Engine 145 - A Roots Music Publication

Shovels & Rope earned four Americana Music Awards nominations yesterday afternoon. Buddy Miller and Emmylou Harris got three each. Read the full list here; the winners will be announced September 18 at the Americana Awards and Honors Ceremony, which will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale. Willie Nelson has donated more than $120,000 to relief efforts following [...]

Continue reading "Americana Music Awards Nominees Announced; Third Man to Reissue Sun Records Singles; BBC Radio 4 Broadcast Gets Yodel-Bombed"

Last week’s “All for the Hall” benefit concert raised nearly $650,000, bring the event’s four-year total to more than $2 million. (via press release) Songwriter Tom Douglas (“The House That Built Me,” “Grown Men Don’t Cry”) is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s newest “Poet and Prophet.” He’ll do an interview and performance [...]

Continue reading "All for the Hall Benefit Raises $650K; Steve Earle Box Set Due in June; Steve Martin & Edie Brickell Play Letterman"

At this point, it would be easier to list who isn’t appearing at George Jones’ final Nashville concert. Billy Ray Cyrus, Don McLean, and Cyndi Lauper have all been added to the lineup, bringing the current total to 50+ musical guests. Chuck Dauphin of Billboard reviewed one of Randy Travis’ recent performances with the Nashville Symphony: [...]

Continue reading "Tift Merritt Collaborates with Classical Pianist Simone Dinnerstein; The Spinney Brothers’ Next Album Due in May; Album Releases"

Paul Cauthen and David Whitbeck, the inseparable duo better known as Sons of Fathers, might be two of the hardest-working musicians in Austin. If they’re not onstage, they’re in the studio, which is how they ended up with nearly three dozen songs while working on material for their sophomore release, Burning Days (due out April 2), a collection [...]

Continue reading "Roots and Vines: An Interview with Sons of Fathers"

“I feel like I’m 90 years old in a younger body,” confesses Ashley Monroe. “But it gives me a lot to write about.”  At just 26 years old, the mature beyond her years singer-songwriter has worked with a number of A-list artists–including Guy Clark, Vince Gill, Jon Randall, Dwight Yoakam, Jack White, and Ronnie Dunn. [...]

Continue reading "You Can’t Tame a Wild Rose: An Interview with Ashley Monroe"

Billy Joe Foster, who played with Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Special Edition, and Country Gazette passed away at the age of 51. Red Simpson is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s newest “Poet and Prophet.” He’ll take part in an in-depth interview and performance at the HoF on February 23. [...]

Continue reading "Red Simpson Named HoF’s New Poet & Prophet; Billy Joe Foster Passes Away; Miranda Lambert to Perform at Grammys"

Brian T. Atkinson interviewed Kris Kristofferson for CMT Edge. In March, the Country Music Association will host the first International Country Music Marketing Summit at Disneyland Paris. PopMatters’ Dave Heaton asks, “How much can the genre of country music progress if it’s spending all of its time looking back?” The Bluegrass Situation posted a neat [...]

Continue reading "Sweeney, Musgraves Among ACM Newcomer Award Nominees; Gill, Harris to Play “All for the Hall” Concert in NYC; Son Volt Announces New Album"

In 2011, The First Lady of Rockabilly declared “The Party Ain’t Over” with her rollicking, Jack White-produced album of the same name. A year later Wanda Jackson returns to take care of some unfinished business on a sassy, brassy album, produced by Justin Townes Earle, that showcases Jackson’s growling, inspired versions of rock, blues, folk, [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Wanda Jackson — Unfinished Business"

On July 10, the Zac Brown Band will release their new album, Uncaged. Trombone Shorty guests on one of the songs. Levon Helm’s friends and fans can pay their respects at his Woodstock studio tomorrow between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The Crooked Road Music Heritage Trail in Southwest Virginia is hosting a contest in [...]

Continue reading "New Zac Brown Band Album Drops 7/10; Jonny Corndawg Dreams Big; Bluegrass-to-English Translations"

This evening at 6pm Eastern, stream a Darrell Scott interview and performance on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country. Todd Snider’s the subject of this Paste feature, which also reveals that [n]ext month Snider will be releasing Time as We Know It: The Songs of Jerry Jeff Walker, an album of Walker’s songs to celebrate his 70th birthday. [...]

Continue reading "Stream Darrell Scott Performance; Miranda Lambert and Rodney Atkins Help Disaster Relief Efforts; Moot Davis Album Giveaway"