James Taylor Archives - Bluegrass Today

James Taylor with Punch Brothers on the Energy Curfew Music Hour

Punch Brothers with James Taylor and Gabby Moreno at the Audible Theater – photo © Avery Brunkus

This past weekend’s edition of the Energy Curfew Music Hour, hosted by Punch Brothers, featured James Taylor and Gabby Moreno as special guests. Taylor needs no introduction to anyone with an interest in acoustic music over the past 50 years, and Moreno is a Guatemalan singer and songwriter whose music crosses multiple genres.

Energy Curfew Music Hour is a musical variety concept show created by Chris Thile and his wife, Claire Coffee, held at the Minetta Lane Theatre in Manhattan. Punch Brothers appear on each program, along with different guests for one-of-a-kind collaborations before a live audience

The show’s pretense is an imagined near-term future in which electricity is closely rationed, and each episode is broadcast just ahead of a scheduled 24 hour energy curfew.

Each show is, in fact, recorded by Audible for eventual release on their system.

Many thanks to Michelle Firebaugh with Boneua/Bryan-Brown and photographer Avery Brunkus for these images from the December 2 performance.

Marty Raybon does James Taylor on Millworker

We have mentioned a number of times the production work Tony Wray is doing for the Pinecastle and Bonfire record labels. These are unique, themed projects that pair bluegrass music with unexpected sources, like his recent albums of familiar lullabies on traditional bluegrass instruments, or performing bluegrass-tinged arrangements of Disney classics.

Tony’s latest is a set of songs from legendary singer/songwriter James Taylor, something Wray is well-suited to accomplish as he is a top level guitarist himself, much like the subject of this album.

While these arrangements are not all explicitly bluegrass, they do feature vocalists prominent in our genre, making them likely to fit easily into the listening habits of bluegrass lovers.

Just released is a single featuring Marty Raybon, a life long grasser, even during his forays into country music with Shenandoah. He and Tony have chosen Millworker, a song included on James’ 1979 record, Flag. It’s a tender ballad of the sort at which Taylor excels, telling the story of a woman whose mill working husband dies from the drink, forcing her into his occupation to raise her three children. Originally written for the Broadway musical Working with the title Millwork, it became a staple of Taylor’s live performances in the 1980s and beyond.

Marty Raybon takes a back seat to no one when it comes to investing emotional depth into a song, so he is perfectly and naturally inclined to do a number like this justice. Wray wisely chose to keep the recording simple, with just himself on guitar and Marty on vocal.

Have a listen…

The full album, Acoustic Tribute to James Taylor, is expected later this year. Other featured vocalists include Dennis Parker, Shawn Lane, and Scott Slay on other Taylor hits like Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James, Machine Gun Kelly, and You Can Close Your Eyes.

Marty Raybon’s take on Millworker is available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.

Alison Krauss video preview on Amazon

A Hundred Miles or More: Live From The Tracking Room from Alison Krauss won’t be released until next Tuesday (11/11), but Amazon has a sneak peek on their site if you can’t wait another week.

The DVD is the home edition of a television special from GAC, itself envisioned as a live recreation of several songs from Alison’s A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection CD from 2007. It reunites her with recent duet partners James Taylor (How’s The World Treating You), Brad Paisley (Whiskey Lullaby), and John Waite (Lay Down Beside Me) and two songs with Tony Rice (Sawing On The Strings, Shadows).

All the performances were filmed live at The Tracking Room in Nashville, and both the audio and video quality are exceptional. Interviews with most of the participants are also featured, including lengthy comments from Krauss and Rice.

Alison is joined in the video by her Union Station cohorts (Ron Block, Dan Tyminski, Barry Bales, Jerry Douglas) plus Sam Bush, Steve Cox, Stuart Duncan, John Hobbs, Abraham Laboriel Sr., Greg Morrow, and Gordon Mote.

The video sample at Amazon is from the Gordon Lightfoot song Shadows, famously brought into the bluegrass/new acoustic world by Tony Rice, who is featured in the clip along with Union Station.

Alison Krauss DVD

Rounder has announced that they will release A Hundred Miles or More: Live From The Tracking Room featuring Alison Krauss on DVD this fall.

This presentation was aired on GAC television last year when Alison’s A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection CD was released. It was a live, in-studio recreation of several tracks from the CD, including guest appearances from some of her duet partners – James Taylor, Brad Paisley and John Waite.

Her own band, Union Station was also featured throughout (Jerry Douglas, Dan Tyminski, Ron Block, Barry Bales) along with Tony Rice, Sam Bush and Stuart Duncan.

The CD was part compilation – putting together songs on which Alison had performed, but which had not appeared on any of her CDs – and part new material, including four tracks recorded for this release. Many of these were high-profile hits, such as her duet with Paisley on Whiskey Lullaby and with Taylor on How’s The World Treating You, both re-sung for this project.

The DVD is scheduled for release on November 11, and also includes interview segments with Krauss where she discusses her storied musical career.

Krauss on GAC rescheduled for 8/11-20

In June we told you about an upcoming special on GAC TV, featuring Alison Krauss performing songs from her latest Rounder CD, Hundred Miles Or More. In mid-July, we posted again to alert everyone that the initially announced air date of July 14-15 had been canceled, with a later date to be announced.

Now comes word that the show will finally air in August, starting with the 8/11-12 weekend.

The concept of this one hour special, shot live in the recording studio, is to showcase the songs on the latest CD, many of which feature Alison in duet with other notable vocalists. The program will include her singing with country star Brad Paisley on their duet hit Whiskey Lullaby, and with famed singer/songwriter James Taylor on The Louvin Brothers’ How’s The World Treating You?”

She is assisted throughout by her stellar band, Union Station (featuring Jerry Douglas), with guest appearances from Tony Rice, Sam Bush and Stuart Duncan for Sawin’ On The Strings, perhaps the only purely bluegrass number on the show.

The special will debut on GAC Friday, August 11 at 9:00 p.m., and later that same night at 1:00 a.m. (technically Saturday morning). It will run again the following Saturday evening (8/19) at 8:00 p.m., with one additional showing on Sunday (8/20) at 3:00 p.m. All times are Eastern.

Alison Krauss – 100 Miles Or More on GAC

Among the many reasons Alison Krauss has generated such a large and enduring following would have to include her ability to appeal to a widely diverse fan base. Bluegrass fans love her for her gritty, grassy tunes – and for her loyalty to the genre – while country and soft rock fans appreciate her delicate treatment of tender ballads.

This unique aspect of her career is the focus of her latest CD, A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection, which includes a number of popular duets she has recorded with stars from well outside of bluegrass and acoustic music.

Be sure to mark the weekend of July 14-15 on your calendar to catch a one-hour special on GAC TV which will feature live performances of the music from the new CD. Alison will sing her duets with Brad Paisely (Whisky Lullaby), James Taylor (How’s The World Treating You) and John Waite (Lay Down Beside Me).

The members of Union Station (Dan Tyminski, Jerry Douglas, Ron Block and Barry Bales) will back the vocalists, along with guests Tony Rice, Sam Bush and Stuart Duncan. That lineup suggests that they will perform her stellar arrangement of Sawing On The Strings, also on the new release.

The show, Alison Krauss: A Hundred Miles Or More, will air on GAC July 14 at 9:00 p.m., and on July 15 at 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. All times are eastern.