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Life in Music inspired by Joe Henry


dinsdag 28 november 2017

Congratulation Ryan Freeland (and Rose Cousins)

A well deserved congratulations is in order !

Today the Grammy nominations, 2018 have been announced.

Ryan Freeland is 1 of the nominees for 'Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical'. This for his work on the album 'Natural Conclusion' from Rose Cousins. You guessed it: produced by Joe.


On January 28, the winners will be announced.

Good Luck !

zondag 26 november 2017

Lisa, Billy and a few others...

The Colorist is a Belgian band using more classical instruments together with self-made instruments, toys and other items that make sound.  These are some of Belgian’s finest musicians currently out there. They rarely make their own songs, usually they re-arrange another artist’s catalogue, and perform together with that artist. I remember with their previous project, featuring Emiliana Torrini, I told my friends ‘something extremely beautiful’ was touring in our country. That project resulted in an international tour and a record. Even today, sometimes they still perform it.

For the current project they asked Lisa Hannigan to join them. They reworked songs from her 3 solo albums. Indeed; also Passenger, produced by Joe. The song ‘fall’ she co-wrote with Joe, was another 1 that was performed.
It was again a wonderful show in Antwerp, I saw this week. As high as The Colorist set the bar, they can take the jump. It was, in the words Lisa addressed to the audience, "A musical, fairytale spaceship".
Keep an eye on them, because I heard they will be back on the road in April. If you can, go and see them, and have a wonderful evening.



And then, yesterday, I went to see Billy Bragg perform. Another member of the 'Musical Joe Henry family'. Last year they recorded and toured ‘shine a light’ together.
But let me start with giving Billy’s opening act a deserved place here. Irish folksinger, Paddy Nash, has a wonderful singing voice and brought us songs from his life and dreams, and since he’s opening for Billy Bragg, a little bit on current political and social problems was also presented. I’m sure he won a lot of hearts yesterday.
I need to jump back here a few weeks, because another member of this family came in with a great opening act a few weeks ago. Aimee Mann, who treated us with a great evening, and for my personal nostalgia played several songs from the Magnolia Soundtrack. These songs still stand tall !
But I was writing about opening acts: Jonathan Coulton gave us a humorous view on the world. For example:  check out his song IKEA.
Aimee Mann



Billy Bragg, is a man on a mission! He's traveling around the world, performing to reload his audiences their battery to strive for a better world. The appreciation he gets from the audience, will also surely recharge his.  And so we all help each other, and can make it happen. His mission comes in the form of this tour where he is promoting his album ‘Bridges not walls’. An album with songs he wrote over the last year(s), while he was also touring heavily together with Joe for the 'Shine a light’ songs. Yesterday he mentioned a few times touring and railing with Joe, and how the Current affairs from then, and news reporting about it, affected the concerts from this tour. I have seen 1 of those concerts, (actually: I think, that me and my wife are 1 of the very few Belgians who’ve seen it, if not the only Belgians?). I think I can understand what he was saying there. These words were an intro to Anais Mitchell’s ‘Why we build the wall’, a song that, for me, is turning into an anthem of this era.  It doesn’t loose any power, no matter how many times I’ve heard it.

Billy recharged every battery in the house, and an entire audience went home with a new motivation to be part of more solidarity !
We didn’t want to let Billy end the show, so he came back for a 2nd encore, on the condition that we sang the chorus of ‘A new England’, with which he also saluted Kirsty MacColl, by singing the verse he wrote for her.
An impressive ending, but a little ironic singing those sentences after such an inspiring evening.   But hey,... that song just pushed the battery up to 130%.






maandag 20 november 2017

European 'Thrum' tour + Videoclip

This morning the first shows for Amsterdam and Brussels where already announced.

Now we have info on a full European Tour.

Feb 1 King’s Place : London, UK  
Feb 2 Mackintosh Church : Glasgow, UK
Feb 4 Paradiso : Amsterdam, NL
Feb 5 Ancienne Belgique : Brussels, BE 
Feb 7 Prinzenbar : Hamburg, GER
Feb 8 Quasimodo : Berlin, GER 
Feb 10 Music Hall Worpswede :  Bremen, GER
Feb 11 Grand Social : Dublin, IR

The announcement was made with a brandnew video of Joe performing 'The Glorious Dead' with Levon Henry.



A Video directed by Steve Lipmann/FLIP .

Here are some 'making-of' pictures :





Brussels and Amsterdam show



2 European shows have been announced for February  :
February 4th : Paradiso Noord, Amsterdam
February 5th : Ancienne Belgique : Brussels

I have no info yet, whether it will be a solo show, together with Levon Henry, or with a full band.
(I personally hope the latter.)

Pre-sale for these shows starts on Wednesday, 22 November 10:00h.

Anyway,
You'll know where to find me those days.



zaterdag 18 november 2017

Thrum show added

Those living in or near Freehold New Jersey...

1 Extra Thrum show is added to the calendar : December 10th.
It's an in-studio performance of Joe, together with Levon Henry.

...Concerts in the studio is ?
 It's a simple premise....We host National touring bands and singer-songwriters in my photo studio, with near perfect sound and sightlines, that will forever change the way you experience live music...period. And if that were not enough, immediately following most shows, we do a potluck that has become as legendary as the performances themselves! Shoot us an e-mail for details/reservations (RSVP Required), bring a dish to share, and a friend or two and enjoy. 100% of all proceeds go directly to the artists we host.
3 Jackson Terrace
Freehold NJ 07728
For reservation info:



More info to be find with this link.

Steep Canyon Rangers's 'Out in the open' Release date

The upcoming album by the 'Steep Canyon Rangers', which is  produced by Joe, will be released on January 26, 2018.

The album is entitled 'Out in the Open'.


 Gratefulweb has more info and tourdates  :
In July 2017, Steep Canyon Rangers arrived at Fidelitorium Recordings in Kernersville, NC, an intimate studio facility built, owned, and operated by legendary producer Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Let’s Active). Having not previously discussed Henry’s plans, the band was surprised to discover that their producer – with the invaluable help of engineer/mixer Jason Richmond – intended to record in classic fashion, with all six members singing and playing in a room with no overdubs. Though Steep Canyon Rangers had some trepidation, they promptly rose to the challenge.

Rollingstone gives us a pre-listen of the single 'Going Midwest'. A song inspired by the Novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.


Sharp, Platt and Ashworth recorded the song in one take that was initially meant to be a dry run. As producer Joe Henry tells Rolling Stone Country, it was clear that they'd nailed it on the first try. “What I heard conjured before me that moment was not only rich, soulful and heartbreaking, but as well, rendered with a simplicity and humility that defies the deft artistry that allows it,"


Some footage while playing this 1-take recording, and some more back info.



Previously, we also could hear the song 'The speed we're travelling'.





You can already pre-order this album. 
Full Tracklist :

  • Farmers And Pharaohs
  • Let Me Out Of This Town
  • Out In The Open
  • Can’t Get Home
  • Going Midwest
  • When She Was Mine
  • Love Harder
  • Shenandoah Valley
  • Best Of Me
  • Roadside Anthems
  • Let Me Die In My Footsteps
  • The Speed We’re Traveling

zaterdag 11 november 2017

Tickets to Win for Joe Henry and Rose Cousins

at relix.com you can win a pair of tickets for Joe Henry with Special Guest Rose Cousins at LPR on Friday, December 8th, 2017.



Enter to Win!


vrijdag 10 november 2017

Adam Whipple inspired by Joe.

Adam Whipple talks about his new record  at The Rabbit Room. He specificly names Joe's work as clear inspiration for his album 'The Broken Seasons'.

A few weeks ago I was going down to Georgia and I got this Joe Henry album and listened on the way. He’s produced a couple of records for Over the Rhine. He’s a brilliant songwriter. He has this way of taking groups of instruments that are similar in timbre and making the sound weave in and out of itself. So you’ve got a mandola imitating a guitar or a lap steel sounding like an extension of a piano, horns imitating an organ sound, those kinds of things. I love all of that and decided that was what I wanted to do with this album. I wanted the listener to not even know exactly what instruments are playing because they’re woven together so well.

Adam is trying to fund his project through a pledge Campaign. Go over and support him, if you like it. (as I do).


woensdag 1 november 2017

Some Thrum songs performed Live

Joe performed yesterday in the Paste-studio. It was streamed live on the internet. He was accompanied by Levon Henry. Me personally, I love Levon's playing more each time I hear him.

Listen to songs 'Climb', 'Believer' and 'The Glorious dead'.
Joe talks a bit about these songs, the Album 'Thrum' and his previous 'shine a light' (together with Billy Bragg).