Melissa Carper is certainly not re-inventing country music. Her music is the epitome of "old timey," except she does bring a certain modern sensibility to her songs. Her latest single, "Somewhere Between Texas and Tennessee," is a perfectly simply country/folk song. She's also an expert of adding a little bit of humor and lightheartedness to her songs without coming across as jokey or turning them into a parody. Her sound comes from a pure love of the genre. A song like "Somewhere Between Texas and Tennessee" honors the past of country music while still looking forward.
You can listen to "Somewhere Between Texas and Tennessee" below. Borned In Ya is due out July 19 on Mae Music/Thirty Tigers, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Melissa Carper, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the song.
7/5 - Roskilde Festival - Roskilde, DK
7/6 - Huercasa Country Festival - Riaza (Segovia), ES*
7/18 - Showboat Saloon - Wisconsin Dells, WI
7/20 - 7/21 - Hiawatha Music Festival - Marquette, MI
7/25 - Globe Hall - Denver, CO
7/27 - Red Ants Pants Music Festival - White Sulphur Springs, MT
7/28 - Concerts on the Commons - Teton Village, WY
7/30 - Shrine Social Club - Boise, ID
8/1 - Fry Family Farm - Medford, OR
8/2-8/3 - Pickathon - Happy Valley, OR
8/4 - The Showdown - Portland, OR
8/6 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA
8/7 - District Bar - Spokane, WA
8/8 - Lewis & Clark Brewery - Helena, MT
8/9 - Longstaff House - Missoula, MT
8/10 - The Harlo Music Project - Harlowton, MT
8/11 - Pub Station Taproom - Billings, MT
8/13 - Aggie Theatre - Fort Collins, CO
8/16 - The Heights Theater - Houston, TX%
8/17 - Longhorn Ballroom - Dallas, TX%
9/1 - Texas Ballroom - Omni Hotel - Fort Worth, TX*
9/5 - McGonigel's Mucky Duck - Houston, TX
9/6 - Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe - Galveston, TX
9/7 - The 04 Center - Austin, TX
9/11 - Schubas Tavern - Chicago, IL
9/12 - Lamplight Sessions - Mosinee, WI
9/13 - 7th St Entry - Minneapolis, MN
9/14 - Thrasher Opera House - Green Lake, WI
9/15 - Shank Hall - Milwaukee, WI
9/17 - Rose Bowl Tavern - Urbana, IL
9/18 - The Burl - Lexington, KY
9/19-9/21 - AmericanaFest - Nashville, TN
9/22 - The White Water Tavern - Little Rock, AR
9/27-9/29 - Sisters Folk Festival - Sisters, OR
10/13 - Red Dragon Listening Room - Baton Rouge, LA
Photo by Rachel Cassels The Cairo Gang is mostly Emmett Kelly, who recorded most of their upcoming album, Goes Missing, on his own while travelling. "Be What You Are" is pure pop gold, reminiscent of British invasion bands like The Kinks and The Zombies. It features jangly guitars and some of the most infectious layered vocals you've heard in years. Luckily the beauty of this style of music is that it never quite sounds dated. It might sound like it's from a certain era that happened 50 years ago, but everything you've ever listened to since then borrows so heavily from it that it always sounds current. It's the kind of music you wish you hadn't missed, only now you haven't. Goes Missing is due out June 23rd on God? Records. You can pre-order the album now, and be sure to check out The Cairo Gang's Facebook . Listen to "Be What You Are" below, and below that are tour dates, many opening for Mikal Cronin. Sat. Sept. 5 - Portlan...
Photo by Ebru Yildiz Somehow TORRES keeps surprising us with her music. The musical project of Mackenzie Scott has released a new single that features her vocals and acoustic guitar that would feel at home in a neo-folk song over a pre-programmed drum beat with sounds that at times are either a light squall of guitar feedback and electronic noises. The song has this haunting and unsettling feeling to it, despite sounding like it's trying to be upbeat. I'd say art doesn't always have to be a pleasant experience, but "I got the fear" can be a pleasant listening experience, except for the times it's not. Mackenzie Scott says of her latest single: “A collective dread has been mounting. Everyone I know is having a brawl with the universe, with themselves…wars, climate catastrophe, a pandemic, the worldwide regression on human rights, the political hellscape — it affects everybody, and I know we’re all feeling it in waves of varying degree all the time. I think it’s...
Photo by Hanna Katrina I never thought we'd be covering a band that formed after a karaoke party doing a song about Meghan Markle, but 2019 is weird. Also, Dry Cleaning are a shockingly great band. Only forming two years ago, the band is set to release their debut EP next month. "Magic of Meghan" is obviously about Meghan Markle, but it might be the only post punk and new wave influenced song about the Duchess of Sussex. As the band says about the song: “ The song acknowledges that following the lives of those in the public eye can provide people with an escape; an outlet for difficult emotions, and subsequently help them to cope with hard times in their lives, ” says Florence Shaw. “ The song is, in part, intended to serve as a thank you to Meghan for this service (‘You got engaged on the day that I moved out. It’s ok. She’s a smasher, perfectly suited to the role’). The song also aims to highlight how the news media dissect her decisions (‘Never has one outfit bee...
