mvyradio @ Americana Music Conference 2006

"Well, there's sixteen thousand eight hundred 'n' twenty one
Mothers from Nashville
All their friends play music, and they ain't uptight
If one of the kids will..."

We're taking mvyradio on the road for The 7th Annual Americana Music Festival 2006! We'll be there in Nashville, Tennessee on September 20th, 21st and 22nd, bringing all the excitement of this amazing event to our listeners.

There's more than 130 artists playing this year's Americana Music Conference. It's a virtual Who's Who including stars such as Dave Alvin; Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint; Alejandro Escovedo; The Cherryholmes; the Derailers; Ruthie Foster; James Hunter; Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch and Fats Kaplin; Jim Lauderdale; Claire Lynch; Delbert McClinton; James McMurtry; Buddy Miller; Mindy Smith; Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives; Paul Thorn Band; Tony Joe White and more than 120 more!

Watch this page for details and stay tuned to mvyradio!

Barbara's Journal

Saturday, September 23 8A

I'm sitting in my hotel room, sipping on a grande latte, getting ready to pack up and head back home.  As we get ready to close the door on our recording suite here, I'm thinking about all of the wonderful music that we heard and recorded and all of the great musicians that came through. 

The personal stories of each artist make up the history of this music and it's such a privelage to be able to hear these stories first hand.  Randall Bamblett talking about how he writes a song and his work with Steve Winwood; Solomon Burke talking about his families' undertaking business and his recent recording with Buddy Miller; Carlene Carter  talking about her mother, June Carter Cash, and her childhood memory of June writing "Ring Of Fire"; Paul Thorn taking about being a 5-year old boy up on a stand singing with his dad, a Pentacostal minister; Elizabeth Cook [website] telling us that Rodney Crowell cried when she was in the studio with him recording a song about her mother; Carrie Rodriguez talking about her friend who died in a bicycle accident in New York and how her new album took shape around this tragic incident.

We wouldn't give this up for anything.  Thanks for reading along and sharing the experience with us.  We hope you enjoy all the music we recorded.  Thanks to all the musicians who offered their music and thanks to everyone at the Americana Music Association.  Until next time...

Friday, September 22 9:30A

There are so many musical careers that have been shaped in the city of Nashville.  The other day when I went to The Country Music Hall Of Fame I learned more about The Everly Brothers.  Ike and Margaret Everly were musicians and their two sons Don and Phil Everly caught the attention of Chet Atkins in 1955.  The Everly Brothers teamed up with one of Nashville's most famous writing duos Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and the result was hits like "Wake Up Little Susie" and "All I Have To Do is Dream". I was touched by the handwritten letters from the duo to their parents and telegrams of encouragement from the parents to their sons.

The power of two is a theme here in Nashville.  Almost every songwriter that we talked with had a story about writing with another writer.  We heard about Neils Hubbard from Kim Richey and how he was in town to write with her.  And their he was last night on stage with Garrison Starr at 'The Basement'.  Garrison's set was amazing - great songs and an rockin', energetic set.  Tim Easton and Jon Langford played there, too, and there were tons of other showcases all over town.  Sarah Borges had '3rd & Lindsey' jumpin' and at one point she was dancing on the bar.  Randall Bramblett played after Sarah with his incredible seasoned band.  Randall is coming to the suite today for an interview and song set.

Thursday, September 21 5P

Gary's in the other room, mixing The Cherryholmes' [website] set.  They sound fantastic!  This morning when they were dressed to the country nines, as Joe said, with buckskin and rhinestones.  Barry Poss of Sugar Hill came by this morning and he DID have some great stories to tell about his interest in the "tension between the old and the new" in Americana music and how he has explored and supported that vibrant element of this music with his label.

Shawn Mullins [website] stopped by and we chatted about his recent album "9th Ward Pickin' Parlor" and his appreciation of the writing of Kris Kristofferson and John Prine. I had met Shawn a couple of times before and was struck once again by his openness and positive energy.

Tonite, we're headed out to the clubs again to hear Sarah Borges [website], Randall Bramblett [website], Garrison Starr [website] and Tim Easton.

Thursday, September 21 10A

We were out at The Mercy Lounge last night to see Charlie Louvin, HEM [website], Mindy Smith [website], and Dave Alvin.  We saw some long-time music biz friends and visited while we enjoyed the music. We'll spend time with Barry Poss, founder of Sugar Hill Records, in a little while and talk about his great Durham, North Carolina record label and long career in music recording artists like Jerry Douglas, Ricky Scaggs, Doc Watson, Dolly Parton, Nickel Creek, and the Duhks.  They are releasing a 25 year retrospective and I'm sure we'll hear some great stories.

We have welcomed a great cast of characters to our recording suite at the hotel over the past two days.  I can only guess that this room hasn't seen the likes of this crowd before, and if these walls could talk, my oh my, would they have stories to tell. Will Kimbrough [website], HEM, The Waybacks [website], Mando Saenz [website], Diana Jones [website], Matt Stillwell [website]  and Tim Easton [website] all made this room come alive!

Wednesday, September 20 11:30P

It's a music lovers dream, this Nashville, Tennessee. Musicians all around, all trying to get to the heart of the matter.  Looking in and looking out, and offering their take on the human condition.  Working in private or in tandem, everyone we've met has been so open in sharing themselves and their music and after only two days, we have already gathered some great audio.  You can hear it here and more is on the way.

We hit the ground running with a great visit from Kim Richey [website].  We got to know Kim and her music many years ago, and have always been impressed with her cyrstal clear voice and great songwriting.  After our interview, we went on a tour of Nashville with Kim at the wheel and she really helped us understand the city. Hear Kim's Guided Tour!  It's great to know that Kim's instincts and humor are still intact.

Kim dropped me off at the Country Music Hall of Fame and took me over to meet Bill Llyod.  Bill is from Foster and Llyod and is the Stringed Instrument Co-Ordinater at the Hall Of Fame.  It was so great to be there and to hear about what he does.  We went into the archives, where the curators were working on all sorts of projects and saw the Chet Atkins' guitars that they have-about 30!  Bill also showed me the last guitar that Johnny Cash owned.  It's a Martin that was made for him, with a black top and mother of pearl inlay.  As he opened the case and pulled out the guitar, I was so moved by being so close to an instrument that was played by the great icon of country music.

Audio:

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