If there is such thing as a beloved SXSW satellite event, it’s Luck Reunion which takes place on Willie Nelson’s Luck Ranch each March. Since the event began, a lot has changed, including the owners tolerance for concerts on the property. The Luck Reunion 10th Anniversary Series continued last night with The Flaming Lips and Nelson’s son, Micah with his band, Particle Kid.
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Where most artists deliver the runtime of a long HBO episode, a My Morning Jacket set is an epic Peter Jackson film. On April 29 in Austin, the band played a two-hour, 45 minute marathon, with nearly as many songs (22) as years they have been together (24). In other words, it was your typical, kick-ass MMJ set.
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When we realized we would be covering South By Southwest (SXSW) this year from the comfort of our living room, it became clear our coverage of the festival was going to change significantly in 2021.
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The First Rose of Spring is Willie Nelson’s seventieth album. That is 70, seven-zero. Let that sink in a minute. The sheer volume of Nelson’s creative output is staggering. The record was released or “dropped” as the kids say, July 3, just before Nelson’s annual Fourth of July Picnic which was live-streamed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You would think there isn’t anything new to say about Willie Nelson. You would think there isn’t anything new and good enough that Nelson could sing. You’d be wrong on both counts.
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While I am not one to fall into regret, I do enjoy exploring the road less traveled. That turn you didn’t take, the zig when you should have zagged, the song no one else recorded, or the B-side the DJ never flipped. I love discovering “new old music” as exemplified on Neil Young’s record Homegrown which was released last week; 45 years after it was recorded.
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First things first, I loathe pop-country. Even trying to explain how much I want to be thrown into a cornfield Goodfellas-style whenever Sam Hunt or Jason Aldean comes on feels like it doesn’t do justice to my description. When it comes to real country music? Inject that shit directly into my veins, because you put on some classic George Jones or Hank Williams, I’m there all day for it.
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My favorite songwriter, however, is Rodney Crowell. His new record, TEXAS is phenomenal. A true work of art. The record is due out August 15. Crowell will be performing in support of the record launch on that same day at The Heights Theater in Houston.
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Outlaw country music pioneer Willie Nelson has perhaps been a greater influence on American music than any other singer, songwriter, or musician in history. At 86 he appears just as relevant today as anytime in his career.
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Austin’s Jesse Dayton is much like his influences Waylon, Willie and even The Clash and X. The music the Texas musician makes perfectly reflects those disparate styles and more. As an artist, Dayton refuses to be pigeon-holed into a particular genre. Listening to the tracks on his latest, “The Outsider” highlights the point that the singer, songwriter and guitarist is talented at presenting music regardless of genre, East Texas Blues, punk, rock, acoustic songwriter ballads in the Texas tradition all make an appearance on this outstanding new record.
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