Blind Boys of Alabama "Amazing Grace"

In the San Antonio airport on Saturday, there was a crowd of about thirty people with signs welcoming home Marines from Iraq. I stopped to watch as one by one, they came off the airplane into the terminal to the accompaniment of cheers, hugs, kisses and tears of joy. In their first embrace with the wife, the love was palpable. The kids were next, and the parents, and friends were there to celebrate and take a deep breath of relief. The men will not have to go back to Iraq. Huzzah. It was incredible to watch. So emotional and so poignant with the thought that these men so proudly served our country. I hope they live happily ever after.

Let’s dedicate this song today to them, in prayer and gratitude for their safe return. It is “Amazing Grace,” from the Blind Boys Of Alabama. They were actually the first group we filmed during Americana Fest in Nashville this past October, while we were doing Music Fog sessions at Marathon Recorders. The Blind Boys have been busy all fall on an extensive U.S. concert tour, including stops at the GRAMMY Museum® in Los Angeles and San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. If you are lucky, they will be performing their Christmas show, "Go Tell It On The Mountain," near you. Their latest offering is Take the High Road, a country-gospel album produced by Jamey Johnson with lots of high profile guests. An earlier recording of today’s tune, “Amazing Grace” can be found on their CD Spirit Of The Century. Here are Jimmy Carter, Ben Moore, and Ricky McKinnie, with Joey Williams on guitar and vocals, Tracy Pierce on bass/vocals, Austin Moore on drums, and Eugene Peoples on keyboards.

- Jessie Scott

Tara Nevins "Nothing Really"

They should just go ahead and rename the month of December to Christmas. The radio stations have gone wall to wall Christmas music, The stores are decked, the lights are lit, the commercials are screaming ‘buy.’ I did see a very cool thing today, The Salvation Army at Rockefeller Center weren’t just ringing their bells, they were singing and dancing to the songs on the street. I must say, it elevated it to a brand new place. I was instantly infused with the spirit of the season. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying bah humbug to the rest of the seasonal items, either. I love the holidays. Making new traditions, observing those handed down, spending time with the ones you love, sharing food and good times, exchanging gifts, thinking about what someone would like when you buy that gift. I don’t think we often take enough notice of the others in our life, and Christmas is a good excuse to get out of our own brains and focus on others. Lovely.

In the spirit of giving, we bring you Tara Nevins. She is the consummate musician. From her solo stuff, to Donna The Buffalo, and everything in between, she surround herself with like-minded minstrels. Last time we filmed her was two years ago at Americana Fest in Nashville. She brought The Believers with her to the Music Fog Bus, and we proceeded to have an inside window on hatching the creative process. This time, at Americana Fest in October, we had the honor once again when she brought Rose Sinclair and Chris Henry to play with her. She is fearless in her quest to explore. The song “Nothing Really” is on her latest album Wood And Stone, which came out this year, on which she peers into her own heritage. It is her first solo album since Mule to Ride in 1999. Here is the Music Fog rendition of “Nothing Really,” filmed at Marathon Recorders in Nashville.

-Jessie Scott

Kenny Vaughan "Shimmy"

The GRAMMY® nominations were announced on Wednesday, and we salute all the folks that got one. Confused as they can be in terms of where to put what album, our sincere congrats go out anyway to:
Best Americana Album: Emotional Jukebox — Linda Chorney, Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down — Ry Cooder, Hard Bargain — Emmylou Harris, Ramble At The Ryman — Levon Helm, Blessed — Lucinda Williams.
Best Blues Album: Low Country Blues — Gregg Allman, Roadside Attractions — Marcia Ball, Man In Motion — Warren Haynes, The Reflection — Keb’ Mo’, Revelator — Tedeschi Trucks Band.
Best Folk Album: Barton Hollow — The Civil Wars,  I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive — Steve Earle, Helplessness Blues — Fleet Foxes, Ukulele Songs — Eddie Vedder,  The Harrow & The Harvest — Gillian Welch.
Best Recording Package: Reckless Kelly — Good Luck & True Love
Best Engineered Album (non-classical): Sarah Jarosz — Follow Me Down
Best Engineered Album (non-classical): Gillian Welch — The Harrow & The Harvest
While we are at it, nods also go out to Brian Setzer, The Decemberists, Mumford and Sons, Eric Brace and Peter Cooper, Jeff Beck, and Jim Lauderdale. The complete list is here. Can’t wait for the GRAMMYs, happening on February 12th in LA. We wish everyone good luck.

I know that one of these years, Kenny Vaughan will bag one of those awards. Yes he will. He started kicking around Nashville in 1987, where he played with The Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Patty Loveless, Rodney Crowell, Marshall Chapman, Kim Richey, and Greg Garing, with whom he joined in the reclaiming of Nashville’s historic Lower Broadway district. They played in the back room of Tootsie’s, planting the seeds for the future in what was once thought of as Skid Row, that has now grown into the bustling downtown mecca. Along the way, Kenny hooked up with Marty Stuart, and is a revered member of his Fabulous Superlatives. It was about time that Kenny put a record out of his own. V is it, and we were delighted to invite Kenny Vaughan to Marathon Recorders while we were in Nashville. He brought the boys; Rich Brinsfield on bass, and John Radford on drums. And they did rock. Behold, the Music Fog version of “Shimmy.”

-Jessie Scott