Issue #70: Americana Fest Recap

We hit the streets in search of a good song..and were successful!

Ten Best Songs I Saw At Americanafest

by Natalie

What a week! Just under three dozen sets later I am so happy to be on my couch back in Dallas, reminiscing about all the great music I saw last week. I would be remiss not to note how amazing my talk with Alynda Segarra (that’s seh-geh-rrah, I asked!) of Hurray For The Riff Raff fame went — just such a kind, generous and thoughtful person and artist. I feel so grateful that I got the chance to get to know them a little! And that they didn’t flinch when I blew up their phone with jazz recs after our talk :) We’ll be pubbing that interview here in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for it (and tell your friends to subscribe!).

Now, a songs-oriented recap of a little slice of what I saw!!

"Slept Alone" by Wayne Graham @ (or more specifically, outside) the Basement

I have been obsessed with this song since I first heard it back in late 2020. It's so warm and sincere, exhorting listeners to buck up in a way that's loose and bright without being even a little bit corny — during that winter of 2020, when lockdown felt truly never ending and optimism was pretty hard to come by, I was listening to it every day (or multiple times a day). I've been waiting to see them live since then, because they don't do a ton of U.S. touring and haven't been through North Texas on their own in a minute. 

So when I saw they were doing a set at the Commonwealth of Kentucky party during Americanafest, it was instantly the highest of my festival priorities — and I did something I have never done before and will (hopefully for everyone) never do again: I emailed their publicist and asked if she would pass along a "Slept Alone" request to the band. She did, and they played it!! They played one of the sweatiest sets in a week of extremely sweaty sets, in full sun at 2 pm in the lot behind the Basement, and in spite of that they sounded great — lots of smart, asymmetrical rock-ish tunes, some with a kinda country feel and others more jam-oriented but all ideal for an outdoor set. "Slept Alone" was even better than I had hoped, polished but still full of feeling and some really fun solos. Listen to Wayne Graham!! (no, there's no guy named Wayne Graham in the band.) They even have a brand new album out called Bastion. 

"Feelin' Good Again" by Robert Earl Keen @ the Bobby Hotel

REK made us wait, and delivered with one of the most perfect moments of the week: opening his set with the iconic "Feelin' Good Again" just as the sun was starting to set across Nashville, casting golden hour light on the rooftop where he was playing. It was so arresting that he started with it, even if it was to be expected that he would deliver with ease and feeling. 

"Funny How Time Slips Away" by Shelby Lynne @ the Country Music Hall of Fame

Dragging myself to an 11 a.m. talk on Saturday morning on the fifth (!) day of Americanafest was…not the easiest but obviously the chance to see Allison Moorer in conversation with her sister Shelby Lynne was basically impossible to imagine missing. It was such a compelling and funny showcase of their particular sisterly dynamic, a little tense in moments but in a way that dissolved completely in the few moments when Lynne reached for her guitar. For some reason, I underestimated how much Lynne's voice would absolutely devastate me, in spite of the fact that I've gone through several phases of obsessively watching old live videos of her and crying…but it was instant waterworks the second she started singing. 

The session got so intimate in those moments, especially when Moorer joined her on harmonies, and when they started casually arranging the songs in front of the crowd. In the middle of talking about her relationship with Willie, Lynne started singing "Funny How Time Slips Away" — a song that I particularly love (and have even written about for this newsletter!) — and even though she just did one verse, it felt like something I will remember forever. Truly a voice that is rich and visceral in the way maybe, generously, 10 or 20 others are.

"Gotta Have My Baby Back" by Swamp Dogg @ Station Inn

Probably the most special and redemptive moment of my Americanafest was seeing Swamp Dogg take his Blackgrass to one of the genre's foremost venues (and stalwart of a wildly gentrifying part of Nashville), the Station Inn. With a pedal steel, fiddler and keyboardist with vocoder in tow, he made dynamic, vibrant, new-old music that fit so seamlessly within that small room. This Floyd Tillman tune was more honky tonk than Appalachian, but showing how well pedal steel and vocoder work together is just the kind of low key revolution we can't get enough of over here at DRTI. 

"Artificial Intelligence" by Jim Lauderdale @ Cannery Hall

Jim Lauderdale rules. My pre-existing assumptions in this regard were reinforced when he came out in a matching purple bedazzled set with perfect hair flowing and enviably chill vibes to show everyone a great time for 40 minutes. When he said, "This next song is called 'Artificial Intelligence' and we're recording it soon," I thought I knew what was coming next…but there's no way I could have anticipated how perfect the mournful classic honky tonk tune would be (sample lyric: "Will it take over and decide the way we are?"). Then he played "Hole In My Head" and things somehow got even better.

"Work Song" and "Born A Worm" by Dan Reeder @ Vinyl Tap and Soft Junk, respectively

I was lucky enough to get a very healthy dose of Dan Reeder over the course of the week, both at his little set at Vinyl Tap and the (slightly) larger tribute to him at Soft Junk. They were so great, and not only when MJ Lenderman picked my favorite DR song to play at the tribute (that's "You'll Never Surf Again"). Both shows offered such a great showcase of Reeder's songs, with reverent audiences giving those intimate compositions all of their attention; the sing-a-longs, though, really drew out Reeder's strength as a writer of a kind of modern hymn. A room full of people cheerfully repeating "I've got all the fucking work I need" or "What the fuck is that about?" for a few minutes is so much more beautiful and cathartic than I would have imagined. (also Reeder walked out to Bon Jovi. Take from that what you will)

"Wildfire Season" by Jobi Riccio @ Estelle

A not-yet-recorded track from the wonderful Jobi Riccio that was such an arresting, bold, clear and deeply felt meditation on climate change. I was telling people about it for hours and days afterwards, and can't wait to hear it on record!

"Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" by Radney Foster @ 3rd and Lindsley

The Americanafest wrap-up event, a writers round with Sunny Sweeney, Kelly Willis and Jack Ingram, was as sweet and chummy as you might expect from a bunch of Texans who have known each other for years sitting around with guitars. Foster was the last special guest, and as someone who had never seen him live, I was completely blown away; the songs and honestly even more the voice were just stunning. He played "I'm In" — a great way to puncture the Americana-supremacy discourse that was the only bad part of the week — and then, when Sweeney tried to get Ingram to play the night's final song, he deflected and said he wanted to hear this one from Foster instead. Foster obliged, and Ingram was far from the only one holding back tears. 

"Memphis In The Morning" by Lizzie No @ The 5 Spot

We're obviously big Lizzie No fans over here, and I was so happy to get to finally catch them playing with their full band!! This new one, which Lizzie played back when I saw them in Fort Worth, is a fantastic repudiation of the Nashville status quo — one that was rendered even more potent by the cast of musicians No had backing here (and where better to listen to a repudiation of the Nashville status quo than in the heart of Nashville!). Love it and can't wait to hear how it lands on record. 

"Drag Queens and Limousines" by Mary Gauthier @ City Winery

The Gauthier tribute on the opening night was so special (how often are you in the same audience as Jimmie Dale Gilmore, for one!), but never more than when Mary herself stepped onstage. "My friend Bill Morrissey used to say that folk music is to be endured not enjoyed," she quipped, instantly lightening the mood after a slew of takes on (in her words) her saddest songs before she and Jaimee Harris (her ultra-talented partner) ran through some of her greatest hits. "Drag Queens and Limousines" was an ideal tribute to outsiders and those who feel like one (all of us, probably) and, in the moment, a great cap to an evening of someone getting their flowers while they can smell them. 

And a few other standouts…

By Marissa

Seeing Rock Music

Yes, I realize this was “Americana” fest, but aren’t guitars Americana? Anyway, the first band of the festival that I caught was the Austin-based Good Looks at Vinyl Tap, whom I can only describe as a rock band (complimentary). But genre is so amorphous and funny anyway, I like that this was part of my supposedly rootsy music experience.

Aaron Lee Tasjan Live

We’re big fans of ALT at the newsletter, but whenever I see him live I’m always astounded by how well he’s able to tailor his music to the exact environment he’s in at the moment: the same songs can filter into a rock show, or, as they did on Thursday last week at Estelle, a captive acoustic moment. It’s the sign of good writing, but a great performer, too.

Sierra Ferrell Winning Big

I didn’t make it to the awards, but I was thrilled to hear that Sierra Ferrell won Artist of the Year and Album of the Year. Here’s hoping a Grammy comes next?

Drinkin’ beers, talking about playlists

Last but not least, our Don’t Rock the Inbox Meetup

Thanks so much to everyone who came out on Friday to say hey and talk country music with us! We’re really lucky to have such a wonderful group of subscribers, and it was very lovely to see some of your faces for the first time. Plus, look how nicely Emily Scott Robinson (and her water bottle) models our DRTI sticker:

Till next year!