Tag Archives: Daystar

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

Review of The Complete Recordings by Daystar

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The Complete Recordings by Daystar (2019, Independent release)

By Phil Favorite
That Much Further West Podcast

Rock and roll ain’t what it used to be, but every once in a while a song or a record or a band comes along to remind us why we love it and what we love about it.

The infectious rock of Daystar is designed to do just that. An unabashed throwback, Daystar — with their rootsy, jangly guitar riffs and pining croon — take you on an upbeat “best of” ride through the history of power pop on their debut record, The Complete Recordings.

Singer-songwriter Derek Phillips displays a deft handle at the controls. His sweet, slightly strained vocal pours nicely over a bed of catchy four-chord melodies reminiscent of bands like Faces, The Move, Big Star and the best of ’90s Brit Pop.

“Right at Home” sets the tone from the top. With its thumping floor tom and introductory power chords, it’s an arresting album opener meant to get the blood pumping. The songs that follow shift, whirl, crest and crash like waves before the warm ballad “Warped Reality” brings the A side to a close.

The record gets a little more musically ambitious as things move along, but Daystar manages to evoke a sunny optimism even when the mood gets serious.

For rock and roll fans dreading the coming winter darkness, this is a record to keep in your pocket. The Complete Recordings is like a blast of Vitamin D to help ward off the gathering gloom.

Podcast Trio Bravo

Stream “Right at Home”: Right At Home

Stream “Buttons and Brass”: Buttons and Brass

Stream “Angelina”: Angelina

Daystar celebrates the release of The Complete Recordings on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Bunk Bar, 1028 S.E. Water Ave. in Portland. The Resolectrics and Maurice & The Stiff Sisters open. 8:30 p.m. $10