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RS Country has a nice feature up at the moment on Amanda Shires’ fundraising ‘I So Lounging’ shows which have been broadcast live each evening over the last month and which feature her other half Jason Isbell, and Seth Plemmons among others. Continue reading “Amanda Shires: “I’m just going to play music every day””
Earlier in the week we gave you Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s remote rendition of their classic ’24 Frames’ and now just in time for the weekend they’ve released a version of ‘Something More Than Free’, the title track of Isbell’s 2015 solo album. Isbell is joined for the recording by bandmate and wife Amanda Shires surrounded by 400 Unit members Jimbo Hart, Sadler Vaden, Chad Gamble, and Derry deBorja. As RS notes, the song “about the grind of blue-collar existence and the hope for an afterlife that doesn’t require back-breaking labor” has a special resonance while so many employed via the gig economy are currently out of work because of the pandemic.
Apologies for completely missing this last week – Josh Ritter played one of NPR’s magical little Tiny Desk concerts last week, as they described it “with the enthusiasm of a young child and the wisdom of an old soul”. Accompanying him was Amanda Shires on fiddle and Jason Isbell on acoustic guitar, both of who played on Ritter’s recent album ‘Fever Breaks’ which indeed Isbell produced. You can watch it below. Continue reading “Josh Ritter plays NPR Tiny Desk Concert with Amanda Shires And Jason Isbell: Watch”
The 18th annual Americana Honors & Awards is happening next month over in Nashville and they have announced the performing lineup for their big ceremony which takes place on the 11th. The list includes (deep breath…) Continue reading “AMA announces its line-up for 2019 awards ceremony”
The Highwomen, if you haven’t heard, are a like a new up to date female version of the Highway Men (geddit?), the country supergroup from the 80s which included Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. The Highwomen are Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby, and they performed the song ‘Eagle When She Flies’ at the Newport Folk Festival Saturday night, with backing from Mr Shires, Jason Isbell. Their self-titled debut album is coming out in September.
So this happened last night although they didn’t send us a press release so we’re reporting this via Rolling Stone. We do by the way love the Milk Carton Kids – don’t forget to catch them in the UK in a couple of weeks’ time: “Nominees for the 2019 Americana Honors & Awards were announced Tuesday afternoon, with multiple women being recognized in the top categories. The Milk Carton Kids (and, later, Mavis Staples) read the names of the nominees during a rehearsal for the “Mavis & Friends: Celebrating 80 Years of Mavis Staples” concert set for Wednesday in Nashville. Continue reading “2019 Americana Honor and Awards Nominees are announced”
RS Country are running a nice little (not so little actually) interview today with Americana royalty (in a Republican way) (that’s Republican in the UK sense) (why did I start this?) Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires who talk to them about their new albums, how they both met and speaking out in the era of Trump. Continue reading “RS Country interview Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires”
Well this from RS will cheer up your dreary Tuesday morning: “The sight of Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires sharing the mic together became a familiar one throughout 2017, as the husband-and-wife Americana power couple solidified their musical bond while touring behind Isbell and the 400 Unit’s chart-topping The Nashville Sound. This weekend’s episode of Austin City Limits catches them in peak form for a double-billed performance that includes an online exclusive of a John Prine cover. Continue reading “Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires cover John Prine – Watch”
Nice little piece up on RS Country this morning which lists the 20 best things they saw at the 18th annual Americana Music Festival & Conference which took place in Nashville last week. They say: “The highlights were as plentiful as the vintage denim, with artists from veteran Lee Ann Womack to Countrypolitan revivalist Joshua Hedley performing showcases in the backyards of record stores, inside Jack White’s Third Man Records and in clubs all over Music City.” And our own Yola gets a mention too: “It may have been close to 90 degrees outside, but Carter’s set was as cool as ice.” Read the piece here or watch JD McPherson looking rather suave below. Continue reading “RS Country: “The 20 best things we saw at Americanafest 2017””