June Podcast Picks

Margo Price’s third album, “That’s How Rumors Get Started,” is due July 10. Photo by Bobbi Rich.

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

The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked the music world in a way we may never see again in our lifetimes. Nearly every band, venue, festival and fan — not to mention the millions whose livelihoods are connected the business — has been forced to take a time out of some sort. Cancelations. Rescheduling. And for some, the bad fortune of having their record releases and related tours put on hold.

Not too many can say they’ve had it with both barrels like Margo Price, the Tennessee-based alt-country singer who had planned to release her much anticipated third album, That’s How Rumors Get Started, in May. She also had a scheduled opening slot on the first leg of Chris Stapleton’s planned tour, which would have reached our corner of the world, the Pacific Northwest, this coming weekend.

Not only was all put on hold, but Price suffered a scare when her husband was stricken with the virus, which took a heavy toll on his health. Now he’s recovering, and Price has been leaking songs from the new record ahead of a rescheduled release date of July 10.

We kick off this month’s podcast picks with “Letting Me Down,” the most recently release track from Rumors. The new songs find Ms. Price and her rock solid band in excellent form (see the video below) and should have fans revved up and ready when she returns to touring in America later this year.

We also have great new songs for summer from Hellbound Glory, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Brent Cobb, Blackberry Smoke, Ashley McBryde and more.

New to our podcast ears is the talented Mickey Guyton, who shares her latest release, “Black Like Me,” among a bit of controversy. In a recent interview, the talented L.A.-based country singer said she was snubbed from participating in last year’s video for “Redesigning Women” by the Highwoman — the video featured not only members of the all-female fronted supergroup but also a number of other Nashville female singers still trying to get the recognition they deserve. Kudos to Highwoman Maren Morris for owning the mistake and expressing her regret, but maybe the talented Ms. Guyton will pick up some new fans as a result. Consider us in that mix.

We also feature a few more newcomers, including veteran country rocker Carla Olson from her new album of duets, and delightful songs from Tessy Lou Williams and Zach Aaron, two rising star of country.

Lots to chew on here, folks, so dig right in. Here’s the playlist for our June Podcast Picks:

Letting Me Down, Margo Price
Sweet Saint Me, Two Cow Garage
Mexicali Run, Left Arm Tan
Black Like Me, Mickey Guyton
Dreamsicle, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
River Town, The Harmed Brothers
Southern Child, Blackberry Smoke
Rattlesnake Girl, Jaime Wyatt
Hank Williams Lifestyle, Hellbound Glory
The World Is Ending, Brent Cobb
Smooth Shot of Whiskey, Mike and the Moonpies
Mockingbird, Quaker City Night Hawks
Why Do I Still Want You, Tessy Lou Williams
Voodoo Doll, Ashley McBryde
Proud Mary, Solomon Burke
Fill Dirt Wanted, Zach Aaron
Timber, I’m Falling In Love, Carla Olson with Stephen McCarthy
Babies In Cages, Drive-By Truckers
Before That Final Bell, Western Centuries

https://youtu.be/Yr-6_pKLwqM

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

2018 Year End Podcast Picks

Texas Road Crew: Mike and the Moonpies knocked us out with their fabulous 2018 album “Steak Night At The Prairie Rose”

Stream or download 2018 Year End Podcast Picks: 2018 Year End Podcast Picks

So much great music, and right in our wheelhouse . . . 2018 will be remembered not for one, two or even 10 great albums but a whole slew of game-changing efforts by a wide-ranging list of Americana artists. Whether it was the outlaw country of Whitey Morgan, the timeless folk of John Prine, the disarming, gritty alt-country of Sarah Shook or the multi-pronged Americana of Western Centuries, 2018 delivered an immeasurable amount of fabulous Roots music, all fitting nicely under the That Much Further West Podcast umbrella.

All of the artists included on this list of year-end picks found their way on to our Portland-based podcast this year, either as a monthly or seasonal pick, the subject of a review, or as a featured guest interviewed by our three co-hosts, Mike Lee, Eric Kotila and Phil Favorite. The lads put their heads together for this year-end feature, finding it difficult not only to single out this handful of fantastic performers but even to choose songs from albums loaded with potential entries. With just 25 songs on the list, it’s easy to see how this list could have been twice as long if not longer— all you have to do is look at the countless year-end “best of” lists already published in the preceding weeks.

With so many great acts to choose from, including many (see: Brent Cobb, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Courtney Marie Andrews, American Aquarium) drawing universal praise for the fantastic records they put out this year, we decided to feature a band that we hadn’t paid quite enough attention to on the podcast this year. Over the better part of the last decade, Texas-bred stalwarts Mike and the Moonpies have been bringing their world-class country to the people, building a reputation as one of America’s finest representatives of the white-hot Red Dirt movement.

Following in the footsteps of some of our favorites, like Chris Knight, Reckless Kelly and Turnpike Troubadours, Mike and the Moonpies hit a home run with their 2018 record Steak Night At The Prairie Rose, a must listen for every fan of country music. We kick off our year-end picks with their song “Beaches of Biloxi,” a potent cocktail of temptation, addiction and regret befitting a truly great country song.

Let it serve as a launching point, not just for this playlist but for our pursuit of more fantastic music to share with you as the calendar turns to another year. Be on the lookout for Mike and the Moonpies (see video below) and all the great artists and music we share here and throughout the coming year.

Here’s our humble list of Year End Podcast Picks. Thank you for listening. Enjoy.

Beaches of Biloxi, Mike and the Moonpies
Elevator Blues, The Resolectrics
NYC In The Rain, Caleb Caudle
Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don’t, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Ballad For The Trees, I See Hawks In L.A.
Heart Slows Down, Aaron Lee Tasjan
Cadillac Man, Wes Youssi & The County Champs
Bad Time To Be An Outlaw, The Bottle Rockets
Every Time I Hear That Song, Brandi Carlile
A Hole In My Grave, Chuck Westmoreland
Lonesome Friends Of Science, John Prine
The World Is On Fire, American Aquarium
Girl Going Nowhere, Ashley McBryde
Everything Has Changed, Lucero
Set Em Up (I’m Afraid To Go Home), Countryside Ride
Cowboys And Canyon Queens, John Calvin Abney
Border, Courtney Marie Andrews
Wild You Run, Western Centuries
King Of Alabama, Brent Cobb
What Am I Supposed To Do, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s
My Sweet Arsonist, Karen Jonas
Plain To See Plainsman, Colter Wall
Ain’t Gotta Worry Child, Charley Crockett
The Being Gone, Jamie Lin Wilson
Kick The Lights Out, Hearts Of Oak

Wildwood ’18 Podcast Picks #3

GravelRoad: These cats from Seattle are ready to rock your world Friday night at Wildwood.

Stream or download Wildwood ’18 Podcast Picks #3: Wildwood ’18 Picks #3

Are you ready to party? I know we are.

That’s why we’ve put together this third installment of Podcast Picks to help you get ready for this weekend’s 7th Annual Wildwood MusicFest & Campout in beautiful Sheridan, OR, USA. And to kick things off, we fire away with three of the acts that will take you higher on the festival’s opening night: GravelRoad, Liz Cooper & The Stampede, and Jeff Crosby & The Refugees.

Liz Cooper and her band The Stampede with cast a spell with their rock and soul on Friday night at Wildwood.

Friday night should be special with these excellent acts performing, and with the night wrapping around the campfire with The Turkey Buzzards. Then it’s on to Saturday’s lineup, featuring bands with some of the most acclaimed and anticipated indie albums of the year, including The Resolectrics, Western Centuries and Sarah Shook & The Disarmers.

Don’t forget to stick around Sunday when The Wildwood All Star Review finishes the festival with its usual surprise party of killer country rock. It all adds up to what should be an unforgettable weekend of fun, friends, food, family and MUSIC!

Look for our Podcast hosts Eric Kotila and Mike Lee — they’ll be serving as MCs from the stage, sharing important announcements and introducing the bands. And be sure to thank your festival hosts Katie Kendall and Kim Hamblin if you cross paths — these ladies are the engine that drives the festival to new heights each year.

We’ll see you down there Friday! Here’s the third and final primer for your festival pre-funk. Enjoy!

Left Me Twice, GravelRoad
Hey Man, Liz Cooper & The Stampede
Hallways Of My Heart, Jeff Crosby & The Refugees
Good As Gold, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Misery And Gin, Jaime Wyatt
The Rumble (Liberty Chaps Mix), High Step Society
Stella, The Get Ahead
The Captain And The Dreamer, Bart Budwig
Wild Birds, Western Centuries
Your Man, The Resolectrics
Alegntaye, Tezeta Band
Geography, MAITA
Bottom Shelf Man, The Turkey Buzzards
Show Me The Mountain, The Singer and The Songwriter
Cold Night In Chicago, Alder Street
Insert Words, Hear, Cedar Teeth
No Mama Blues, The Lostines
Dirty Looks From Children, Ezra Bell
Wagon, The John Dough Boys
Moonboots, Mo Phillips

Wildwood ’18 Podcast Picks # 2

Photo courtesy of The Resolectrics

The Resolectrics (l to r): John Becher, Bob Dunham and Tate Peterson. Photo © Tim LaBarge 2018

Stream or download Wildwood ’18 Podcast Picks #2: Wildwood ’18 Picks #2

Welcome back for our second installment of podcast picks, aimed at getting your ears ready for the 2018 Wildwood MusicFest & Campout, set for July 20-22 at Roshambo Art Farm in the beautiful Willamina/Sheridan area of Oregon.

With the festival just days away, we thought we’d kick off this session with The Resolectrics, Portland’s powerhouse R&B-tinged rock trio with a set scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the festival. This will be the band’s second performance at Wildwood, and this year’s set comes with the promise of a new album due in the fall.

Knowing the rollicking fun this band inspires, they’re an easy “must see” pick for our podcast team. Based in the classic rock and soul of the 60s and 70s, The Resolectrics take it to new heights by mixing in some psychedelic guitar and killer harmonies for a sound that’s all their own.

And they’re just one reason why this year’s festival is a can’t-miss for lovers of music from all over the spectrum. Check out the live performance of “Easier To Go” from the group Five Letter Word (video below), the classic country of “Weight of The World” by Western Centuries, and the wonderful, exploring horns on “Aynotche Terebu” by Tezeta Band. High quality stuff in a variety of styles — that’s what Wildwood is all about.

So give this latest set of picks a listen and put a check next to your “can’t miss” picks for the festival. We’ll see you down there.

Here’s the playist. Enjoy!

Up On The Hill, The Resolectrics
Easier To Go (Live), Five Letter Word
City Girls, Jeff Crosby & The Refugees
The Skinner, Alder Street
Locks, Cedar Teeth
Nights & Weekends, The Singer and the Songwriter
Weight Of The World, Western Centuries
The Newest St. Louis Toodle-oo, High Step Society
Southwest Texas, The Lostines
Wishing Well, Jaime Wyatt
Capitol Hill Country Blues, Gravel Road
Talkin’ Bout Teamwork, Mo Phillips
Kinder Than Most, MAITA
The Night,
Liz Cooper & The Stampede
Aynotche Terabu, Tezeta Band
Build Myself A Woman, The John Dough Boys
Could Be Better, The Get Ahead
The Government Is The Mafia, Ezra Bell
Keep The Home Fires Burning, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Wanderin’ Again, The Turkey Buzzards
Nebraska 2, Bart Budwig

 

Wildwood ’18 Podcast Picks #1

Stream or download Wildwood ’18 Podcast Picks #1: Wildwood ’18 Picks #1

It’s our favorite time of the year, when the summer season of music festivals hits its peak, and the gang from That Much Further West Podcast couldn’t be more stoked to be attending the 7th Annual Wildwood MusicFest & Campout, July 20-22 at Roshambo Art Farm in beautiful Sheridan, Oregon, USA.

The podcast team has been onsite every year, and our show hosts Mike Lee and Eric Kotila have served as festival Masters of Ceremonies from the start. We’re thrilled to be invited back by the two wonderful local businesswomen who make the festival happen, Katie Kendall and Kim Hamblin.

Sarah Shook and her band, The Disarmers, will rock your world at the 7th Annual Wildwood MusicFest & Campout.

Lovers of music and their local Willamina/Sheridan community, these two women — with the help of a fabulous team of volunteers — have captained a completely home grown festival with absolutely zero corporate sponsorship. Katie and Kim have put together some stellar line-ups over the years and kept that family-friendly atmosphere alive and well.

They also work hard to showcase local businesses as vendors and give back to the community. The festival has grown over the years but the founders seek to keep it from growing too big. A big shout out to Kim, Katie, their families, Dina Sayers and her team at Great Northwest Productions, and the scores of volunteers who make things run smoothly.

In the run up to this year’s festival, That Much Further West Podcast has put together a batch of preview playlists to give y’all a primer for the music to be featured at the 7th Annual Wildwood MusicFest $ Campout. There will be talent from all over the country and all over and the musical spectrum. Give it a listen and tell us who you are looking forward to hearing/seeing at Wildwood!

Here’s the playlist for our first set of Podcast Picks for Wildwood 2018:

New Ways To Fail, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Full Moon On Sunset, Jeff Crosby & The Refugees
Drownin’ In A Gallon Of Beer, The John Doe Boys
Own Private Honky Tonk, Western Centuries
Wild Heart, The Singer and The Songrwriter
Bonnie And Clyde, Bart Budwig
A Jug In The Road, Ezra Bell
Cloud Skateboard, Mo Phillips
Is You Is (Cockney Nutjob Mix), High Step Society
Wasco, Jaime Wyatt
Burger Shack, Alder Street
Coward In Georgia, The Turkey Buzzards
Mountain Man, Liz Cooper and The Stampede
Aynotche Terabu, Tezeta Band
Cancer, Cedar Teeth
Japanese Waitress, Maita
Roll Me Like A Stone, Gravel Road
Mind Is A Mountain, The Get Ahead

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

February Podcast Picks

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

There’s so much new music out there in our sphere, we can barely keep up with it all. This month’s podcast picks include first releases from upcoming records by Western Centuries, Blackberry Smoke and Charley Crockett; another tune from the much-anticipated new record from Courtney Marie Andrews; a new instrumental from an album full of them by Richmond Fontaine; and killer cuts from new records by Calexico, Ruby Boots and Wes Youssi & The Country Champs.

But we start things off with a brand-new song from alt-country powerhouse Sarah Shook & The Disarmers and their upcoming Bloodshot Records release Years, set to hit the streets in April. Following up their very well-received Bloodshot debut Sidelong, the North Carolina band appears ready to unleash its high-energy, straight-ahead cowpunk on a wider audience in 2018.

“Good As Gold” offers a solid example of the swagger Sarah Shook brings to her music. “It’s about picking yourself up and dusting yourself off after years of being trampled and beaten down,” she said, describing the new album. “Jutting your chin out, head high, after they’ve done their worst, and saying, ‘Still here.’ ”

Scroll to the bottom of this post to check out the Sidelong track “Keep The Home Fires Burnin'” filmed live at the Wildwood Hotel in Willamina, OR by Great Northwest Productions during the band’s swing down the west coast last fall.

With 2018 off to such a great start, we find ourselves still catching up on some of the best stuff from last year. Our picks also include a handful of some of the best tunes from 2017, including songs from Tyler Childers, The Secret Sisters, Zephaniah Ohora, Emily Herring and The Turnpike Troubadours.

And we wrap it with a dose of some of our favorite alternative music heroes, including the great Walter Salas-Humara, who will be coming to our hometown of Portland, OR, USA this week to play a set on Friday, Feb. 23, opening for local legend Mike Coykendall at the LaurelThirst Public House.

So get your week started on the right foot and dial in our February Podcast Picks. Here’s the playlist:

Good As Gold, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Tattoos, Tyler Childers
Night Out With Diego, Richmond Fontaine
He’s Fine, The Secret Sisters
Dead In The Water, Calexico
Earthly Justice, Western Centuries
Just Outside Of Austin, Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real
Take Your Love Out Of Town, Zephaniah Ohora and The 18 Wheelers
Last Of The Houston Honky Tonk Heroes, Emily Herring
The Hard Way, The Turnpike Troubadours
Mr. Jukebox, Josh Hedley
I’ll Make It Through, Ruby Boots
Flesh And Bone, Blackberry Smoke
Cadillac Man, Wes Youssi & The County Champs
Misery And Gin, Jaime Wyatt
Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em, Mike and The Moonpies
Kindness Of Strangers, Courtney Marie Andrews
I Wanna Cry, Charley Crockett
2 Cool 2 Be 4-Gotten, Lucinda Williams
Nobody’s Business, Walter Salas-Humara
Mr. Fly, Mike Coykendall

Live Review: Whiskey Wednesday with Western Centuries at Landmark Saloon

The Big Three: Western Centruies featuring (l to r) Jim Miller, Cahalen Morrison and Ethan Lawton on the tiny stage at Landmark Saloon in Portland.

Western Centuries
Live at Landmark Saloon
Portland, OR, USA
1-10-18

By Phil Favorite

When it comes to West Coast country bands, it doesn’t get much better than Western Centuries — the five-piece, Seattle-based unit featuring three distinct singer-songwriters and a harmony sound all their own.

So when Western Centuries loaded into the tiny Landmark Saloon for a couple of intimate sets of high quality Honky Tonk, the Whiskey Wednesday regulars knew they were in for a treat. The place packed quickly but there was just enough room for the dancing crowd to shake and spin, just a step or two from the band and arm’s length from the tip jar.

With singers Jim Miller, Cahalen Morrison and Ethan Lawton sharing the spotlight, the band famously rotated instruments and kept it loose. Lawton and Morrison switched back and forth from fronting the band to playing drums, and Morrison and Miller swapped duties on lead guitar, with one plucking a clean telecaster while the other strummed a rich acoustic.

Describing Western Centuries sound as straight Honky Tonk would be misleading. It’s easy to identify influences from across the Americana spectrum — R&B, country, soul, folk and cajun music all color the sound.

The band played favorites from their excellent 2016 record “Weight of the World,” but much of the first set drew from their upcoming album, “Songs From The Deluge,” due out April 6 on Free Dirt Records. The sweat and smiles pouring from the dance floor all night told the rest of the story.

Late last year,Western Centuries premiered four of the songs from the new album n KEXP’s Swinging Doors program, hosted by DJ Don Slack. For a taste of what this band is all about, check out live versions of “Wild Birds,” “Wild You Run,” “How Many More Miles To Babylon” and “Three Swallows” in the video below.

Learn more about Western Centuries and their upcoming album release at Free Dirt’s Western Centuries page.

 

December Podcast Picks

1

Nikki Lane’s new full-length LP “Highway Queen” will be hitting the streets in February 2017.

Stream or download our December Podcast Picks:  December Podcast Picks

She’s logged a lot of road miles since the release of her breakthrough 2014 breakthrough album “All Or Nothin” and now Nikki Lane is ready to take the world by storm with “Highway Queen,” the much anticipated follow up due early next year.

We kick off our December Podcast picks with the title track from the record, which Rolling Stone.com describes as “an amalgam of gritty twang, dirty blues and a whip-smart taste for dangerously delightful melody” — in other words, more of what we’ve come to love from the sassy, stylish outlaw country chanteuse. After “Highway Queen” hits the streets, Ms. Lane and her band will hit the road for an extensive tour that includes a stop at California’s Stagecoach Festival in April.

Nikki is just one of several of our favorite female singers featured among this month’s podcast picks. Amanda Shires’ new record, “My Piece of Land,” is receiving across-the-board praise while Lydia Loveless continues to tour behind her genre-busting Bloodshot Records LP “Real,” released in August. We also have an official outtake celebrating the 20th anniversary of Gillian Welch’s debut album “Revival,” and a song from Courtney Marie Andrews’ much (rightly so) praised “Honest Life” record, released this past summer by Portland-based Mama Bird Recording Co.

We also added a little modern rock muscle to the mix with cuts from Two Cow Garage, Drunken Prayer and Blackberry Smoke, but still managed to keep it country with songs old and new by the likes Billy Don Burns, Western Centuries, Chris Stalcup and Brent Cobb. And we always seem to find a way to salute the forefathers, with a careful nod to a legend lost, the great Leonard Cohen.

So dial it up. These should help hold you through the holidays. Here’s the playlist for our December Podcast Picks:

Highway Queen, Nikki Lane
Continental Distance, Two Cow Garage
Keith Whitley Blue, Billy Don Burns
Gold, The Handsome Family
The Old You, Western Centuries
You Are My Home, Amanda Shires
Fell Into The Sun, Drunken Prayer
Chickenhawks and Jesus Freaks, Tom Heyman
Me and the Whiskey, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s
Midwestern Guys, Lydia Loveless
Burnin’ Up These Highways, Chris Stalcup
Drinking, Cheating, Loving and Leaving, Adam Lee and the Dead Horse Sound Company
Show Me, Neil Young
Merry Christmas From The Family, Robert Earl Keen
Go On Downtown (Revival Outtake), Gillian Welch
Diggin’ Holes, Brent Cobb
Sunrise In Texas, Blackberry Smoke
15 Highway Lines, Courtney Marie Andrews
Chelsea Hotel #2, Leonard Cohen