Sturgill Simpson Tours The SouthEast With New Album: High Top Mountain

Sturgill Simpson Tours the Southeast
New Album: High Top Mountain

Sturgill’s hitting some GREAT towns in the SouthEast…
Wed 9/4 – Asheville, NC – The Altamont Theatre
Thu 9/5 – Chattanooga, TN – Scenic City Roots
Fri 9/6 – Louisville, KY – The New Vintagee
Sat 9/7 – Knoxville, TN – Barley’s Knoxville
Sun 9/8 – Atlanta (Decatur), GA – Eddie’s Attic
Mon 9/9 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre
Wed 9/11 – Charlotte, NC – The Evening Muse
Thu 9/12 – Raleigh, NC – The Pour House Music Hall
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Nashville sounds like Nashville again on High Top Mountain, the debut release from singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson. From furious honky-tonk and pre-outlaw country-rocking to spellbinding bluegrass pickin’ and emotional balladry, the album serves as a one-stop guide to everything that made real country music such a force to be reckoned with. Pure and uncompromising, devoid of gloss and fakery, High Top Mountain’s dozen instant classics evoke the sound of timeless country in its many guises and brings back the lyrical forthrightness and depth that permeated the music Simpson absorbed during his Kentucky childhood.

“…this is GOOD COUNTRY. You know, the kind cut from the same mold as Waylon, Willie, and Johnny. ..outlaw, gritty, country-rock with a shot of bourbon (no ice.) …We’re glad he gave up the railroad and got back to writin’ songs. There is something here for sure. Something I think any music lover (country or not) can appreciate.” —MOKB Presents

“’The most outlaw thing that I ever done is give a good woman a ring,’ sings Simpson on ‘Life Ain’t Fair And The World Is Mean,’ off his new album, High Top Mountain, which mostly works to subvert the outlaw myth. Not that Simpson disdains outlaw’s forefathers, but High Top Mountain tells his own story. He started recording it in mid 2012, laying down tracks at Hillbilly Central and other studios in Nashville with players like ‘Pig’ Robbins on piano and Robby Turner on pedal steel. Simpson says the record is an effort to ‘capture the music my grandfathers played.’ The album is named after a cemetery where many of Simpson’s family members are buried, near his family’s home in the Appalachia coal town of Jackson, Kentucky. The town is on the Kentucky River in Breathitt County, about 50 miles south of Sandy Hook, where Keith Whitley was born, and also not far from Cordell, where Ricky Skaggs was born. ‘I love it. In my heart it will always be home,’ says Simpson” —Davis Inman, American Songwriter

For more about Sturgill Simpson and further tour dates, please visit: http://sturgillsimpson.com.

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Ashleigh Flynn Releases “A Million Stars” on May 14th Featuring Chris Funk, Todd Snider, Annalisa Tornfelt & more

Ashleigh Flynn Releases “A Million Stars” on May 14th
Featuring Chris Funk, Todd Snider, Annalisa Tornfelt & more

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“Ashleigh Flynn represents the next generation of true songwriters. She rules!”
—Nanci Griffith

“One of my favorite people to perform and hang out with is Ashleigh Flynn. Her lyrics are smart, she’s got a voice full of soul, and she knows how to handle a crowd.”
—Todd Snider

“True blue Americana…”
—Paste Magazine

 

Portland, Oregon-based Ashleigh Flynn celebrates her latest CD, A Million Stars. Set for national release on May 14, 2013, Flynn’s fourth studio effort on her own Home Perm Records, is produced by Chris Funk, her longtime friend and musical collaborator, best-known as the Decemberists’ multi-instrumentalist. The record features Todd Snider and many of Portland’s most talented musicians including, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee-Drizos, Nate Query, John Moen, Annalisa Tornfelt, and the Stolen Sweets singers, among others.

A Million Stars continues the inspired narrative Flynn began on earlier records with tales deeply rooted in the American experience. The most profound seed of inspiration for the new record was a watercolor painted by her young niece depicting a cowgirl atop her horse under a starry desert sky. Who was this girl so confidently astride her mount? Calamity Jane? Surely there were others like her? Discovering the painting led her on a quest to learn more about the women of the westward expansion, unnamed heroes that history had largely overlooked.

The album’s twelve tracks represent true blue Americana featuring a bit of folk, blues, country and rock. The title cut, “A Million Stars”, chronicles the story of Cattle Annie and Little Britches, two cowgirls who rode the outlaw trails in the late 1800s, disguised as men, so as to gain entrée onto the frontier, a place not seen fit for a woman. “See That Light”, a seemingly fun little blues ditty but with a strong message, features Todd Snider, Flynn’s musical mentor, who plays the voice of reason and, in his sermon to those who might judge certain types of love unlike their own, warns of the resulting harm caused by such hypocrisy. Other highlights include a bluegrass tune “Dirty Hands and Dirty Feet”, a vintage jazz tune about Portland’s own “Prohibition Rose”, and “A Little Low”, a memorial to one of her friends, Nancy Bergeson – Assistant US Federal Defender who was murdered, and whose murder is still unsolved. “Walk Awhile”, recorded live at Search Party West, features party goers on parts of the chorus adding a fun and unique element.

Ashleigh Flynn grew up in Kentucky and cut her teeth on local bluegrass music. She arrived on the national scene in 2008 with the release of her third record, American Dream. A prolific songwriter, Flynn is also an electrifying performer blessed with unbridled charisma. She has released two prior full-length studio records Chokecherry (2002) and Ashleigh Flynn, self-titled (1999) and a live record, Sneakin’ Out with Ashleigh Flynn (2005).

Based on the merits of American Dream, Flynn has performed at many a music festival including Bonnaroo, Bumbershoot, Falcon Ridge Folk, High Sierra, Gamble Rogers, Sisters Folk, and most recently the 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida. She has also traveled the globe, peddling her wares, and regularly warming tours for Todd Snider and Nanci Griffith, as well as opening shows for John Hiatt, Shawn Colvin, and Band of Heathens, among others. American Dream landed Flynn spots on many national & internationally syndicated radio programs that celebrate Americana music, including Mountain Stage, WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, and NPR.

Ashleigh Flynn Pre-Album Release Tour:
3/19 Millvale, PA – Mr. Small’s Funhouse *
3/20 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom & Tavern *
3/21 Buffalo, NY – Tralf Music Hall *
3/22 Ithaca, NY – The Haunt *
3/23 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club *
3/24 Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall *
*supporting Todd Snider

Album Release Tour Dates tba.
For more information, please visit: www.ashleighflynn.com

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Johnson’s Crossroad performs at Jack of the Wood on August 27th

Johnson's Crossroad

Johnson’s Crossroad is taking their love of the old time mountain music, bluegrass, and the Texas singer/songwriters of the 1970’s and putting their own stamp on the ever-widening and increasingly popular ‘Americana’ genre, nurturing a sound they like to call “Appalachian Soul.”

The band was born in the bars of small town Lewisburg, WV. Johnson’s Crossroad performed the old songs they love and began to craft their own material. As audiences began to grow founding members Paul Johnson and Keith Minguez decided to head south over the Blue Ridge Mountains to the budding music scene of beautiful Asheville, NC where they found like-minded musicians and formed a touring band.

Their debut album “Blood in Black and White” brings together some of Asheville’s finest musicians to perform JXR’s original material. The album is steeped in the traditional country themes of lost love, lost fortune, lost time, and overcoming hardships, but Johnson’s Crossroad have clearly found a unique voice. With “Blood in Black and White” they give country music fans an alternative to the “polished” sound, though staying true to the roots that have made country music great.

“Johnson’s Crossroad is … part blues, part old-school country and part bluegrass. I guess that makes them Americana, but for some reason that label just doesn’t seem to fit. If this album was a few decades old, I’d swear these guys came up with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. Can one be both Americana and Outlaw at the same time? Maybe so. With the gruff voice and storytelling prowess of Tom Waits and vocal progressions reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett (of all people), lead singer Paul Johnson really knows how to create a mood. He sets the scene with his powerful lyrics, and the rest of the band skillfully paints in the rest of the story behind him.” ~Brent Fluery, Bold Life

Band Members:
Paul Johnson – Vocals, Guitar
Keith Minguez – Harmonies, Mandolin
Chris Weller – Bass Fiddle
Ben Hunt – Percussion
+special guests

Show details at a Glance:

Johnson’s Crossroad
Jack of the Wood
Friday, August 27th, 2010

8pm, $5, 21+
95 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC‎ 28801
(828) 252-5445 ext 105
http://www.jackofthewood.com
www.johnsonscrossroad.com

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