Nov 21

Nov 21 Festival Review- Way Down in Mississippi Weekend - Hosted by Jason Eady

In Clarksdale,Mississippi, birthplace of the Delta Blues and once home to music legends including Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, Jason Eady hosted an intimate music weekend to culminate the tour for his latest album Mississippi. Held the second weekend in November, the inaugural Way Down in Mississippi Weekend featured music from Eady and those that had a part in the making of the album: Adam Hood, his only co-writer on the album; Courtney Patton and Kelly Mickwee, who sang harmonies on the album, and Midnight River Choir, who toured the album with him. The first two days, festival attendees stayed at the historic Shack Up Inn, where restored sharecropper shacks make up the sleeping quarters and the original cotton gin, the lobby and bar area. Rustic is the word that comes to mind – but the authenticity and nostalgic charm made up for any lack of luxury.

Aug 26

Aug 26 Jason Eady: To the Passage of Time

Derek Scudder

What do we do when we get back to normal / And we find ourselves out in the world again

What do we do when we get back to normal / And we find we’re somewhere we ain’t never been”

Jason Eady has given us the best summary of the pandemic I’ve yet heard in “Back to Normal,” on his new release, To the Passage of Time.

The ten tracks all feature the resonant vocals of Eady supported by thoughtful arrangements which provide the perfect backdrop for tremendous songs.
No matter what the subject of the song, Jason Eady’s voice draws you in and makes you believe. Whether it’s the recitation of his grandfather’s life story in “French Summer Sun,” or the more lighthearted “Saturday Night,” that voice just wraps around the lyrics and carries you along. You want to cheer for the narrator in “Gainesville” and hope he really is going back when he says, “I mean it this time,” and you understand completely when he sings, “There’s a lot more to living than just being alive,” in “Possibilities.”

Jul 12

Jul 12 Train to Birmingham: July 2021

Derek Scudder

No live music experience can match a Texas dance hall on a Saturday night with a hot country band on stage and a roomful of people two-stepping around a hardwood floor. When that dance hall is the Old Coupland Dance Hall and that band is Mike and the Moonpies, you have officially arrived in Honky-Tonk Heaven!

Working out a road trip itinerary that would get me from a Cody Canada show in Gun Barrel City, Texas, to a Blackberry Smoke show in Lake Charles, Louisiana, I found a Mike and the Moonpies show that fit perfectly. Little did I realize how life-changing that decision would be.