Take six or so musicians . . . or even as many as fifteen . . . stir in some Appalachian old time with a dash of New Orleans jazz, add a little Dick Van Dyke and cook the whole concoction in Los Angeles. What do you have? The Dustbowl Revival, one of the most exciting bands currently touring on the folk scene.
The band, who made friends with Van Dyke, the iconic movie and television star, a couple years ago, are a musical co-op, so to speak, with a line up that varies and expands at will, employing brass and strings and a willingness to dabble across genres to create their singular sound. This month, the band drops its new record, The Dustbowl Revival, and Trail Mix is thrilled to bring to you “Honey I Love You,” which includes a guest spot from folk blues legend Keb ‘Mo.
Another group dipping their toes in all manner of sonic ponds is The Deslondes. Based in New Orleans, the band’s sound, like the city itself, is a mishmashed musical gumbo, with inspiration drawn from old country, Texas swing, and bluesy, boogie woogie rock & roll. Later this month, this Big Easy quintet releases Hurry Home, and you can take a listen to “Hurricane Shakedown” on this month’s mix.
It’s always a good time around here when old friends come back and share tunes. Returning this month are Southern rockers Banditos, indie crooner Daniel Romano, and April Verch, who has a new record out with multi-instrumentalist Joe Newberry, a favorite of Garrison Keillor during his tenure as ringmaster of A Prairie Home Companion and someone I have been interested in getting on Trail Mix for years.
This month also features the return of two of our longtime favorites from our hometown of Asheville. Both acoustic stringbenders Jon Stickley Trio and alt-country songstress Amanda Anne Platt – with her band, The Honeycutters – have new records out. Trail Mix is happy to offer you early listens this here!
And there are still plenty of great tunes for you to check out. This month’s mix rounds out with killer new songs from Molly Tuttle, Phat Phunktion, Cowbell, Glenn Morrow, Zephaniah Ohora, Rev. Sekou, Gretta Gaines, Rachel Baiman, Nathan Oliver, and Parker Longbough.
Lots of great stuff is also set for the Trail Mix blog this month. Chats with Andy Hall, The Secret Sisters, Amy Black, and Tyler Hughes are all on tap. Tune in each week to get inside the head of the musicians sharing their music here.
And be sure to get out and grab a couple records from these fine artists who have given their music to Trail Mix this month. Spread the word and share the love. These musicians will certainly appreciate it.
DOWNLOAD THIS MONTH’S PLAYLIST HERE.
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