Journal
- Thursday, November 7, 2024
"Music is a powerful tool. In an instant, it can change your mood, your perspective, or your life," Stacey Abrams says on her Crooked Media podcast, Assembly Required, introducing her conversation with Rhiannon Giddens. "No matter the motivation, music is an outlet, a force that builds us up or keeps us steady. It holds the capacity to move millions and to resonate with each individual, and every lyric, every note, every beat has the potential to share a message." You can hear their conversation here. Giddens's new album with Silkroad Ensemble, American Railroad, is out next week; their fall tour begins tonight.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Podcast
- Monday, December 2, 2019
Devendra Banhart stopped by WFUV to talk with FUV Live host Alisa Ali and perform three songs from his new album, Ma—"Taking a Page," "Carolina," and "October 12"—which you can watch here. Banhart also spoke with Pitchfork for its The Song I Wish I Wrote series; his choice: Joan Armatrading's "Willow." "I think this is the perfect song," he says in the video you can watch here. His North American tour concludes with concerts in Montreal, Boston, Brooklyn, DC, and Philadelphia this week. He heads to Europe in January.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On Tour, Radio, VideoMonday, December 2, 2019The latest episode of Robert Plant's new podcast series, Digging Deep, digs deep into the title track from his latest album, Carry Fire. "The way that we've been constructing music for the last couple of albums with the Space Shifters has been pretty modular," he says. "Each guy in our cooperative creates ideas and sends them to me or to each other and they go up to the misty mountains ... There's a lot of sketches, some of them are black-and-white, some of them are going into color and that's how all these songs are developed." You can listen to the episode and watch a live performance of "Carry Fire" here.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsMonday, December 2, 2019Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet cellist Andrew Yee are on a special bonus episode of WNYC's Dolly Parton's America podcast hosted by Jad Abumrad. This episode features performances recorded live at Brooklyn's National Sawdust. "I got to thinking about all the songs that we sing about home, and as we leave home, we carry those songs with us. We morph them, transform them," Abumrad says. The performers "played traditional music that they connect to, that reminds them of home, that is from their home, but they all took that music and gave it a new spin." Shaw, accompanied by Yee, offers her take on the 18th-century hymn "On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand" and Alfred Brumley's 1929 song "I'll Fly Away." Hear it here.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsWednesday, November 27, 2019As the US celebrates Thanksgiving over the next few days, there’s great live music being made around the world: Sam Amidon begins a US tour in New England, Devendra Banhart performs in Detroit and Toronto, Daughter of Swords plays a full band concert in North Carolina, Rhiannon Giddens continues her tour of the UK, Tigran Hamasyan plays solo in Switzerland and Belgium, Mandy Patinkin performs in Washington, DC, the Joshua Redman Quartet is in Mozambique, and Yola tours Europe.
Journal Topics: On Tour, Weekend EventsWednesday, November 27, 2019Rachael & Vilray recently performed at The Club Car at The McKittrick Hotel in New York City, where public radio’s WFUV was on hand to record the set for an FUV Live show. “Like Rachael and Vilray themselves, the songs have a timeless quality and an unpredictable sense of humor,” writes Rita Houston. You can watch two of their performances here, and listen to the entire session at wfuv.org
Journal Topics: Artist News, Radio, VideoTuesday, November 26, 2019Vagabon was a special guest on Live From Here with Chris Thile from The Town Hall in NYC on Saturday. You can watch her perform songs from her self-titled sophomore album here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, VideoMonday, November 25, 2019Rhiannon Giddens and Yola, both nominated for Grammy Awards last week, were featured on the Austin City Limits special of performance highlights from the Americana Honors & Awards. Giddens and Francesco Turrisi performed "Wayfaring Stranger," from their album, there is no Other. Yola sang "Faraway Look" from her album, Walk Through Fire. The special aired on PBS stations over the weekend and can now be seen here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Television, VideoFriday, November 22, 2019Vagabon plays Brooklyn Steel, performs on Chris Thile’s Live From Here … Sam Amidon, Jeremy Denk, Rhiannon Giddens all tour UK … Devendra Banhart performs Ma in Mexico … The Black Keys conclude “Let’s Rock” tour … William Britelle, Metropolis Ensemble play Eaux Claires Hiver … Tigran Hamasyan joins Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg … Emmylou Harris joins The Last Waltz Nashville … Gabriel Kahane is in Seattle … Kronos Quartet is in the Netherlands … Brad Mehldau plays solo in France … Pat Metheny, Yola tour Italy … Gaby Moreno concludes Roots Rising! tour … Mandy Patinkin, Joshua Redman tour California … and more …
Journal Topics: On Tour, Weekend EventsThursday, November 21, 2019Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi begin the UK and European leg of their tour with two sold-out concerts for the EFG London Jazz Festival: at the HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs tonight and Royal Festival Hall on Friday. The tour continues in the UK into December, then heads to the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Italy. They return to the States in February and head to New Zealand and Australia in March. Uncut and Mojo named their album, there is no Other, among the Albums of the Year.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourWednesday, November 20, 2019David Byrne and the cast of American Utopia on Broadway performed the classic Talking Heads tune "Road to Nowhere" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night. The song is featured in the critically acclaimed production and on the original cast album. Before the performance, Byrne sat down to speak with Fallon about the Broadway show and to teach him a bit of his Annie-B Parson–choreographed dance moves from the show. You can watch it here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Television, VideoWednesday, November 20, 2019Congratulations to all of the Nonesuch nominees for the 62nd Grammy Awards: Yola with four nominations, including Best New Artist and her album Walk Through Fire; Dan Auerbach for Producer of the Year; Rhiannon Giddens for "I'm on My Way" from her album with Francesco Turrisi, there is no Other; Brad Mehldau's Finding Gabriel, Joshua Redman Quartet's Come What May, Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet's Orange; and Kronos Quartet for Terry Riley's Sun Rings.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsWednesday, November 20, 2019Daughter of Swords has announced a new run of shows in February with The Dead Tongues. They lead a joint six-city tour of the US East Coast in February, with stops in Richmond, Charlottesville, Brooklyn, Boston, DC, and Asheville. She closes out the tour with a performance at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville as special guest of Tyler Childers on February 16. Daughter of Swords performs with her band in North Carolina next week and joins Joan Shelley in a five-city swing through the Midwest in December.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On Tour