings and Chris Donohue.

- Jessie Scott