May Podcast Picks

You’d be smiling, too — Brent Cobb has a hot new album out and an upcoming summer tour opening for Chris Stapleton.

Stream or download May Podcast Picks: May ’18 Podcast Picks

Can it get any better for a guitar picker and songwriter than it is these days for Brent Cobb?

He’s out west wrapping up a headlining club tour this week highlighting songs from his critically acclaimed new album “Providence Canyon” and will be hitting the road supporting Chris Stapleton along with Marty Stuart on country music’s highest profile summer tour. We caught him last week at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge, when the 31-year-old delivered an impressive performance with his band Brent Cobb & Them.

Brent Cobb on stage at Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, OR, USA. Photo by Phil Favorite for That Much Further West Podcast

We kick off this month’s podcast picks with “King of Alabama,” a beautifully rendered tribute song that shows Cobb’s well-honed talent for word play and melody. It’s just one of an album full of great tracks — we highly recommend you pick up this record. At turns swampy, Skynyrd-y and stunning, “Providence Canyon” is already staking ground among the best records of 2018.

This month’s picks include tunes from several of the best new albums to hit the street in recent weeks, including tracks from Charley Crockett, John Calvin Abney, Western Centuries, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers and the incomparable John Prine.  We share a new song from Lucero, and also feature a pair of excellent duets — one from Lera Lynn’s new duets album featuring the great John Paul White, and another from Midwest country rocker Joe Stamm, joined on this track singer Tasji Bachman.

And if you love great singers and like to keep it country, we have cool songs from Will Stewart, Margo Price, Dillon Carmichael, Kashena Sampson, Petunia & The Vipers and Tenille Townes.

We also feature a few of our local faves — Jenny Don’t & The Spurs are out touring the country now, and Miller & Sasser continue to hone their traditional, AM radio-influenced country right here in our backyard.

Lots more goodness for your listening pleasure this month, so have at it. Here’s the playlist, enjoy!

King of Alabama, Brent Cobb
Rosalee, Will Stewart
The Sky’d Become Teardrops, Charley Crockett
My Only Desire, Jenny Don’t & The Spurs
Summer’s End, John Prine
Hell On An Angel, Dillon Carmichael
Get Your House In Order, John Calvin Abney
It’s a Long Way Back, Kashena Sampson
Earthly Justice, Western Centuries
Almost Persuaded (featuring John Paul White), Lera Lynn
To My Dearest Wife, Lucero
Ambulances, Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons
A Little Pain, Margo Price
First Saw You, Joe Stamm featuring Tasji Bachman
Mind Of It’s Own, Miller & Sasser
Alabama, Bishop Gunn
Years, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Heavy and Lonesome, Petunia & The Vipers
Where You Are, Tenille Townes

Episode #86 featuring Kendall Core

Kendall Core and her trusty six-string in The Helm. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media

Stream or download Episode #86: Episode 86 w/ Kendall Core

With a poet’s sense for drama and eye for detail, Portland-based singer-songwriter Kendall Core delivers songs with a dark edge — the action creeps from the shadows where the truth often hides from the light of day. A young woman attempting to harness the powerful forces of a world gone mad, Kendall releases her debut album, Crazy Dog, this week.

We were thrilled to have Kendall join our podcast team in The Helm to perform songs from the new album and talk a bit about what makes this talented artist tick. With an education steeped in the arts, she has taken to the guitar as a vehicle for self-reflection and deep expression and put together a stellar band to show off her stuff.

Kendall Core belting it out in The Helm. Photo by Anne Marie for Local Hero Media

They’ll be performing this coming Sunday, May 13, at Mississippi Studios in Portland to celebrate the release of Crazy Dog. On this episode of the podcast, Kendall shares a few live performances including a song “Fickle Hearts” that was written just after recording for the new album had wrapped. She also talks about some of the artists who inspire her, including Leonard Cohen and Buffy Sainte-Marie, and picks some songs to share from a few of her other favorite writers.

So kick back and take it all in. It’s Episode #86 of That Much Further West Podcast. Here’s the playlist:

Sweet Champagne, Kendall Core
Fickle Hearts (Live In The Helm), Kendall Core
Sitting In The Rain, Kendall Core
Cod’ine, Buffy Sainte-Marie
Alone With The Owl, Jason Molina
Angelene, PJ Harvey
Nowhere (Live In The Helm), Kendall Core
Crazy Dog, Kendall Core