Tag Archives: traditional country

LISTEN: On ‘Take Me Back to Austin,’ Jason Boland & The Stragglers Long for Home

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Photo credit: Will Von Bolton

It’s a great time of year to think about making a trip down to Austin.

And, if you’re Jason Boland, anytime is a great time to think about taking the trip.

“Take Me Back to Austin” — the final single from Jason Boland & The Stragglers’ forthcoming album, The Last Kings of Babylon — celebrates Boland’s adopted home of Austin, TX, where he met his wife and loves to return after time spent on the road.

“My wife and I lived in Austin when we first got together, and then we moved out into the country in Texas, where it can be pretty boring,” Boland explains. “People expect with how much time I spend on the road that I’d want to come home and kick my shoes off when I finally get a break, but all we ever want to do is head right back into Austin and catch a band.”

The down-home traditional country tune is carefree in its essence. Boland’s gentle, yet robust baritone illustrates a homecoming that feels like home, every time. Beautifully woven steel guitar and fiddle parts add depth to the sonic palette, trading lead duties during a riveting solo just before the bridge.

Alongside the rest of the new album, “Take Me Back to Austin” was produced by the legendary Lloyd Maines, who also produced the band’s debut album, Pearl Snaps. You’ll have a chance to hear it live at select dates throughout the southwest and midwest this spring. Before you do, enjoy it in the here and now!

LISTEN: On ‘Flowers (Party Version)’ Liv Greene Shows Us the Meaning of Self-Love

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If your Valentine’s Day looked a little more like Singles Awareness Day this year, never fear. Liv Greene’s new Party Version of her song, “Flowers,” is here to give you the shot of self-love you need.

Tracked live-to-tape at Woodland Sound Studios during the sessions for Greene’s most recent album, Deep Feeler, the Party Version of “Flowers” was actually the first version cut for the record. That was before Greene and company re-imagined the song to fit the record’s more solemn tone.

“‘Flowers’ is one of the oldest songs on Deep Feeler, and was without a doubt the hardest to capture, requiring three tries in total. This outtake, ‘Flowers (Party Version)’ was our first attempt, and sort of my ode to country queens like Emmylou and Linda Ronstadt, with a Silver Threads-type intro and shuffly fiddle-heavy rhythm throughout,” Greene noted. “This original version, while undoubtedly the most fun to capture, never quite settled in with the rest of the record. The boisterous intro felt out of step and it slowly became clear there was a certain arc of grief and sadness to the song that felt under-emphasized as it stood.”

Described as “a vulnerable snapshot of hard-won self-acceptance,” Deep Feeler was produced by Greene alongside GRAMMY-Award winning engineer Matt Andrews (Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Trisha Yearwood). Coming on the heels of the full-length record, “Flowers (Party Version)” gives us another snapshot into Greene’s creative process — and perhaps, a feeling of triumph over heartbreak and self-doubt.

“The last lines of ‘Flowers’ have always felt a little aspirational,” Greene said. “‘I am giving myself space, a little love, a little grace, I am buying myself flowers these days,’ so it only felt right to give this song the amount of time and space that it took to get it right, and to love on myself through it all, except maybe instead of flowers, it was studio time. Worth it.”

UMC20: An Explosive Start to April (April 3, 2024)

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Rock and roll is alive and well, as you’ll hear throughout the first half of this week’s UMC20.

This week’s compilation is frontloaded with a variety of electric guitar sounds and turbo-powered swagger. But, as always, there’s something for everyone this week. Americana lovers will want to pay close attention to the middle of the playlist, while pop, soul, and hip hop fans will particularly enjoy the latter portions.

And, as always, we’ve got some useful nuggets from that Official Podcast of ours waiting for you at the end. Check those out — especially if you fancy yourself an artistpreneur!

Track listing
Another Dead Rockstar – 1985 (Can You Help Me)
Gloom Girl MFG – Crimes
The Mad Sugars – Lost Among the Avenues
The Fever Haze – Last Night I Killed a Man
JT Loux – look into my eyes
Lurve – Run, Get Drunk, and Fall in Love Again
Lone Tree – Miss You
OPIATE – Lay
Black Suit Devil – Passage
Medium Build – Knowing U Exist
Old 97’s – Somebody
Travis Feutz – Utah
The Flying Raye – The Ballad of Leslie Cochran
Swamp Dogg ft. Jenny Lewis – Count The Days
Annie Scherer – You Like The Blues
Eliza Hardy Jones – Counterfeit
Rex & The Rhyhtm – Umbrella
Lindsey Lomis – Long Way Down
pher, – moon
Spence Brown – By My Lonely

LISTEN: Run Away to ‘Utah’ with Travis Feutz

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When love is all you have, you’ll do anything to keep it alive — even if it kills you in the process.

Travis Feutz reminds us what it’s like to feel like outlaws on “Utah.” This traditional country tune — right down to its melodic fiddle and sweet boy-girl harmonies — is a quintessential cowboy song which examines the plight of two young lovers.

“The beauty of this song is that it’s told from a first-person narrative. You feel like you are a fly on the wall. It’s a Bonnie and Clyde tale about two young lovers fighting for a life they want, turning to a life of crime to achieve it, because they won’t let anything stand in the way of their love,” Feutz said. “As the song unfolds, you can actually feel the walls closing in on our two young outlaws. But yet, you never give up hope that they can make it out alive, and maybe, just maybe, disappear among the pines.”

“Utah” is the first single from Feutz’ upcoming EP, set for release in June. Another single will arrive in May, and promises to continue in this timeless sonic direction.

“This release is a new direction sonically that I would like to pursue for the foreseeable future,” Feutz said. “Not the only direction I will lean into, but something I would like to continue through the years. I love the tradition of story cowboy songs; the type of songs you can sit around a campfire and sing for the rest of one’s life.”

WATCH: With ‘Take It Away’, Crow and Gazelle Offer Catharsis to Your Inner Child

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Photo credit: Carley Du Menil

Crow and Gazelle — the Texas-based Americana duo consisting of Oklahoma Music Hall of Famer Mike McClure, and his partner in music (and in life), Chrislyn Lawrence — offer healing for anyone still processing their childhood wounds with their new single, “Take It Away.”

The single — a tender ballad hallmarked by powerful two-part harmonies and heart-wrenching fiddle tones — is accompanied by a poignant music video inspired by Lawrence’s own healing journey. Lawrence leans upon her own memories to deliver an important message to anyone who has struggled to emerge on the other side of their own traumas.

The narrative for this video came from a very personal place. As a child I didn’t decide for myself that I was ‘unworthy’ and I didn’t make-believe scenes of death and overwhelming pain – in my world those messages and experiences came heavy and early and they were real. We all have childhood wounds. Whether it’s our own tragic experiences and losses, or someone else’s childhood trauma (a teacher or parent) that’s unhealed and spills over on us, we have them and they inform “who and what” we are.

My parents each carry something very deep and painful that happened when they were young. Thankfully, I know that now and have done the work to see how some things that happened in my life were trauma based responses, not done of or by free will. Most of the trauma I’ve carried has been transformed and released through mindful work, and lately a lot of that healing has happened in the presence of my parent’s healing their own wounds. Which has been an amazing gift.

The day before we filmed the opening scenes of this video, my mom shared details of something I had never known before that happened when I was four… it was very painful to hear, and brought back a flood of memories and feelings for us both. But it was also a revelation. And in that sense, it set us free because it was brought to the surface, into the light, where it could alchemize and be transformed. 

Trauma not transformed is transferred. Our hope is that this video, in some small way, moves someone else to lean into their own childhood wounds and to let that little one’s hurt be seen and heard. And that once it’s honored, hopefully it can be transformed and released. 

-Chrislyn Lawrence

Watch the video below, and stay tuned for Crow and Gazelle’s forthcoming album, As Above Now So Below, set for release on Friday, April 26.

LISTEN: On ‘Hide the Key,’ Andi Jane Closes the Door on Toxic Love

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We’ve all had that relationship — or situationship — that reaches the point of doing more harm than good to us, our partner, and anyone else around. In the end, stopping the pain means stopping it in its tracks altogether.

And, as Nashville-based songwriter Andi Jane suggests on her new single, sometimes simply closing the door just isn’t enough.

Carrying a sense of timeless, country-flavored balladry, “Hide the Key” is an emotionally gripping account of a love best left behind. Andi Jane’s every soulful word cuts through the ether, as she hits the listener with the somber realization of “it’s over.”

“‘Hide the Key’ is about the point when you realize you can’t keep the door open — to that person, or that habit, or whatever you keep going back to — without drawing it out and causing more pain,” she said. “It’s about realizing when it’s time to hold the memories dear, but shut the door, lock it, and hide the key.”

The artfully minimalist soundscape of “Hide the Key” exists in contrast to the events that led up to its creation, representative of the stark realization we all face when we choose to walk away.

“This song needed to be so simple. I had come from a chaotic, toxic, back-and-forth relationship that was so messy and complicated and painful. I had the realization one day that it was really so simple,” she said. “To end the pain was easy; I just had to cut all ties, and hide the key. It didn’t mean I didn’t still appreciate the story, the memories, and even still have love for the person, but I had to lock it up in order to move on.”

Songs You Should Hear About Breaking Away and Breaking Free

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Musically, these three songs are quite different from one another. However, with music being the universal language and all, that doesn’t mean that they don’t share common themes.

This week’s Songs You Should Hear are about breaking free: from the rigors of everyday life. From the throes of addiction and pain. From relationships that do not reflect our best selves or our best interests.

If any of that resonates with you, please step inside.

Hear What You Should
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