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After a dozen or so albums of theirs going back to 2001, it’s about time they released a full live album of their great material, right? Well, here’s a double-album, recorded last September in Wilmington, NC. Chief songwriters here are Graham Sharp and Aaron Burdett, with each of them shining with their talents. Hearing them live is hearing them at their absolute best. It’s no surprise to us why Rolling Stones considers them “one of the most sought-after groups in Americana, bluegrass, and indie-folk.” Our next chance to see them live will be at their upcoming Mountain Song Festival in Brevard that they host, September 6 and 7. This album, out on August 30th, was mixed in Asheville at Citizen Vinyl Studios; a video about the process is here: https://steepcanyonrangers.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-greenfield-lake

“Copeland is the greatest female blues vocalist working today. There’s no mistaking the majesty of her instrument, nor the ferocity of her delivery”, says the Chicago Tribune. And they’re not alone! The reigning Queen of the Blues is back with 10 new original tunes plus powerful covers of Stevie Wonder and her late father Johnny Copeland. Song topics include climate change, to reproductive self-determination, to the man who taught Hank Williams the blues (Tee Tot Payne), to “Wine O’Clock.” Will Kimbrough contributes a lot with guitar and production work, as he has on her previous three albums.

It’s hard to believe this is already their 26th album, but if you’re not familiar with this wild, mercurial Australian band, it’s a great start. For Flight b741, bandleader Stu Mackenzie says King Gizzard “wanted to make something that was primal, instinctual, more ‘from the gut’ – just people in a room, doing what feels right. We wanted to make something fun.” As Relix says, “‘Field of Vision’ is a greased-up garage rock stomper, driven to dust by the band’s six-piston ignition and smoldering like a tire fire.” They’ve just launched a 40-date North American tour that includes Asheville on Friday the 30th!

Featuring one of Julian's favorite episodes.

This 10th album from Foster can be seen as a culmination of her career, and one that might bring a significant amount of more accolades to her inspirational work. She’s collaborated over the years with Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks, and others, and so far has five Grammy nominations. This album marks the start of a new partnership with Sun Records, the famous studio and label founded in Memphis by Sam Phillips and the start of careers for Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin’ Wolf, and other legends.

He’s been hailed as “one of the South’s most lyrical and literate songwriters” by Rolling Stone, and covered by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Bettye LaVette (a whole album, in fact!) He’s also a musician’s musician, having worked extensively with Widespread Panic, Chuck Leavell, and Steve Winwood. In describing this new, 13th album, Bramblett explains “We called this record Paradise Breakdown because it has the feel of beauty and hope running up against pain and loss.” He performs in Studio B and in Asheville on September 20th, and the album will be released on the 27th.

On this Labor Day, we thought we’d start sharing with you a project we’ve been laboring on this year: our latest compilation CD of Studio B highlights! Our Crowd Around the Mic series is our most popular fund drive thank-you gift for members, and it is only available to members, for just the 12-month period in which it’s released. We officially release this next month: our Fall Fund Drive runs Saturday October 5th through Friday the 11th! Start getting to know this compilation that includes Robert Earl Keen, Chatham County Line, the Steep Canyon Rangers, Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton, Chris Smither, Lydia Loveless and 20 others.

We’ve been awaiting it for a while, and here it is! Fans know how meticulous they are with getting their sound just right – a perfect balance of rustic, acoustic warmth with modern technology. This was recorded in Nashville at Welch and Rawlings' own Woodland Sound Studio, and mastered directly from the original tapes (through custom Ortofon amplifiers to a Neumann VMS-80 cutting system.) David Rawlings produced it. They’re coming to our area in October! They play Charlotte on October 15th, Boone the 17th, Knoxville the 18th, and Asheville the 19th.

Bassist and singer/songwriter Melissa Carper was listening to an interview/documentary a year or two ago in which Ralph Stanley proclaimed “I don’t think you can get this sound unless it’s borned in ya” when describing how he got his mountain music sound. She immediately jotted down “borned in ya” on a piece of paper. “I knew I had to write that song,” she recalls. It’s become an appropriate title track for her new album, once again produced by Dennis Crouch and Andrija Tokic. Carper has a natural way of evoking a timeless sound that somehow evokes those golden ages of classic country, blues and jazz, and this new one is no exception. Crouch, Chris Scruggs, Billy Contreras, and others provide wonderful backup musicianship here. Most of the songs were written by Carper, though her friend and fellow musician in the Wonder Women of Country Brennen Leigh co-wrote three with her.

The Minneapolis-based brother duo Jack Torrey and Page Burkum - have shared their new album Every Time I Think About You via their own Walkie Talkie Records. Across the collection, the brothers evoke “pure Americana dream pop” (No Depression) and “a sound that’s like rain in the desert” (Bluegrass Situation.) The brothers cover themes that accompany moving on in these new songs - from loss, the past, and the weight of expectation. They play the Grey Eagle in Asheville on Sunday the 22nd and the Cat’s Cradle in Carborro on Tuesday the 24th.