Carrie Rodriguez "When I Heard Gypsy Davy Sing"

What an image, what a talent, what an amazing entity Miss Carrie Rodriguez is. Just TOO good! Her new album, Love and Circumstance, was produced by Lee Townsend (Bill Frisell, Loudon Wainwright III, etc) and on which she honors other writers; notably John Hiatt/Ry Cooder/Nick Lowe/Jim Keltner (aka Little Village), Buddy & Julie Miller, M. Ward, Lucinda Williams, Richard Thompson, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Bonnie Owens & Merle Haggard, Townes van Zandt, Hank Williams, and David Rodriguez (her Dad). She took her touring band into the studio to record: Hans Holzen (guitars), Kyle Kegerreis (bass), and Eric Platz (drums). Special guests joining in on the recording include Bill Frisell, Buddy Miller, Greg Leisz, and Aoife O'Donovan. Kick ass!

Photo Credit: Sarah WilsonAlso, look for her on the airwaves, as Live & Circumstance - A Carrie Rodriguez Radio Special hosted by Alejandro Escovedo is being prepared for release to radio in early August. In addition to the conversation and interview, it will feature live performances from her record release show in NYC at Joe's Pub in April and from her performance in May at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. And if that ain't enough, the Love & Circumstance Tour is officially underway with shows in Portland, OR; Belingham, WA; Seattle, WA; Crested Butte, CO; Taos, NM; Fruita, CO; Snowmass, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Boise, ID! More in August, plus three extra special shows will be added late in the month with John Prine.

Carrie brought artistry and emotion to our stage at Threadgill's in March, as she stripped down her dad's tune, "When I Heard Gypsy Davy Sing," with Hans Holzen accompanying.

- Jessie Scott

Danny Barnes "Overdue"

I LOVE this...searching for his website, it came up as "Ol' Danny Barnes!" Ain't that a hoot. Danny's site is cool, where the first thing you see is other artist's endorsements scrolling of Danny's work. They include Robert Earl Keen, Tony Trischka, Keller Williams, Sam Bush, and Dave Matthews. More heavy duty name dropping: Danny Barnes plays on the song "Tomorrow Never Knows" on Herbie Hancock's new concept CD The Imagine Project with guest vocals from Dave Matthews. Other contributors to the CD are Anousha Shankar, Jeff Beck, John Legend, The Chieftans, Seal, India Arie, Pink, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Chaka Khan, K’Naan, James Morrison, Wayne Shorter, and Lisa Hannigan. Pretty heady stuff! Of course, I suspect Danny is taking it all in stride by now. Matthews sang on a couple of the songs on Pizza Box, Danny's latest CD. You may have also noticed Danny on stage at Bonnaroo with the DMB last month.

All cozy, all for the very BEST of reasons...it's all about the artistry. Danny Barnes' website is a delight to tool around on. Give yourself plenty of time for the exploration. His "How to Make a Living Playing Music" article is a great read, and there are three "How To Play The Banjo" videos, too, if you are of a mind to learn from the master. But first, here's a Music Fog video to get you in the mood, from the Threadgill's stage this past March. The song "Overdue" is from Pizza Box. Beautiful!

- Jessie Scott

Chatham County Line "Wildwood"

"Don't mistake me for a Wildwood / A place to run and hide,” are the first lines of Chatham County Line's new album Wildwood. For the North Carolina based acoustic band, running and hiding are the last things you’ll find them doing. Well, no hiding, anyway, but in actuality, they are doing plenty of running! They release Wildwood today, which is their fifth studio album, and the first they've self-produced.

The band is more solid in their collective identity than ever before, comfortable in their musical skin. CCL brings timeless American flavors, in a tour de force singular, powerful organism. The ballet they do on stage is a wonder to behold, which we hope you get to see when they come to your town. And with sold out international tours, clubs, and festival appearances, the quartet; Dave Wilson (guitar, lead vocals), Chandler Hold (banjo), John Teer (mandolin, fiddle), and Greg Readling (bass) is on a ROLL. In Charlotte this past Friday, they sold more copies of their album after the show than they EVER had! And for a limited time, there is vinyl available, and it comes with a digital download version, too, which is the best of both worlds!

Compliments from fellow showcase musicians kept rolling in, after their performance for the Music Fog cameras at Threadgill's this past March. From that same session, here's Chatham County Line with the title track, "Wildwood."

- Jessie Scott