One of the few silver linings of the current situation is that you get to go to festivals you wouldn’t normally be able to attend, albeit virtually, and in that spirit San Fransisco’s Bay Area’s beloved Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is launching its new global and community-driven initiative Let the Music Play On to bring the spirit of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to backyards and living rooms all over the world with a global broadcast taking place the weekend of October 2nd. And what a broadcast – the artists announced so far includes Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Steve Earle & the Halfgrass Dukes (feat. Tim O’Brien and Dennis Crouch), The War and Treaty, Amythyst Kiah, Chuck Prophet, Patty Griffin, Birds of Chicago, Los Coast, Shakey Graves, Alison Brown, John Doe, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Yola and Sierra Ferrell. Continue reading “Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to hold online festival featuring Emmylou and more”
‘The Land that Time Forgot’ finds Chuck Prophet in something of a nostalgic mood, although when he looks back it can be with anger usually conveyed by a sarcastic sneer – but there’s also fondness, regret, compassion, empathy and a celebration of old friends and heroes. There’s a bright, and typically paradoxical, opener to the album with ‘Best Shirt On’ which has Prophet singing “I’ve got my best shirt on / Another one just like it hanging in my closet” over an almost sixties girl-group arrangement. Light and cool. 
What Makes The Monkey Dance is the polar opposite of the standard ‘Cut and Paste’ rock biography. Author Stevie Simkin is an academic, and has applied all his stringent research techniques to documenting the career of an artist and a band whose profile, although ironically higher today than it ever has been, remains under the radar of the general public. Simkin cheerfully admits that part of his motivation is to rectify this injustice. 
Church attendance figures in the United States can seem quite staggering to us, largely secular, limeys. Around 45% attend on a regular basis compared to just 7% in the UK. In addition, many other Americans strongly identify with Christianity, even if they are not regular church-goers. Furthermore, the South, from where much of the music we champion comes from, accounts for 11 of the top 12 states for highest level of active worship (the exception is Utah), each being higher than the national average.