The second annual Hug Your Farmer benefit took place at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont on Friday night. This year’s concert was billed as a tribute to Levon Helm. The evening’s house band was made up of local scene fixtures Bob Wagner (guitar), Clint Bierman (guitar),  Peter Day (bass) on bass, Ray Paczkowski (keys), Ron Rost (keys), Steve Hadeka (drums), Chris Peterman (tenor sax), Adam Dotson (trombone), Dave Grippo (alto sax), Luke LaPlant (baritone sax) and Levon Helm Band member Steven Bernstein (trumpet). The setlist consisted of both originals and covers The Band performed at The Last ...

As a songwriter she had cuts by Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris [...]

Celebrated singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith has had a long career, been praised by luminaries like Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello, been covered by the likes of Feist, Emmylou Harris, and Rod Stewart (though in my opinion, you can skip Rod’s version of “Secret Heart”).  Not too shabby.  His latest, Long Player Late Bloomer was produced by Bob Rock, yet sadly does not sound like Metallica and Bon Jovi.  Maybe next time.  Sexsmith is playing The Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 17 and … →

Featuring performances from a rootsy grab bag of artists that includes The Civil Wars, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Emmylou Harris, the North Mississippi Allstars, John Scofield and Buddy Miller, Mercyland is a sweetly plaintive balm for anyone who’s been rubbed raw or beaten down by the holier-than-thou.

Amazon ... her work with Gram Parsons. She subsequently toured as a part of his band, The Fallen Angels,.. recorded in 1973. .... Emmylou was distraught by his death but had learned much from her brief sojourn with the personable and influential Gram and continued to champion his ground-breaking work throughout her own career. The 1975 broadcast featured here was aired from San Francisco s famous Boarding House venue and occurred just a year after Parson s death ..... This performance offers a tantalising glimpse of such qualities as Emmylou displays the full magnificence of her voice in this truly wonderful show. Lyrics ...

Excellent piece on Gram Parsons from American Songwriter ; one part start-here primer to one part new interviews from people who worked with him: In 1973, Gram put together a road band he dubbed the Fallen Angels, including Emmylou Harris on acoustic guitar and vocals. They played shows throughout the Midwest, Texas, South, and East Coast. “People who saw that tour I think would remember it as a magical experience. It certainly was for me,” says Harris. Harris remembers the early days as being more like jam sessions led by Gram. “He knew every country song. When we were rehearsing for ...

The stage is sparsely arranged with a solitary chair dead centre, a few microphones at sitting and standing height, and a piano in the dark corner of far stage left. Finally the house lights dim and the only pool of light rests on that empty central chair. It’s utterly silent now, until the footsteps in the dark suddenly reveal the dishevelled star of the show and the room erupts into raucous applause. The North Carolina native takes his tri-coloured acoustic guitar, mutters good evening and opens with the loving ode to his hometown, ‘Oh my Sweet Carolina’. Complete silence ...

Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris: After the Gold Rush [ purchase ] ...In which Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton meet Benjamin Franklin. Or, more specifically, the instrument Franklin invented in 1761 -- the glass armonica, the first instrument to be invented in Colonial America. The glass armonica comprises 37 chromatically tuned bowls, mounted on a rotating spindle. The armonicist operates the instrument with a foot pedal, and rubs the spinning glass with his fingers. The result is an ethereal, almost spooky, tone. Hearing -- but not seeing -- her husband play the instrument for the first time, Mrs. Franklin said she feared she’d died and was listening to the sound of angels. Franklin’s invention was particularly well received in Europe. Marie Antoinette was said to have taken armonica lessons. Mozart was inspired to write two works for it. Mozart in turn introduced it to physician Franz Mesmer, who used the instrument’s dulcet tones to help, well, mesmerize his patients. The arminoca’s faint sound made it difficult to be heard in concert halls, and the prolonged exposure to the glass posed health risks to the armonicists. Soon the instrument faded away. The (seriously) glass armonica website estimates there are only a dozen glass armonica players in the world today. One of those is a fellow named Dennis James, who plays armonica on Harris, Ronstadt and Parton’s cover of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush." It appears on their Trio II CD, released in 1999. (Ronstadt’s 1992 record, Winter Light, also featured James on armonica.) Even without the armonica solo, it's a strange cover -- the ladies change the lyrics a bit, and Parton later claimed none of them had any idea what the song was about. Still, the accompanying video was quite popular on VH-1 and country music video channels, in part because of the fascinating instrument that managed to one-up the trio’s angelic harmonies. (Watch a performance on David Letterman’s Late Show here ; the armonica solo starts at about 3:46.)

A venerable list of artists and sports figures have donated their time and memorabilia for an auction benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Trey Anastasio, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Daniels, Lady Antebellum are among the long list of artists contributing to the auction, which kicked off Friday,...

Two country legends and some soulful Melbournians lead this week's tours in brief.

I love how sweet and charming this song is. A great tribute to some of the great singing couple/duos – Emmylou Harris & Gram Parsons and June Carter Cash & Johnny Cash. Who would have thought that a Swedish duo would be making some of the best Americana today? @firstaidkitband facebook.com/firstaidkitofficial

HT faves Alabama Shakes continue to climb through the ranks of the music industry as today the band has announced a summer headlining tour that kicks off on July 29 at Paper Mill near Syracuse, New York and runs through a August 16th date at the House of Blues in San Diego. The headlining run is in addition to the group’s just announced June 24th show at Central Park SummerStage. Head to the Alabama Shakes website for the full list of dates and keep your eyes out for additional performances to be added. [Photo by Autumn De Wilde] If ...

This project was set into motion by Phil Madeira, who produced, had a hand in writing most of the songs and assembled the wide variety of musicians. There are musicians as renowned and varied in style as Buddy Miller and The North Mississippi Allstars as well as such far lesser known artists as Mat Kearney and Cindy Morgan. Emmylou Harris (Madeira...

Legendary musician Levon Helm's daughter Amy and wife Sandy have released the following statement on his website : Dear Friends,   Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey. Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration... he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the ...

Conan O’Brien and Team Coco managed to land Sweden’s up and coming folk group First Aid Kit for its U.S. late night television debut last night. The young Söderberg sisters performed a bare-bones version of lead single “Emmylou,” a track that name-drops such noted singers as Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons and Johnny and June Cash.