The Sweetback Sisters "I'm Gonna Cry"

It's the start of another week, and it was a really busy weekend 'round these Austin parts, starting with the dedication of the new Willie Nelson statue on 4/20, and then a glorious tribute concert to Johnny Cash at the ACL Moody Theater on Friday night. Old Settler's Music Festival went on all weekend, and then yesterday was the Reckless Kelly Celebrity Baseball Jam. Founding Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member John McEuen sat in with me for an interview on KNBT.FM on Saturday, as the legendary band was playing the legendary venue of Gruene Hall on Saturday evening. John and his sons have a new album called The McEuen Sessions, which is mighty fine stuff as well!

Hope you had a fun weekend. We have news from our trusty analytics department that Music Fog hit 9,000,000 views on 4/20 on our YouTube channel, so we got to celebrate 4/20 also. Today we bring you a rousing tune from The Sweetback Sisters, who brought down the house when they performed for us during our Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s in March. They are serious joy purveyors, even when they are singing about crying! OMG, they are playing my old college town on Wednesday, Athens, Ohio! Catch them when they come round! We have an as yet unrecorded, and therefore unreleased, tune for you today from the Sweetback’s, “I’m Gonna Cry.”

-Jessie Scott

James McMurtry "We Can't Make It Here"

My mother didn’t need to have a job, my father was able to support our family with just one salary. That is SO last century! Do you remember those days? Things are so different for so many people now, with two people working, sometimes needing to have two jobs to make ends meet. As I drive around the country, I see boarded up factories decaying along the rivers and train tracks bearing silent witness to degenerating buildings along their right of ways. They use to bring goods to the nation from every corner of the country. And I have to say, how do we remain a first world country when we don’t manufacture what we need?

When the song “We Can’t Make It Here Anymore,” by James McMurtry first came out in 2005 on the Childish Things CD, we were unaware of the chaos that would befall the financial world just a few years later in 2008. Upon the album’s release, Stephen King commented, "...this may be the best American protest song since (Bob Dylan's) Masters of War." I still believe that poets take the temperature of a society, and shine it back at us with white hot truth, warts and all. So you know, we were totally honored by James McMurtry’s appearance at the Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s WHQ last month. And we were super stoked that he laid a solo version down of “We Can’t Make It Here.”

- Jessie Scott

Wheeler Brothers "Sleep When I'm Dead"

Old Settler’s Music Festival is almost upon us, April 19--22, and this week, Music Fog is featuring some of the fine folks on the line up. It takes place just 11 miles south of Austin at the Salt Lick Pavilion on the outskirts of Austin. Yes, it is the same Salt Lick that has been featured on so many of those cable food and travel shows. By the way, Salt Lick has a hint of Hawaiian influence with pineapple in the barbeque sauce. That last link is a rabbit hole of its own, if you are of a mind to go chasing down the secret recipe. Old Settlers Music Fest has camping at Camp Ben McCulloch, so if you have some vacation time coming, or just get a wild hair, or is that wild hare (sorry, another rabbit hole for you!), c’mon down to Texas for a while.

There are several artists that we have had the pleasure of filming on this year’s OSMF roster: Ha Ha Tonka, James McMurtry, New Country Rehab, Sarah Jarosz, The Bottle Rockets, Bob Schneider, Eilen Jewell, and Sam Baker. Sounds like a party, right? Austin natives, The Wheeler Brothers, will be there too. They are one of the crop of new buzz bands showing up on must-see and must-listen-to lists. In fact, they just made their national TV debut with Carson Daly on March 22nd. Brothers Nolan, Tyler and Patrick Wheeler met Danny Matthews at LSU. Once back in Austin, the group added guitarist A.J. Molyneaux, and the combustion began. Portraits, their debut album, came out in June, and they played us a song from it when they stopped by Threadgill’s for the Spring Music Fog Marathon last month. It was the day the Austin Music Awards were announced, and the Wheeler Brothers picked up Best New Band, Best Acoustic Guitar – Nolan Wheeler, Best Bass – Tyler Wheeler, Best Misc. Instrument - A.J. Molyneaux, and Best Roots Rock. Here is “Sleep When I’m Dead.”

- Jessie Scott