Jack Ingram "Right For You"

Cherokee Creek Music Festival is a chill time, that demands you slow down and pay attention. It is a few days cut off from the world, with beautiful surroundings, exceptionally friendly people, great food and incredible music. I know, you are saying, Music Fog gets to do some unbelievable stuff. And you are right. We finished our studio build out yesterday afternoon, and then five artists came by to visit and play for us. We did sessions with Michael Fracasso, Will Sexton, Slaid Cleaves, Bob Schneider, and then Jack Ingram stopped by. Needless to say the big tent where the main performances are held was totally rocking. And we were quietly rockin’ in our space too.

We picked Jack Ingram to bring you. I am so proud of what he has done these last few years with the success he has achieved. He has been plying his craft for a long time, and it is always gratifying to see a good guy attain his dreams. After years in the worlds of Americana and Texas Music, Jack is enjoying a mainstream career, but continues to do things with integrity and class. We were honored he stopped by, and even more so, that he played a couple of brand new tunes for us. Here is one that he just wrote last week.

-Jessie

Amy Speace "Hurricane"

Amy Speace wrote the songs for her latest project with her life in a state of transition. Having lived an urban Northeastern existence for years, she up and relocated to the South. Her March release Land Like A Bird was a goodbye to those people and places, as she settled in her new East Nashville home. The CD was produced by Neilson Hubbard, whom she first met seven years ago while performing on an Arizona TV show. They realized a shared vision of musical direction, so when they were reintroduced last year it led to this collaboration.

Also forthcoming is the Big Star documentary Nothing Can Hurt Me: The Big Star Story which includes Amy’s performance of “Try Again” with the surviving Big Star members, the Posies and Evan Dando at the Alex Chilton tribute at SXSW in March of 2010. She had met Big Star member Jody Stephens a few years before that in Memphis, and that was cause for a mutual admiration society too.

I think we take it for granted that Amy makes fans wherever she goes. Her craft is epic. When she came to play for us during Americana Fest in Nashville in September, she brought us a song that is not on the new CD, “Hurricane.”

We again draw your attention the Red Cross for aid to the tornado victims.

-Jessie Scott

Reckless Kelly "Out of Left Field"

Muscle Shoals, Alabama keeps calling our names. It is where Dan Penn became part of Rick Hall’s Fame Studio family. His songs include “The Letter,” "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman." He wrote the last two with Chips Moman. Spooner Oldham from Center Star, Alabama, made his way to Muscle Shoals, too. They wrote these classics together; “I’m Your Puppet,” "Cry Like A Baby," and "Out of Left Field." Chasing down these two seminal rock and roll and R&B songwriting icons is your assignment today, if you so choose.

Today’s song is one of their compositions. We last met up with Willy and Cody Braun from Reckless Kelly in January at The MusicFest in Steamboat Springs. We thought this song from our recording session would be a good one to shine a light on the upcoming 3rd Annual Reckless Kelly's Celebrity Softball Jam, happening this Sunday, May 1st at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX. Artists performing this year in addition to Reckless Kelly, include Ray Benson, Heidi Newfield, Bo Bice, Micky & the Motorcars, Hayes Carll, Dale Watson, Muzzie Braun, Charlie Robison, Wade Bowen, Bruce Robison, George Devore, Mary Cutrafello, and Django Walker.

If you are coming to the event, you can join in the “Reckless Recycling Program” by bringing new, outgrown and gently used baseball gloves, bats, shoes, catcher’s equipment and other baseball-related items, which will be donated to youth players and leagues in need. Reckless Kelly has already donated more than $65,000 from the first two Celebrity Softball Jams, with proceeds going to benefit area youth baseball groups. So here is today’s song, which was made famous by Percy Sledge. It’s “Out of Left Field” featuring Willy and Cody Braun.

-Jessie Scott