October 31, 2022 Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Here is my all-genre Halloween playlist:

Robert’s Halloween playlist

I had a little time this morning, so I made some creepy sounds myself:

Robert’s crazy sounds

Yesterday, my brother and I went to Lucktoberfest at Willie Nelson’s Luck Ranch. Lucktoberfest was originally advertised as a ten-day event, but tickets weren’t moving, so they changed everything around and made it a three-day event. Yesterday was the third and final day of the event and my first time to visit the famous venue. The third day’s lineup was the only real “Oktoberfest” lineup of the three.

The weather was perfect. We saw some of the best Oktoberfest bands in Texas, most of whom we’ve seen before in New Braunfels.

Yodelblitz was up first and they always deliver a fun time. Country fans will especially like their version of the Tammy Wynette hit “Stand By Your Man.” They brought a full range of folk instruments, such as saw, cowbells, and alphorn. They play three sets of cowbells!

Houston dance troupe Tanzenfest Volkstanzkreis was up next. This was our first time to see this young group. They specialize in German folk dances and give some background to each dance. If you want to see schuhplattler in Texas, check them out.

AlpenMusikanten was up next. We’ve seen them before at Wurstfest. A couple of the band members are originally from Austria. Like the other acts we saw yesterday, they feature a lot of yodelling. They began thirty minutes earlier than the time listed on the schedule online, so the crowd was unusually light at the beginning of their set. Fortunately, we happened to go over there early.

The Walburg Boys are another act we saw last year at Wurstfest. The bandleader is originally from Germany and is another great yodeller. He owns the Walburg Restaurant and Biergarten, which is a popular venue for Texas Oktoberfest bands. They covered Charlie Daniels and Merle Haggard with some alpine yodelling added in for good measure.

Krause’s Cafe of New Braunfels sponsored the Lucktoberfest maßkrugstemmen, the traditional stein holding competition.

During the short break before Alex Meixner’s set, Slim Whitman music played over the speakers, which was a cool extra.

The Alex Meixner Band was one of the headliners, and they played two, action-packed hours. The polka hall of famer always delivers a good show. This time, he brought along guests Walt and Tina Wilkins and Sunny Sauceda. I’ve seen Walt Wilkins at Gruene Hall and Cheatham Street, and I saw bluegrass group Balsam Range cover one of his songs a couple of weeks ago. Tina Wilkins is a very good singer. This was my first time to see Sunny Sauceda, award-winning Tejano accordion player. The duets with Sunny playing button accordion and Alex playing piano accordion are beyond energetic!

Alex Meixner and Sunny Sauceda did a duet of “Alabama Jubilee,” a song with a remarkable history. It was first recorded by Collins and Harlan in 1915, so it predates the “official country music timeline.” In 1976, Tony De La Rosa recorded a version of the tune as “El Circo,” and many Tejano artists know the tune by that name. The Skillet Lickers recorded a version of”Alabama Jubilee” in 1926. In 1951, Red Foley had a number 3 country hit, which also crossed over to pop charts. In 1981, Roy Clark released an instrumental version of “Alabama Jubilee,” which earned him his only Grammy award. Roy Clark had released a version of “Alabama Jubilee” in 1964, but it didn’t chart.

Shinyribs was the final headliner, closing the festival with a very shiny 90-minute set (which was scheduled for just an hour). Shinyribs and Alex Meixner were originally on different days, but when the festival shrunk from ten days to three, they ended up on the same day. Shinyribs isn’t a typical Oktoberfest performer, but then again, Shinyribs isn’t typical, in general. There was yodelling and pedal steel and horns and soul singers and covers of everyone from Eddie Rabbitt to Rihanna. After the show, he did a solo encore tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis with a cover of “Middle Age Crazy.”

October 30, 2022 Stephanie Urbina Jones at Devil’s Backbone Tavern

Yesterday, Stephanie Urbina Jones and the Honky Tonk Mariachi celebrated Dia de los Muertos at the Devil’s Backbone Tavern in Texas. The 11-member group filmed a video before the show, so be on the lookout for that. The group has played the Grand Ole Opry seven times.

The idea of “country mixed with something else” gets a bad rap because of efforts like the CMT Crossroads Nelly episode a couple of years ago, which was indeed bad rap. A successful fusion of two or more styles of music requires a respect for all of the ingredients. If you’re going to make country fusion work, then the country element has to be respected.

Stephanie Urbina Jones mixes country and mariachi successfully because she shows full respect for both traditions. She covered hits by Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, Lynn Anderson, and Glen Campbell. She covered “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.” She also sang original songs.

Stephanie Urbina Jones and the Honky Tonk Mariachi

October 20, 2022 Late October Update

Tomorrow will be Ozark fiddler Violet Hensley’s 106th birthday! The Facebook page to keep up with her is “Whittlin’ and Fiddlin’ My Own Way: The Violet Hensley Story.” Think about all the country music that has been recorded from 1916 until now.

The Country Music Hall of Fame held its “Medallion Ceremony” to officially welcome three new CMHOF members: Joe Galante, Jerry Lee Lewis (who was sick and couldn’t attend), and the late Keith Whitley. As usual, this “medallion ceremony” was just for industry people, so country fans were shut out. There is an official recap of the ceremony. The CMHOF chose to honor Keith Whitley with Mickey Guyton, who has no particular connection to Keith Whitley or his music. Think of the artists who did have connections to Keith Whitley who were passed over in favor of Mickey Guyton. The event was supposed to be all about honoring the three new members of the CMHOF, not pandering to other agendas.

The Texas Sounds International Country Music Awards added a YouTube channel this year with coverage of the annual event. There are hours of performances. These artists come from all over the world, but are mostly unknown to American country audiences.

The annual Festival of Texas Fiddling will be December 2-3, with twenty acts on three stages. They have acts coming in from Mexico and Poland, playing a variety of styles.

Chris Stapleton’s “Traveller” album was certified 6x platinum by the RIAA on October 20th, further establishing it as the dominant country album of the last decade, and no amount of whining by the pathetic “indie scene” trash talkers can negate that. The classless ‘indie scene” fans even talked trash on Facebook about Chris Stapleton organizing a charity benefit concert for Chris Stapleton’s home state. What sort of sorry, idiotic trash would attack a man for giving back to his hometown? It’s way beyond liking or disliking someone’s music when they go after his charity work and his family.

Here’s the full list of winners for the annual Dove Awards.

October 16, 2022 Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival

I spent the last two days at the outstanding Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival in Farmers Branch, Texas. This was my second time to visit the festival, and I’m already looking forward to next year.

Tickets were free as part of the hotel package, which was very reasonable. Parking was free. The festival featured 21 acts on two stages. I spent all my time with the main stage. I got there early both days and found a great spot up close, and I didn’t want to give it up. The crowds were super nice. The concessions and souvenir tents were quality.

Texas and Tennessee was the opening act on the main stage both days. This assortment is an annual tradition at the festival, featuring event organizer Alan Tompkins on double bass. Steve Huber was on banjo, Ron Inscore on mandolin, Hailey Sandoz on fiddle, and John Bowman on guitar and vocals.

Donna Ulisse and the Poor Mountain Boys were up next. Donna Ulisse is especially known now as a bluegrass songwriter, but she also had a major label country career in the early 1990s and had great stories about Merle Haggard, Hee Haw, etc.

Alan Bibey and Grasstowne were up next on Friday evening. Alan plays the mandolin very fast! Fiddler Kati Penn Jenkins was in the band Newtown for many years. Her husband Justin is the banjo player for Grasstowne.

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage closed the evening Friday. The Grand Ole Opry member is known as the “Queen of Bluegrass” for good reason, but her country work also deserves major respect. She covered Ernest Tubb and Merle Haggard and her rendition of “Mule Skinner Blues” (Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel Number 8”) reminded me of Dolly Parton’s version.

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage

Saturday began with Texas and Tennessee, which played a different set of songs from Friday’s set.

Breaking Grass from Mississippi was up next. I saw them earlier this year at Luckenbach. One staple of their shows is a medley of popular songs from different decades, rendered in a bluegrass style.

Kenny and Amanda Smith from Tennessee were up next. They’ve won plenty of awards over the years, but the couple’s witty interactions are especially charming.

The next scheduled act was a trio of Nashville songwriters who are familiar to fans of New Monday at the Station Inn: Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, and Jerry Salley. Larry couldn’t make it, because of a family health emergency. Val Storey, the skilled singer from New Monday filled in. Carl was in Glen Campbell’s band and has written and produced music for decades. Jerry Salley is a very prolific songwriter, but his bluegrass label is especially successful.

The Seldom Scene was formed in 1971 in Maryland. Like most acts that have been around that long, there have been some lineup changes since then, but all of these musicians have been around a long time.

Del McCoury is the most awarded artist in the history of the IBMA. The Grand Ole Opry member has done just about everything one can do in bluegrass, and he’s still going strong. His whole band is strong. Del yeah!

Del McCoury Band at sunset

Balsam Range from North Carolina has won multiple IBMA awards for entertainer, album, and song. One of the hits that they played is “Trains I Missed.” I’ve seen Walt Wilkins sing that one at Gruene Hall. Walt was one of the songwriters.

Dan Tyminski has 14 Grammy awards, but he is especially known for his rendition of “Man of Constant Sorrow,” which won awards in country (CMA and Grammy), in addition to bluegrass (IBMA). In 2013, he had a huge international pop hit with “Hey Brother” as a collaboration with EDM artist Avicii. Most of his set at Bloomin’ last year and this year was very much straight up bluegrass.

I have uploaded a few phone videos to My YouTube channel . I have a few more yet to upload. I just got home and my rural internet is slow. Thanks to everyone involved with the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival for a great time! Enjoy the music!

October 11, 2022 RIP, Anita Kerr

The Anita Kerr Singers were an integral part of the Nashville Sound. Anita Kerr then moved to Switzerland, far removed from the American country music scene. She was just short of her 95th birthday when she passed away in Geneva. Thank you to Barry Pugh for letting me know.

Here is an article: Bote.CH

Anita Kerr’s catalog of recordings is expansive and definitely worth your time.

The YouTube channel Oldies But Goodies compiled the 15 Greatest Hits By The Anita Kerr Singers .

October 7, 2022 Early October Update

On Wednesday, I saw the Happy Hour Oktoberfest Band at Krause’s Cafe and Biergarten in New Braunfels, Texas. The five-member band from the greater Munich area has been around in some form since 1994. I’m always curious to hear what country songs make their way into Oktoberfest sets. Happy Hour sang a German version of the Bellamy Brothers hit “Let Your Love Flow” (more specifically a cover of Jürgen Drews’ “Ein Bett im Kornfeld,” which used the tune from the Bellamy Brothers song). They also sang a German version of “Help Me Make It Through The Night.” They sang “Achy Breaky Heart” in English and said it was one of the most popular American songs in Germany. I saw Pech & Schwefel from Austria at Krause’s a couple of weeks ago and they also sang “Achy Breaky Heart.” Who knew? Next week, I’ll be at Bloomin’ Bluegrass in Farmers Branch, Texas.

The passing of Loretta Lynn is the biggest current news story. I saw her at the Grand Ole Opry in 2016, and in 2019, I saw her all-star celebration at the Bridgestone Arena. I also saw her win an award from the Nashville Songwriter Association. Kid Rock and her family walked her to and from the podium. I’ve been to Butcher Holler and Hurricane Mills. See the legends whenever and if ever you get the chance.

Loretta Lynn at the Grand Ole Opry in 2016. Darius Rucker escorted her to and from the stage.

Inside Butcher Holler

Loretta Lynn’s 87th birthday party at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville

Here’s a wider shot of Loretta Lynn’s 87th birthday party.

Butcher Holler

Display at Highway 23 Country Music Museum in Kentucky

Heart of Texas Records posted that Jody Miller passed away yesterday. They made a final set of recordings with her, so be sure to keep an eye open for that. Jody was quite popular in the mid-1960s, making numerous television appearances. She even went to Italy and sang a song in Italian. She was one of few country artists to make Scopitone videos. The Scopitone was a video jukebox that was briefly popular around 1965. The fun, little film clips often featured dancing girls. Jody Miller was at the height of her popularity at exactly the same time as the Scopitone.

Jody singing in Italian