Carrie Rodriguez "I Don’t Want To Play House Anymore"

Last night, I hung out in a smokey old bar - well except for the smoke part, that behavior has been outlawed indoors,  thank goodness. The Led Zeppelin covers flowed, and the audience twitched and pulsed with every chord change and guitar riff. The dog days of summer have descended upon us early this year in sleepy New York, and you take your 'cooling' where you can. Having spent the last three years in Austin, of course, it begs the comparison. Austin has the relentless triple digit heat, not quite so humid, true, but day after day in the upper 90's and 100's does something to a person’s psyche after a while. In New York we declare it a heat wave when we are going to touch 90 for three days in a row. I must say it has been a Zen challenge, in keeping it in check while the air doesn't seem to stir.

Every year it seems there are musical Texans who make their way here to the the culture Mecca of NYC; the latest being Phoebe Hunt, who is bouncing between ATX & NYC. Chris and Eleanor Masterson were up north for a while but moved back, as did Carrie Rodriguez. I suspect for the amount of time these folks spend on the road, it matters little what zip code one calls home. Carrie is heading off to Europe for August, still touring in the wake of her most recent album, Give Me All You Got. We revisit the Music Fog Marathon 2011 now, to bring you this presentation, “I Don’t Want To Play House Anymore, “ when we filmed Carrie & company at Marathon Recorders in Nashville back in 2011.

-Jessie Scott

Blackie & The Rodeo Kings "Shelter Me Lord"

There are times we are utterly overwhelmed by the sheer power and unpredictability of the weather. We wish healing and rapid rebuilding of lives for the tornado victims in Oklahoma, for the wildfire victims in California, and for the flood victims on the Mississippi River and elsewhere. Here is hoping for a quiet weather map this coming week. And this is a reminder that if you can help, the Red Cross is a good place to donate to disaster victims.

Photo Credit: Brian O'Brien

How about a song of faith? “Shelter Me Lord” is today’s tune, and it is from the pen of Buddy Miller. It was originally released on his album, Universal United House of Prayer. Though just a few years old, it has already been covered by Paul Thorn on What The Hell Is Goin’ On, as well as Blackie & The Rodeo Kings on their Kings & Queens. Almost two years ago, Music Fog set up shop at Marathon Recorders during the Americana Fest in Nashville. Of course plans are well underway for this year’s conference in September. Here is Blackie & The Rodeo Kings: Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson, along with John Dymond and Brian Owings, captured by the Music Fog crew at Americana Fest in 2011.

- Jessie Scott

Kevin Gordon "Watching The Sun Go Down"

The blues is deceptively simple, a framework really, upon which can be laid gold and silver, curlicues and cold hard insistent riffs, you know, the kind that lay down the law. I was on Bleecker Street in NYC a few weeks back at a club called Terra Blues, populated by Brit, German, and French tourists. It was exactly what you would expect from a downtown Greenwich Village Blues bar, way too small, way too many people, but the music washed over you with its heat and sensuality.

The blues haunted me as a teenager. It hinted at the mysteries, of love and heartbreak, joy and sorrow. Because of that, I especially cherish the time I spent living in the south and getting to travel the Delta, furthering my understanding of where the blues came from. In April, I visited Louisiana State Penitentiary, which is bordered on three sides by the Mississippi River. I was there for the Angola rodeo, which was a trip unto itself. I will tell you about that soon. It is not a place you would want to try to escape from, bloodhounds on your trail.

On the plane flying down to NOLA, I couldn't wait to feel the earth under my feet. Today, we offer a tune replete with the moss of the delta in its DNA, “Watching The Sun Go Down” from Kevin Gordon. I got to watch Kevin play this week, as he came to Hill Country Live in NY for a performance on Thursday. I can tell you it is great to have a home for his music in NYC, with so much Delta influence, as will it should be for this Louisiana native now living in Nashville. Music Fog captured this version of “Watching The Sun Go Down” at Americana Fest in 2011.

-Jessie Scott