Wildflowers - The Wailin' Jennys

We head over to Winnipeg today to meet our next featured artists indie folk and roots trio Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody and Heather Masse, better known as the excellent The Wailin' Jennys. It is always exciting when they release new music and our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a stunning version of Tom Petty's 'Wildflowers'. We love the rich and lush harmonies and we hope you will too. The single is taken from their latest album called 'Fifteen' released at the end of October via True North Records.

Starting as a happy accident of solo singer/songwriters getting together for a one-time-only performance at a tiny guitar shop in Winnipeg, Manitoba, The Wailin’ Jennys have grown over the years into one of today’s most beloved international folk acts. Founding members Moody and Mehta along with New York-based Masse continue to create some of the most exciting music on the folk-roots scene, stepping up their musical game with each critically lauded recording and thrilling audiences with their renowned live performances.

In 2004, The Wailin’ Jennys released their first full-length album 40 Days to great critical acclaim, netting a 2005 Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year. Bolstered by their frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor’s public radio show A Prairie Home Companion, The Jennys exploded onto the roots music scene, performing at packed venues across the Canada, the U.S. and throughout the world.

The Jennys’ sophomore album, 2006’s Firecracker, served as a powerful follow-up to their career-making debut. Artistically, the record found The Jennys stepping out of the folk realm and into the world of alt-country, pop and rock. Garnering much attention, it was nominated for a Juno Award and won a 2007 Folk Alliance Award for Contemporary Release of the Year. Firecracker had legs, spending over 56 weeks on the Billboard charts.

The trio’s 2009 release, Live at Mauch Chunk Opera House, also spent over a year on the Billboard bluegrass charts. That landmark live album bottled the lightning of The Jennys’ live performances with show-stopping harmonies, impressive instrumental prowess, breathtaking songs and, of course, witty stage banter.

For their latest album, 2011’s Juno-winning Bright Morning Stars, The Wailin’ Jennys joined the ranks of Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris and recorded with award-winning producer Mark Howard. Co-produced by frequent Jennys collaborator and Juno Award-nominated David Travers-Smith, the album combines fresh and innovative sounds with the band’s signature harmonies — a perfect mix of Americana, pop and traditional folk that is destined to be a modern classic.

Although known primarily as an acoustic outfit, The Wailin’ Jennys have a diverse musical background that has shaped their musical sensibilities. Soprano Ruth Moody (vocals, guitar, accordion, banjo, bodhrán) is a classically trained vocalist and pianist with a burgeoning solo career. She made a splash in 2010 with the Juno-nominated The Garden which was followed up with 2013’s gorgeous These Wilder Things. She’s  an accomplished, versatile singer of traditional and Celtic music and as the former lead singer of Juno-nominated roots band Scruj MacDuhk. Mezzo Nicky Mehta (vocals, guitar, harmonica, drums, ukulele), a classically trained dancer raised on ’70s a.m. radio and heavily influenced by alternative pop, was nominated for a Canadian Indie Music Award for her  striking debut solo album, 2002’s Weather Vane. In July 2009 she became the proud mother to twin boys, Beck and Finn. Alto Heather Masse (vocals, upright bass) is a Jazz Voice graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, who has performed in Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing, Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings and is a regular guest on A Prairie Home Companion. She has also toured with her own band, supporting her 2009 Red House release Bird Song. Her latest, 2013’s Lock My Heart, is is an inspired album of jazz standards and originals with legendary pianist Dick Hyman.

With their varying backgrounds, each of the Jennys is unique in their individual expression. Together they forge a unified folk-pop sound — all delivered with the irresistible vocal power of three.

Don't Let It Bring You Down - The Small Glories

Our next LCM featured duo the wonderful The Small Glories will be heading to The Green Note in Camden for a headline show on the 31st August as part of a new UK tour. This dynamic folk powerhouse duo of Cara Luft & JD Edwards based in Winnipeg, are firmly planted on the Canadian Prairies. A self-professed “study in contrasts,” Cara's folkie yin proves a perfect match for JD's’ rocker yang.  Thrown together purely by accident for an anniversary show at Winnipeg’s venerable West End Cultural Centre, The Small Glories is a partnership that could almost make you believe in fate. Cara and JD were at the home of Bob Harris for a session eartlier in the year. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is one of the songs recorded. It's a great cover of a Neil Young classic 'Don't Let It Bring You Down' from his 1970 album 'After The Gold Rush'.  

Straight out of the gate these two veteran singer/songwriters built a buzz around their tight harmonies, authenticity, visceral live performances and equally well-matched guitar prowess that doesn’t come around often. Luft packs a mean banjo as well.  The Winnipeg Free Press asks, "can two singer-songwriters be better than one? Yes, emphatically, yes, if the two in question are Cara Luft and JD Edwards... It’s our loss they didn’t [join forces] sooner... It’s magic.”

Their 2016 debut album “Wondrous Traveler” is steeped in classic song structure, delivering instantly appealing melodic Americana with first-rate playing. The album found its way onto many critic’s Top 10 lists across North America and Europe, and The Small Glories are finding themselves on stages from Vancouver to London and beyond. Together, Luft and Edwards are a musical tour de force, a case of 1 + 1 = 3. 

Stand - Kenny Foster

Our LCM featured artist today US singer-songwriter Kenny Foster was named one of Rolling Stone's '10 New Country Artists You Need to Know'.  Coming from the Ozark hills of Missouri and hailing from a long family-line that settled in the area just after the Civil War, he was the one that took up those deep roots and planted them in Nashville, TN to see what he could grow. After a childhood of singing in church and falling in love with his dad's record collection, Kenny started toying with a store-bought guitar and mashing up all of his favorite sounds and songs. His wide range of influences (including James Taylor, Garth Brooks, Counting Crows, and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils) all played their part in creating Kenny's authentic, soulful, rootsy sound. Kenny has just released his new album 'Deep Cuts' in April and our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the great first single 'Stand'. If you enjoyed his music, Kenny is performing at The Bedford in Balham on the 4th September. 

While Kenny Foster isn’t exactly ‘new’ to country music, the momentum behind the unmistakable balladeer’s 2017 release ‘Deep Cuts’ has a host of new fans flocking to the raw grit and brutal honesty of Foster’s remarkably mature, thoughtful and unapologetic songwriting. Lush with real instruments, astute observations and the deconstruction of one man’s head and heart, Foster has built a monument to the American experience that seeks to universalize the specific, and embody the very specific ways that we are all very much the same. While the pop-laden sounds of country radio have been trending away from the genre’s organic roots in recent times, Foster makes a case for preserving the foundations of country music while still allowing it the chance to comment on and even pine over the ever-evolving landscape.

Authentic. Accessible. This timeless collection of songs will echo through the annuls of the story that birthed a great American tradition, and gave words to a nation seeking to reflect its own identity. A welcomed ‘new’ voice may just have us longing for our past, and at the same time, looking ahead at how we will preserve what has always been good, and right, and true.

Foster has shared the stage with artists including Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, Lady Antebellum, Marc Broussard, Butch Walker, Buddy Miller and countless others, along with multiple appearances at the ACM and CMA music festivals. He has received press in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Washington Post and Forbes - who referred to him as a 'country music superstar.' He has been featured in two Super Bowl commercials with Sheryl Crow and Danica Patrick, respectively, and has appeared in numerous episodes of ABC's ‘Nashville’ and had songs placed in ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ and ‘Boston Med’, along with videos featured on national US music channels CMT and GAC.

‘Deep Cuts’ is out now worldwide, and Kenny Foster is on tour in the UK/Ireland later this month.

Out With The Crow - The Haunted Windchimes

We head to Pueblo, Colorado for our next LCM featured band The Haunted Windchimes. With their sense of fun, super musicianship and close harmonies, they are always a firm favourite here at LCM HQ. For our LCM #TrackOfTheDay we have chosen 'Out With The Crow' the title track from their 2012 album. It comes complete with a very clever and dark unofficial video which perfectly frames the song.

The Haunted Windchimes sound draws from traditional folk and American roots music. The songs have a vintage quality, as if they might have been written yesterday or 75 years ago. Grounded in honeyed harmonies and spirited pickin’, it lies in a nowhere land between distinct styles: It’s not quite bluegrass or blues or country. Still, there are elements of all those in songs that paint pictures of empty train stations and nights of passing a jug of moonshine around. It’s the vocal harmonies that really set them apart, a three-headed juggernaut of Desirae Garcia (bass/bari.ukulele), Chela Lujan (banjo) and Inaiah Lujan (guitar). The sound is often moody and melancholy, but it is always deeply affecting. That sound is embroidered by the instrumental mastery and vocals of Mike Clark (fiddle, mandolin, guitar).

Crossfire - Kit Hawes & Aaron Catlow

The Cambridge Folk Festival is an excellent place not only to see your favourite artists and bands but also to discover new music and see excellent musicians who have been on our LCM recommended 'must see' wishlist. Our next LCM featured duo Kit Hawes and Aaron Catlow are a great example and it was fantastic to see them live at 'The Den' on Sunday evening. One of the highlights from their set was our LCM #TrackOfTheDay the wonderful 'Crossfire' taken from their debut album 'The Fox', which was released last year.

Kit  & Aaron are a Bristol based duo playing acoustic, folk and roots music. Best known as the virtuoso guitar and fiddle players from the band 'Sheelanagig', they draw on their many influences to created unique arrangements of traditional music, as well as their own compositions. The live show is a musical journey through Europe, America and beyond; combining dazzling playing with a fine sense of musicality and showmanship.

Their debut album 'The Fox' has been received with critical acclaim. It explores the relationship between fiddle, guitar and voice, using the fertile ground of the traditional music of the British Isles as its starting point. The product of decades of musical experience, the track listing combines self penned tunes and folk tales, all intricately arranged and heartfelt.

"Fleet fingered and ingeniously arranged. .....deserve to be thought of as up there with the best of them" (Songlines)

"such dexterity, energy and passion.....mightily impressive" - (R2 Magazine)

“The pair demonstrate an eclectic approach that lifts them head and shoulders above the rest” (Acoustic Magazine)

“Never a dull moment, with imagination firing throughout and an abundance of creative energy” (Living Tradition)

He's Fine - The Secret Sisters

We head to Muscle Shoals, Alabama for our next LCM featured sister duo Lydia and Laura Rogers better known as The Secret Sisters. The duo's music has been compared to artists like The Everly Brothers and the Milk Carton Kids. Lydia and Laura have recently released their latest crowd-funded third album 'You Don't Own My Anymore' on June 9th. It was produced by the very talented Brandi Carlile and the Hanseroth twins  Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a great taster of the new album entitled 'He's Fine'. 

With a love for music coming from both sides of their family (their grandfather and his brothers forged a group called 'The Happy Valley Boys'), they grew up with a zeal for country music and sang songs with their family by country music artists such as Don Williams. The girls first learned to harmonize through singing a cappella at their hometown church.  Laura and Lydia never considered a singing career as a duo. Laura went to Middle Tennessee State University to pursue a career in business.

Laura traveled to Nashville, Tennessee for an impromptu audition at Hotel Indigo where music business record executive Andrew Brightman and producer Dave Cobb were present, looking to create a new singing group. Lydia could not attend the audition, so Laura traveled by herself, where she auditioned with "Same Old You" by Miranda Lambert. Representatives from the audition soon asked her to come back to Nashville, to which she asked if she could bring her sister Lydia along. Lydia showed up later and they were asked to sing together, resulting in the formation of The Secret Sisters. The girls were soon flown to Los Angeles for their first time in the studio to record a couple of demos. For Laura, it was her first time in an airplane. The demos were produced and record companies began responding accordingly. Within weeks, they were assigned to Universal Republic Records and the song selection process for their debut album began. Their self-titled debut album consists of cover songs such as "Why Don't Ya Love Me?", "Why Baby Why", the Frank Sinatra song "Somethin' Stupid", and Nancy Baron's, "I've Got a Feeling". The album also includes two originals written by Laura Rogers: "Tennessee Me" and "Waste the Day". It was recorded in two weeks at Blackbird Studios and produced by Dave Cobb, who had worked with artists such as Waylon Jennings and Jamey Johnson. T Bone Burnett was the executive producer

The duo recorded their second album in December 2012 and January 2013 at the Village Recording Studios, Los Angeles, with T Bone Burnett as producer.

Their second album, 'Put Your Needle Down', was released on April 15, 2014. It debuted at No. 110 on the Billboard 200, and at No. 18 on the Top Country Albums chart with 3,700 copies sold in its debut week..

.

Flood & Burn - Sean Taylor

Our LCM featured artist today is London based singer-songwriter Sean Taylor. Sean has rapidly grown to be one of the hottest new names in the UK blues/acoustic scene. His incredible passion for performance, sheer talent and songwriting of the highest calibre is a testament to his frequent comparisons with John Martyn, Chris Isaak and Tom Waits. Sean released a new album called 'Flood & Burn' earlier this year and our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a live version of the very good bluesy title track. 

Sean has toured all over the UK, Europe and Australia. He has supported John Fogerty, Neville Brothers, Robert Cray, Richard Thompson, Tony Joe White, Eric Bibb, Tom Paxton, Band of Horses, John Mayall & Arlo Guthrie. 

Festival appearances include; Glastonbury festival, Cambridge Folk festival, Beautiful Days, Port Fairy Folk festival (Australia), Celtic Connections, Cognac Blues Festival (France) Hebridean Celtic Festival, Secret Garden Party, Maverick Festival & Blue Balls Festival (Switzerland). 

Sean has released seven albums including one album recorded in Dublin with Trevor Hutchinson (Waterboys) and his last four albums with Mark Hallman (Carole King, Ani di Franco) at Congress House Studios in Austin (TX).

http://www.seantaylorsongs.com/