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On the forthcoming album ‘J.T.’ Steve Earle & The Dukes pay tribute to Steve’s late son, Justin Townes Earle (J.T.), who passed away on August 20th, 2020 in Nashville. The album will be released digitally on what would have been Justin’s 39th birthday, January 4th, 2021, via New West Records. Continue reading “Steve Earle’s JT covers album details revealed – Listen”
It seems a lifetime ago since the revelries of the 2020 AMAUK awards back in January, but it’s that time of year again – The UK Americana Music Association has revealed the nominations for the seven member-voted categories of the UK Americana Awards 2021, and also the winners of the special awards presented by the AMA-UK board, which this year includes Elvis Costello for the AMA-UK 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award, Mavis Staples for the International Lifetime Achievement Award, Christine McVie for the Trailblazer Award, Steve Earle for the International Trailblazer Award and the Songwriter Legacy Award, specially created this year for the late John Prine, in celebration of the legendary US singer-songwriter’s life and work. Continue reading “AMA-UK announce nominations and honours for 2021 awards”
For five years running, our dear beloved Steve Earle has been gathering a group of world-class friends and performers for a one-night-only concert which raises money for The Keswell School, an educational program for children and young adults with autism. This year on December 13th, Earle’s 6th annual John Henry’s Friends benefit concert is going virtual, meaning that you have the opportunity to watch it from the UK for the first time, and crikey just look at this dream americana lineup – Steve Earle & The Dukes, Emmylou Harris, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires and Josh Ritter to name but a few artists. Continue reading “Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris to play autism benefit next month”
Steve Earle was announced Monday as a 2020 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame — although his honours and those of everyone else inducted this year will have to wait a while because of the pandemic: this year’s and next year’s will be inducted together as part of a double-bill ceremony scheduled for November 2021. The other inductees include ‘Ode to Billie Joe’ singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry, Kent Blazy (‘If Tomorrow Never Comes‘), Brett James (‘Jesus Take The Wheel’ – not the amazing Sam Outlaw song sadly) and Spooner Oldham (‘I’m Your Puppet’). Continue reading “Steve Earle to be inducted into Songwriters’ Hall of Fame”
It’s another article in our Unsung Heroes of Americana series and, following on from his article on the Gibson J-45, Richard Phillips is back with another piece on an instrument that is at the very heart of this genre; the Martin D28. Continue reading “The Unsung Heroes of Americana – Martin D28”
Americanaville is a project created by Todd Westbrook that saw its inception as an essay but which has now burgeoned into a series of chapters that are currently available for free at http://tswestbrook.com. Westbrook describes a personal journey through Country, Americana, Bluegrass and Roots music that takes many detours but never loses its central thread of a series of recordings that, for Westbrook, have been seminal in shaping his experience of the music described. Continue reading “Book Review: Todd Westbrook “Americanaville” (Independent, 2020)”
Diana Jones is a well-respected singer-songwriter with admirers on both sides of the Atlantic. Steve Earle is on record as saying “Diana Jones is one of the best songwriters I have heard in a long, long time” and she is able to bring the true spirit of her family’s Appalachian culture to her modern-day recordings. She has played numerous festivals in the US and UK, won multiple songwriting awards and her songs have been covered by various artists, including Joan Baez and Gretchen Peters. Continue reading “Interview: Diana Jones on channelling Appalachian culture and refugees”
Recently at Americana UK Towers we set up the cine projector and had our weekly ‘film night’ where we come together as one and enjoy a movie. We had a high old time each with their bottle of over strength spirit in one hand and vegan snack of meadow grass flavoured chickpea crisps in the other. It was truly remarkable – holding hands and disavowing the existence of an interventionist god as a precursor to the main event, smelling each other’s hands to check for ‘that’ hand sanitizer aroma and knowing therefore that we were free from virus spreading guilt and promising to love one another regardless of what we had said about our fellows via private messaging in the preceding days of the week. Continue reading “Pick of the Political Pops: Steve Earle “Amerika v6.0 (The Best We Can Do)””
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”
Steve Earle has announced a new album of covers of songs written by his son, the late Justin Townes Earle who died last month at the age of 38. Steve Earle and the Dukes plan to record the album next month, with a release scheduled for January 2021 to coincide with what would have been Justin’s 39th birthday. Continue reading “Steve Earle to cover son Justin’s songs on new album”