Routes & Branches 5/18/13

It was good to be back in the studio after taking a week off to visit my family. Thanks to Nancy for sitting in for me.

The Americana Music association announce the nominations for this year's awards recently so I had a set starting the second hour of 4 of the 5 albums nominated for album of the year. I didn't have a copy of the Shovels and Rope CD "O' Be Joyful" which was also nominated.  Of the other 4 albums that I did play, I must say that it would be hard for me to choose one over the others as my favorite. I have played all of them several times on my show and I like several tracks on each CD. I also found it interesting that all of the album nominations except for John Fullbright were by duos that were also nominated for that category. It will be interesting to see who wins in September.

New tracks this week were from Jason Isbell, Eric McMann, Reed Turner, and the Doug Prescott Band. Also an interesting collaboration from John Mellencamp Steven King and T Bone Burnett on a musical called "Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County" which started out as a story which Mellencamp told to King and was premiered last spring in Atlanta. The sound track has several artists helping out with the music including Dave and Phil Alvin, Sheryl Crow, Taj Mahal, Ryan Bingham and Kris Kristofferson.

3pm
John Hiatt - We're Alright Now - Mystic Pinball
Jason Isbell - Cover Me Up - Southeastern
The Black Crows - Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You - Wiser For Time
Eric McMann - The Red White And Blue - The Last American Songbook
The Black Lillies - Ramblin' Boy - Runaway Freeway Blues
New Riders Of The Purple Sage - Down For The Ride - 17 Pine Avenue
Doug Prescott Band - Purple Heart In A Crown Vic - Blues In The Key Of Sea
Ryan Bingham & Will Dailey - Brotherly Love - Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County
Taj Mahal - Tear This Cabin Down - Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County
Blitzen Trapper - Love The Way You Walk Away - American Goldwing
4pm
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell - Chase The Feeling - Old Yellow Moon
John Fullbright - Moving - From The Ground Up
Kelly Willis & Bruce Robinson - Border Radio - Cheater's Game
Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale - The Train That Carried my Gal From Town - Buddy & Jim
Richard Thompson - Good Things Happen To Bad People - Electric
Corb Lund - Dig Gravedigger Dig - Cabin Fever
Reed Turner - Killed That Girl ('Cause She Was Killin' Me) - Ghosts In The Attic
Jason Isbell - Super 8 - Southeastern
The California Honeydrops - When It Was Wrong - Spreadin' Honey
Blue Mule - Why? - This Way Or That
Dailey & Vincent - Back To Hancock County - Brothers Of The Highway
Tear Stained Letters - Nothing To It - Tear Stained Letters