2020. It was a lot of things. Most of them containing some form of expletive to properly convey the overall despair, shittiness and all encompassing frustration…but here we are. It was a year I personally took a giant step away from this publication to focus on other projects, my own mental health and relationships outside the realm of the interwebs (when I was able to). For better or worse, I just didn’t write about music and art, with the exception of a very small number of articles throughout the shit-storm that 2020 gave us.

Thats not to say that a ton of incredible music wasn’t released or that I still didn’t benefit greatly from consuming what artists were still miraculously able to create in a year that was incredibly unkind to musicians and the music industry. While I may not have consumed an extravagant, colossal feast of sonic deliciousness for my ears in 2020,  what I did consume I immersed myself in fully and digested over and over again. 

I could go on an on about the mind boggling resilience of songwriters and artists this year. Adapting to a cruel landscape and coming up with ways to share and create in new and innovative ways. But for the purpose of this particular article I will just leave it at this:

To all those out there still creating and writing and pickin’ and singin’: THANK YOU. Folks needed your work more than ever this year. You all are incredible and I hope and beg the powers that be that 2021 is a much better year to you all.

So, in closing, here are a handful of records that really got me through 2020 and sh*t I probably should have written about at the time. Thank you to you wonderful creators, makers, guitar slingers and music singers. 

 

 

Brent Cobb “Keep em on They Toes” – Every year there is ONE artist and record that becomes the one I spin over and over and over again. The record that will inevitably be the one from that year I will continue to spin obsessively for the next decade. Cobb’s latest is that record and if there was ever a sentiment that 2020 needed it was from the album’s title track…I’ll let you all delve into the details on your own and find your own meaning, but Brent Cobb’s cool delivery and line after line that hits like a Tyson knock out when you dig into the deeper meanings, its just pure and real and beautiful.

Favorite track: “Keep em on They Toes”

 

Sarah Jarosz “World on the Ground” – I feel that Sarah has always had a way with textures and layering of instrumentation in the view of what her songs look like. In some ways, I suppose that’s an inherent trait of multi-instrumentalists, always thinking “well the guitar part would be like this” and “the mandolin should be ever faintly dancing here”. On ‘World’, there is much to peel back, but its always to great effect of Jarosz’s writing and lilting voice. The track “Hometown” is a prime example of undulating, percussive tones and slow churning strings sonically painted on a gray and blue palette. Somber, pensive and melancholy in the finest respect.

Favorite track: “Hometown”

 

Christian Sedelmyer “Ravine Palace” – 2019’s listing, for me personally, was heavy on the instrumental albums and 2020 was no different in providing some heavy hitters in the “records without words” realm (or very few words). Sedelmyer could be described in much the same way, a heavy hitter performing with everyone from Jerry Douglas to Molly Tuttle. Christian only further displays his stunning ability to emote place and feeling within his gorgeous arrangements here on RP. A testament to one of the best players of our current generation of roots musicians.

Favorite track: “Pushin’ Though”

 

Arlo McKinley  “Die Midwestern” – For me this record has been a long time coming and eagerly anticipated. I first became familiar with Arlo through a video session featuring his tune “Bag of Pills” from the Somersessions. It’s pure honesty and brutal self deprecation in a way that very few artists can fully engulf and digest in a way that winds up something completely beautiful. That original track is so sparse and raw that one may fear a full production arrangement, but the album’s build out of the track never detracts from the intense realness and only further adds to a writer wearing their heart on their sleeve. It’s fucking heartbreakingly jubilant and I am all in for it. Couple that with some true honky tonk shit kickin’ and man, I am feeling all the feels.

Favorite track: “She’s Always Around”

 

Low Cut Connie “Private Lives” – The highlight of 2020 was undoubtedly something forced upon artists of all walks of life. The one at the pinnacle of it all was the live streaming efforts of Low Cut Connie’s Adam Weiner. And while those video snapshots into Adam’s quarantine life were solo, “Private Lives” is anything but. A soul filled choral of exultant and poignant brilliance. Groovy, sexy and highly spirited, but what else would you expect from LCC?

Favorite Track: “Let It All Hang Out Tonight”

 

 

Bella White “Just Like Leaving” – I am not sure I can improve upon what I wrote when I first heard the live take of my favorite tune off this record, so I’ll just reiterate that here: The harmonies are crushingly powerful in their simplicity. Everyone adding their own bit of heart and emotion to the mix that erupts in an overwhelming wave. The rise and fall that bows up and down like cresting waves raising a boat gently and then letting it back down again. This is the best of what country music and songwriting have to offer. Bella’s approach is equal parts brutal and beautiful. The entire record plays out like that. The best of what came before contemporary music mixed with a flair and mix that Bella’s musical appetite has produced…great writing, impeccable vocal delivery and a band that is absolutely to die for.

Favorite Track: “I Broke (When I Realized)”

 

Jason Isbell “Reunions” – I spent a lot of 2020 watching Isbell’s instagram feed…both for comedic content and to watch him casually rip on his impressive collection of axes. “Reunions” bares the fruit of such indulgences and then some. Where “Southeastern” put him on the map as one of (if not the) most influential songwriter of the decade, the release of Reunions 7 years on merely further cements him as such…and proves you can still have introspection as guitar distortion rings heavily in the solo parts of a tune. “Overseas” has you swimming in an ocean of gently rocking guitar waves and with lines like “This used to be a ghost town, but even the ghosts got out…“, I mean, come on.

Favorite track: “Overseas“

 

 

Sturgill Simpson “Cuttin’ Grass” Vol 1 and 2 – Being fully honest, Volume 1 was my shit this year. Quite literally every time I was on my own Deere tractor mowing the lawn, in the wood shop or pickin’ along to tunes. It was a 2020 staple from the moment the first volume hit in October. Not sure if thats a bi-product of it coming first or if its because it had more of my Stug favs on it, but something about it just sat right with me. Sturgill has long been a favorite for his “fuck it” attitude and frank writing style, but hearing these songs with these players in this kind of a production really hit it home. And where Simpson is the obvious highlight in re-working these tracks, the band, in particular, Sierra Hull’s mandolin prowess and harmonies and the glue of Mike Bub’s bass style, are truly allowed to shine. This will be a long standing repeat on my list…perhaps for the rest of my life. Now where is volume 3 at?

Favorite track: “Life Ain’t Fair and the World is Mean”

 

 

Tyler Childers ­ “Long Violent History” I will preface this by saying, I am probably one of the biggest Tyler Childers fans out there. An incredible talent, a songsmith at the pinnacle of modern day songwriting and a generous soul…that said when I first saw that Tyler was putting out a record of fiddle tunes, I must admit I had a “what the f*ck?” moment. But from the first listen my mind was put at ease. Surely it was an endeavor into fine tuning skills on a new instrument, but it was also a canvas to prepare the folks for the closing track and title tune, “Long Violent History”. And while when it comes to Childers, I yearn for the words he pens, the folks he assembled to breath life into the instrumental songs that make up the brunt of the album are nothing short of an all star who’s who in the roots music landscape.

Favorite track: “Long Violent History”

 

 

Marcus King “El Dorado” Funk. Soul. Brother. Marcus King not only commands one of the most unique and badass voices in American Roots today, he is also a f*cking monster guitarist. “El Dorado” was a collection of tunes that kicked me straight to the gut. Blues, southern rock, full on Americana face punch. There’s your selling point…a full on Americana face punch. Listen to this record, it will simultaneously soothe your soul and beat you into submission like a bar room brawl. Rock on.

Favorite track: “The Well”

 

 

Jake Blount “Spider Tales” I met Jake during an impromptu collaboration during an artist filming session at Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots in 2019. I was immediately struck, first with the fiddle he was playing, and then the sounds that were emanating from that instrument. “Spider Tales” weaves (ugggg, sorry for the pun) a beautiful narrative that Blount has curated over time through in depth research and practice through deep immersion in Black and Indigenous mountain music. Jake shines a light on the rich history of that music and illuminates how it has not been given its proper place in the sun over time. Beautiful and immersive songs that speak so much.

Favorite track: “Old-Timey Grey Eagle”

 

Aaron Lee Tasjan “Found Songs Vol 1 & 2” – Like everything ALT touches, this double collection is pure gold. This one could have flown under your radar (especially with ALT’s 2021 record release), but is well worth digging into now. Over the year’s Tasjan has explored all variables of music, texture and style with his music. Roaming the landscapes of straight forward singer-songwriter styles, to dusty roots rock to sparkly glam avant-garde badassery. All in the course of a few years and an onslaught of records, the exploration always seems to wind up in a pure, honest and impressive end result. ‘Found Songs’ just further cements that fact and Aaron as one of the best out there today.

Favorite track: “Fake Tattoo”

 

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes “Fiddler’s Pastime” – It was a year for instrumental music for me. Maybe that’s showing the growing appreciation and maturity in my listening ear. Who knows? But Bronwyn Keith-Hynes’ “Fiddler’s Pastime” was a mainstay in the latter part of the year for me, in particular her instrumental arrangements struck a chord. What is perhaps most impressive is the feeling of cohesion and a linear story being told, despite the fact that the tracks have a dizzying assortment of all star guests included. Keith-Hynes puts front-woman duties on full display as the North Star for each of these tracks. Leading the tune when it calls for it and lending a supporting role to each of the guest artist’s strengths when appropriate. This is a journey worth taking.

Favorite track: “Open Water”