Alecia Nugent: Hillbilly Goddess

Alecia Nugent talks about Hillbilly Goddess

“The majority of the album (9 of the 11 songs) is ballads or mid-tempo offerings. Nugent’s voice is as strong and melodic as any singer working today and her vocals bring, as Robert K. Oermann also comments in his liner notes, a believability to the lyrics. Whether it be heartache (Don’t Tell Me, Dying To Hold Her Again) or leaving (The Last Greyhound, Just Another Alice), Nugent sounds as if she is no stranger to the pain. But she has a sense of humor, as illustrated in Cryin’ All The Way To The Bank.” C. Eric Banister, Country Standard Time

“Her singing has improved immeasurably. Her tone has become warmer and fuller, the stridency I disliked has disappeared, and she has developed the ability to sing with subtlety as well as emotion. Carl Jackson’s production is faultless, and the pair of them have picked some very good songs well-suited to Alecia’s voice and style, which is very much in the country-meets-bluegrass vein.” Occasional Hope, My Kind of Country

Video Story of “Dust To Digital” Record Label

“Part 1 (of 2) in a look at Atlanta’s Grammy-winning Dust To Digital Records, a small label specializing in folk music, roots music, and historically significant recordings. This story was featured on “This is Atlanta with Alicia Steele,” a Telly Award-winning and Emmy-nominated magazine show on PBA, Atlanta’s PBS Station.”

Watch part 2, too

Sara Watkins

Sara Watkins: Sometimes I’m Loving You Too Much (live from the Violin Shop in (nashville) Bellevue, Tennessee)

“Sara Watkins’ debut is new and refreshing; it is a blending of retro flavors that remains contemporary, while avoiding the manufactured nostalgia that so often creeps into both Nashville and alt-country music.” Country Universe/William Ward

“So what kind of album is it? It’s very country-bluegrass, in the vein of Nickel Creek’s first album, Nickel Creek. It also has this relaxed feel, and a kind of throwback vibe, such as on “Any Old Time”. It also just feels effortless and natural, and it’s very calming to listen to. She also has a few instrumentals, “Freiderick” and “Jefferson” where she shows off her fiddle playing, and she is very entertaining. Beyond that, her vocals are very evocative, as usual, and she comes off assured.” My Kind of Country/Chris

“Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles, the album was produced by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, whose recent production credits also include an album with all-female string band Uncle Earl. Jones excels at deriving a unified, warmly unassuming sound from a large all-star cast, which also includes Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench, and Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas. The evidence here suggests that they, too, were charmed by Watkins’ preternatural charm” No Depression

Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka: The Crow

Steve Martin: The Crow

“I started (playing banjo) when I was 17,” Martin tells Billboard.com. “I know what my specialty is — playing songs I write, and if I’m asked to step outside that specialty, I can get a little nervous. It’s a dichotomy; on one hand I can play my own songs with anybody, but if I got into a really serious bluegrass crowd, I’d play a couple standards and retire.” Billboard

Sierra Hull is a rising star in bluegrass

“I just want to play music. And, at the same time, I want to be more than music. I want to be a good person.”

She’s a my kind of woman…girl.