Sights and Sounds: BeachLife Festival, Mary Chapin Carpenter, My Morning Jacket, Rufus Wainwright

Here is a roundup of timely music news that has landed in my inbox over the last day or so...Robert Kinsler

The Record Company rocking the Backporch stage at the 2016
Doheny Blues Festival in Dana Point, CA.
Photo: Bob Steshetz

The BeachLife Festival has been rescheduled until May 21-23, 2021, but the Redondo Beach, California event organizers has embraced the "new normal" of live streaming with a super cool lineup for July 23, 2020. Tune in at 7 p.m. Pacific Time for two hours of live performances and special guests, including Lukas Nelson, The Record Company, Roots of Creation, Anuhea and more. The stream will be free thanks to the generosity of Herradura Tequila.

Visit the official BeachLife Festival site for more details on the upcoming live stream and next year's event...

Mary Chapin Carpenter released her wonderful new single "Secret Keepers" yesterday and you can hear it here. The track is the latest gem unveiled from her highly-anticipated new album The Dirt And The Stars set for release on Aug. 7, 2020 on Lambent Light Records via Thirty Tigers (pre-order).

Of the single, Carpenter notes: "'Secret Keepers' is about holding onto things that feel too dangerous to let go of, too perilous to share, too complex to shine a light upon. The deeper you think you've buried something, the more power it seems to have over your life. The scars may be invisible but that doesn't mean the pain that caused them has disappeared. It's a constant reminder to be kind out in the world, because you never really know what someone is carrying around..."

Produced by Ethan Johns (Ray LaMontagne, Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon) and recorded entirely live at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, in southwest England, the album finds the 5-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter pondering life’s intimate, personal moments and exploring its most universally challenging questions at an unprecedented time. Written at her rural Virginia farmhouse before stay-at-home orders became the “new normal,” the songs celebrate invaluable experiences and irreplaceable wisdom, while also advocating exploration of the best in all of us. In advance of the release, the album’s stirring title track, “Between The Dirt And The Stars,” premiered last month. Listen/share HERE.

Speaking of the gifted Carpenter, watch the 2016 episode of MUSIC WORTH BUYING where co-hosts TJR and yours truly celebrated her outstanding album The Things That We Are Made Of. Watch that episode HERE. 


This week saw the release of several notable albums, including new full-length efforts from My Morning Jacket and Rufus Wainwright.

Officially announced earlier in the week, My Morning Jacket have released their new record, The Waterfall II, an unforeseen and timely continuation of a psychic and sonic journey begun long ago. The album was massively inspired by the band’s idyllic surroundings in Stinson Beach, CA — and a sense of charmed isolation that frontman Jim James likened to “living on our own little moon.” There, the Kentucky-bred five-piece ended up creating over two dozen songs at the mountaintop studio known as Panoramic House. Though they flirted with the idea of putting out what would have been a triple album, the band ultimately decided that less would be more at the time and divided the project into two halves, releasing the first segment as The Waterfall: a 2015 full-length that earned the band their third consecutive Best Alternative Rock Album Grammy Award nomination in a row (Evil Urges, Circuital, The Waterfall). The Waterfall II will be released on CD and vinyl on August 28. Pre-orders, including both standard and deluxe versions featuring 180-gram vinyl with Zoetrope labels in a gatefold foil jacket, are available now.

PRE-ORDER THE WATERFALL II

As James reveals, the decision to unearth The Waterfall II was sparked from a bit of serendipity in the early days of self-quarantine. While out on a walk, he placed his music library on shuffle and soon stumbled upon “Spinning My Wheels,” a tender rumination on the struggle for presence, its lyrics confessing to feeling “hypnotized from doing the same old thing.” Struck by the song’s enduring relevance, James revisited the other tracks reserved from the Panoramic House sessions and found that they invited a welcome moment of self-reflection—an outcome perhaps even more perfectly suited to the chaos of the current day than the circumstances of their recording.

My Morning Jacket / Photo Credit: Danny Clinch

Like its predecessor, The Waterfall II mines its mood of dreamy contemplation from certain heartbreak James had recently experienced, including the demise of a monumental relationship. Unfolding in a loosely threaded narrative of loss and recovery, the album conjures an indelible pain but never drifts into despair, gracefully conveying James’s message that “there is hope beyond the pain and loss, if you learn to flow with life like water.”

Even in its most heavy-hearted moments, The Waterfall II radiates an undeniable sense of wonder, a testament to the wild-mindedness that’s long imbued the music of My Morning Jacket. With their unabashed curiosity infinitely stirred by their time at Stinson Beach, the band hopes that the album might lead others to look beyond what’s human-made in the search for solace and renewal. “As so many of us feel out of tune and long for the world to be a better place, we have to look to nature and the animals and learn from them: learn to love, accept, move on, and respect each other,” says James. “We gotta work for it and change our ways before it’s too late, and get in harmony with love and equality for all of humanity and for nature too.”

My Morning Jacket will perform on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday July 15.

Rufus Wainwright's new LP Unfollow The Rules. You can view the singer-songwriter's fiery new video for the song "Devils and Angels (Hatred)" HERE. The video was directed by Wainwright's husband/co-manager John Weisbrodt with costumes by renowned designer Zaldy.

Fans are also invited to attend an #UnfollowTheRules VIP Virtual Record Release Party on Saturday, July 11 at 11 AM PT/ 2 PM EDT/ 7 PM BST / 8 PM CDT. Attendees will have a first look at some exclusive one-of-a-kind Unfollow The Rules merchandise, and will get a private virtual concert, including meet and greet and a tour of Wainwright’s Laurel Canyon home. For tickets and special merch bundles, visit rufuswainwrightvip.com.

Wainwright’s ninth studio LP and first new pop album since 2012, UNFOLLOW THE RULES finds the artist at the peak of his powers, entering artistic maturity with passion, honesty, and a new-found fearlessness while remaining as creative, bold, and mischievous as ever. Produced by Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Paul McCartney, Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, Randy Newman) at a variety of legendary Los Angeles studios – including Sound City Studios, United Recording, and EastWest Studios – the album serves as both bookend to Act I of an extraordinary career which, like Unfollow The Rules, began in the studios of Los Angeles, but also now as the first lines of a remarkable new chapter. Inspired by middle age, married life, fatherhood, friends, loss, London, and Laurel Canyon, songs like “Only The People That Love” and the spirited, symphonic “Hatred” find the gifted singer-songwriter ready to tackle new challenges, yet compelled to confront his past by making sense of how he has grown both as a musician and the contented family man he has become.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT

UNFOLLOW THE RULES

(BMG)

Release Date: Friday, July 10, 2020

TRACKLISTING

ACT I

1. Trouble in Paradise

2. Damsel in Distress

3. Unfollow The Rules

4. You Ain’t Big

ACT II

5. Romantical Man 

6. Peaceful Afternoon *

7. Only The People That Love

8. This One’s For The Ladies (That Lunge)

ACT III

9. My Little You

10. Early Morning Madness

11. Devils and Angels (Hatred) *

12. Alone Time

* French versions for Peaceful Afternoon "Pièce à Vivre" and Devils and Angels (Hatred) "Haine" available as well 

See lyrics on Genius

The Beatles, Jeff Lynne, Jim James, and more get behind The Inner Light Challenge

The music community continues to rally behind the world as COVID-19 has continued to claim the lives of people around the world...


The Beatles, Jeff Lynne, Jim James and more get behind the Inner Light Challenge following the Material World Foundation's $500,000 donation to help those impacted by COVID-19

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh, Rita Wilson, Jim James, Mike Campbell, Jewel, Young the Giant, Lukas and Micah Nelson, Susanna Hoffs, Richard Marx, Daniel Lanois and more have all put their support behind The Material World Foundation's fundraising Inner Light Challenge. Following a donation of $500,000 to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, Save the Children and Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) charities, which are providing much needed aid and care during this COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation launched The Inner Light Challenge to raise a further $100,000. The challenge is asking people to share their take on The Beatles song 'The Inner Light' with the hashtag #innerlight2020.

Without going out of my door, I can know all things on earth.

 

Without looking out of my window, I can know the ways of heaven.

 

Olivia Harrison said, "These lyrics sung by George are a positive reminder to all of us who are isolating, in quarantine or respecting the request to shelter in place. Let's get and stay connected at this difficult time.  There are things we can do to help and we invite you to share your Inner Light."

 

The Inner Light Challenge:

 

- The Material World Foundation will donate another $1 (up to $100,000) for every one of you who shares their own "Inner Light" moment on social media using the hashtag #innerlight2020 

 

- This can be a verse, a chorus, or a line from the song. Just sing it, play it, hum it, strum it, paint it, knit it, chant it, plant it, pray or meditate and post it to social media using the hashtag #innerlight2020

 

- Watch Dhani Harrison's cover of the song HERE.

"The Inner Light" - The Beatles

 

Watch The Beatles "The Inner Light" video HERE

 

Without going out of my door
I can know all things on earth
Without looking out of my window
I can know the ways of heaven

The farther one travels
The less one knows
The less one really knows

 

Without going out of your door
You can know all things on earth
Without looking out of your window
You can know the ways of heaven

The farther one travels
The less one knows
The less one really knows

Arrive without traveling
See all without looking
Do all without doing

 

#innerlight2020

 

www.materialworldfoundation.com

www.georgeharrison.com

ABOUT THE CHARITIES

 

The Material World Foundation

 

The release of George's 1973 album entitled Living in the Material World coincided with the creation of his own charitable foundation. The royalties from that album - including the single "Give Me Love" - were donated by George in perpetuity to the Material World Foundation. George established the Foundation to encourage the exploration of alternate and diverse forms of artistic expression, life views and philosophies as well as a way to support established charities and people with special needs. In the autumn of 1973, the first project of the foundation was the "Ravi Shankar Music Festival," which brought together renowned Indian classical musicians to perform and record compositions especially created by Ravi Shankar. Even though George passed on from this material world in 2001, his charitable work has continued. In response to an outpouring of emotion by fans and friends, "My Sweet Lord" was re-released in 2002. The profits from that single benefited: Médicins Sans Frontières, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Macmillan Nurses, National Deaf Children's Society, NSPCC and many more.

MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund

In recent weeks, COVID-19 has devastated the music community, leaving thousands of music creators and professionals without work and an uncertain future. The Recording Academy and its affiliated charitable foundation Musicares have established the COVID-19 Relief Fund to help musicians and their families affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.grammy.com/musicares/get-help/musicares-coronavirus-relief-fund

Save the Children

During this difficult time, school districts are making the difficult decision to close due to COVID-19. An unintended consequence for kids is losing valuable learning and instruction time. The earliest years are most important for a child's development, and missing out on learning now could have devastating impact on their future growth. Save the Children is committed to help children and families during this uncertain time by providing learning resources for our nation's youngest learners.

https://www.savethechildren.org

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)

Medecins Sans Frontieres teams are responding to the coronavirus emergency on multiple fronts-caring for patients, offering health education and mental health support, and providing training for vital infection control measures in health facilities around the world. MSF is working with local authorities in many of the countries where they have medical projects to help prepare for the impact of COVID-19.

https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Sights and Sounds: John Mellencamp, Jim James, The Milk Carton Kids

Between my coverage related to Coachella and Record Store Day, a few notable news releases have slipped by over the last few weeks and not received the attention they deserve. So here, without further adieu...

Eagle Rock Entertainment to release John Mellencamp's 'Plain Spoken: From the Chicago Theatre' on DVD+CD, BLU-RAY+CD and digital formats on May 11, 2018

VIEW “SMALL TOWN” HERE

Pre-order Available For DVD+CD and Blu-ray+CD

“…The star's singing voice and speaking voice become an engaging duet, revealing the deeper meanings and motivations behind a great singer-songwriter's work.”
-The Los Angeles Times

“(Mellencamp) leads a stellar band through the hallmarks of his own career, while a voice speaks of the passion, excitement, triumph, and trouble of youth creates a contrast that is thrilling." - No Depression
 

New York, NY—Songwriter. Storyteller. Musician. Actor. Artist. Social Activist… These are just some words that come to mind when the name John Mellencamp is spoken. On May 11, fans will have the ability to get a deeper look at this artist when Eagle Rock Entertainment proudly presents Plain Spoken: From The Chicago Theatre on DVD+CD, Blu-ray+CD, and digital formats.

“Try to keep it as plain spoken as possible…” those are some of the first words the viewer hears in Plain Spoken: From The Chicago Theatre. A self-narrated musical journey, the film encapsulates the sound and soul of John Mellencamp. Stepping outside the boundaries of a concert film or documentary, Plain Spokenblends highly personal voice-overs from Mellencamp with live footage of him performing with his full band at the historic Chicago Theatre, just 250 miles from his native Indiana. He tells us the story of his Midwestern upbringing, the trials, turns and triumphs of his career, and his overall outlook on life while the music plays, supporting his stories. The result is the essence of John Mellencamp, delivered fully on-screen.

In addition to the full film with Mellencamp’s commentary, this audio visual release offers a “non-commentary” option (available in the Main Menu) in which viewers can watch the concert on its own. The audio visual set is completed with a component CD of concert audio. The set, which includes special guest Carlene Carter, showcases Mellencamp performing his most cherished songs. “Small Town,” “Minutes To Memories,” “Pop Singer,” “Cherry Bomb,” “Longest Days,” “Authority Song,” and “Pink Houses” are just some of the gems cherry-picked from his brilliant catalogue, as well as including songs from his most recent album Sad Clowns And Hillbillies.

With a career spanning more than 35 years, John Mellencamp has elevated his legacy from pop star to one of the most highly-respected songwriters of a generation. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, “The Souls of the People” John Steinbeck Award, and will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 14, 2018, among many other prestigious honors.   He has achieved a total of 22 Top 40 hits in addition to earning the record for the “Most #1 tracks by a solo artist on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks” chart.

Plain Spoken: From The Chicago Theatre serves as a stunning cinematic experience that offers a welcoming, intimate glimpse into the words and wisdom of John Mellencamp.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Lawless Times
2. Troubled Man
3. Minutes To Memories
4. Small Town
5. Stones In My Passway
6. Pop Singer
7. Check It Out
8. Longest Days
9. The Full Catastrophe
10. My Soul's Got Wings
11. Overture
12. Rain On The Scarecrow
13. Paper In Fire
14. Authority Song
15. Pink Houses
16. Cherry Bomb

ABOUT JOHN MELLENCAMP
John Mellencamp’s career in music, spanning more than 35 years, has seen him transition from pop star to one of the most highly respected singer/songwriters of a generation. Mellencamp is incredibly acclaimed; a recent nominee to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he is also member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Grammy winner, a recipient of the John Steinbeck Award, ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award and Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award and more recently, the Founders Award, the top honor assigned by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He is also one of the most successful live concert performers in the world. The social activism reflected in his songs helped catalyze Farm Aid, the concert series and organization that has addressed the struggle of American family farmers for more than 25 years. John Mellencamp’s latest album, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, featuring Carlene Carter, is his 23rd over the course of a remarkable career and was released on April 28, 2017. Sad Clowns & Hillbilliesreturns Mellencamp to the musical eclecticism that is, itself, a reflection of his wide-ranging musings on life and showcases a poet who has wisely used the years between youth and the present day to become an absolute master of songwriting and interpretation. That passion and experience resonates most beautifully in this showcase of his music. John also wrote the title song for the upcoming film, The Yellow Birds.

John continues to focus on another facet of his artistic expression: painting. His style has progressed over the years as evidenced by several gallery shows and published portfolios, and in recent years he has increased his output by completing over 100 new works. His pieces were shown in 2012 at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville under the under the title “Nothing Like I Planned: The Art Of John Mellencamp” and, more recently at the Butler Institute of American Art in an exhibition entitled “The Paintings Of John Mellencamp.”  “The Paintings of John Mellencamp” traveled to the Museum of Art-DeLand, Florida and John’s art was showcased at the ACA Gallery in New York. The unique instrumentation of his band and his poignant songs about everyday life in the American heartland, are widely credited with being the forbearer of the Americana/No Depression genre of rural-inflected music.  An extraordinary collaboration performed by an ensemble cast of 15 actors and a four-piece live band, comprised of members of John Mellencamp’s band is The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a musical with music and lyrics by John Mellencamp, a libretto by author Stephen King and production by T Bone Burnett. The show is being further developed in London, though King and Mellencamp are no longer as actively involved.  Mellencamp continues his journey as the walking embodiment of heartland rock; passionate, plain-spoken, and a self-proclaimed rebel.

Jim James unveils 'Uniform Distortion'

 

MY MORNING JACKET FRONTMAN ANNOUNCES THIRD SOLO ALBUM OUT JUNE 29 VIA ATO RECORDS

 

"JUST A FOOL" PREMIERES TODAY VIA NPR'S ALL SONGS CONSIDERED

 

PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW, INCLUDING LIMITED EDITION VINYL

Flipping through the pages of The Last Whole Earth Catalogue, a resource that was in 1971 basically the internet before the internet, Jim James stumbled upon a distorted photo of "The Illuminated Man' by Duane Michals. Immediately moved by the photo, he asked for permission to to use the image as the album cover of Uniform Distortion. The first request to Michals was rejected. In hopes of changing his mind, James wrote a letter to Michals personally and was ultimately allowed to use the image. The letter, which sheds some light on the album and James current state of mind, reads in full below:

 

"hello duane- your piece "the illuminated man" was used in "the last whole earth catalogue" in 1971. i wasnt even born yet. i was born in 1978...but i found my copy of "the last whole earth catalogue" about 6 months ago in a thrift store and it blew my mind. i have been feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the speed of technology and its place in our lives and here was this beautiful book/catalogue from the past showing me me all these beautiful things and amazing images to help one learn different ways to look at the world... or "get off the grid?" funny they had no idea back then just how crazy "the grid" would get. or did they?

 

so i am trying to put down my phone... use the computer and social media less... and just focus on real life and the people i love and my art. of course i am not fully "off the grid" because i am sending you this email in hopes of you changing your mind about letting me use your image as it appeared in "the last whole earth catalogue" in 1971 because when i saw it on the page there it spoke to me so deeply of how my head feels like it is exploding with the amount of information we are forced to consume on a daily basis and how that information is so DISTORTED there is almost no longer any tangible truth. the name of my new record is "UNIFORM DISTORTION" because i feel like there is this blanket distortion on society/media and the way we gather our "news" and important information...and more and more of us are feeling lost and looking for new ways out of this distortion and back to the truth...and finding hope in places like the desert where i write this email to you now...finding hope in the land and in the water and in old books offering new ideas and most importantly in each other and love.

 

i feel like there was a reason i found "the last whole earth catalogue" and there was a reason your art spoke to me... and i really think it would speak to others who would see it exploding out at them illuminating from the record store shelf or the glow of their phone or computer screen and feel its organic mind blowing distortion connect with this new music.

 

i also like the natural "distortion" that time and the pulp of the paper meeting the ink from "the last whole earth catalogue" add to your original image and that is why i am asking your permission to use this "distorted" version of your original beautiful image.

 

i hope you are well and thanks for listening-

jim james"

JIM JAMES | 2018 TOUR

 

MAY

20 - Brooklyn, NY -David Lynch's Festival of Disruption at Brooklyn Steel

JUNE

21 - Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre Berkeley *

 

* solo acoustic w/Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters

 

# # #

 

JIMJAMES.COM I FACEBOOK I INSTAGRAM I TWITTER I YOUTUBE

 

# # #

 

JIM JAMES

UNIFORM DISTORTION

(ATO)

Release Date: June 29, 2018

 

Tracklisting:

Just A Fool

You Get To Rome

Out Of Time

Throwback

No Secrets

Yes To Everything

No Use Waiting

All In Your Head

Better Late Than Never

Over and Over

Too Good To Be True

THE MILK CARTON KIDS UNVEIL

'ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO'

 

GRAMMY® AWARD-NOMINATED AMERICANA FAVORITE

RETURNS WITH A FULL BAND FOR THEIR NEW LP

 

EXPANSIVE NEW COLLECTION REFLECTS ON DRAMATIC CHANGES INCLUDING

A BREAK UP, A CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND NATIONAL POLITICS

 

PRODUCED BY GRAMMY® AWARD-WINNER JOE HENRY

 

EPIC "ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD" PREMIERES TODAY VIA NPR

 

UPCOMING HEADLINE TOUR BEGINS JUNE

 

ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO

ARRIVES VIA ANTI- ON FRIDAY, JUNE 29

ANTI- is proud to announce the release of ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO, the anticipated new album from 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated acoustic band The Milk Carton Kids. The LP is available for pre-order beginning today. ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO arrives everywhere on Friday, June 29.

 

The Milk Carton Kids' fourth studio album, ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO is heralded by today's NPR premiere of the project's unprecedented centerpiece, "One More For The Road." An epic 10 minute-plus musical excursion through folk, jazz and psychedelia, the landmark track serves as a remarkable signpost of what the album has in store. "One More For The Road" is available today for individual purchase and on all streaming services.

 

LISTEN TO ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD

 

The Milk Carton Kids - a.k.a. singer-guitarists Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale - will celebrate ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO with a wide-ranging tour, including North American headlining dates beginning April 25 in Milwaukee. The schedule also includes a number of dates supporting John Prine as well as festival appearances at such summer gatherings as Pasadena, CA's Arroyo Seco Weekend (Saturday, June 23^rd). For updates and ticket information, please visit www.themilkcartonkids.com.

 

THE MILK CARTON KIDS

2018 TOUR

APRIL

25 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater * -- SOLD OUT

27 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre *

28 - Champaign, IL - Virginia Theatre *

JUNE

22 - Tucson, AZ - Fox Tucson Theatre

23 - Pasadena, CA - Arroyo Seco Weekend

25 - Denver, CO - Denver Botanic Gardens

26 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Commonwealth Room

29 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern

30 - Sacramento, CA - Crest Theatre

 

AUGUST

19 - Lyons, CO - Folks Festival

 

* Supporting John Prine

The Milk Carton Kids / photo credit: Joshua Black Wilkins

The Milk Carton Kids underwent a number of dramatic changes in the time since their last recorded outing, 2015's acclaimed MONTEREY. Ryan is now the father of two children and works as a producer on Live From Here with Chris Thile. National politics have left him feeling disoriented and mournful. Pattengale's relationship of 7 years ended, he is now producing records in Nashville, and he survived cancer - breaking a long cigarette habit in the process. Perhaps as a result, ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO is the band's most profoundly personal thus far, the evocative full band sound providing a mournful, disorienting foil for lyrical themes of mortality, loss, heartbreak and national decline.

 

"We wanted to do something new," Pattengale says. "We had been going around the country yet another time to do the duo show, going to the places we'd been before. There arose some sort of need for change."

 

"Musically we knew we were going to make the record with a bigger sonic palette," says Ryan. "It was liberating to know we didn't have to be able to carry every song with just our two guitars."

 

Having spent much the last decade affirming themselves as among contemporary folk and Americana's finest songwriters, musicians, and live performers, The Milk Carton Kids ascend to even greater heights with ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO. The band's most expansive and experimentally minded collection to date, the LP was recorded last October in the Sun Room at House of Blues Studio in Nashville, TN with GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Joe Henry (Solomon Burke, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Carolina Chocolate Drops) and GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Ryan Freeland (Ray Lamontagne, Bonnie Raitt). The Milk Carton Kids once again opted to push the envelope of their distinctive sound, this time crafting their first-ever LP to feature backing by other musicians. ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO sees Ryan and Pattengale joined in the studio by a truly stellar lineup of top session players, including Russ Pahl (Kacey Musgraves, Blake Shelton) on pedal steel and other guitars, bassists Paul Kowert (Punch Brothers) and Dennis Crouch (Gregg Allman, Johnny Cash), Wilco's Pat Sansone on piano, mellotron, and Hammond organ, drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Elton John, Willie Nelson), cellist Nathaniel Smith (Sarah Jarosz, Abigail Washburn), Levon Henry (Blake Mills, Nico Muhly) on clarinet and saxophone, Live From Here with Chris Thile favorite Brittany Haas on fiddle and mandolin as well as Lindsay Lou and Logan Ledger lending additional vocals .

 

Founded in 2011, The Milk Carton Kids swiftly emerged as a major force in the continuing American folk tradition, blending ethereal, oscillating harmonies and intricate, inventive musicianship with a uniquely powerful brand of contemporary songcraft. 2013's ANTI- debut, THE ASH & CLAY, proved their national breakthrough, earning The Milk Carton Kids their first GRAMMY® Award nomination, for "Best Folk Album." A second GRAMMY® nomination for "Best American Roots Performance" followed in 2015, honoring "The City of Our Lady," from The Milk Carton Kids' acclaimed third studio album, MONTEREY.

 

The Americana Music Association Award-winners for "Best Duo/Group," The Milk Carton Kids have spent much of the past decade on tour, as international headliners, worldwide festival favorites, and special guests to such like-minded artists as Old Crow Medicine Show, Punch Brothers, Sarah Jarosz, The Lumineers, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Josh Ritter, and The Avett Brothers. Ryan and Pattengale have also made numerous high profile media appearances, including TBS' Conan, CBS This Morning, and NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts.

 

In addition, The Milk Carton Kids have proven in-demand collaborators, including musical partnerships with Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Shovels & Rope, Chely Wright, Joe Henry, Dar Williams, and the great Chris Hillman, as well as teaming with T-Bone Burnett & Joel and Ethan Coen for the acclaimed concert documentary, Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis. In 2016, the band joined forces with Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, and Robert Plant for the sold out Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees tour.

 

THEMILKCARTONKIDS.COM I FACEBOOK I INSTAGRAM I TWITTER I ANTI.COM

# # #

THE MILK CARTON KIDS

ALL THE THINGS THAT I DID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T DO

(ANTI-)

Release Date: June 29, 2018

 

Tracklisting:

Just Look At Us Now

Nothing Is Real

Younger Years

Mourning In America

You Break My Heart

Blindness

One More For The Road

Big Time

A Sea Of Roses

Unwinnable War

I've Been Loving You

All The Things That I Did And All The Things That I Didn't Do

Sights and Sounds: Lost Songs – The Basement Tapes Continued, America, the Indigo Girls, Lotus Crush

Isn't it great to wake up with great music news to share?

EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT IS PROUD TO RELEASE

LOST SONGS – THE BASEMENT TAPES CONTINUED

A UNIQUE TAKE ON PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN BOB DYLAN LYRICS

STARRING T BONE BURNETT, ELVIS COSTELLO, RHIANNON GIDDENS, TAYLOR GOLDSMITH, JIM JAMES, AND MARCUS MUMFORD

~DVD, BLU-RAY, AND DIGITAL FORMATS OUT MAY 26, 2015~

On May 26, Eagle Rock Entertainment will simultaneously release Lost Songs – The Basement Tapes Continued  on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats.  

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sam Jones (of the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart), Lost Songs – The Basement Tapes Continued presents the development of a unique project bringing together an extraordinary group of artists to work on previously unknown Bob Dylan lyrics with Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett. The film is aimed to accompany the November 2014 Harvest Records albumLost On The River: The New Basement Tapes, and focuses on sixteen sets of lyrics written by Bob Dylan during the legendary The Basement Tapes sessions in 1967, which were only recently rediscovered. 

Under the auspices of producer T Bone Burnett and with the approval of Bob Dylan, an extraordinary collective of musicians were brought together to set the lyrics to music: Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens, Taylor Goldsmith, Jim James and Marcus Mumford. The film presents an exclusive and intimate look at the making of the Lost On The River album set against the important and historical cultural backdrop of Bob Dylan andThe Band’s original The Basement Tapes.

As well as offering an unrivaled insight into these sessions, the film also comes bolstered with Bonus Tracks: “Diamond Ring,” “Down On The Bottom,” “Hidee Hidee Ho #16,” “Kansas City,” “Six Months In Kansas City (Liberty Street),” and “The Whistle Is Blowing.”

Lost Songs – The Basement Tapes Continued is a must for fans of Bob Dylan, Lost On The River, and anyone interested in the creative genesis and development of incredible music.

Eagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV and Digital Media in the world.  Eagle works directly alongside talent to produce top quality, High Definition programs, both concerts and documentaries, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, The Doors, Jeff Beck, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne, Genesis, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton and Aerosmith. Eagle is a Grammy Award winning company and has received over 40 multi-platinum, over 80 platinum and over 144 gold discs, worldwide.  Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices in London, New York, Paris and Hamburg.

Follow Eagle Rock Entertainment at:

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Twitter: www.twitter.com/EagleRockNews

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/eaglerocktv

Audio Fidelity To Release '70s Hitmakers America's “Homecoming” Album on Limited Edition 5.1 Multichannel Hybrid SACD

“A classic treasure...One of the best albums from the early 70s!”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing '70s hitmakers America's “Homecoming” album on Limited Edition 5.1 Multichannel Hybrid SACD in April 2015. America's 1972 “Homecoming” album includes one of their best known hits, “Ventura Highway” with it's creative acoustic guitar lines, smart vocal harmonies and spaced-out lyrics, it's a fan favorite and one of their best songs.

“Homecoming” was the band's second album and the trio were determined to avoid the “sophomore jinx” so when work began on the new album America pulled out all the stops to reach their goal. Their production maintains the acoustic guitar underpinning heard on the successful debut album but builds on the sound of that first record by featuring more electric guitar and keyboards.

“Homecoming” is a melodic album full of catchy folk ballads and great harmonies and features two other hits, “Don't Cross the River” and “Only in Your Heart.” Several other songs received heavy FM radio airplay. The album is a collection of thoughtful, well-written, and skillfully sung songs. It's one of America's better albums, possibly their best for “Homecoming” helped continue the band's popularity, reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA.

TRACKS:

Ventura Highway

To Each His Own

Don't Cross the River

Moon Song

Only in Your Heart

Till the Sun Comes Up Again

Cornwall Blank

Head and Heart

California Revisited

Saturn Nights

Produced by America

Mastered for this SACD by Steve Hoffman at Stephen Marsh Mastering

For more information: https://audiofidelity.net/product/america-homecoming

'One Lost Day,' the new studio album from the Indigo Girls, set for release on June 2, 2015 via IG Recordings/Vanguard Records

It has been four years since the Indigo Girls released a new studio album. On June 2, their much-anticipated release ONE LOST DAY, will be available on IG Recordings/Vanguard Records. With the help of visionary new producer Jordan Brooke Hamlin (Lucy Wainwright Roche) and mixer Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, PHOX, Kathleen Edwards), Amy Ray and Emily Sailers have created a landscape of truly original sounds and stories ranging from stark intimacy to bombastic pop and grind.

On ONE LOST DAY, musicality, whimsy, rawness, sadness and joy move through each of the 13 tracks. This theme is especially evident on the first single, “Happy in the Sorrow Key,” written by Amy Ray.“I drew from lyrics I wrote during some of my travels with the IG’s,” Amy said. “I was thinking about the things that keep us weighed down with non-acceptance and a refusal to embrace impermanence and suffering. I don’t think you can make change for the good until you do, so it’s an activist part of me searching for a way to face reality and still have the energy and passion to work for good.”

ONE LOST DAY was recorded in studios in Nashville, TN and mixed at Justin Vernon’s April Base Studios in Fall Creek, WI and at the Parhelion Recording Studios in Atlanta, GA. Musicians Brady Blade and Carol Isaacs from the Indigo Girls’ Beauty Queen Sister returned, along with the Indigo Girls’ touring band. Additionally, Amy and Emily brought in Lex Price (k.d. lang, Mindy Smith), Butterfly Boucher (Ingrid Michaelson, Katie Herzig, Mat Kearney), Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, The Wallflowers, Gigolo Aunts) and Chris Donohue (Dave Matthews, Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams, Robert Plant) to bring a good dose of infectious energy and creativity to the scene.

“We took some chances on the making of ONE LOST DAY, with a new producer, engineer, and various musicians,” Emily said. “Stretching like that felt liberating to me. Each song tells a story of where we’ve been and what we’ve thought about, whom we’ve met, and the travels we’ve had. It is a travelogue on lessons learned and love lived. I’m so glad we brought Jordan Hamlin on board to take us to new musical landscapes for this group of songs. And my relationship with Amy feels further strengthened by the collection of these songs and the diligent effort to make them the best they could be.”

Amy mirrors Emily’s sentiments. “The title sums it up for me,” she said. “This is about the one lost day that rekindled and infused with our spirit to find that making music is just as vibrant and full of passion as it’s even been for us!”

The Indigo Girls will be hitting the road this summer following the release of ONE LOST DAY. Initial dates are listed below with more dates to be announced soon. Visit www.indigogirls.com for updates.

2015 Spring/Summer Tour Dates
4-12         Philadelphia, PA      Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts w/Philadelphia Youth Orchestra
4-15         Durham, NC                   North Carolina Symphony
4-17         Newport News, VA         Ferguson Center Concert Hall
4-19         Cincinnati, OH               Music Hall w/Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
4-25         Huntsville, AL                Panoply Festival of the Arts @ Big Spring Park
4-30         Pittsburgh, PA               Heinz Hall w/Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
5-23         Lenox, MA                     SummerSound Live at Tanglewood Music Center
6-17         Grand Rapids, MI            Meijer Gardens
6-19         Ann Arbor, MI                 Power Center for the Performing Arts (Ann Arbor Summer Festival)
6-20         Dayton, OH                    Schuster Center w/Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
6-21         Charlottesville, VA         nTelos Wireless Pavilion w/Mary Chapin Carpenter
6-26         Atlanta, GA                    Chastain Park Amphitheater
7-05         San Diego, CA                 Humphrey’s
7-07         Los Angeles, CA              El Rey Theatre
7-08-9     Saratoga, CA                   Montalvo Arts Center
7-11         Portland, OR                  Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre
7-12         Seattle, WA                    Woodland Park Zoo
7-14         Layton, UT                     Edward A. Kenley Centennial Amphitheater
7-15         Boulder, CO                   Chautauqua Auditorium
7-18         Eau Claire, WI                Eaux Claires Music Festival
7-26         Camden, NJ                   XPoNential Music Festival @ River Stage in Wiggins Park
7-28         Vienna, VA                     The Filene Center @ Wolf Trap
7-29         Selbyville, DE                 Freeman Stage
8-07         Indianapolis, IN              Indiana State Fair

'Rabbit Hole' from Lotus Crush set for release on April 14

“Hearts and Minds” from Upcoming Spring Album Available at iTunes Now

Seattle’s CaviGold Records is proud to announce Lotus Crush’s sophomore album, Rabbit Hole —an 11-song sonically-vast musical journey led by Terry McDermott's powerful and wide-ranging vocals— will be released April 14. Lotus Crush is Scottish singer McDermott (runner-up of The Voice 2012, Driveblind), guitarist Peter Klett (Candlebox), drummer Scott Mercado (Candlebox), guitarist Island Styles (Jimmy’s Chicken Shack) and bassist Mark Mattrey. Recorded at Seattle’s iconic Robert Lang Studios, the studio utilized for classic albums from Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and more, Rabbit Hole is the finest work to date from the band of rock veterans. 

The album is available for preorders now at iTunes. 

In January, Entertainment Weekly exclusively debuted the exciting first video from Lotus Crush’s Rabbit Hole at EW.com. The “Hearts and Minds” video stars C Thomas Howell (The Outsiders, Red Dawn, Southland) as the leader of a totalitarian government and was described by EW.com as, “a surprisingly intense military mini-drama.” In December 2014, Yahoo Music debuted the audio of “Hearts and Minds,” and lauded McDermott’s “perfect set of pipes.” “Hearts and Minds” is available on iTunes now.

Lotus Crush’s evolution began on the road in 2006 when Driveblind toured Europe with Candlebox (Styles and Mattrey are recent additions to the band). While on tour, the artists shared a love of seminal British bands such as The Verve, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and sowed what would be the seeds of a long-lasting relationship. The common influences of the band spurred the creative process and from their respective corners of the world (Seattle, Aberdeen and New Orleans) they went on to release their first project together, Half Light Morning in 2011. After getting together for what they thought was a single reunion show in 2014, the creative gears clicked and Lotus Crush was back.

artistecard.com/lotuscrush * facebook.com/lotuscrushmusic * cavigoldrecords.com

facebook.com/terrymacmusic * twitter.com/terrymacmusic