Springtime Podcast Picks

Jaime Wyatt leads off our Springtime Podcast Picks with her new song “Neon Cross.”

Stream or download Springtime Podcast Picks: Springtime ’20 Podcast Picks

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the springtime plans of nearly every active or traveling musician to mush. Countless festivals and tours have been canceled, and especially hard hit are those who had big-time plans built around the release of new albums in the spring months.

Our Springtime Podcast Picks shine the spotlight on many of the artists from the Americana and alt-country realm who had the rug pulled out from under the tour and release plans they had for March, April, May and even June.

The best way to support these artists currently is to purchase the music and merchandise they make available online and/or through their record labels. Now is a great time to pre-order some of the records with songs featured on this podcast, so if you hear something you like, be bold — take some time to learn more about what they have going on and available for purchase online.

We’ll continue to share more music and news as we hunker down from our base in Portland, OR, USA, and try to stay connected with the fans of so many of the great artists we’ve come to love here at That Much Further West Podcast.

In the meantime, here’s a blast of the freshest cuts from some of our favorites. These songs are here to keep you company and help you get through these strange days were living through together. Enjoy!

Neon Cross, Jaime Wyatt
Be Afraid, Jason Isbell
Monte Carlo, Caleb Caudle
If I’m Lucky, Jeff Crosby
Twinkle Twinkle, Margo Price
Patrick’s Crossing, Brian Wright & The Sneakups
Heart Broke Syndrome, Western Centuries
The First Fool, Golden Promise
The Luckier You Get, American Aquarium
Candy Lunch, Lilly Hiatt
Years, John Anderson
Blue-Eyed Wanderer, Matt Woods
If You Ain’t Happy Now (You Never Will Be), Jesse Daniel
Damned Angel, Hellbound Glory
Kina Lyn, I’m So Tired
I Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, Rick Moranis
Too Long In The Wasteland, James McMurtry
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), The Vandoliers
Time Honored Tradition, Natalie Hemby
West Texas Girl, The Panhandlers

November Podcast Picks

Chicago’s David Quinn released his debut album Wanderin’ Fool earlier this year, and his song “Long Time Gone” is featured on Bloodshot Records’ 25th Anniversary compilation album Too Late To Pray: Defiant Chicago Roots.

Stream or download November Podcast Picks: November ’19 Podcast Picks

We’ve reached the home stretch of the 2019 year in music, and a number of our favorite artists new and old are finishing with a strong kick. We feature a bunch of them here in our November Podcast Picks, including Nashville powerhouse Ashley McBryde, who recently was named New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards.

One of our favorite new discoveries of 2019 is Chicago’s David Quinn, who we saw for the first time back in March opening for Mike and the Moonpies. Quinn delivers a traditional honky tonk sound on his debut record Wanderin’ Fool, and live his band takes it up a notch for a rowdy, rockin’ good time.

We kick off our podcast picks with Quinn’s song “Long Time Gone,” featured on the recently released 25th anniversary compilation from insurgent country leaders Bloodshot Records. It’s a traditional honky tonk shuffle with prominent pedal steel and dirty lead guitar that blends perfectly with Quinn’s easy-going lead vocal.

Quinn has enjoyed a terrific year with a steady stream of gigs opening for some of strongest country artists out there. We expect to hear a lot more from this talented performer in the coming years.

We also share tunes from some of best country and roots records of this year, including songs from Paul Cauthen, Cat Clyde, JP Harris, Orville Peck, Cody Johnson. There also is a number from the new Vetiver record, out now on Mama Bird Recording Co., and a new song from Bart Budwig from a record due soon on Fluff & Gravy Records.

And be sure to scroll down to check out a video for the song “Cold Civil War” from our longtime pal Matt Woods. It’s designed to get you in the mood for Thanksgiving dinner with the relatives, whatever be their personal and political beliefs. Nice work, Matt!

It’s all right here folks, so grab a fork and knife and dig in. It’s our November Podcast picks — here’s the playlist:

Long Time Gone, David Quinn
A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega, Ashley McBryde
Messin’ With The Kid, The Saints
Big Velvet, Paul Cauthen
Monroe County Nights, Austin Lucas
Whatever Gets You Through The Night, Erin Enderlin
Elijah Ramsey, The Quaker City Night Hawks
I Only Drink Alone, JP Harris
Turn To Hate, Orville Peck
Bird Bone, Cat Clyde
Monday Morning Merle, Cody Johnson
Hungry Heart, The Mavericks
Cold Civil War, Matt Woods
Far From Home, Aubrie Sellers
The Meaning Of The Word, Ags Connolly
A Beauty In The Horizon, Garrett T. Capps
All We Could Want, Vetiver
Human Again, Bart Budwig
You’ve Got Other Girls For That, Lillie Mae

October Podcast Picks

Tim Barry is back with a new collection of great songs.

Stream or download October Podcast Picks: October ’19 Podcast Picks

Tim Barry is no stranger to the music scene, having spent the last 30 years as lead singer of the seminal hard-core/punk band, Avail, out of Richmond, VA.

Known for their off the wall live shows and relentless touring schedule, Avail stopped touring a dozen or so years ago, which happened to be right about the time Barry’s solo career started taking off, and he has kept that hard-driving work ethic as a singer songwriter.

A month after finishing a string of sold out reunion shows to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the lauded Avail album, Over The James, Barry recently released his sixth full-length album since 2006. The Roads to Richmond contains 12 new songs and all the heartfelt and no-punches-pulled feeling Tim has delivered to us all these years.

That’s why we’re kicking off our latest batch of podcast picks with “Fussin’ Over,” a tune that sits right in the heart of The Roads to Richmond. It’s just one of a bunch of new songs that have flown on to our radar over the past month and are included in this month’s picks.

The playlist also includes new music from Dori Freeman, Chris Knight, Kelsey Waldon, Cody Jinks, John Moreland, Neil Young, Kacy & Clayton, The Dead South and Michaela Anne. But we’re especially excited to share “Big Black Chain” from local Portland faves The Jackson County Kills, whose frontman, Matty Charles, was our featured guest earlier this year for Episode 92.

We’re also honored to share with you a song by Little Sue, who earlier this month was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame (congrats, Sue!), and a groovy little number by The Lonesome Billies that shows off the funkier side of their take on country music.

Lots more good stuff here, so dig right in! Here’s the playlist for our October Podcast Picks . . . Enjoy!

Fussin’ Over, Tim Barry
Things Like This, I See Hawks In L.A.
That’s How I Feel, Dori Freeman
Big Black Chain, The Jackson County Kills
I‘m William Callahan, Chris Knight
I Can’t Stop Drinking, The Menzingers
Tell ‘Em What It’s Like, Cody Jinks
Anyhow, Kelsey Waldon
Every Mother’s Son, The Drive-By Truckers
Gonna Make It Real, The Long Ryders
East October, John Moreland
By Our Design, Michaela Anne
We Were Cowboys Then, Tom VandenAvond
Revolution Blues, Neil Young
Intervention, Kacy & Clayton
Broken Cowboy, The Dead South
Built For Love, Little Sue
Just Trying To Live, The Lonesome Billies
Running On Empty, Kassi Valazza
All Your’n, Tyler Childers

April Podcast Picks

Maria Francis and Jeff Overbo lead Silver Lake 66, who have followed up their strong debut with a stellar new album “Ragged Heart.”

Summer Festival Fever is starting to settle in here at That Much Further West Podcast, but Spring has delivered plenty of excellent new albums and live performances on the podcast calendar.

With an eye toward July’s Wildwood MusicFest & Campout, we kick off our April Podcast Picks with a tune from the excellent new album “Ragged Heart” by Silver Lake 66. They’ll be at Wildwood this year, but beforehand, they’ll be celebrating the release of the new record with a performance May 4 at The Secret Society in Portland — a can’t-miss show for our crew.

And speaking of can’t-miss shows, our team caught up with a number of bands as they performed in Portland last week, including Ruby Boots, Jenny Don’t & The Spurs and M. Lockwood Porter, whose new album “Communion In The Ashes” is received widespread critical acclaim since its release a few weeks back. We share tunes from all three outfits here, along with new stuff from The Cactus Blossoms (Doug Fir, May 1), The Long Ryders, Shoves & Rope, Terri Lynn Davis, W.C. Beck, Kassi Valazza, Molly Tuttle and Drivin’ N’ Cryin’.

You’ll also hear tunes from Vandoliers and Cory Branan, who share a bill at White Eagle Saloon in Portland on April 30, and a killer new track from An American Forrest, whose new record is due soon and was recorded right here in Portland by local treasure Mike Coykendall.

So dig into our April Podcast Picks and give it a spin, and be sure check our Live Music Portland calendar for opportunities to support live music in our community.

Here’s the playlist:

Faded Tattoo, Silver Lake 66
Please Don’t Call Me Crazy, The Cactus Blossoms
Wrap Me In A Fever, Ruby Boots
Ruby, Strand of Oaks
California State Line, The Long Ryders
Waiting For A Sign, M. Lockwood Porter
My Only Desire, Jenny Don’t & The Spurs
Greetings From Mardi Gras, The Harmed Brothers
Ain’t Been Tamed Yet, An American Forrest
Rainbows And Ridges, Blaze Foley
Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams
Blue Eyed Wanderer, Matt Woods & The Natural Disasters
Times Past, Terri Lynn Davis
Bottom Dollar Boy, Vandoliers
Blacksburg, Cory Branan
Chino, Kassi Valazza
Highway 46, Tom Russell
You Don’t Look So Good (Cocaine), Caroline Spence
The Wire, Shovels & Rope
The Long Way Home, W.C. Beck
Take The Journey, Molly Tuttle
Step By Step, Drivin N Cryin

January Podcast Picks

Dori Freeman’s album “Letters Never Read” met with universal praise upon its release in October. Photo by Scott Simontacchi

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

Seemingly out of nowhere, Dori Freeman’s eponymous debut album took alt-country nation by surprise in 2016 with its refreshing, straight-ahead approach. All talent, no schtick — and the media praise flowed.

Same story late last year when Freeman’s follow-up, Letters Never Sent, hit the streets in October, just in time to make it on an endless list of “Best of 2017” rankings. No sophomore slump for Freeman, who picked up right where she left off with “If I Could Make You My Own,” the lead song from the album that tops this month’s Podcast Picks.

Rowdy good fun: Banditos will be at Doug Fir Lounge in Portland on Sunday, Jan. 28. Photo by David McAllister

We also feature new music from a few more of our favorites, including Caleb Caudle, First Aid Kit, Courtney Marie Andrews and the legendary Mavis Staples.

As for bands heading our way for shows in the upcoming weeks, we offer a little rowdy fun from Banditos, another song from Whitney Rose (we featured her last month as well), a spooky little tune from Canada’s Deep Dark Woods, and some excellent red-dirt country by The Randy Rogers Band.

And speaking of legends, we’ll forgive country’s true outlaw, Billy Don Burns, for misspelling Gram Parsons’ name in the song we include here. Famous for his association with Willie Nelson and his many scrapes with the law, Burns is a criminally underappreciated talent who will appear at Dante’s here in Portland tonight! (That’s Wednesday, Jan. 17 for you folks scoring at home).

So dial it up and settle in for a fun little ride — you can download or stream this month’s Podcast picks right here at our home page.

Here’s the playlist:

If I Could Make You My Own, Dori Freeman
Fine Fine Day, Banditos
Empty Arms, Caleb Caudle
Long Lonely Road, Valerie June
Trying Times, Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy
Graham Parsons, Hank Williams and Me, Billy Don Burns
Whole Lotta Highway (With A Million Miles To Go), Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives
Fireworks, First Aid Kit
Just A Drink Away, Charley Crockett
Arizona, Whitney Rose
Delta Dawn, Hellbound Glory
Little Drunk Fists, Slobberbone
Something To Hold On To, Turnpike Troubadours
Way Out, John Calvin Abney
If All I Was Was Black, Mavis Staples
San Antone, The Randy Rogers Band
Without Your Love, Chris Stapleton
San Juan Hill, The Deep Dark Woods
May Your Kindness Remain, Courtney Marie Andrews
Sid and Nancy, Micah Schnabel

 

June Podcast Picks

Band+4

The men of Western Centuries (l to r): Rusty Blake, Ethan Lawton, Cahalen Morrison, Jim Miller and Dan Lowinger

Stream or download June Podcast Picks:  June Podcast Picks

A new name and a new album — it seems like a risky proposition for a band that not only had the name cache of one of the truest young voices in country and folk music but also a super cool band name to begin with. But for the collaborative Pacific Northwest trad country band Western Centuries (formerly known as Cahalen Morrison & Country Hammer), it actually makes sense. One listen to Side A of “Weight Of The World,” the new album by Western Centuries, and you’ll realize right away that this is a band with a lot more than just the talented Mr. Morrison going for it.

Blessed with three great songwriters in Morrison, Ethan Lawton and Jim Miller (founding member of Donna The Buffalo), the band is rounded out by a pair of Portland-based aces: Rusty Blake on steel guitar and Dan Lowinger on bass. But it’s Morrison’s honey-baked voice at the center of the proceedings, which is why we selected the title cut for the top of this month’s Podcast Picks. You can stream the record in its entirely here. Highly recommended.

Speaking of new records, we picked cuts from wonderful new releases by North Carolina’s The Honeycutters, The Jayhawks, Austin Lucas, Anna Tivel (out now on Fluff & Gravy Records) and rockers Arliss Nancy. Also, a classic Richard Thompson cover from a dear friend, Florida-based Reina Collins, who will be in Portland this week for a happy hour show at Mississippi Pizza on Friday, June 10.

We recently discovered Texas-bred troubadour Brian Wright while he was playing lead guitar as part of Aaron Lee Tasjan’s touring band — turns out he has an amazing output of records himself. “Haunted” is from his 2013 release “Rattle Their Chains,” a world-class collection of Americana songwriting and performance. We also picked a song by The Tragically Hip, a nod to the bummer news that singer Gord Downey is suffering from terminal brain cancer; and also a classic from one of the giants of American music, the recently deceased Guy Clark.

Many, many great voices and songs to soothe you here, so have it! Download or stream our June Podcast Picks above.

Here’s the playlist:

Weight Of The World, Western Centuries
On The Ropes, The Honeycutters
Haunted, Brian Wright
Lost In The Summer, The Jayhawks
Too Much Too Soon, Bonnie Whitmore
Henhouse, Ray Wylie Hubbard
Boots Or Hearts, The Tragically Hip
Sometimes, Luke Bell
’52 Vincent Black Lightning, Reina Collins
Montana Love Song, Younder Blue
Midnight (featuring Kelly Smith), Austin Lucas
L.A. Freeway, Guy Clark
Shadow Of A Son, Anna Tivel
Bar Of The Century, Arliss Nancy
I Need Never Get Old, Nathaniel Rateliff
Leaving Louisiana, Shovels & Rope
End Of The Line, Hurray For The Riff Raff

 

 

March Podcast Picks

possessedbypauljames

Konrad Wert, aka Possessed By Paul James

Stream or download Podcast Picks: Podcast Picks 3-14-16

Ah, the modern troubadours — we love them here at That Much Further West Podcast. Last week we had handful of our favorite road-dogs roll through our hometown of Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., and we celebrate some of them here with this latest batch of podcast picks.

Kicking things off is Possessed By Paul James, who was in town for a show at The White Eagle with support from The Harmed Brothers (also featured here). Look for Possessed By Paul James all this week at the South By Southwest music conference in Austin, TX, where he has a handful of shows playing alongside some of the greats of Americana, including Lydia Loveless and Hayes Carll (he, too, featured here). PPJ is a force of nature — a one-man folk wrecking crew. Check him out live. You won’t be disappointed.

This month’s picks also include new songs from Sturgill Simpson, the Cactus Blossoms and an exclusive track from Meridian, a Portland band led by Darrin Craig, best known for his work with local bluegrass stalwarts Jack Straw. And speaking of local bluegrass, we share a song from the new album by Left Coast Country, a band we discovered busking out front of Mississippi Studios before a Sturgill show in late 2014. Since then, the lads of LCC since have established themselves as a local bluegrass powerhouse.

The troubadours keep passing through this month’s playlist with songs from Bryan McPherson, Tim Barry and the godfather of all living folkies, Guy Clark. And to wrap things up, we offer a song by Morgane Stapleton from the album “Southern Family,” a new project curated by red-hot Nashville producer Dave Cobb. On “You Are My Sunshine,” Mrs. Stapleton takes center stage while her celebrated husband Chris Stapleton plays a support role with backing vocals and guitar. It’s one of several excellent tunes on a record full of artists we love here at the podcast, including Jason Isbell, John Paul White and Holly Williams.

So dig in, download or give it a stream. It’s this month’s podcast picks! Here’s the playlist:

Heavy, Possessed By Paul James
Tuscaloosa, Caleb Caudle
Lucky To Be A Sad Man, Huck Notari
Under The Axe, The Harmed Brothers
Brace For Impact (Live A Little), Sturgill Simpson
Stoplight Kisses, The Cactus Blossoms
The Magic Kid, Hayes Carll
Go On Lovin’, Dori Freeman
Fought The Blues And Won, The Deslondes
Mason Dixon Waltz, Left Coast Country
The Guitar, Guy Clark
Hearts In Boxcars, Bryan McPherson
Church Of Level Track, Tim Barry
The Flame In The Flood, Chuck Ragan
Ohio, Meridian
You Are My Sunshine, Morgane Stapleton (with Chris Stapleton)

 

Podcast Picks

calebcaudle

Caleb Caudle’s new record, “Carolina Ghost”, is due out next month.

Stream or download Podcast Picks:  Podcast Picks 1-20-16

Welcome to Podcast Picks, an initial offering of tunes chosen by our co-hosts Eric, Mike and Phil to share in between formal podcast episodes and meant for your listening pleasure. It opens with a nod to the passing of the great David Bowie and is sprinkled throughout with similar tributes to a trio of recently fallen musical heroes: Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, Glenn Frey of Eagles and Dale Griffin, drummer of the mighty Mott The Hoople. We’re also stoked to share a new song from the upcoming album by Caleb Caudle, which is due in late February, as well as a batch of tunes from notable country-rockers past and present (Happy 70th Birthday, Dolly!!!). We hope this nearly hour-long stream and download will keep you humming and tapping until our next full episode, which is only a few days away. Enjoy!

Moonage Daydream, David Bowie
Piedmont Sky, Caleb Caudle
Run-Down Neighborhood, Lindi Ortega
Go To Hell, Motorhead
The Trouble With Drinkin’, Aaron Lee Tasjan
N.Y.C. Sidewalk, Eb Anderson
Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight, Whiskeytown
My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy, Dolly Parton
Those Days Are Gone, Hank Williams Jr.
Tequila Sunrise, Eagles
Cumbia de Donde, Calexico
Another Kind, McDougall
Me and the Whiskey, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s
Ballad Of Mott The Hoople, Mott The Hoople