AmericanaMusic.com Podcast

Today we have Jesse Ray Smith. He’s a singer-songwriter out of California. His sound is reminiscent of those famous crossovers from the 70s like Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, Eagles, and Jackson Browne with a fresh take. It’s not a carbon copy of that sound, but a resurgence with creative compositions, lyrics, melody and production good enough to rival. Basically they’re just good songs. We’re ecstatic to have Jesse Ray Smith.

Support the show

AmericanaMusic.com
Your Source for Americana Music

Dubbed "The Psychedelic Cowboy", Wesley Dean is an Aussie with the spirit of the American West. His latest album, Music from Crazy Hearts, with the title track, video featuring two performers from the Nashville Ballet, dancing around Wesley. His sound is reminiscent of Joe Cocker meets Tom Petty meets outlaw country. Moving to Nashville in 2021, along with the the Crazy Hearts album release, Dean's 'Crazy Hearts: The Documentary', premiers in early 2025. Here's our interview with Wesley Dean.

Support the show

AmericanaMusic.com
Your Source for Americana Music

Willie Watson's debut self-titled album was released this past Friday. Since leaving Old Crow Medicine Show, founding member Willie Watson, has been forging together an album that really reflects himself as an artist. After two solo albums, the self titled third album finally feels like the solo expression he’s been seeking. To Willie, it’s epic poetry, the journey from stereotypical excess to being sober, from the traumas of childhood to the hard learned habits that lead to destruction and/or an awakening. These stories have blended into the storytelling he’s learned from Old Crow and collaborating with David Rawlings and Gillian Welch, now find themselves on a nine song album named after the man whose journey they are about. With an unmistakable voice that lingers long after you’ve heard it, and melodic earworms in songs like “Real Love”.

Support the show

AmericanaMusic.com
Your Source for Americana Music

This Grammy Nominated Songwriter has Co-written and recorded some of Sheryl Crow's biggest hits like "If It Makes You Happy", "Soak Up The Sun", and "Every Day is a Winding Road". A previous BMI Songwriter of the Year Award Winner, he also has played in bands for Sheryl Crow and Tears for Fears among many others. This year he's releasing a new album called Orphans, of songs he's written that never found a home.

Jeff Trott

Support the show

AmericanaMusic.com
Your Source for Americana Music

With gentle piano melody, a soft strum on the guitar, and floating vocals In My Arms is more than a lullaby. It is a love song that only two experienced songwriters writing about motherhood can so eloquently express. The first of Edie Carey and Sarah Samples single releases for the new album, Lantern In The Dark: Songs of Comforts and Lullabies. The second is a gorgeous Beatles cover of Blackbird and the most recent is the moving, reasurring lyrics and soaring harmonies for the song "I'm Here". Lantern in the Dark is a the followup to the duos debut album 2014, 'Till The Morning: Lullabies and Songs of Comfort. On the two's Kickstarter page they reveal that, "Much to our surprise, it didn't just stay in the nursery, but moved into birthing rooms, hospice care, grief work and regular old romantic heartbreak healing, too." The previous album won Best Children's Album in the 2014 Independent Music Awards, the Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner 2014, NAPPA Gold Award Winner 2014, Family Choice Gold Award 2015, and A 2014 Top 10 Debut Children’s Album - Zooglobble (NPR Kid’s Music Critic). Edie Carey and Sarah Samples are two seasoned artists with over a dozen individual albums released between the two. Thave created a sound together that is not only kid friendly, but adult friendly as well. So much so that even childless cat ladies such as myself are sure to enjoy.

Support the show

AmericanaMusic.com
Your Source for Americana Music