Last week, I traveled via musical time machine back to the mid-1990s Charlottesville music scene.
It was 1996, I had recently moved to Charlottesville, and I can remember standing in the Plan 9 music store on the Corner, debating over whether to grab a copy of Pat McGee’s From The Wood or Agents of Good Roots’ Where’d You Get That Vibe?. In retrospect, I should have just grabbed them both. At the time, I went with the Pat McGee disc, though I soon returned for the Agents record I had left behind. Both bands became staples of my late 90s/early 2000s listening experience and I frequented their shows as often as possible when they came through town. I became a regular at the Agents of Good Roots shows at Trax before the band broke out and began touring nationally, and I even met my future brother and sister-in-law at a Pat McGee Band release party at Starr Hill Music Hall.
So, I must admit to being a bit excited when I discovered that both bands have recently released new music. A couple Fridays ago, I huddled in front of the television with my wife and brother and sister-in-law to check out a Pat McGee stream that was part of a Longwood University event. All three had attended Longwood when Pat was just starting out his music career in Farmville, and it was during the show that we discovered he and his original band had a new record out. Then, just days later, Andrew Winn, lead singer of Agents of Good Roots, showed up in my “People You Might Know” feed on Facebook, and I clicked his image, ultimately finding that Winn and his mates in AGR were putting out new tunes here and there. With a few emails and Facebook messages, brand new tracks from two of my favorite Virginia bands ended up on this month’s mix.
Trail Mix is happy to welcome back some long time friends this month. Noted songwriter Will Hoge returns, as do Lizanne Knott and Hayley Sabella. And one of our long time favorite acoustic outfits, The Infamous Stringdusters, have a new collaboration out with G Love, which the mix is proud to feature.
There’s lots of great new stuff on this mix, too. Discover tracks from Michael McDermott, Jenny O., VickiKristinaBarcelona, Automagik, Turkeyfoot, Nate Lee, Bendigo Fletcher, Teddy Thompson, Lauren Calve, Glorybots, and Jack The Radio.
So much good music. It’s right here. Grab it and take it on your next outdoor adventure, or just listen while you watch the sunset. However you partake of it, there is the hope that these tunes and these artists bring you a little serenity during these tenuous times. So dig in. And, when you discover a song here that really makes you smile, reach out and grab the whole record. Support these great artists that allow us to showcase their music on Trail Mix each month.
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