February 25, 2022 End of February Update

There are new albums out today from Donna Ulisse, The Wooks, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Casey Barnes.

If you’re into bluegrass, the last couple of weeks has been pretty good.

In other news, the CMA’s pathetic pander-to-urban-blacks month has not produced even one quality new country song release by any of its “chosen artists” during the entire month, has it? Why is the CMA pushing a bunch of sorry, non-country acts instead of successful, working country artists like Charley Crockett and Tony Jackson who have spent years connecting with country fans and building a real following ? The CMA should be ashamed of itself for such a stupid, divisive campaign.

In other news, Ukraine might not be the first place one associates with country music, but I do have a large playlist for Ukrainian Country Music. I’ll also mention that the clothing designer to the country stars Nudie Cohn was originally from the Ukraine.

Here are some fun YouTube channels to check out:

Etienne de Lavaulx plays the five-chord zither, a relative of the autoharp.

Three Legs O Man plays the autoharp, and as you might guess from the name, he’s from Isle of Man.

Mike Hedding makes bluegrass instructional videos for mandolin, banjo, and guitar.

February 18, 2022 Third Week of February Update

If you like bluegrass, you’re in luck today. Del McCoury has a new album out and so do the Infamous Stringdusters. There’s also a new album from Eric Bolander. Be sure to also check out the new video “Three Quarter Time” by Callie McCullough, plus new videos from Marija Droze and Alex Miller. My 2022 Country Videos playlist has over twenty entries and will continue to grow throughout the year.

Many unofficial SXSW showcases have been announced. I have had good luck with free showcases in the past, seeing such artists as The Steel Woods, Colter Wall, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Lukas Nelson, Sunny Sweeney, Jason Eady, Dale Watson, and dozens more.

In 2018 and 2019, the first announcements for CMA Fest performers were in March.

The Heart of Texas Music Festival is in late March and the schedule is up.

Coachella and Stagecoach festivals dropped all Covid restrictions and requirements. Hopefully, others will follow.

Record Store Day will be April 23 and the list of releases was announced two days ago.

Take’s Bluegrass Channel is always packed with great content. Take frequently uploads records from his collection. One of the highlights this week is the Pete Drake 1966 album, “The Hits I Played On.” If you love the talking steel guitar (“talk box”), this is a must listen. Another of this week’s uploads is “Traditional Music for Banjo, Fiddle, and Bagpipes” by Franklin George in 1967.

February 12, 2022 Valentine’s Musical Instruments

There are many famous music couples and love songs, but today, let’s take a look at some lovely instruments.

The Courting Dulcimer is a great one to kick off today’s discussion. There are various articles and videos about this two-person instrument, but it’s still not all that well known outside of dulcimer and old-time music enthusiasts. It’s a double mountain dulcimer meant to be played by a couple facing each other.

Many dulcimers and other handcrafted instruments feature heart-shaped sound holes or other heart designs. According to this ACEMM article,“tradition tells us that the heart shaped cut-outs marked the instrument as one used in the mountain courting ritual.”

Many Native American cultures have traditions of courting flutes. Here’s a picture of Ben Reifel playing such an instrument in the 1920s. He grew up on Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota and became a Republican Congressman in the 1960s.

Here’s a harp cover of the classic Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built For Two).

If you’re looking for an instrument that few have seen, check out Eric Rosenbaum’s Duet Instrument.

Here’s a video of Grégoire Blanc doing a duet with himself on Theremin and Saw.

Here’s a Heart-shaped Banjo.

There are several videos of heart-shaped kalimbas. I highly recommend the kalimba as an inexpensive and user-friendly instrument.

February 10, 2022 Second Week of February Update

I listened to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio Saturday and the Riders In The Sky celebrated forty years as Opry members. Along with Whispering Bill Anderson and Jeannie Seely and a few other old-timers, they make the most appearances of all Opry members year after year, decade after decade. Ranger Doug’s Classic Cowboy Corral on SiriusXM Willie’s Roadhouse is my favorite radio show.

Speaking of Willie, Willie Nelson will release a new album in April on his 89th birthday. This will be his 97th studio album, plus he has many live albums and guest appearances. He released a video for the first song from the album this morning. It was written by Rodney Crowell and Chris Stapleton.

Speaking of Chris, Chris Stapleton won a Pollstar Award this week for the best country tour of 2021. For whatever reason, the Pollstar awards haven’t received much mention on country sites. Billy Strings won Best New Headliner.

Speaking of awards, the ACM awards announced nominees this morning. After the bad TV ratings last year when the ACM had a divisive and unpleasant host, the ACM lost its TV deal and will be streaming only this year. Thankfully, they had the sense to change hosts this year to Dolly Parton, with co-hosts Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett. As usual, the categories that are the real head scratchers are the “New Artist” awards. At least a couple of the “new” nominees have had careers spanning over a decade.

Speaking of Dolly, it was announced this week that Dollywood will pay for free college tuition for Dollywood employees.

Speaking of Jimmie Allen, one might recall that he tried out for American Idol (with limited success) in 2011, the same year that Scotty McCreery won and Lauren Alaina was the runner-up. Scotty has been the most successful and most traditional of those three, yet Jimmie is the one who is handed high-profile hosting gigs and Lauren is the one chosen to be the newest Opry member. One must wonder why those two are being pushed ahead of Scotty McCreery by the industry now ? This week, Scotty McCreery released a video for “Damn Strait,” his tribute to George Strait filmed at Gruene Hall. Lauren Alaina released the song “Ladies In The 90s” a couple years ago praising her influences like Britney Spears and MTV. I fully expect Lauren will make every effort to be a good Opry member, but one must wonder how Opry management decided to offer membership to a Britney Spears fan in her twenties ahead of other artists with more traditional country influences ?

In the world of independent country, check out the new album tomorrow from David Alan Bell.

I’ll also put in a good word for the YouTube channel Poorness Studios. Some of his recent uploads are covers of very classic country songs “Wreck of the Old 97” and “Keep On The Sunny Side.”

February 3, 2022 First Week Of February

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced seventeen nominees, including Dolly Parton (go figure). Dolly will also be the host of this year’s ACM awards. The ACM will announce award nominees next week.

Psalteryman YouTube channel uploaded more informational videos about the bowed psaltery. These are cool instruments that deserve a wider audience. For whatever reason, it seems that mostly older people play bowed psaltery, but the small plucked psaltery (marketed as “lap harps) are marketed as children’s instruments. There’s no reason that people of all ages can’t enjoy all of these instruments.

Loudwire video: “Musicians Tell The Truth About American Idol” Many of “today’s top country stars” competed on American Idol and similar shows. This video is for those who are not a fan of such shows.

If you’re into country music history, check out Corbin Hayslett’s YouTube channel. He has some quality uploads that I haven’t seen elsewhere.

Inglewood Instruments YouTube channel is all about stick dulcimers. This week, they posted instructional videos for covering Johnny Cash songs.

The Ken K YouTube channel by Ken Kolodner features instructional videos for fiddle and hammered dulcimer.

Harp Baby YouTube channel uploaded a harmonica cover this week of the western swing classic Panhandle Rag. The channel also features country, bluegrass, gospel, and other styles of music.