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Welcome! Here's what's in this very full, very timely, very newsy edition.
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CONTENTS
1) THIS WEEKEND is Festival-Crazy! Here's a Guide to Maximizing Your Fun!
2) BOB DYLAN finally gets his Nobel prize; and DYLANFEST is this Sunday in Torrance
3) LAURIE LEWIS, Bluegrasser and Grammy winner has news, and she plays Saturday night
4) PETER, PAUL & MARY duo play "Music2Life" Benefit in Ventura, May 13
5) Obscure here, famous elsewhere, and wonderful: ELLEN STAPENHORST
6) ERNEST TROOST's latest — an original and ironic "Make America Great Again"
7) For a Cajun landmark, it's ashes to ashes, Hall-Of-Fame to dust
8) Cajun-Zydeco-Creole-Blues FESTIVAL SEASON & concerts in Southern Cal
9) NU-BLU, top bluegrass stars, release brand new album "Vagabonds"
10) New CD by World Music star MEKLIT features ANDREW BIRD on violin and THE PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND
11) New releases of great old material: THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, THE DOORS
12) "WILLIE NELSON’s Luck Reunion" 2017 included Southern Cal's THE WILD REEDS
13) The Broad Stage wins Ovation Award for "1984" as "Best Presented Production of 2016"
14) Maritime Music / Sea Chanteys Festivals & News
Let's get started!
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# 1 news feature...
THIS WEEKEND is Festival-Crazy! Here's a Guide to Maximizing Your Fun!
With the Guide's "ENCYCLOPEDIA FESTIVANICA" available for you — and for us, as a starting point — we reckoned with all it offers, plus we factored-in the concerts, and sorted-out things into a plan of attack.
SO MUCH of what's wonderful is FREE, so there's no excuse for staying home, raiding the refrigerator and cleaning the cat box. Here's how we're gonna play it.
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✔ FRIDAY NIGHT... CONCERT TIME with toooo many tasty options!
Fri, May 5 — JOE HALL & THE CANE CUTTERS, 7 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena, Ca; phone For reservations, 626-798-6236. It's a rare West Coast appearance by "Old School" Creole musicians.
*** If it's sold-out or if you're located farther north? They also play SATURDAY, at the 4 pm Deep End Sessions, Santa Paula, CA 93060; see "Saturday night" — it's just below.
Friday is an especially rich night for choices...
(Up north) Fri, May 5 — THE SUSIE GLAZE NEW FOLK ENSEMBLE plus banjo maven DONNA LYNN CASKEY play the 7:30 pm "Cambridge Drive Concert Series," 550 Cambridge Dr, Goleta, CA 93117; make a reservation at: cambridge.concerts@gmail.com or by phone, 805-964-0436.
(Down south) Fri, May 5 — CLIVE CARROLL plays the 7:30 pm "Lord Of The Strings Concert Series" at the Dana Point Community House, 24642 San Juan St, Dana Point, CA 92629; reservations at 949-842-2227 or 949-244-6656.
Or there's this fun one in the SFV:
Fri, May 5 — Kulak’s Woodshed has the monthly show, 8-10 pm, with SEVERIN BROWNE & FRIENDS, at 5230 Laurel Canyon Bl, North Hollywood. In town on her annual musical swing, superb songwriter ELLEN STAPENHORST tells us, "I'll be one of the featured friends for this Friday night concert at the renowned Kulak's Woodshed, with my old pal Severin Browne." Details at www.kulakswoodshed.com
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✔ SATURDAY... MULTIPLE FESTIVAL DAY, and soooo worth the scramble!
9 am, we start with the FREE 18th annual "FULLERTON RAILROAD DAYS" festival at the Fullerton Transportation Center (Amtrak's old Santa Fe Ry station), 120 E Santa Fe Av, Fullerton, CA 92832. It's a Saturday & Sunday event, May 6 & 7, and it's FREE. The real star this year is a large, operating steam locomotive, former Santa Fe 4-8-4 "Northern" type, number 3751. Though it's light on music, there's plenty more. Details at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/fullerton-railroad-days-2017-may-6-7.html
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At NOON, we'll get to the FREE 55th annual "SIERRA MADRE ART FAIR" in Memorial Park, 222 W Sierra Madre Bl, Sierra Madre, CA. It happens both Saturday & Sunday, and it's loaded with a lot of activities and two stages of acoustic music that get underway at 12 pm. Details at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/sierra-madre-art-fair-2017-may-6-7-all.html
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By the 3 pm start time, when plenty of acoustic acts take to multiple stages, it's the FREE 9th annual "ECLECTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL & ART WALK" — 60 bands across 15 stages — happening into the night, all over downtown South Pasadena, CA. Just a FEW of them are The Ploughboys, Lisa Haley & The Zydecats, Ozomatli, Tony Gilkyson, Calvin Joe & The Orange Grove Rangers, Rick Shea, Liv Kennedy, BrowderSister, Charlie Hickey, and James Hurley. Plus many, many more. Ride the Gold Line light rail and arrive at the center of things at 1121 Mission St, South Pasadena, CA 91030. Details at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/eclectic-music-festival-art-walk-2017.html
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There's also these...
"WILD WEST DAY" Saturday only at the L.A. Co. Arboretum, 301 N Baldwin Av, Arcadia, CA 91007. Details at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/wild-west-day-2017-may-6-all-details.html
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34th annual "TOPANGA BLUES FESTIVAL" Saturday only at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 Topanga Cyn Bl, Topanga, CA. Details are at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/topanga-blues-festival-2017-may-6-all.html
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5th annual "RAMONA OLD WEST DAYS" Saturday & Sunday at the Ramona Rodeo Grounds, 421 Aqua Ln, Ramona CA 92065. Details at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/ramona-old-west-days-2017-may-6-7-all.html
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2nd annual "BBQ & BEER FESTIVAL" Friday-Sunday in Central Park, 27150 Bouquet Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91350. Details at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/bbq-beer-festival-2017-may-5-7-all.html
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"STRAIGHT TO THE HEART MUSIC FESTIVAL" Saturday evening at the Saban Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Bl, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Details at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/straight-to-heart-music-festival-2017.html
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✔ SATURDAY NIGHT...
Plenty of FREE acts on multiple stages continue after the sun sets at the annual South Pasadena "ECLECTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL" — see the link above for the deets of that event.
Plus, there are options to tempt you to duck-out early for any of many great concerts!
Sat, May 6 — Grammy winner LAURIE LEWIS & THE RIGHT HANDS bring their bluegrass-Americana to an 8 pm show at Boulevard Music, 4316 Sepulveda Bl, Culver City, CA 90230; tix at 310-398-2583.
Sat, May 6 — Autoharp master BRYAN BOWERS plays an 8 pm concert at the Fret House, 309 N Citrus Av, Covina, CA 91723; tix, 626-339-7020.
Sat, May 6 — DIRK HAMILTON plus WALDO BLISS play at 8 pm in McCabe’s Guitar Shop's concert hall, 3101 Pico Bl, Santa Monica, CA 90405; tix, 310-828-4497.
Sat, May 6 — ELLEN STAPENHORST, traveling troubadour, and her local musical brother STEVE STAPENHORST play their annual show, 7 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N Lake Av, Altadena $18 at the door, but . reservations are strongly suggested, since al who know them go! Call 626-798-6236. (Fortunately, there are a few options to see Ellen, solo; see the separate news feature on her.)
(Up north) Sat, May 6 — PETER FELDMANN & THE VERY LONESOME BOYS play an 8 pm bluegrass show at their favorite venue, the Santa Ynez Valley Grange Hall, 2374 Alamo Pintado Av, Los Olivos, CA 93441; tix at 805-688-9894.
(Down south) Sat, May 6 — CLIVE CARROLL plays another "Lord Of The Strings Concert Series" show, also at 7:30 pm, but this one is at the Mission Viejo Civic Center, 100 Civic Center Dr, Mission Viejo, CA 92691; reservations at 949-842-2227 or 949-244-6656.
Or, there's this one:
Sat, May 6: JOE HALL & THE CANE CUTTERS, 4 pm, at a monthly concert series that includes dinner, and this time, dancing, at the Deep End Sessions, Santa Paula, CA 93060; reservations necessary at deependsessions@gmail.com. It's a rare West Coast appearance by "Old School" Creole musicians.
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✔ SUNDAY...
Sun, May 7 — There's no place else we can be! It's the 27th annual "DYLANFEST" in the Torino Plaza at the Torrance Cultural Center, 3330 Civic Center Dr, Torrance, CA 90503. Details at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/dylanfest-2017-may-7-all-details.html
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Sun, May 7 — RICK RUSKIN plays the 2 pm "David Naiditch House Concerts" series in Altadena, CA. Reservations get directions at: davidnaiditch@charter.net
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Sun, May 7 — CLIVE CARROLL plays the last of his three gigs for the "Lord Of The Strings Concert Series" at 3 pm at the LCA Wine Series at SOCO Center, 3303-3323 Hyland Av, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; reservations at 949-842-2227 or 949-244-6656.
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Sun, May 7 — INCENDIO plays a 3 pm concert at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard, CA 93030; 805-385-8147.
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Sun, May 7 — of course, the two-day FESTIVALS that we caught on Saturday are still happening. See Saturday listings for a pair of FREE festivals — the 18th annual "FULLERTON RAILROAD DAYS" and the 55th annual "SIERRA MADRE ART FAIR."
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✔ SUNDAY NIGHT...
Sun, May 7 — Double your dose of Dylan as JOHN YORK SINGS BOB DYLAN at 7 pm at the Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N Lake Av, Altadena, CA 92675; reservations strongly recommended, at 626-798-6236. Just leave Dylanfest a lil' early to get there...
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Sun, May 7 — THE RELUCTANT APOSTLES play "Unplugged!" with Davey Faragher, Katey Sagal, John Philip Shenale & Bob Thiele, Jr. at 8 pm in the concert hall behind McCabe’s Guitar Shop, 3101 Pico Bl, Santa Monica, CA 90405; tix, 310-828-4497.
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(Up north) Sun, May 7 — RODNEY CROWELL does a 7 pm concert at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E Canon Perdido St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101; tix at 805-963-0761.
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# 2 news feature...
BOB DYLAN finally gets his Nobel prize; and DYLANFEST is this Sunday in Torrance
Nobel literature prize laureate Bob Dylan did finally meet with members of the Swedish Academy during a weekend visit to Stockholm and they bestowed his Nobel diploma and medal on March 25th.
The 75-year-old Dylan, who was awarded the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition," declined an invitation last year to the traditional Nobel Prize banquet and ceremony on Dec. 10, pleading other commitments.
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Antics and reticence about recognitions aside, you cannot beat the man's amazing catalogue of music.
And that's what's celebrated this Sunday, May 7, at the annual "DYLANFEST."
It's described in detail in the Guide's "ENCYCLOPEDIA FESTIVANICA" and you can get just this one, all by itself, at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/dylanfest-2017-may-7-all-details.html
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# 3 news feature...
LAURIE LEWIS, Bluegrasser and Grammy winner: news, and they play Saturday night
Saturday, May 6, LAURIE LEWIS & TOM ROZUM, with BRANDON GODMAN & MAX SCHWARTZ, play an 8 pm concert at Boulevard Music in Culver City, CA. Tix are available now, at www.boulevardmusic.com.
The night before that, Laurie and Tom are part of a Bay Area bluegrass event that's only possible in California. It's called "Bluegrass Pride" on Fri, May 5, at 7:30 pm at Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Av, Berkeley, CA. It's a full-on Bluegrass Festival lineup in an evening, with performances by Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum, Kathy Kallick, Suzy and Allegra Thompson, Molly Tuttle, Brandon Godman, Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum, Larry Cohea, Tom Bekeny, Emily Mann, and more. It's a benefit for the bluegrass float in the "San Francisco Pride Parade." (Wonder if they're taking note in North Carolina?)
Anyone in Northern Cal should also note this one:
Tue, Jun 6, 2017:
"RIVER OF SONG" a "Benefit Concert for Northern California Rivers," with LAURIE LEWIS & TOM ROZUM, THOMPSONIA!, BARBARA HIGBIE, THE T SISTERS, BLAME SALLY, and JENNER FOX, at the Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St, Berkeley, CA; 510-644-2020; http://thefreight.org
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# 4 news feature...
PETER, PAUL & MARY duo play "Music2Life" Benefit in Ventura, May 13
Liz Sunde of Music2Life, tells us, "We've had another growth spurt, including our 'Embrey Human Rights awards show' and SXSW showcase. And we're heading to the West Coast where I hope you can join us for Music2Life's next (r)evolution! Our work with artists and nonprofits to design uplifting and galvanizing music-based experiences has never been more critical!"
This time around, Music2Life is partnering with their friends at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, CA, to co-host an inspired music series during the week of May 8th. It's entitled, "Music for Changing Times" and events include a special benefit concert for Music2Life as well as the launch of Music2Life's new "Activist Artist Fund" plus a social justice songwriting master class.
Liz, who is Noel Paul Stookey's daughter, says, "Dad and Peter [the living two-thirds on PETER, PAUL, & MARY] will headline Music2Life's benefit event on May 13 at 7 pm. It's a landmark theatrical concert to raise consciousness and pass the torch of social change music to a new generation."
She adds, "It's a 'tone poem' of Music2Life's mission — a multimedia evening of music, video flashbacks, and stories of equality, peace and the environment. The evening features spoken word artist Decora; Raptivist founder Aisha Fukushima, Eco-hip hop artist Tem Blessed, restorative justice artist Naima Shalhoub and the Rubicon Harmonix youth choir."
You know they're activists, because they don't just tell you about something. They recruit you. Liz says,
"Here are a few ways to get involved:
• If you or others you know in the Los Angeles/Ventura area can be there, WONDERFUL - here's a link for tickets.
• If you can't be there but could help us spread the word - please feel free to share or post this Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/289720041478817/
• If you're intrigued by our Activist Artist Fund and would like to get more involved in its development, please contact Liz directly: 802-683-9212.
• Finally, if you or someone you know might consider underwriting part of the show, please see the sponsorship levels here or feel free to call the theatre directly ((805) 667-2912, ext. 224) and speak with Karyl Lynn Burns (Artistic Director); she's a good friend of the family."
Liz concludes with, "Thanks for considering. We appreciate the chance to be in touch and send our best for your good work. Stay strong and be kind."
(Signed)
Peace,
Liz & Noel Paul
Elizabeth Stookey Sunde
Executive Director
Music2Life
POB 409
Wilder, VT 05088
lizs@music2life.org
www.music2life.org
Facebook: music2lifeorg
Twitter: music2lifeorg
Music2Life℠ serves the causes of the world through the power of music.
"Music has this way of reaching across cultural lines, national lines, the lines of religion or language... It can reach into peoples' hearts and create awakening..."
— Michael Franti
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# 5 news feature...
Obscure here, famous elsewhere, and wonderful: Ellen Stapenhorst
Ellen Stapenhorst doesn't get to Southern Cal but once a year from her abode in Snowmass, Colorado, and from the rounds with her tours in the East. Now is the time to catch her locally. Fortunately, there are a few options.
Friday, May 5 — Ellen plays the 8-10 pm show at Kulak’s Woodshed with SEVERIN BROWNE & FRIENDS, at 5230 Laurel Canyon Bl, North Hollywood. She tells us, "I'll be one of the featured friends for this Friday night concert at the renowned Kulak's Woodshed, with my old pal Severin Browne." Deets at: www.kulakswoodshed.com
Saturday, May 6 — ELLEN & STEVE STAPENHORST play their annual brother-sister show at 7 pm at the Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N Lake Av, Altadena. They always performed an annual live show on the old "Tied to the Tracks" radio broadcast. Ellen says, "It’s always a treat to do a show at the Coffee Gallery Backstage with my brother Steve! Join us for an evening of great music, good stories and questionable humor! We'll do some new songs, as well as old favorites. Admission is $18 at the door. Info at www.coffeegallery.com. Reservations strongly suggested, at 626-798-6236 between 10 am and 10 pm."
Friday, May 12 — ELLEN STAPENHORST plays a 7:30 pm House Concert in Brentwood. Email her for details: estapenhorst@earthlink.net
Tuesday, May 16 — "Songwriters at Play" is a wonderful series on the Central Coast. Ellen plays the 6:30-9 pm show at Bang the Drum Brewery, 950 Orcutt Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA. She tells us, "I'll be one of several songwriters performing a short set of originals at this weekly event. Always a good evening! No cover." Info at: http://songwritersatplay.com/ or for those who have installed Facebook's spyware, there's info at: http://www.facebook.com/songwritersatplay
Wednesday, May 17 — Ellen plays the "Peaceful Point House Concert and Potluck," a 6 pm event sponsored by Unity-Five Cities, at 2850 Peaceful Point Lane, Arroyo Grande, CA. She reports it's "A beautiful setting for a sunset concert and potluck with congenial folks! Contact Chris Garey at 805-489-7359, chris@peacefulpoint.com for reservations and directions. Suggested donation $10-15."
Friday, May 19 — Ellen plays the "Monterey House Concert" series at 7:30 pm. She says, "This will be my third annual May house concert at this lovely, musical home overlooking Monterey Bay! Hosts Judy and Charlie have a wonderful space for music, camaraderie and dessert! Suggested donation $15." For information and directions, contact Judy at jhtherrien@icloud.com
Saturday, May 20 — Ellen plays a noon-2 pm set at the 4th annual "CORNER STORE WEST MOUNTAIN MUSIC FEST," on Whiffle Tree Ranch in Carmel Valley, 18865 Cachagua Rd, Carmel Valley, CA. The music continues all day, emceed by the inimitable JOE CRAVEN, and then more on Sunday. Ellen says, "I’m excited to be part of this, organized by the DC-based Corner Store Arts. For tickets and more information, visit www.cornerstorearts.org or call/text 202-255-2180."
Sunday, May 21 — Ellen is the musical guest at the Center for Spiritual Awakening in Pacific Grove, CA. She says it's "Special music for Sunday Service at 10 am, at 522 Central Av, Pacific Grove. For information about the Center, contact TheCSA.info@gmail.com or call 831-372-1942."
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# 6 news feature...
ERNEST TROOST's latest — an original and ironic "Make America Great Again"
There's no shortage of political satire, and some of it is musical. A little of it is good, and this is one of those.
Ernest Troost is best known in the Folk-Americana world as an L.A. bluesman who is the West Coast's chief practitioner of the "Piedmont blues" style. There's a whole lot more.
He has composed and produced two critically-praised albums of songs for JUDY COLLINS, setting the words to music of poets that include Robert Browning, Emily Dickinson, and Gertrude Stein.
He is also a recipient of the prestigious "Kerrville New Folk Award" for his original songwriting.
There's more. Ernest Troost is an Emmy award-winning composer of scores for films and television, including the cult-classic "Tremors" and HBO’s award-winning "Lesson Before Dying."
His latest album, "O LOVE," has been a hit with fans and critics alike.
His evocative style combines folk and Piedmont-blues-style guitar picking with timeless stories and colorful character portrayals drawn from the American past and present. Sometimes that features uhh, prominent personages from the American present. Like now.
We featured several live performances with him on-air on the gone-but-not-forgotten "Tied to the Tracks" broadcast radio show.
Ernest Troost gets plenty of good press.
"Troost is a brilliant Americana songwriter... making pensive, sometimes snarling, Steve Earle-ish, lyrically-driven Americana ... with inspired playing and smartly judicious arrangements. Fans of Steve Earle and Jeffrey Foucault will find an awful lot to like in Troost’s brooding, intense songcraft." — Delarue, New York Music Daily.
"Wow. ... Lyrically, he’s going to knock you flat with one punch. Killer stuff throughout, this is the work of an undeniable talent taking it to the next level of the game. You just might not hear Americana the same way again after you take a byte of this. Easily one of the best ‘folk’ albums to come out this year... Check it out." — Chris Spector, Midwest Record.
In addition, he plays gigs in venues large and small, always draws a crowd, and has an enthusiastic fan base. That's where you'll catch him playing plenty of what you came for, and lots of surprises.
Surprises like this one, the reason you're reading this feature.
Right now, online, you can catch L.A. bluesman ERNEST TROOST performing his original (and very ironic) "Make America Great Again." Enjoy:
https://soundcloud.com/ernest-troost/make-america-great-again-12
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# 7 news feature
FOR A CAJUN LANDMARK, IT'S ASHES TO ASHES, HALL-OF-FAME TO DUST
Even as Cajun, zydeco and Creole music is featured in a growing number of festivals in California, across America, and around the world, things in the music's Louisiana home country continue to struggle.
Oil development, beyond the infamous man-made "oil volcano" in the Gulf, is a betrothal to the devil. Big Oil sponsors local music and crawfish festivals in New Orleans, down into the few cities of the Mississippi Delta. Moreover, the region depends on the jobs. But between the deadly pollution of oil spills and petrochemical plants, the rich wildlife is all but gone.
Pumping oil from the ground in wetlands has caused the land itself to sink and succumb to inundation. Narrow natural channels have been widened for drilling equipment and pipeline supply barges through places that were once lush bayou. That destroys habitat and natural systems collapse. Along with the devastation of age-old natural wetlands, human settlements dating to before the American Revolution have sunk or been deserted as their fisheries vanished.
The quintessential Louisiana dance hall has been on the cultural endangered species list for years. Many places that once resounded with fiddle and accordion and happy shouts and songs in Cajun French have succumbed to abandonment and decay. On its home ground, it's all being forgotten. Even the place intended as a hall of fame and museum to preserve a record of the rich music and cultural past didn't escape the fate of so many vanished Louisiana music venues.
Dick Brainard reported this week to his Cajun-Zydeco dance audience, "Late news is that Miller’s Zydeco Hall of Fame (old Richard’s Club) in Lawtell (Louisiana) burned to the ground last week. It was a fire trap waiting for someone’s cigarette to do the job. Blessing (that) no one was inside... the windows were nailed shut."
There are no tears when all those Louisiana bands perform on the local festival scene. the joy of the music won't allow it. But some of those festivals have blues stages, and it's only a matter of time before you hear the sense of loss and lamentation there. See the following news feature to get your joy back.
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# 8 news feature
CAJUN-ZYDECO-CREOLE-BLUES FESTIVAL SEASON & CONCERTS IN SOUTHERN CAL
After the depressing news from Cajun country in the preceding story, let's get back in touch with the joy of Lou'siana music and dance. Here the upcoming Cajun-Zydeco-Creole-Blues festivals, and/or other festivals featuring Cajun music, PLUS some concerts, club gigs and the like that focus on Cajun music, JUST in Southern & Central California. They're date-chronological:
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✔ Fri, May 5: JOE HALL & THE CANE CUTTERS, 7 pm, at the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena, Ca; phone For reservations, 626-798-6236. It's a rare West Coast appearance by "Old School" Creole musicians.
✔ Sat & Sun, May 5 & 6, 2017: "CENTRAL COAST FOLK FESTIVAL" is a new "Acoustic Folk & Jug Band Jubilee" at the Red Barn, 2180 Palisades Av, Baywood-Los Osos, CA, and features the HIGH LIFE CAJUN BAND.
✔ May 6; 2017: 9th annual "ECLECTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL & ART WALK" is FREE and happens on several stages in South Pasadena, CA, and features Grammy noms LISA HALEY & THE ZYDEKATS.
✔ Sat, May 6: JOE HALL & THE CANE CUTTERS play the 4 pm monthly concert series that includes dinner, and this time, dancing, at the Deep End Sessions, Santa Paula, CA 93060; reservations necessary at deependsessions@gmail.com
✔ A different LIVE BAND plays each time at the monthly Cajun-Zydeco Dance Series, every second Sunday, 4:30 pm, at the Golden Sails Hotel, 6285 Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach 90803.
✔ May 9, 2017: HIGH LIFE CAJUN BAND plays a 10 pm set at The Escondite Bar, 410 Boyd St, Los Angeles 90013; no cover.
✔ May 11-14, 2017: 16th annual "GATOR BY THE BAY ZYDECO, BLUES & CRAWFISH FESTIVAL" at Spanish Landing Park in San Diego, CA, is obviously LOADED with cajun-zydeco-Creole and blues.
✔ May 13, 2017: BON TEMPS SOCIAL CLUB CAJUN & ZYDECO DANCERS do their monthly (second Saturday), 6:30-10:30 pm participatory event at the War Memorial Hall, Balboa Park, 3325 Zoo Dr, San Diego, CA.
✔ Sun, May 21, 2017: 57th annual "TOPANGA BANJO•FIDDLE CONTEST & FOLK FESTIVAL" at Paramount Ranch, 2903 Cornell Rd, Agoura Hills, CA. The many featured acts at this wonderful festival include the HIGH LIFE CAJUN BAND.
✔ Every 3rd Monday of the month, through this fall, there are CAJUN-ZYDECO DANCES with lessons at Tio Leo's, 5302 Napa St, San Diego, from 6-9:30 pm.
✔ May 27 & 28, 2017: (Sat & Sun of Memorial day Weekend) "SIMI VALLEY CAJUN & BLUES FESTIVAL," at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park, 5005 Los Angeles Av, Simi Valley, CA; yep, a reliably first-rate and endlessly tuneful event.
✔ Jun 17-18, 2017: 31st annual "LONG BEACH BAYOU" Zydeco, Blues, Creole & Cajun Festival at Rainbow Lagoon Events Park, Long Beach, CA; whether or not you get to the big fests in San Diego or Simi Valley, you need to be at this one. The lagoon is the perfect setting for all that great music.
✔ Aug 22, 2017: LISA HALEY & THE ZYDEKATS, Grammy noms, play the 6 pm memorial park Concert series sponsored bt Pasadena senior Center (all ages welcome) in Memorial Park, 85 E. Holly St, Pasadena, CA 91103; www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org/events/concerts-in-the-park
✔ Sep 2 & 3, 2017: 22nd annual "SEBASTOPOL CAJUN ZYDECO & DELTA RHYTHM FESTIVAL" in Sebastopol, CA. Up north, and looks good.
✔ Sep 9, 2017: LISA HALEY & THE ZYDEKATS, Grammy noms, play the 7:30 pm Olivas Adobe Concert Series, 4200 Olivas Park Dr, Ventura, CA 92002; www.cityofventura.net/mus
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For details on all these, PLUS many more Folk-Americana festivals, AND a whole lot more Cajun-zydeco-Creole-Lou'siana music fests, AND BLUES FESTIVALS — throughout the US, go lose yourself in the Guide's new
"ENCYCLOPEDIA FESTIVANICA" at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/04/2017-music-festival-guide-current.html
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# 9 news feature...
NU-BLU, TOP BLUEGRASS STARS, RELEASE BRAND NEW ALBUM "VAGABONDS"
Available now on Voxhall Records or download on iTunes, Amazon, and other e-music sites; the latest single, "Still Small Voice," featuring Jimmy Fortune debuts its first week on the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey.
Word came April 28 from Nashville that "The wait is over, as bluegrass/Americana group Nu-Blu releases their brand new album, 'Vagabonds.' The project is the band's sixth studio album."
The lead single, "Still Small Voice" featuring Country Music Hall of Fame singer Jimmy Fortune continues to turn heads since its release earlier this year, debuting last month on the "Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey" prior to the release of the album. The collection, released on the Voxhall Records label, is also available on iTunes and Amazon. As always, we encourage you to support your local record store to get a copy.
"We are happy to be able to present to our fans this collection of songs, straight from our heart," said Nu-Blu lead vocalist Carolyn Routh.
She continues, using a strategic pause to recognize fans as fellow travelers, saying, "It's even more exciting that 'Still Small Voice' debuted on this month's National Bluegrass Survey in Bluegrass Unlimited. Thank you all and we hope you enjoy, Vagabonds."
Nu-Blu is kicking their promotional efforts into high gear. The award-winning group stopped by the legendary broadcast home of the "Grand Ole Opry" since its earliest days, WSM 650AM studios. There, they performed songs from the new album on middle-Tennessee's hit program "Today in Nashville," for host Devon O'Day and the listening audience. Nu-Blu appeared as special guests last Sunday evening for "The Music Row Show," where they talked about the recording process and give listeners an inside glimpse of how the album was made.
There are no signs of slowing down any time soon, with upcoming features on the syndicated radio program "Whisky & Cigarettes," the TV show "Nashville Entertainment Weekly," and more.
Hailing from Siler City, NC, the textbook definition of a picturesque small southern town, Nu-Blu's heart and soul is husband-and-wife duo Daniel and Carolyn Routh. Carolyn's caramel-coated soprano is one of the band's defining traits, at times a tender lullaby, at times a freight train headed straight for you, but always unwinding a surprising tale. Daniel is the group's backbone, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who also handles band management. TJ Honaker on vocals and banjo, and Clint White on fiddle/mandolin round out the quartet's warm, layered, American roots sound. Together they deliver upbeat, blazing-fingers pick work just as well as gentle, heartwarming ballads, and they do it all with a natural togetherness that can't be faked, forged over hundreds of shows on the road.
Bonafide touring sensations, they are returning to the road for "The Vagabonds Tour," promising bluegrass fans an opportunity to meet the band and purchase a copy of the new album where their signing pens are at the ready.
Their summer concert and festival set list will feature a combination of fan favorites, covers, and cuts off of the new album that they have not previously performed live.
Fans can keep up with Nu-Blu's latest shows on their newly revamped website, www.Nu-Blu.com.
Here's the track list for Nu-Blu's new album, "Vagabonds":
1. The Bridges That You've Burned
2. A Lot More Love
3. Still Small Voice (featuring Jimmy Fortune & Ben Isaacs)
4. 640 Battlefield Drive
5. How Many Rivers
6. Troublemaker
7. Gypsies on Parade
8. A Fool and Her Heart
9. Surround Me With Love
10. Good Hearted Woman
11. Knockin' on Heaven's Door
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Nu-Blu's tour, "The Vagabonds" has the band playing the "ROUTE 66 BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL" June 16 & 17 in Victorville, CA. Then they'll be awhile getting back to Southern Cal, playing the "SUMMERGRASS" festival, August 19 & 20 in San Diego County, plus gigs Aug. 25 for the San Diego Folk Heritage Concert series in Poway, and Aug. 27 in Escondido, at "Two Worlds Connect."
Both those festivals have major write-ups in the Guide's "ENCYCLOPEDIA FESTIVANICA" at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/04/2017-music-festival-guide-current.html
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And there's sumpin' else that's too good that we've got to note for you.
They're playing the "SUSANVILLE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL" in Northern Cal on June 23rd & June 25th — and playing hooky on June 24th to run off to Cumberland Gap, TN, to play the "WHITE LIGHTNING FESTIVAL."
And who says bluegrassers aren't rock stars?
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For readers elsewhere and summer travelers, here's Nu-Blu's full summer schedule:
May 5 - Wauseon, OH - McCance Cabin Concerts
May 6 - Howard City, MI - Zellie's Opry House
May 13 - Culpeper, VA - Peace, Love and Bluegrass
May 27 - Grafton, OH - Grafton Fair
Jun 9 - Valdese, NC - Family Friday Nights
Jun 13 - Tucson, AZ - The Big Bluegrass Show
Jun 16-17 - Victorville, CA - Route 66 Bluegrass Festival
Jun 23 - Susanville, CA - Susanville Bluegrass Festival
Jun 24 - Cumberland Gap, TN - White Lightning Festival
Jun 25 - Susanville, CA - Susanville Bluegrass Festival
Jul 15 - Selma, NC - Rudy Theater
Jul 22 - Ramseur, NC - Summer Concert Series
Jul 29 - Nashville, TN - WSM Midnite Jamboree
Aug 4 - Glenwood Springs, CO - Garfield County Fair
Aug 19-20 - San Diego, CA - Summergrass
Aug 25 - Poway, CA - San Diego Folk Heritage Concert
Aug 27 - Escondido, CA - Two Worlds Connect
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# 10 news feature...
NEW CD BY WORLD MUSIC STAR MEKLIT FEATURES ANDREW BIRD ON VIOLIN AND THE PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND
It's being called "A vibrant and inspired mix of Ethio-Jazz roots along with American pop, R&B and folk influences."
The Guide rarely ventures into anything nominally categorized as "world music." Wait'll you see why we're making an exception.
Since the release of her acclaimed 2010 debut album "On A Day Like This…" (Porto Franco Records), Meklit has become an international force.
Both a 2009 TED "Global Fellow" and a 2012 "Senior Fellow," you need to watch her stunningly wonderful, very articulate 2015 TED talk. It's a delightful integration of music theory, titled, "The Unexpected Beauty of Everyday Sounds." It's at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAkkckxE9i8
Co-founder of both the "Nile Project" and the "Arba Minch Collective," Meklit has been a featured voice in the "UN Women" theme song "One Women," collaborated with musical legend Pee Wee Ellis. She's been commissioned to write music by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, served as an artist-in-residence at NYU, led multiple creative residencies in Manchester with the arts powerhouse "Brighter Sound," inaugurated the "UN Campaign for Gender Equality in Africa" with a concert in Addis Ababa, and she sits on the board of "Yerba Buena Center for the Arts."
Ethiopian-American artist Meklit has shared a new video for her single "I Want to Sing For Them All". The jubilant video, first released at Vibe dot com, is on YouTube, at:
https://youtu.be/MwDrcvGTODs
There are some interesting African instruments, including one with a double neck, and of course the horns are very good.
Vibe describes it as "a beautiful medley of lush and rich sounds from the African diaspora that inspired the song."
The track also features Andrew Bird on violin. Meklit adds, "'I Want To Sing For Them All' is my anthem... I am an immigrant... This music is Ethio-American, just like me."
The song is on her soon-to-be-released new album "When the People Move, the Music Moves Too" coming June 23rd on Six Degrees Records. Already building buzz, the album was teased by "New York Magazine" in their "Approval Matrix" feature, earning a coveted spot on the "Brilliant" end of the spectrum. The record was produced by Dan Wilson, whose previous work with artists including Adele, Taylor Swift and John Legend — as well as fronting the band Semisonic — has earned multiple Grammy awards.
The album also includes Andrew Bird on violin and whistling, as well as New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band horns.
Music promoter Justin Schmidt says, "Meklit's upcoming record crosses both musical and generational borders to create a unified artistic vision, united behind her unique and unmistakable voice."
"When the People Move, the Music Moves Too" is the result of a fateful encounter Meklit experienced in Addis Ababa with the legendary vibraphonist/composer Mulatu Astatke, who helped spark Ethiopia’s 1960s musical renaissance. She was deeply engaged with his music at the time, but he pushed her to think about how to bring her own experiences into her songs.
“He was very pointed with me, saying several times ‘You keep innovating!’” she recalls. “He took me to task and he tasked me. It took me a while to digest that. It’s a big thing to have someone like that say that to you. I sat with it for a couple of years.”
Meklit has embodied multiplicity since she first started performing at San Francisco’s Red Poppy Art House in the mid-2000s. Born in Ethiopia, she moved with her family to Iowa at the age of two, and spent much of her adolescence in Brooklyn, soaking up the sounds of hip hop on the street. After studying political science at Yale she spent several years in Seattle before moving to San Francisco, looking to immerse herself in the city’s thriving arts scene.
“I’m always thinking about America and Ethiopia, about how the hybridization is going to work in both places," she observes.
The lapidary orchestrations on her new record were created by Meklit herself, with the help of her bassist, Sam Bevan.
But Meklit is quick to credit Dan Wilson’s lithe musical mind with a major role in shaping the ultimate sound of the record, in addition to his contribution of co-writing two songs. She describes Wilson’s "songwriting precision, and razor sharp, generous feedback" that "helped to weave a remarkable clarity into the music," enhancing Meklit’s already vivid hues. A prolific songwriter, arranger and producer, Wilson "seemed to know exactly which player to place where" to accentuate Meklit’s sound.
Justin Schmidt says, Wilson brought-in Ethio-Cali’s tenor saxophonist Randall Fisher, who plays a perfectly calibrated Ethio-jazz intro on “You Got Me.” And Ethiopian-born, L.A.-based keyboardist Kibrome Birhane’s spare piano work levitates “Yesterday is a Tizita.”
There's more in the Vibe feature, at: http://www.vibe.com/2017/05/premiere-meklit-i-want-to-sing-for-them-all/
Here's the album track list for the upcoming
"When the People Move, the Music Moves Too":
1. This Was Made Here
2. I Want To Sing For Them All (featuring Andrew Bird)
3. Supernova
4. You Are My Luck (featuring Preservation Hall Horns)
5. Yerakeh Yeresal (featuring Andrew Bird)
6. You Got Me (featuring Preservation Hall Horns)
7. Yesterday Is A Tizita
8. Human Animal
9. Sweet Or Salty
10. Birthday Song (featuring Preservation Hall Horns)
11. Memories Of The Future (featuring Preservation Hall Horns)
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# 11 news feature...
NEW RELEASES OF GREAT OLD MATERIAL: THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, THE DOORS
Re-released and repackaged classic albums that add tracks without deleting any of the original material always excite. When the added material includes unreleased songs, mastered to state-of-the-art standards, it's time to celebrate. You'll find examples of all that in the trio of albums here. Surely these are the ones you want in the car for the drive to the next festival.
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"FISHIN' IN THE DARK: THE BEST OF THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND" released Feb 24, 2017, on Rhino Records.
It's a 21-track record available as a CD ($14.98) or download from ITunes or Amazon.
Here are the tracks, all performed by the Dirt Band:
1. Mr. Bojangles
2. Ripplin' Waters
3. An American Dream
4. Make a Little Magic
5. Fire In The Sky
6. Dance Little Jean (2001 Digital Remaster)
7. Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)
8. High Horse
9. Modern Day Romance
10. Partners, Brothers And Friends
11. Stand A Little Rain
12. Cadillac Ranch
13. I've Been Lookin'
14. Oh What A Love
15. Workin' Man [Nowhere To Go]
16. I Love Only You
17. Fishin' In The Dark
18. Baby's Got A Hold On Me
19. Face On The Cutting Room Floor
20. Down That Road Tonight
21. Home Again In My Heart
Support your local record store, order online, direct from Rhino:
http://www.rhino.com/product/fishin-in-the-dark-the-best-of-the-nitty-gritty-dirt-band?cmpid=rn/2017April28/NewReleases-FishinInDarkBes-MoreInfo-right-more-5&eml=2017April28/3965089/6134371&etsubid=39474476
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KRIS KRISTOFFERSON — "THE AUSTIN SESSIONS (EXPANDED EDITION)" released Feb 10, 2017, on Rhino Records.
First, there's what was left off the original album. "Best Of All Possible Worlds" and "Jody And The Kid" make their debut on the expanded version. Fred Mollin says the songs show different sides of Kristofferson' songwriting. He should know. Mollin produced the original album, and he tells the story behind the sessions in the collection's liner notes. Of the two added songs, he says, "One is lighthearted, dry, sarcastic and one of the greatest examples of Kris' humor and storytelling, while the other is just deeply emotional and shows the true aching heart that can be felt like an arrow, from Kris to the listener."
In the summer of 1997, Kris Kristofferson spent a few days in Texas recording stripped-down versions of his best-known songs. Released by Atlantic Records in 1999, The Austin Sessions pairs the acclaimed outlaw country songwriter with a band of studio aces and guest harmony vocalists for intimate versions of classics like "Me and Bobby McGee," "Why Me?" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down."
Rhino Records celebrates these powerful recordings with an expanded version of the album that features remastered sound and includes those two unreleased session outtakes. In addition to Mollin's new liner notes, the new package features several unpublished photos from the time.
Kristofferson recorded The Austin Sessions at Arlyn Studios in Texas with a group of session veterans from Los Angeles and Nashville who were hand-picked by Mollin, who also plays acoustic guitar on the album. Kristofferson's longtime touring guitarist Stephen Bruton appears on several songs as well.
Mollin recalls: "I knew in my heart that I could pull off a great under-produced production and give Kris the album he always wanted to make: one that felt like it had the uniqueness and rootsy feeling that Dylan accomplished on his early electric albums." Several guests join Kristofferson on the album, including Jackson Browne ("Me And Bobby McGee"), Steve Earle ("Sunday Morning Coming Down"), Vince Gill ("Help Me Make It Through The Night"), Catie Curtis ("Nobody Wins"), and Mark Knopfler ("Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends").
It's a 14-track record, available as a CD ($14.98), on vinyl ($21.98), or download from ITunes or Amazon.
Here are the track listings, all performed by Kristofferson.
1. Me And Bobby McGee (Remastered)
2. Sunday Morning Coming Down (Remastered)
3. For The Good Times (Remastered)
4. The Silver Tongued Devil And I (Remastered)
5. Help Me Make It Through The Night (Remastered)
6. Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) [Remastered]
7. To Beat The Devil (Remastered)
8. Who's To Bless And Who's To Blame (Remastered)
9. Why Me (Remastered)
10. Nobody Wins (Remastered)
11. The Pilgrim: Chapter 33 (Remastered)
12. Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends (Remastered)
13. Best Of All Possible Worlds
14. Jody And The Kid
Support your local record store, order online, direct from Rhino:
http://www.rhino.com/product/the-austin-sessions-expanded-edition?cmpid=rn/2017April28/NewReleases-KrisKristoffers-right-image-6&eml=2017April28/3965089/6134371&etsubid=39474476
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"THE DOORS 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION" released March 31, 2017, is a 3 CD/LP set with 41 tracks, packaged in a 12" x 12" hardcover book ($64.98, inclusive), on Rhino Records.
We're not suggesting that all '60s classic rock needs to be embraced as Americana, but a whole lot has successfully migrated and found not just public acceptance, but joyful acclaim among Folk-Americana audiences when they hear it. Take some individual tracks from the Doors catalogue, and you've been hearing covers of them for years from folkies performing in concert. Besides, there is great energy in the original recordings and performances — if admittedly dark at times — and without a doubt, there's originality here not found in much of today's music.
That, and there's Jim Morrison's vocals. Revolutionary in their time — against a backdrop of radio's jangly Top-40 of "She Loves me, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah," and surf music — what ballad singer who thoroughly engages an audience in our time does not channel a bit of Morrison?
This package of recordings and a book has many things that make it special. For one, the third disc features a 1967 live performance from The Matrix in San Francisco recorded just weeks after their debut album, "The Doors," was released.
Packaged in a 12 x 12 hardcover book, THE DOORS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION includes a remastered version of the album’s original stereo mix, available on CD for the first time in a decade and remastered for the first time in nearly 30 years. The album’s original mono mix was also remastered for this set and is making its CD debut here. An LP-version of the mono mix is also included.
Music journalist David Fricke provides detailed liner notes for the set, which includes a selection of rare and previously unseen photographs.
This album offers a rare opportunity to hear the band on the verge of superstardom with live performances recorded during that March 7, 1967 show at the Matrix in San Francisco. The Matrix recordings heard on this deluxe edition were sourced from the recently discovered original tapes, previously thought to be lost. You should note that the Matrix recordings originally released in 2008 were from a third-generation source, so the sound quality of the versions debuting here is second to none.
Packed with electrifying performances, the disc contains live versions of eight of the tracks prom their classic studio album, "The Doors," including “Twentieth Century Fox,” “The Crystal Ship” and “Back Door Man.”
Here's the track list:
1. Break On Through (To The Other Side) [Remastered]
2. Soul Kitchen (Remastered)
3. The Crystal Ship (Remastered)
4. Twentieth Century Fox (Remastered)
5. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) [Remastered]
6. Light My Fire (Remastered)
7. Back Door Man (Remastered)
8. I Looked At You (Remastered)
9. End Of The Night (Remastered)
10. Take It As It Comes (Remastered)
11. The End (Remastered)
12. Break On Through (To The Other Side) [Mono] [Remastered]
13. Soul Kitchen (Mono) [Remastered]
14. The Crystal Ship (Mono) [Remastered]
15. Twentieth Century Fox (Mono) [Remastered]
16. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) [Mono] [Remastered]
17. Light My Fire (Mono) [Remastered]
18. Back Door Man (Mono) [Remastered]
19. I Looked At You (Mono) [Remastered]
20. End Of The Night (Mono) [Remastered]
21. Take It As It Comes (Mono) [Remastered]
22. The End (Mono) [Remastered]
23. Break On Through (To The Other Side) [Live at Matrix, 3/7/1967]
24. Soul Kitchen (Live at Matrix, 3/7/1967)
25. The Crystal Ship (Live at Matrix, 3/7/1967)
26. Twentieth Century Fox (Live at Matrix, 3/7/1967)
27. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) [Live at Matrix, 3/7/1967]
28. Light My Fire (Live at Matrix, 3/7/1967)
29. Back Door Man (Live at Matrix, 3/7/1967)
30. The End (Live at Matrix, 3/7/1967)
31. Break On Through (To The Other Side) [Mono]
32. Soul Kitchen (Mono)
33. The Crystal Ship (Mono)
34. Twentieth Century Fox (Mono)
35. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) [Mono]
36. Light My Fire (Mono)
37. Back Door Man (Mono)
38. I Looked At You (Mono)
39. End Of The Night (Mono)
40. Take It As It Comes (Mono)
41. The End (Mono)
Support your local record store, order online, direct from Rhino:
http://www.rhino.com/product/the-doors-deluxe-edition3cd1lp?cmpid=rn/2017April28/NewReleases-DoorsDoors50thA-product-detail-title-1&eml=2017April28/3965089/6134371&etsubid=39474476
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ADDED NOTE: For Doors fans, one of the recent (10th annual) "RECORD STORE DAY," one of Rhino's special releases was this:
"THE DOORS - LIVE AT THE MATRIX '67" - 12-inch, 180-gram vinyl, individually numbered, in a limited edition of 10,000 copies.
If you can still find one at your favorite store, it goes for just $21.98.
___
Other Record Store Day special releases that may still be out there, ONLY in record stores:
"GRATEFUL DEAD - P.N.E. GARDEN AUDITORIUM, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 7/29/66" - 2-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, limited edition of 6,600 copies, $29.98.
"STEVIE NICKS - RARITIES 1981 - 1983" - 12-inch EP, limited edition of 7,500 copies, $14.98.
"VARIOUS ARTISTS - NUGGETS: COME TO THE SUNSHINE (Soft Pop Nuggets From The WEA Vaults)" - 2-LP on 180-gram orange and yellow marble vinyl, limited edition of 5,500 copies, $31.98.
"ANNI-FRID LYNGSTAD - FRIDA" - 12-inch 180-gram vinyl, limited edition of 3,000 copies, $21.98.
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The Guide celebrated the annual "Record Store Day" in a recent full news edition, at: http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/04/weekend-music-news-lotsa-great-stuff.html
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# 12 news feature...
"WILLIE NELSON’S LUCK REUNION" 2017 INCLUDED SOUTHERN CAL'S THE WILD REEDS
The full scope of things is covered in a feature story by Jeremy Burchard in "4 days." (Link below.) Here are some key excerpts:
This year’s lineup for Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion concert event certainly packed a punch. On March 16, Margo Price, Conor Oberst and more treked to Nelson’s ranch for a day of seriously cool vibes.
The Wild Reeds — a great young Southern Cal band — joined Willie’s son Lukas Nelson and his band the Promise of the Real; Parker Millsap; Aaron Lee Tasjan; Big Thief; Brent Cobb; Lillie Mae; Insects vs Robots; Paul Thorn with the McCrary Sisters; Valley Queen; Devon Gilfillian; Bee Caves; and the National Reserve.
The event coincided with Austin’s South by Southwest festival. But if you weren't at SXSW, you can still access the feel of the Luck Reunion 2017 through Burchard's full story. He says, "...the whole getaway seemed like a nice break from an otherwise chaotic scene taking over Austin all throughout mid-March."
Read his complete story at:
www.wideopencountry.com/luck-reunion-2017-lineup/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Read%20more&utm_campaign=This%20Week%3A%201/20/17
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#13 news feature...
BROAD STAGE WINS OVATION AWARD FOR "1984" AS "BEST PRESENTED PRODUCTION OF 2016"
The Ovation Award, as the L.A. Times acknowledges, is the "highest-profile contest for local theatre." At the 27th annual L.A. STAGE ALLIANCE OVATION AWARDS, the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica won the "Best Presented Production" category for its staging of Headlong Theatre's "1984" by George Orwell. the play is a new adaptation created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan.
The award comes as Orwell's 1949 novel, "1984," has enjoyed a resurgence to the top of Bestseller lists.
"We could not be more thrilled to receive this honor," said Jane Deknatel, Executive Director of The Broad Stage. "'1984' was arguably the most visceral piece of theater we have presented in the nine year history of the organization. We are proud of the work we do, and we look forward to seeing our theater community grow and prosper."
"1984" launched its American Tour at The Broad Stage and ran January 8 - February 6, 2016. The production from Britain's Headlong Theatre Company, directed by Jeremy Herrin, used technical effects to create a sensory-overload visceral experience, keeping the audience disturbingly complicit. The Los Angeles Times said of 1984, "[The] theatrical imagination of this British import brings the tale shockingly to life onstage."
Founded in 1989, the Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are LA theatre professionals who are chosen each year, through an application process, by the Ovation Rules Committee.
The Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica, CA 90401; 310-434-3200; www.thebroadstage.com
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# 14 news feature...
MARITIME MUSIC / SEA CHANTEYS FESTIVALS & NEWS
It's tough to find a sea chantey (shanty) sing in Southern California. The best known one is aboard the old wood tall ship "Star of India" dockside in San Diego in July, and it's a full-blown festival. There are chantey sings aboard the Battleship Iowa and at the Whale and Ale restaurant, both in San Pedro, on an irregular basis. And we are especially fortunate to have the Ocean Institute in Costa Mesa, where the annual "TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL" has music on multiple stages and aboard half a dozen tall ships (the monicker for large sailing vessels with multiple tall masts that hold their sails).
The 25th annual "SEA CHANTEY FESTIVAL" aboard the "Star of India" happens Sunday, August, 13, 2017, on board ship at 1306 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA. It's sponsored by the Maritime Museum of San Diego, along with San Diego Folk Heritage.
The annual "TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL" is September 8-10, 2017, at the Ocean Institute, 24200 Dana Point Harbor Dr, Dana Point, CA 92629.
Full info on both, and many other maritime music festivals, are in the Guide's "ENCYCLOPEDIA FESTIVANICA" at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/04/2017-music-festival-guide-current.html
Other Pacific coastal cities have salt-saturated tuneful culture happening all the time, and May has some fine offerings. The festivals among them are described in detail at the above link.
Beyond the festivals, there are additional things you can include in your summer travels.
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The "STORIES OF THE SEA" contest at the Highliner Pub in Seattle happens May 11. As always, there are frequent chantey sings in Port Townsend and Seattle, and more.
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The "MAKING THE CUT" CD, with winners of the recent maritime songwriting contest, is now being recorded and will be released on July 22 with a CD release concert at the Ballard Locks. Those are the locks that raise or lower boats and ships between the Pacific Ocean and freshwater Lake Washington, in Seattle. Same thing as the Panama Canal on a smaller scale. Songs on the new album are written around the theme of the centennial of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Ballard Locks.
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Some of the contest winners will be performing their songs at a special concert at the annual "NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL," one of the largest free acoustic music events in America. It happens in the hugeness of Seattle Center, the preserved World's Fair site. That particular concert is May 28, 3-4 pm, on the Folklife Café stage.
The Guide's gigantic "ENCYCLOPEDIA FESTIVANICA" has details on NW Folklife, on the local "TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL" and "SEA CHANTEY FESTIVAL" and literally hundreds of other 2017 Folk-Americana and acoustic music festivals.
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If you're into the music and looking for new releases?
MARY GARVEY will have a new CD out at the Northwest Folklife Festival. It will be called "Codfish in the Spring of the Year" and will feature some local and national favorite musicians, and songs from Basque Country, Alaska, New England, Newfoundland, Acadia, Poland, and Sweden. It will sell for $10 with cover, and $5 without.
We can report a bit more on the maritime arts community. Wendy Joseph will have a poem published in the "Along the Shore" anthology, an international poetic celebration of the sea from Lost Tower Publications.
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For help with finding things?
Alice Winship is our longtime source of Northwest maritime music news. If you're headed to anyplace by the sea in the Pacific Northwest, from Portland-ia north — especially anywhere in or around Seattle and Puget Sound — contact Alice to learn about concerts or events while you're there.
Tell her we sent you.
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TWO of the MOST RECENT "Music News" editions of the Guide contain things you need to know:
"Remembering BILL BRYSON, bluegrass musician extraordinaire" is the May 3rd special edition, at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/05/remembering-bill-bryson-bluegrass.html
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We report the sad news about JIMMY LaFAVE being diagnosed with terminal cancer, received from Slaid Cleaves and his wife, Karen. It's an up-top feature, added when the news arrived. Plus, that April 21st edition ran with more six music news stories. It's at:
http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com/2017/04/weekend-music-news-lotsa-great-stuff.html
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MUCH, MUCH MORE is coming soon — that includes MUSIC NEWS and our massive guide to the Spring-through Fall Music Festivals:
Both the LOCAL and NATIONAL Folk-Americana MUSIC FESTIVAL scene !
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LEGALESE, CONTACTING US, 'N SUCH...
Boilerplate? Where's the main pressure gauge? And the firebox?
What "boilerplate"? Who came up with that goofy term for the basic essential informational stuff...
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♪ The ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE endeavors to bring you NEWS — and views of interest to artists everywhere — more specifically to musicians and the creative community and music makers and fans of acoustic and Folk-Americana music. That includes both traditional and innovative forms. From the deepest roots to today’s acoustic renaissance, that’s our beat. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues (now undergoing a major update), and inside info on FESTIVALS and select performances in Southern California in venues from the monumentally large to the intimately small and cozy. We cover workshops, conferences, and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kinds o’ things in the world of acoustic and Americana and accessible classical music. From washtub bass to musical spoons to oboe to viola to banjo to squeezebox, from Djangostyle to new-fangled-old-time string band music, from sweet Cajun fiddle to bluegrass and pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to all the swamp water roots of the blues and the bright lights of where the music is headed now.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' a spell. The porch'll be here anytime you come back from the road.
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