The past couple of weeks may have left you wondering whether we were still focussing on acoustic-based independent singer/songwriters, after our R.E.M theme and last week’s Neil Young tribute, so this week we’re back to basics with some classic singer/songwriters, some great new music from folks like Ryan Adams, Ray Lamontagne, Lucinda Williams, Luke Doucet, and more. Yeah, we played a Pince cover, a Radiohead cover, and a Beatles cover, but you just can’t entirely overhaul the format overnight!
Neilfest part II
Prerecorded because the gang’s off at the long awaited Neil Young show at the arena. In honour of one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all, this is our own Steel Belted Neilfest, featuring a bunch of Neil’s best, as well as some covers and Neil related songs to get you in the mood for the concert, or to make you feel bad if you missed it.
I couldn’t believe it when I saw R.E.M. on Austin City Limits this week. They’re not roots music! Or are they? I figured if they’re good enough for ACL, darn it, they’re good enough for us too. Plus, they’re the only members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that I’ve met, and I always like to brag about that. It seems that some pretty folky singer/songwriters are fans too, because not only did we hear a few R.E.M. originals and collaborators, but we heard some folky covers of their stuff as well.
All of this got me in the mood for some good old fashioned pop music. Although I’m an old folky now, I was raised on a steady diet of pop music, so I never pass up the chance to bop along to some hooks & melodies, so some classic pop nuggets.
But we can’t get away without some folk & roots, and that came in honour of our friends at Candor, who are holding their “wedding” social this week to raise money for a new store/venue. We played just some of the great artists lending a hand to the worthwhile cause.