Man oh man, is it hard to break a band these days! You know the system has broken down, because radio doesn’t play much new music anymore. The new artists you are exposed to are a mere trickle, from what used to be a flowing fountain of discovery and ascendancy. I have ranted many times about it all, and it still blows my mind that once music was so important to so many of us, and yet a few decades later, we are lost at sea. The sad truth is, even if a band gets some radio play, it is not enough to really penetrate our consciousness. It take so much more than that now; festival plays, television soundtracks, placement in TV commercials. It ain’t just radio, like it was in the old days. Thinking back on the last couple of years, let’s take a look at Lady Gaga. It was more than a year after I heard ABOUT her, that I actually heard a song FROM her that I could name, let alone hum along to. It certainly does help when someone who has prevailed then endorses another artist. That happened when Taylor Swift tweeted about The Civil Wars.

Photo Credit: Allister Ann

The Civil Wars have had the fairytale ride these last couple of years. It has been exciting to watch them explode on the scene, especially for how rare that occurrence is these days. It certainly doesn’t hurt that they are unique in concert, so minimal, yet so powerful. Joy Williams and John Paul White are up for two GRAMMYs® this Sunday; for Best Folk Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance. We wish them ‘bon chance!’

We had the great fortune of having them perform during our Spring Music Fog Marathon last March, at Threadgill’s in Austin, Texas. Here is “20 Years” from that session.

- Jessie Scott