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50 Podcast Picks from 2019

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Have we seen the last of the Turnpike Troubadours? Here’s hoping for a revival and return to form in 2020 for the Oklahoma Red Dirt legends.

Stream or download 50 Podcast Picks from 2019: 50 Podcast Picks from 2019

After a maddening period that saw at least half a dozen stop and starts (cancelled shows, shaky performances, etc.), the Turnpike Troubadours — the rising Oklahoma-based band which seemed destined for big things — finally suspended all group activity in 2019. Some members turned their focus to other projects, while mercurial frontman and main songwriter Evan Felker retreated underground, leaving many to speculate that his personal problems threw the group’s future into jeopardy.

But late in the year, a new single by Felker emerged from Austin, TX, USA, where veteran singer-songwriter and producer Bruce Robison pinned down Felker to perform a few tunes in the studio for his burgeoning Next Waltz multimedia project. The song and video (see below) for “Whiskey In Your Water,” with Carrie Rodriguez singing a dual vocal, shows Felker in fine form and hints at exactly why he is so beloved by fans of the Troubadours and why concern for his well-being remains at the forefront of their thoughts.

We decided to kickoff our 50 year-end podcast picks with the tune in hopes that we haven’t seen the last of Felker and possibly the Turnpike Troubadours as a unit. It’s one of the songs from artists who made a big impact on the ears of our podcast producers in 2019.

Along with a bunch of great new discoveries this year, our podcast picks are highlighted by several career-best moments by some of our favorites, including many from friends and folks who have been guests on our show in the past.

So give it a listen with an ear toward finding your next favorite Americana or Roots act. We bet herein lies the fix you’re looking for in 2020. Here’s the playlist:

Whiskey In Your Water, Evan Felker with Carrie Rodriguez and The Next Waltzers
What You Don’t Know, Caroline Spence
Cordelia, Drunken Prayer
Good at Bad News, Tylor & The Train Robbers
Cheap Silver, Mike and the Moonpies
The House That Built Me, Tanya Tucker
Hey, Heartbreaker, Matt Woods
Things Like This, I See Hawks In L.A.
Big Black Chain, The Jackson County Kills
56 Fury, Rodney Crowell
Walk Through Fire, Yola
Jesus & Elvis, Hayes Carll
All Your’n, Tyler Childers
Ian McLagan, Drivin’ N Cryin’
Downtown, The Cactus Blossoms
Doubt, Clara Baker
Cocaine Country Dancing, Paul Cauthen
Giving Up, Tim Barry
California State Line, The Long Ryders
Emmanuel, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings
Mississippi Nuthin’, Shovels & Rope
So Long To The Traveling Kind, Tom Vanden Avond
Strange Shadows, Aaron Lee Tasjan
Colorado, The Quaker City Night Hawks
Sam’s House, An American Forrest
That’s How I Feel, Dori Freeman
Kind Days, John Calvin Abney
Rolling Stone, Whiskey Myers
Letter To Madeline, Ian Noe
Division Lines, Fernando
Back Into This Church, Ron Rogers & The Wailing Wind
Ruby, Strand of Oaks
Right At Home, Daystar
Old Black Magic, Josh Ritter
The Imperial, The Delines
Hard Time With The Truth, Kendell Marvel
Wake Up Call, Rich Layton and Tough Town
Wildflowers & Wine, Marcus King
The Dream Is Dead, M. Lockwood Porter
Fenceline, Anna Tivel
Excuse Me, Charley Crockett
Blue Earth County, Silver Lake 66
Sad Songs, Kassi Valazza
East October, John Moreland
Just Trying To Love, The Lonesome Billies
Old Soul, The Highwomen
Where The Buffalo Roam, David Quinn
Beautiful and Kind, Ryan Bingham
Turn Off The News (Build A Garden) (Acoustic), Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real

April Podcast Picks

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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

Fall Seasonal Podcast Picks

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Matt Woods’ new album, “How To Survive,” will be released Oct. 13.

Steam or download our Fall Seasonal Podcast Picks: Fall ’16 podcast picks

It’s Record Release Madness this season in the world of That Much Further West Podcast, where we’re sifting through so many great new albums being released by some of our favorite artists just as summer turns to fall out here in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.

We kick off our seasonal podcast picks with an awesome new song by Matt Woods, whose record “How To Survive” comes out on Friday, Oct. 7. The song “Bound To Lose,” co-written by Woods and Jeff Shepherd and featuring Liz Sloan on fiddle and Aaron Lee Tasjan on guitar, is quick snapshot of everything great about Woods’ music. It’s a sweet slice of storytelling with a just a touch of road rash delivered by one of alt-country’s biggest, most authentic voices. Watch for Matt and his full band on the road this fall — the “How To Survive” tour kicks off this Friday and will cover lots of ground east of the Mississippi River — you can find tour dates at Woods’ website.

Our picks also include a few superb takes on race relations in America from newly released records by Drive-By Truckers and M. Lockwood Porter; killer new songs from Shovels & Rope, John Prine, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Elizabeth Cook and Blackberry Smoke; a terrific, original take on traditional country from Caleb Klauder and Reeb Wilms; some secret nuggets you probably wouldn’t hear elsewhere (read: Springsteen); and even new cuts from Bob Weir ad Bon Iver, taking us gently off the podcast’s well-worn pathways.

Lots of a great stuff here, folks. So dial it up and share it with your friends — we hope it adds a little light as the darkness of fall starts closing in. And remember to get out and support live music . . . many of these acts will be coming to a town near you soon.

Here’s the playlist:

Bound To Lose, Matt Woods
Just To Be With You, Aubrie Sellers
What It Means, Drive-By Truckers
Charleston, M. Lockwood Porter
Beauty Seldom Seen, John Calvin Abney
Botched Execution, Shovels & Rope
Look At Us (featuring Morgane Stapleton), John Prine
Memphis Rain, Aaron Lee Tasjan
Evacuation, Elizabeth Cook
Diamond State Heartbreak, Lucero
Here’s To The Losers, Drag The River
Let’s Hit One More Place, Richmond Fontaine
Sunrise In Texas, Blackberry Smoke
Coming On Strong, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Wilms
Gonesville, Bob Weir
About To Find Out, Margo Price
The Ballad of Jesse James, The Bruce Springteen Band
Falcon, Charlie Parr
Sad, Sad Music, Dwight Yoakam
00000 Million, Bon Iver

June Podcast Picks

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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

 

 

Episode #29 — Summertime Sassparilla

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Kevin Blackwell of Sassparilla

Episode #29 — Summertime Sassparilla

We kick off this week’s episode with a song from local Portland favorites Sassparilla, and really, what could be more refreshing on a hot summer day? “Peaches” is a sneaky, fun rocker from the grungy bluegrass band’s excellent new double album, “Pasajero/Hullabaloo,” which arrived from Fluff & Gravy Records just in time to kick start your summer in style.

And there’s plenty more new music in this week’s episode, including first listens from Shovels & Rope, Denver and Hook & Anchor as well as excellent new releases from John Fullbright, Dave and Phil Alvin and Willie Nelson.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be gearing up for our favorite annual event, the Wildwood MusicFest & Campout, set for July 18-20 in beautiful Willamina, Oregon. In the meantime, we’ll be hitting the shows and listening to the records that matter most to you, dear reader and listener.

So for now, dig in to the new episode. Here’s the playlist:

Peaches, Sassparilla
High Road, John Fullbright
Sweet But Bitter Life, Possessed By Paul James
Southern Flood Blues, Dave and Phil Alvin
Band of Brothers, Willie Nelson
My Great Gasby, Two Cow Garage
I Never Learn, Karen Jonas
Troubadour, Arliss Nancy
Way To Kansas, Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy
Blessing and A Curse, Have Gun, Will Travel
No Place To Be, The Low Bones
Orange Dress, Kate Mann
The Devil Is All Around, Shovels & Rope
Carry On, Denver
Concerning Spectral Pinching, Hook & Anchor
Knights Ferry, Tom VandenAvond
Winner’s Casino, Richmond Fontaine