New Music From The Randy Rogers Band - "Is This Thing Workin'" (feat. Parker McCollum)

New Music Video From The Randy Rogers Band - "Break Itself"

New Music Video From Flatland Cavalry and Randy Rogers - "Let It Roll"

New Music Video From Randy Rogers Band - "I Won't Give Up"

New Music Video From The Randy Rogers Band - "Fast Car"

Jackin' Around Podcast- Episode 23 - Jack Ingram Interviews Randy Rogers

Jack Ingram's career spans over four decades and includes 18 records, 6 top #20 singles, including a #1 hit on the Country Billboard charts. Jack has taken home awards, including CMT Music Video of the year, ACM New Male Artist, ACM Song of the Year, and two Grammy nominations, including the 2022 Best Country Album, "The Marfa Tapes" (Jack Ingram I Jon Randall I Miranda Lambert). Additionally, Jack hosts the nationally syndicated "Texas Music Scene" show, a half-hour weekly program in over 70 US markets, and has won 22 Telly awards and 2 People's Choice awards. Jack has a passion for children's charities, as proved by his joint fundraising effort with legendary Coach Mack Brown and Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey (MJM).  Since 2013, MJM has hosted the biggest names in music and raised nearly 20 million dollars for children's charities.  

He also has hosted my Golf & Guitars Music Festival over the years, helping raise nearly a million and a half dollars to help veterans, disadvantaged youth and those with disabilities in Northern California. For that, I'll be forever grateful. This is is his new Jackin' Around Podcast.

This week's podcast guest is Texan, Randy Rogers. 

The Randy Rogers Band recorded its debut album, Live at Cheatham Street Warehouse, at a music hall of the same name in San Marcos, Texas. By 2002, the band was signed to the independent Downtime record label, on which they released the album Like It Used to Be.  It was around this time that the band began performing outside of San Marcos, primarily at Nutty Brown Cafe and Amphitheatre in nearby Dripping Springs, Texas. Two years later, the album Rollercoaster was released, producing two minor entries on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in early 2005.  Rogers also co-wrote "Somebody Take Me Home", a song recorded by Kenny Chesney, on his 2005 album, The Road and the Radio. Several of the songs on Rollercoaster were co-written by Radney Foster, who also co-produced the album.  Just a Matter of Time, the band's first major-label album, was released on Mercury Nashville Records in 2006.  The band also released their self-titled album on September 23, 2008, also on Mercury Nashville Records. The first single "In My Arms Instead", was released in August.

The band's fifth album, Burning the Day, was released on August 24, 2010, on MCA Nashville. The album's first single was "Too Late for Goodbye." It debuted at 55 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and after four weeks on the chart, it peaked at 47.

"One More Sad Song" was released in late 2012. The song became the band's first Billboard Top 40 hit, and the first single from their sixth album, Trouble.

Dreamer: A Tribute to Kent Finlay, released in 2016 on Austin-based Eight 30 Records, features Randy Rogers and Sunny Sweeney's duet "Between You and Me".

New Music Video From Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen - "Hold My Beer"

New Music Video From Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen - "Hangin' Out In Bars"

Courtney Patton, Jamie Lin Wilson, Reckless Kelly, Parker McCollum, Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen, Bruce Robison, William Clark Green, Bri Bagwell, Stoney LaRue Among Artists On Cross Canadian Ragweed Tribute Album

Album: The Years: A Musicfest Tribute to Cody Canada and the Music of Cross Canadian Ragweed

Label: Right Ave

Release date: January 22, 2021

At one of America's longest-running music festivals earlier this year, some of Texas music's best paid tribute to Cody Canada and the music of Cross Canadian Ragweed and that music has now been culled into an album and released this week. This past January (and pre-covid), artists gathered together in Steamboat to honor the many incredible accomplishments of the Texas/Red Dirt Legend Cody Canada.

Included in the projected are artists such as Courtney Patton, Jamie Lin Wilson, Reckless Kelly, Parker McCollum, Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen, Bruce Robison, William Clark Green, Bri Bagwell, Stoney LaRue and many more. 

This tribute concert gave Texas and beyond top artists the unique opportunity to express how Canada’s music has influenced them personally and professionally as they performed their own renditions of his music. Those tributes were recorded live and captured each artist's renditions of Cody Canada's Red Dirt songs. 

1. Constantly - Parker McCollum

2. Bang My Head (feat. Cody Canada) - Copper Chief

3. Don't Need You - Read Southall Band

4. Fightin' For - Reckless Kelly

5. 17 - Jamie Lin Wilson

6. This Time Around - Randy Rogers

7. 42 Miles - Casey Donahew

8. Sick and Tired (feat. Jamie Lin Wilson) - Wade Bowen

9. Carney Man - Mike McClure

10. Breakdown - Bruce Robison

11. Alabama - Courtney Patton

12. Johnny's Song - William Clark Green

13. On a Cloud - Doug Moreland

14. Run to Me - Bri Bagwell 

15. Broken (feat. Cody Canada) - Stoney LaRue

16. Dead Man - Jade Marie Patek

17. The Years - BJ Barham

Wade Bowen Releases New Musical Project Called The Waiting

Artist: Wade Bowen

Album: The Waiting

Label: Bowen Sounds

Release date: September 3, 2020

Texas troubadour Wade Bowen went to social media yesterday to announce the immediate (and surprise release) of his new EP, The Waiting.  

Says, Bowen on the project, "I've spent the last few months trying to do something good with all this time and uncertainty. I’ve been listening to a lot of music, writing a lot of music, and recording a lot of music, and this EP is the culmination of some of that. Just trying to have some fun. And my band did a great job with it. It features some of my old songs from live albums that had never been recorded in the studio, a cover of my favorite Phil Collins song, and a brand new one I wrote a while back with my buddy Brent Cobb."

Bowen is an Texas Country/Red Dirt singer from Waco, Texas and a favorite of this particular website. Bowen was a member of the band West 84 with friend Matt Miller until 2001 when he left the group to pursue a solo career. Since that time, he has released nine solo albums and three collaborative albums with friend Randy Rogers including the fantastic Hold My Beer, Vol. 2 released earlier this year. 

The Waiting Track listing:

1. Getaway

2. Who I Am

3. Red Headed Woman

4. Mystery of a Woman

5. Fairest Lady

6. I Wish It Would Rain Down

Honkytonk Concert Video - Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen Perform Their New Album Hold My Beer, Vol. 2

Texans Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen just released their second collaboration together, an appropriately-named Hold My Beer, Vol. 2. The album is a studio extension of their Hold My Beer and Watch This Tour, a fun-loving, friends-first trek across Texas and nearby states off-and-on tour that the two have been on for the better part of the past decade.

The album is representative of everything that’s good about (talented) friends collaborating. There's an inherent underlying feeling of joy and fun with the two throughout the album that's infectious. As you would expect, it's full of the Texas-standards of fiddle and steel and is equal parts smiles and deep-thinking. It's terrific enough for us to hope for Volume 3 and beyond.

Check out this video of them playing their songs from the project below...

Virtual Merle Haggard Musical Tribute "Festival" Planned Monday, April 6 By Texas Singer-Songwriters

If there was ever a Mount Rushmore for modern day country music singer-songwriters, clearly Merle Haggard would be considered for one of those gigantic busts. His influence runs far and wide with iconic songs like "Mama Tried", "Okie from Muskogee", "The Fightin' Side of Me" and "Pancho and Lefty."  Nowhere is that more truthful, however, than the place where this sort of storytelling is still alive and well, the great Lone Star State of Texas.  Haggard had the unique life notation of both being born and passing on the same exact day, April 6.  (He passed away on his 79th birthday back in 2016.)

A group of special Texas artists and songwriters are not going to let this day go unnoticed, however. With the world under quarantine and with all live shows on indefinite hiatus, another kind of special online show is being put together on Monday night at 6p CST to celebrate Haggard.  Described as "Hag, You're It", they're putting together a virtual guitar pull celebrating the life and catalog of their hero, Merle Haggard. Songs will be performed by Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen, Cody Canada, Max Stalling, Adam Hood, Jamie Lin Wilson, Matt Hillyer, Walt Wilkins, Jason Eady, Courtney Patton and maybe a few other last minute additions that are in the works.

Says Eady on the project, "This coming Monday we’ll be doing a virtual Hag Off! The Hag off is a tradition where we all get together and pass the guitar playing nothing but Merle Haggard songs. Since April 6 is his birthday we thought we shouldn’t let this quarantine slow that down. So we’ll be “passing the guitar” from one Facebook Live page to another all night for a game of “Hag, You’re It”. We’ll get started at 6pm and go til we’re done. In the meantime be sure and like everybody’s pages so you can follow along."

The concert will start on Courtney Patton's Facebook page and then she will hand the virtual mic over to another songwriter's Facebook page and go from artist to artist as they sing tribute to Haggard and share their favorite musical influences on their own songwriting careers.  It will be undoubtedly a special evening celebrating a legend.

That Nashville Sound Saturday Newsbytes: New Opry Member, New Albums & New Videos

A couple new album announcements and some new videos all were made yesterday and we've got the details and links for more information below...

- The Grand Ole Opry made a great choice in inviting bluegrass superstar Rhonda Vincent to becoming the new member of the Opry last night.

- David Adam Byrnes will be releasing Neon Town on May 22.  You can hear him talk about the new project HERE.

- Best pals and frequent Texas collaborators Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen are reuniting for another project, a sequel of sorts to their first album. The project will be called Hold My Beer, Vol. 2 and will be released on May 8.

“Unlike our first record, which kind of happened out of nowhere, this album was really planned,” explains Bowen. “We made a conscious effort to write for this specific project and also focused on bringing the best outside songs to the table. It was really important for us to be as mindful and purposeful as possible when it came to choosing the songs that made the cut for this volume.”

“Every single song on the album comes from the heart,” Rogers continues. “Some will make you laugh. Others will make you cry…but when it’s all said and done, we just hope the music speaks for itself and reflects the amount of time and love that went into each of these songs, from the melodies to the lyrics. We couldn’t be prouder of this album.”

The first song released off the project is "Rodeo Clown" and you can hear it HERE. 

- New music videos:

      Zac Brown Band - "Me and the Boys in the Band"

      Marc Broussard - "Eyes on the Prize"

      LeAnn Rimes - "Skinny Love"

      Sierra Hull - "25 Trips"

      Caitlyn Smith - "Supernova"

      Jordan Rager - "Cold in California"

Flatland Cavalry, Evan Felker (Turnpike Troubadours), Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison Among Texans On Upcoming The Next Waltz Volume 2 LP

Artist: Compilation
Album: The Next Waltz Volume 2
Label: The Next Waltz
Release date: November 29, 2019

The second installment of singles is being released from The Next Waltz. Recorded at Bruce Robison's The Bunker in Lockhart with no digital shenanigans, the new LP will be out November 29th. The project will only be available on Bluebonnet swirl colored 180 gram vinyl (limited run of 500) or classic black. Digital download included.  The beautiful cover art was created by Kerry Awn of Armadillo World Headquarters / Armadillo Art Squad fame.

The Next Waltz is a multi-faceted project bringing just about all of Robison’s musical interests under one big tent. In a nutshell, it’s a website (www.thenextwaltz.com), internet TV show/video podcast, online radio station, and a record label — albeit one at present and focused exclusively on producing digital-only singles, all of them recorded and mixed analog as all get-out at Robison’s new(ish) dream studio in Lockhart, Texas, Bruce’s Country Bunker.

“I’m starting with three and a half minutes,” he says with a laugh. “That’s what I’m asking people for: ‘Please just give me this three and a half minutes, listen to this.’ That’s how they did things back in the day at Stax or Motown, and man, you’ve really got to be able to turn their head in that time. And so that’s what we’re going for.”

The way it all works is, Robison and his Next Waltz team — including filmmaker Spencer Peeples — invite artists of the country/Texas/Americana persuasion out to the studio to film a short biopic/interview and to record a brand new single, usually with Robison’s own hand-picked Muscle Shoals/Wrecking Crew-inspired regular cast of ace Austin players. The recording of the song is filmed for its own video, and all three pieces — biopic, song video, and downloadable single — are then posted to the site and shared as far and wide as the web can carry them, from YouTube and iTunes to Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon and Google Play. “We are going to make these songs available in every sort of way you could want to consume them, download or streaming,” says Robison. “We’re saying yes to every bit, everywhere.”

Volume 1 included the likes of Randy Rogers, Jack Ingram, Wade Bowen, Holly Williams, Turnpike Troubadours, Reckless Kelly, Hayes Carll, Jerry Jeff Walker and more.

Volume 2 includes: 

Side A
"Whiskey In Your Water" - Evan Felker
"A World So Full of Love" - Shakey Graves
"Sober Heart" - Flatland Cavalry
"Edge of the Colorado" - Carrie Rodriguez
"The One I Was Then" - William Clark Green

Side B

"Don't You Think I Feel It Too" - Carson McHone
"Left My Girl Behind" - Wood & Wire
"Without You" - James Steinle
"Love's A Word I Never Throw Around" - John Baumann
"If I Had A Rose" - Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison

New Music Video From Randy Rogers Band - "I'll Never Get Over You"

Michael Martin Murphey To Release Austinology: Alleys of Austin in October

Artist: Michael Martin Murphey
Album: Austinology: Alleys of Austin
Label: Soundly Music
Release date: October 5, 2018

Fifty years after Murphey helped pioneer the Austin Music Scene (along with Jerry Jeff Walker, Gary P. Nunn and more) , his latest offering is a look at the seminal period of Austin’s music history that set the stage for the “Outlaw” movement with Nelson and Waylon Jennings, among others, and the live music scene that is still thriving there.

“Murphey was a key player in the Austin, TX phenomenon,” wrote noted journalist Craig Havighurst for WMOT — The String. “He was a regular at the Armadillo World Headquarters, the iconic venue at the heart of the live scene, where a diverse audience heard a diverse array of roots music, from hard country to traditional blues. Murphey, along with Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and others forged a country-rock hybrid that became the foundation for the progressive folk music field we now call Americana.”

For Austinology, Murphey chose songs — including some by the likes of Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Jerry Jeff Walker — that were important to the late 1960s and 1970s when he lived in Austin and created the “Cosmic Cowboy” era.

Murphey is joined on the project by several artists who were integral to that era as well as those influenced by the work they created.

The songs are given a fresh reading by Murphey and his special guests, including Willie Nelson (on “Alleys of Austin” and “Cosmic Cowboy”), Steve Earle (on “Geronimo’s Cadillac”), Lyle Lovett (on “Alleys of Austin,” “Cosmic Cowboy” and “Drunken Lady of the Morning”), Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison (on “Little Bird”), Jerry Jeff Walker (on “Cosmic Cowboy”), Amy Grant (on “Wildfire”), Randy Rogers (“Backslider’s Wine”), The Last Bandoleros (on Guy Clark’s “LA Freeway”) and more.

Murphey, who plays and sounds better than ever, also enlisted some of the finest players in the world, including guitarist Kenny Greenberg (Nelson, Bob Seger, Etta James), dobroist Rob Ickes (Earl Scruggs, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill), keyboardist Tim Akers (Dolly Parton, Bruce Hornsby, Jimmy Webb) and more. The album is co-produced with Christopher Harris (CeCe Winans, Amy Grant). 

Coolest Music T-Shirt Project Around Involves Jamie Lin Wilson, Jason Eady, Charlie Robison, Randy Rogers & Special Needs Kids

This site and I don't normally stump for merchandise for artists, but something really unique and special came across my newsfeed and I wanted to share it with folks that might be like-minded. If you like your music, you like promoting good artists and you like doing a good deed for a group of wonderful special needs kids, this might really intrigue you.

It started with a note from Texan Jamie Lin Wilson. If you haven't heard her sing with The Trishas or heard her incredible solo record Holidays and Wedding Rings, write it down right now and add it to your must have list. Jamie went on to reveal:

Y'all, Paper Clouds Apparel is doing a GREAT THING.

They've teamed up artists (the musical kind & the visual kind) to create one-of-a-kind apparel to raise money for special needs kids. Each musician chooses a charity, then one of the Paper Clouds designers (a child with special needs) creates a design according to our suggestions.

When I was approached about being a part of this campaign, I immediately thought of my cousin Carrie, who has had two special needs kids. She suggested that my campaign benefit Camp For All, a barrier-free camp in Brenham, Texas.

While trying to think of a design idea, her daughter Lily passed away. I contacted Paper Clouds and asked them to create a design in Lily's honor. A couple weeks later, they brought me this design, made by a 14-year-old with Asberger's named Griffin.

I think it's perfect. And to top it off, Griffin is our maiden name. :-)

Please check out www.papercloudsapparel.com and all the great artists that have designed shirts and their causes!

Paper Clouds Apparel was formed to showcase the creative minds and artistic abilities of individuals with special needs while raising funds to provide financial support for special needs schools and organizations. We achieve this goal by selling t-shirts, hats and totes featuring artwork designed by individuals with special needs. Paper Clouds Apparel also hires individuals with special needs to package all of our sensory-friendly clothing. Fifty percent of the net proceeds from the sale of all merchandise is given to the cause we are promoting in each campaign.

This campaign only runs through November 5th before they do another battery of artists, but this one not only includes Jamie Lin, but this campaign is featuring artwork for Jason Eady, Dalton Domino, Charlie Robison, and Randy Rogers Band as well.

Hear It Here: Shooter Jennings & Friends (including Musgraves, Kristofferson, Benson & More) - "Do You Love Texas?"

Country renegade Shooter Jennings has called on many of his country peers to help Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s destructive 2017 landfall. He has released a new track called “Do You Love Texas?” which will raise funds for the Rebuild Texas Fund and features backing vocals from ace artists Kacey Musgraves, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Rogers, Jason Boland, Ray Benson, and Whiskey Myers.

The idea came about when Jennings, 38, was in the studio with Music City power producer Dave Cobb in the days before Harvey hit Houston. “Dave and I are like little kids in the studio. When nobody else is around we say goofy, kid things to each other. Some of our greatest collaborations came from ideas like that. Dave turned to me and said, ‘Hey man, Texas loves you. We need to write a song for Texas.’ I looked at Dave and sang, ‘Do you love Texas?’ And he said ‘Hell yeah!’ And I sang ‘So do I.’ And the rest of it fell right into place. We had a great time crafting a song that playfully talks about why Texas is so much damn fun.”

 

Ram Trucks donated the first $25,000 towards the cause in conjunction with the song's release.

  

That Nashville Sound Thursday Newsbyte- New Music Videos & Americana Music Award-Winners

Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives Took Home Group of the Year at the Americana Music Honors Last Night

Happy Thursday, readers. Lots of new music videos and worthwhile musical performances are up on the newsfeed this morning- as well as the results to last night's Americana Music Honors and Awards Ceremony. Click on the song title to have them pop up.

- New music video from the Randy Rogers Band - "Meet Me Tonight"

- Mickey Guyton covered Patsy Cline's "I Fall To Pieces" backstage at the Grand Ole Opry.

- Michael Logen did an acoustic version of "Time Time Time" for Naked Sessions.

- The lovely Miss Hannah Blaylock (formerly of Eden's Edge) covered Dwight Yoakam's "Fast As You" at Eddie's Attic.

- Entertainment Weekly premiered Nikki Lane's new video for "Send the Sun."

 - We'll have some performance videos (hopefully) from last night's Americana Music Honors & Awards, but here are the night’s winners:

 

• Album of the Year: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, Sturgill Simpson (Simpson, producer)
• Artist of the Year: John Prine
• Group/Duo of the Year: Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives 
• Song of the Year: “It Ain’t Over Yet” Rodney Crowell feat. Rosanne Cash and John Paul White  Crowell, songwriter)
• Emerging Artist of the Year: Amanda Shires
• Instrumentalist of the Year: Charlie Sexton
• Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award: Graham Nash
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Trailblazer: Iris Dement
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriting: Van Morrison
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Performance: Robert Cray
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Instrumentalist: Hi Rhythm Section
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Executive: Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg

 

That Nashville Sound Sunday Newsbytes

This weekend has plenty of country music news to share including tidbits on Sammy Kershaw, Brandy Clark, The Dixie Chicks, Valerie June, Terri Clark, Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen, Dan Tyminski, Johnny Lang and more.

- Valerie June does a beautiful job of combining R&B, bluegrass, country, blues and folk in her new music video for "Got Soul." 

- If you missed The Dixie Chicks in concert this past year, you can head to the movie theaters to watch it. DCX MMXVI — In Concert will play in select movie theaters for one night only on August 7.

- The always-intriguing Brandy Clark released a new previously-unreleased song called "You're Drunk" that you can listen to here.

- Kevin John Coyne shares his love of Terri Clark's new podcast over at Country Universe- complete with a link to listen to a couple of them including ones Clark does with Suzy Bogguss, Pam Tillis, Reba McEntire and Wade Hayes.

- Sammy Kershaw has three different album projects in the way. First up is a Louisiana "swamp pop"album out later this year with a country and gospel album planned in early 2018. On the first album: “I’ve been listening to them since I was a boy,” Kershaw says, citing artists such as Eddy Raven, Willie Tee, TK Hulin and more, “so I just thought I would like to do a tribute album to those guys and get those guys on the album with me.”

- Union Station's Dan Tyminski has signed with Universal Records and has an album coming out in the fall. “I ended up getting to write with the young man Jesse Frasure — he’s on fire right now. When we first started to sit down to write, he had a take on where the music should go that was so fun and so daring. He wasn’t afraid to go anywhere — way outside of the box that I had found myself trying to write in. And we hit it off and started writing more music. Before we knew it, we had acquired a few songs that we really liked, “Southern Gothic” being one of them.”

- Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen recorded and made a music video for Guy Clark's "Rita Ballou" at Bruce Robison's The Next Waltz's Country Bunker studio in Lockhart, Texas.

- Toby Keith's new The Bus Songs album, out September 8th, features 12 of Keith's more unorthodox songs, all of which were written – as the title suggests – with that special mentality that only the back of a tour bus can provide.

- Searing instrumentalist Johnny Lang will release his first new album in four years. Signs comes out on September 8 on Concord Records. “A lot of my earlier influences have been coming to the surface, like Robert Johnson, and Howlin’ Wolf,” he reports. “I have been appreciating how raw and unrefined that stuff is. I had an itch to emulate some of that and I think it shows in the songs. Still, I let the writing be what it was and that was sometimes not necessarily the blues.”