by Sharon Gissy

Bay Area singer/songwriter Tom Rhodes will play a CD release show in Portland July 21st at White Eagle Saloon for his new record Who You Were. His fifth full-length release, Who You Were is a tribute to the passing of Rhodes' father, himself a masterful storyteller. This adds poignancy and depth to Rhodes' already poetic and insightful lyrics. "To me, singing songs is about passionately connecting with the thing I'm talking about, and if you're singing about something that you actually believe in it's easy to get there," says Rhodes.

Tom Rhodes is multi-talented; his soulful singing is reminiscent of Van Morrison or Ray LeMontagne, and he plays many stringed instruments and bears the influence of the many places he has lived, such as The Bahamas and New Orleans, although his folk and country roots shine through the most. For this record he was joined in Gawain Mathews Music Studio by Oscar Westesson on bass (Bhi Bhiman, Quiles & Cloud), Andrew Laubacher on drums (Con Brio, Kelly McFarling), and Tim Marcus on guitar and pedal steel (Lia Rose, Jessie Bridges). The Lady Crooners, Kyle M. Terrizzi, and Kelly McFarling all provide background vocals, rounding out the record with a full, rich tapestry of dark Americana sound.

You can learn more about Tom Rhodes, order Who You Were​, and sign up on an email list for news and tour dates at his website here.

 by Sharon Gissy

Nashville band The Delta Saints just released a special edition of their Loud & Proud record Bones on July 15th. The special edition of the record includes six bonus tracks, three B-sides and three live versions of tracks recorded at Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville. Bones was produced, engineered, and remixed by Eddie Spear, who has worked on projects with artists such as Jack White, The Arctic Monkeys, and Neil Young.

Relix Magazine just premiered the video for the band's "Berlin," and you can watch it here.

The Delta Saints have garnered critical acclaim and built a large live following by marrying roots and blues with electronics and hard rock, and have earned comparisons to artists like My Morning Jacket and The White Stripes. On July 23rd, the band will kick off a U.S. tour. The tour dates are as follows:

Jul 23 - Elliston Place Street Fest in Nashville, TN w/ Diarrhea Planet                
Aug 17 - Pour House in Raleigh, NC             
Aug 18 - Clementine Café in Harrisonburg, VA                                 
Aug 19 - Mercury Lounge in New York, NY               
Aug 20 - Milkboy in Philadelphia, PA             
Aug 21 - The Hamilton in Washington, DC                
Aug 22 - Club Café in Pittsburgh, PA             
Aug 24 - Rumba Café in Columbus, OH                    
Aug 25 - Beat Kitchen  in Chicago, IL            
Aug 26 - Duck Room @ Blueberry Hill in University City, MO            
Aug 27 – Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS            
Aug 31 - Black Sheep in Colorado Springs, CO                     
Sep 01 - Marquis Theatre in Denver, CO                  
Sep 03 - New Belgium Tour De Fat in Fort Collins, CO                     
Sep 09 - Black Swamp Arts Festival in Bowling Green, OH

Tim Larson and Dave Callahan will be playing together at Uncommon Ground (3800 N. Clark, Chicago) at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 24, 2016. Back in the day the two were members of the Irish-Alternative act, The Drovers. The two recently played together in Sweden. Don't expect the music to be Irish tinged this time around (or at least not too Irish).

The cover is $8.

Find out more about the show HERE.

Hear Larson's tunes HERE.

Hear Callahan's band Half Sky HERE.

    by Sharon Gissy

If you've heard of Beaver Nelson without delving into his music, that is perfectly natural as he has been recording for twenty-five years. Originally emerging from Austin's roots rock scene in the late 1980s and early 90s that included such names as Lucinda Williams, Bob Schneider, and David Halley, among others, Nelson has distinguished himself as a singer/songwriter with a strong tenor voice, melodic pop hooks, and literate, often humorous lyrics. His new collection Positive, to be released August 22nd, is a good introduction to his music for newcomers, featuring both current songs and those reminiscent of a bygone Austin scene of the last millennium, and stylistically balanced between up-tempo rockers and songs with a more contemplative, almost hymnal quality.

Positive is a record spanning Nelson's career, and was produced by long-time collaborator Scrappy Jud Newcomb, who has also produced such artists as Patty Griffin and Slaid Cleaves. While Scrappy and Beaver worked closely with Nelson bandmates Matt Eskey and Mark Patterson to release the album, Nelson reports that the final decisions rested on Newcomb. "On this album he was totally in charge of interpreting my songs. He kept removing chords and creating more room sonically for things like percussion and background vocals. I'm really proud of the way it turned out," states Nelson. Nelson also received some help on the record from producer/guitarist Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen, David Halley) and bassist George Reiff (Dixie Chicks, The Jayhawks).

In addition to releasing Positive on August 22nd, Nelson will begin to tour in support of the record in the fall. Below are some tour dates with more to be announced.
September 16                 Austin, TX                  Strange Brew Lounge Side  (Record Release Party)
September 17                 Houston, TX              Continental Club (Record Release Party)
September 21                 Knoxville, TN             Sweet P's BBQ & Soul House 
September 26                 Arlington, VA             IOTA Club & Cafe 
September 28                 New York, NY            Rockwood Music Hall

 by Sharon Gissy

Corey Henry, the former leader of the Lil' Rascals Brass band and current lead player in New Orleans jam band Galactic, will hold a release party on July 9th at Tipitina's in New Orleans for "Lapeitah," his debut release on Louisiana Red Hot Records.

On the new record, the Treme trombonist who has created some of the most popular original songs in the second line scene teams up with Pimps of Joytime producer Brian J to enhance his existing brass/funk sound. The album features guest appearances by Corey Glover from Living Colour and Greg Thomas from George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, as well as one of the last known recordings of the late Trumpet Black and a collaboration with Henry's daughter Jazz. Fusing both new and old generations, it highlights Henry's trademark blasting trombone sounds and reflects the influence of growing up learning jazz music in the Treme neighborhood.

The CD release party is July 9th, at 9:00 p.m., at Tipitina's at 501 Napoleon Avenue in New Orleans. "Lapeitah" is currently available on Louisiana Red Hot Records.
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 by Sharon Gissy

Loud & Proud Records just released Van Zant's Red, White & Blue Live on July 1st. The album, a live show recorded January 28, 2006 at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia, is the only recording in existence from the only tour by brothers Johnny (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Donnie (38 Special). 

"We are really excited for this album to come out right before the Fourth of July, to celebrate the independence of our country,” says the Van Zant brothers. “We hope everyone rocks out to RED WHITE and BLUE all day!” 

Red, White & Blue Live includes their 2005 hit "Help Somebody," fan favorites 38 Special's "Wild Eyed Southern Boys" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Call Me The Breeze" and "Sweet Home Alabama," as well as the patriotic title track "Red, White & Blue" which contains the iconic line, "We're trying to sing the truth to you." An unusually good show that just happened to be caught on mobile recording by bassist Larry Junstrom, the album showcases the band at the height of having fun and connecting with their fans, and proves why they are so popular in country circles and known as the First Family of Southern Rock. 

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Red, White & Blue Live is available for purchase through Itunes and Amazon, although the webstore is offering a special deal. Lacy Van Zant, the brothers' father, has compiled The Van Zant Family Southern Music Scrap Book, a book chronicling the family history with 200 photographs of family members and memories. Each book is personally autographed by Johnny and Donnie Van Zant. You can purchase it in a deluxe bundle here.