Buzz at Bonnaroo

In just a few short weeks I'll be in a Tennessee field with a few thousand other friends for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.  The 10th anniversary of the festival takes place in Manchester, TN from June 9th-12th.

In an attempt to discover something new while I'm there, I went through the full lineup for the festival with the following goal:  find five new artists of interest I had never heard of before based on nothing but their bio and content on the Bonnaroo website to check out while in Tennessee.  Yes, that's a fairly limiting scope, and in retrospect maybe not a wise decision, but hey, sometimes establishing boundaries defines a space for creative things to happen.

Here's what I came up with in no particular order and the videos from the Bonnaroo site I listened to.   

Gary Clark, Jr. - "Don't Owe You a Thing" 
Straight gas from the first note.

Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons - "Born Again"
If Jim James can like it, I can like it too.

Band of Skulls - "Death by Diamonds and Pearls"
Kinda White Stripesy but I don't hold that against them. 

MAN MAN - "Mister Jung Stuffed"
The back story slightly distresses me and I can't condone their press photo, but the conviction in his voice gives me hope. 

MAN MAN - “Mister Jung Stuffed”

MAN MAN | Myspace Music Videos

Mat McHugh (of The Beautiful Girls)
Reminds me of a time when I thought no one would top Jack Johnson as a singer songwriter.  I'm not really nostalgic for those days, but this will go really well with a dozen PBR's, some Jack and the sweat of the Tennessee sun.

140 Character Record Review: Sarah Jarosz - Follow Me Down

Sarah Jarosz – Follow Me Down:

Newgrass newbie sings airy freshness like the smell of 

dewy, newly cut grass on a spring morning

140 Character Record Review: Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'

Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin':
Soul energy enough to Mo a town while
bench pressing Stax of dance floors 

In the Headphones (5/4/11)

Blitzen Trapper - "The Tree"

Also check out their Daytrotter session (and download it for free) which features songs off Destroyer of the Void.  

My Morning Jacket - "Circuital" (New album, Circuital, out May 31st)

Tedeschi Trucks Band - "Bound For Glory" (New album, Revelator, out June 7th)

Drive By Truckers - "Ray's Automatic Weapon"

The Return of Idols

It's easy to elevate musicians, especially those we haven't heard from in while, to an elite status in our musical memory.  As the saying goes, time can make the heart grow fonder, for the time when a songs meaning, or the person who created it, was new, fresh, and important in our life.  And for most of us, those idols retain their personal significance, even as their star fades from the public consciousness.

Here's a couple such elevated icons who have challenged our memories and their legacies by putting out new work in 2011, some for the first time in a while.   

Robbie Robertson - How to Become Clairvoyant (April 2011, 429 Records)
It's been 13 years since the man who became famous as The Band's guitarist and primary songwriter released a solo album. For Clairvoyant, he brings a lot of friends along, including Robert Randolph for "Straight Down the Line" featured below, as well as Tom Morello, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Trent Reznor, Taylor Goldsmith, and Pino Palladino.

Find more Robbie Robertson (Official Myspace Page) songs at Myspace Music

Steve Earle - I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive (April 2011, New West Records)
It was 2007 the last time Earle released new, original material (2009's Townes featured songs by singer songwriter Townes Van Zandt).  His side projects during his gap in releases, however, did yield Justin Townes father some music - "This City" (nominated for a Grammy) was written for and featured as the closing song to Season 1 of HBO's Treme.  Check out his Tiny Desk Concert over at NPR featuring "Waiting on the Sky", "Every Part of Me" and "This City", all off the new album.

Gregg Allman - Low Country Blues (Jan 2011, Rounder Records) 
It's been nine years and one liver since the younger Allman brother released a solo album, but he sounds as strong as ever.  Check out the original version of this song, "Floating Bridge",  by Sleepy John Estes here as well as Eric Clapton's slow blues take here. 

Josh Ritter, Friend of Science

I like science.  I think Josh Ritter does too.

He proved that on his 1999 self-titled debut with "Stuck to You" (The Science Song) that he bashfully hid at the end of the album.  What's great is that the song works as a song about science, as well as a sheepish love story.   

The same can be said for "The Temptation of Adam" from 2007's The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter.  There's some politics in here too, but stick to the science and it won't be as messy.    

Love and science, both beautiful, together or apart.