Last fall, Paul Reed Smith sat down with Carlos Santana, Derek Trucks, and Warren Haynes to have a candid conversation about tone, finding your voice, and being a musician. Recently, Smith invited Martin Simpson, Tony McManus, Ricky Skaggs, and Cody Kilby to his home studio to continue the conversation with PRS’s leading acoustic endorsers.
Former Deep Purple guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, and wife, Candice Night, are releasing new music this month with their traditional folk rock duo, Blackmore’s Night.
Lollapalooza has so many big name acts, sometimes the little guys get lost in the shuffle. Make sure not to ignore the smaller stages like the BMI stage and Google Play stage or the early hours of any of the stages or you’ll miss out on some of the best new artists. The organizers of Lollapalooza make sure they book top notch talent, so whenever you have a break between bigger acts, check out the side stages for bands like the following.
Conqueroo recently announced that legendary songwriter, Carole King ,will release reissues of four classic albums — Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King (1980), Touch the Sky (1979), Welcome Home (1978), and Simple Things (1977) — on February 28 via her own Rockingale Records label and Concord Music Group. Each includes the original photography and album notes and, aside from Pearls, has never been previously released on CD in the United States.
Acepro Guitars and Dark Diamond Digital Media are releasing a benefit CD honoring America’s veterans, entitled Never Forgotten, nationally on November 11th, Veterans Day. The album is a collective host of independent artists who have donated a song to honor America’s fallen heroes. Produced by Brian Crabb, the CD is now available digitally iTunes, Zune, Amazon.com and at this location. Traditional brick and mortar stores will have the CD stocked on Friday, November 11th.
Levon Helm, legendary singer of The Band, will donate a portion of every Ramble at the Ryman CD or DVD sold to the Americana Music Association, a not for profit group. “They are one of the few outfits that support great music. We gotta help ’em,” Helm said in a statement. This is the first time an artist has played a concert to raise funds for the association and the first time an artist has donated portions of CD/DVD sales to AMA.
The Kerrville Folk Festival at Quiet Valley Ranch, nine miles South of the Texas Hill Country resort community of Kerrville, has announced an exciting 2011 festival schedule for its 40th annual event including Judy Collins, Asleep at the Wheel, Butch Hancock and Rebecca Loebe. Once again this legendary songwriter festival will run for 18 straight days from Thursday, May 26 through Sunday, June 12, 2011. There’s truly something for everyone at this festival, from camping, campfire jam sessions, concerts and activities for kids, “Ballad Tree” song sharing sessions, Hill Country bike rides and canoe trips on the Guadalupe to Sunday Folk Song Services, Saturday Shabbat Services and much more. This is one musical celebration that must not be missed! ( www.kerrvillefolkfestival.org)
