In February of 1974 Asleep at the Wheel made the move from the Bay Area to Austin, Texas. After playing the Armadillo World Headquarters with Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen in 1973 – and receiving encouragement from Willie Nelson and Doug Sahm to relocate – the band settled in and made Austin their home, where they remain 50 years later.

“Austin was and has been everything I could have ever wished for and more,” says Ray Benson, the band’s leader and only original member. “It’s been 55 years for AATW as a band, and 50 of them have been spent in Texas. We are known worldwide for being a Texas band and playing Texas and Western Swing music. It brings us great pride to carry this torch and responsibility. We don’t take it lightly!” 

Asleep at the Wheel’s lineup is ever changing. Since 1970 the band has had over 100 members come through. In the past, when a new member or two has joined a new album has emerged. In 2025 that still remains true. “We had some more line up changes after the pandemic and our 50th anniversary tour,” says Benson. “We had some folks who had been with us for a while move on. But, like always, we kept playing live shows and searching for the next members to identify themselves – here we are!” 

One key and important role in Asleep at the Wheel and in Texas and Western Swing music is the fiddle. “It’s crazy to think that Ian Stewart, our newest vocalist and fiddler, grew up five minutes away from my house and that had nothing to do with the reason he is in the band,” says Benson. “Ian had a residency at the Broken Spoke as his own act. Danny Levin, who was there at the start of AATW in West Virginia and was in the band through the 70’s and early 80’s, had a relationship with Ian and a group with him and suggested him for the gig. Danny’s word was enough for me – he knows the gig as much as anyone.”

“Having grown up in Austin, Texas, Asleep at the Wheel is a name that has always commanded respect and it’s an honor to join their ranks,” says Stewart. “It’s an invaluable education working with a team that brings a fresh twist to the traditional music that I love and grew up listening to. I feel lucky every time I step on stage – it’s a ride I’m thankful to be on.”

What has followed the recent lineup change is a steady dose of touring the world – and now the band’s 32nd record Riding High In Texas, featuring Stewart and Benson as the band’s lead vocalists. This marks AATW’s first new release since their 50th anniversary project Half A Hundred Years in 2021.

“I have always wanted to do a ‘Texas’ record – a thank you and love letter to this state that has given me and the band so much. I also thought it was the right project to take on with the new faces we had in the band, who had never been on record before,” says Benson. “Within these tracks there’s an unmistakable musical tradition that you can’t get anywhere else – except deep in the heart of Texas,” says Stewart.

“Just like the state of Texas and Asleep at the Wheel, this album is bold, soulful, and rooted in a rich heritage guaranteed to keep toes tappin’!” adds Stewart.

Joining Stewart for their very first Wheel album appearances are Michael Archer (bass), Curtis Clogston (steel guitar/dobro) and Lyon Graulty (horns). AATW former members Danny Levin (piano/fiddle), Joey Colarusso (horns) and David Sanger (drums) round out the group for this new record, Riding High In Texas. 

Stewart and Benson share the attention on this new record, with Stewart singing the title track “Riding High In Texas” – a Peter Rowan penned tune – that features “some hot pickin’” from Billy Strings. “I’ve been a fan of Billy’s for a long while now and got to hang with him and check out his shows. He’s such a wonderful guy.” says Benson. “I appeared briefly in one of his music videos, but we’d never had done anything musically together – until now. When it came time to lay down a solo on ‘Riding High,’ I couldn’t think of anyone better, and unsurprisingly, he played amazingly like he always does.” 

AATW are no strangers to guests on their albums, including longtime collaborator Lyle Lovett – who joins in on the song “Long Tall Texan.” “I’ve known Lyle now for almost 40 years,” says Benson. “To me, he’s the best Texas songwriter, stylist and person. I love Lyle and getting to make music with him. We couldn’t do a Texas record without him!” 

The record blends well-known Texas tunes like George Strait’s anthem “All My Exes (Live in Texas)” to Guy Clark’s “Texas Cookin’” with more obscure selections like “Still A Lot of Love in San Antone” plus songs by non-Texans such as The Carter Family’s “Lonesome Pine Special” (which Benson says Hazel Dickens version was an influence for this album) “T For Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1)” by Jimmie Rodgers and “Texas” by Charlie Daniels. 

“We weren’t trying to make Texas’ Greatest Hits,” says Benson. “That would have been too on the nose – and daunting. We picked songs that fit this group the best and that Ian and I felt we could do justice to.” 

“Texas In My Soul” was written by Ernest Tubb and popularized by Willie Nelson. “Beaumont Rag,” the Texas fiddle tune and instrumental, rounds out the 10 song album. “ET and Willie are probably my biggest Texas influences,” Benson adds. “And AATW always includes an instrumental on our records – ‘Beaumont Rag’  just felt right for this one.” 

“This album is an introduction to the current and future of AATW,” says Benson. “I know another 55 years isn’t in the cards, but I want to keep pushing and creating as much as I can, for as long as I can. Ian and the new guys give me the motivation and energy to keep this going. I hope everyone enjoys this eclectic collection of some of our favorite songs about Texas. The future for AATW is bright – and we’ll keep on Riding High In Texas!”

photo credit: Andrew Dalton

Jake Speed & the Freddies, Cincinnati’s long-running folk/Americana band, host a night rooted in toe-tappin’, foot-stompin’ original tunes that muse on Cincinnati’s unique past & present. Known as the Woody Guthrie of Cincinnati, Jake Speed uses a traditional folksy delivery to compose timely and timeless songs that tell great stories with a bit of a lyrical edge. This special Queen City-centric concert celebrates 25 years of music-making, storytelling, and deep ties to the region, featuring cameo appearances by Mike Oberst of The Tillers, Ed Cunningham of The Comet Bluegrass Allstars, and Chris Cusentino of The Turkeys. The concert also marks the release of the band’s sixth studio album with 12 new songs, some of which pay tribute to Cincinnati musical icons Katie Laur, The Comet Bluegrass Allstars, dancing with daffodils at Washington Park, and their roots in Ohio. More than a performance, this 25th Anniversary concert is a celebration of Cincinnati’s music, stories, and community. Proceeds benefit Cincinnati Public Radio, helping sustain the local voices and institutions that preserve the past, enrich the present, and guide the journey ahead.

Hailed by The Washington Post as “one of Nashville’s finest song interpreters,” Kathy Mattea has enjoyed much success and acclaim during her 35-year career in Country, Bluegrass and Folk music, including 2 Grammy wins, 4 CMA Awards, 4 #1 country singles, and five gold albums (plus a platinum Greatest Hits collection). Her latest album is “Pretty Bird”, produced by her old friend, roots music wizard Tim O’Brien. The wide-ranging collection of songs chronicles a period of rededication to singing, digging back in with a vocal coach and emerging with a poignant and eclectic CD. In addition to creating and recording music and performing live on tour, Kathy is increasingly involved with public broadcasting, consulting and contributing on screen in Ken Burns’ 2019 documentary for PBS “Country Music”, and recently replacing founder Larry Groce as the host of the long-running NPR show “Mountain Stage”.

www.mattea.com

Prepare to embark on a mesmerizing journey through the golden era of psychedelic blues and the seeds of the ‘jam band’ scene as Live Dead & Brothers takes the stage. Comprised of actual and legacy members from the extended Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers families, this exceptional ensemble is set to revive the timeless magic of the late 1960s and early 1970s, bringing fans an experience like no other.

The line-up is pedigree and generational featuring Berry Duane Oakley from The Allman Betts Band, Les Dudek  from the Allman Brother family, Mark Karan from Bob Weir/ Rat Dog & The Other Ones, Scott Guberman from Phil Lesh & Friends, and Pete Lavezzoli from JGB, Jazz Is Dead and Oteil & Friends. Together, these accomplished musicians skillfully recreate the magic of the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band’s co-billed concerts during the period of 1969 to1973. Their performances capture the raw energy, improvisational prowess, and soul-stirring melodies that defined an era of musical innovation.

When it comes to songwriting, less is more, and simplicity is strength. Just ask Paul Thorn, who’s spent three decades turning soulful grooves and small syllables into songs that pack a big wallop. Maybe he learned the power of minimalism from his years as a pro boxer; maybe it just comes naturally. But whether he’s targeting heads, hearts, hips or the occasional funny bone, he somehow manages to condense large nuggets of wisdom into tight little mantras, the kind embroiderers stitched onto pillows before internet memes existed.

Thorn’s new album, Life is Just A Vapor, contains some beauties: “Life is a vapor, let’s live it while we can”; “tough times don’t last, but tough people do” (from “Tough Times Don’t Last”); “any mountain up ahead is just a hill” (from “Old Melodies”). They’re words of advice, comfort, support, encouragement, often meant to uplift, especially in times of struggle.

“I like for people to be touched by music and get something from it, something that they can take with them throughout the day,” Thorn says. “Every song on this album, there’s a message in it of some sort about how to live life.”

American Blues Scene writer Don Wilcock calls Thorn “an everyman (who) addresses things we all think about, but few can articulate with the kind of candor, humor and folksy truth that immediately endear him to almost everyone lucky enough to hear his music.”

Whether he’s expressing love in “I Knew,” warning an ex’s new conquest about the dangers ahead in “She Will,” extolling the value of holding off on sex in “Wait” or listing the ingredients for making a marriage work in “Courage My Love” (“a half-acre on your daddy’s land / and a little luck / a load of white gravel in our driveway / so we don’t get stuck in a rut /a 3-horsepower lawnmower and courage my love”), Thorn delivers his messages with consummate skill — and pinpoint precision. One minute, he’ll unwind an outrageous tale full of wild characters (often accompanied by his own cartoonish illustrations); the next, he’ll tug at heartstrings with confessions of love, loss or failed dreams, balancing wit and pathos with an ease only the best storytellers can pull off. One of Thorn’s favorites was his friend and mentor John Prine, who inspired the title tune.

We’ll discuss that one in a bit, but first, we should mention that in “Wait,” a commentary about dating in the Tinder era, the fella who buys his dates dinner with a two-for-$20 coupon is someone Thorn actually knows. “Geraldine and Ricky” is based on real people, too — well, a real person and her hickory-headed dummy. Whether written solo, with longtime manager/collaborator/album producer Billy Maddox or with Chuck Cannon, Scotty Brassfield or Denny Carr, nearly all of these songs are inspired by or reference actual events or people; Geraldine was a traveling evangelist who couldn’t connect with children until she tried ventriloquism. When she spread the lord’s word through Ricky, kids were mesmerized — including 5-year-old Thorn, who requested, and got, a ventriloquist doll for Christmas.

“I would get up and tell jokes at church, and I’d take it to school and tell jokes at school,” he says, with that Tupelo, Miss.-formed accent and instantly charming, matter-of-fact delivery he has. “I had my mind up that when I grew up, I was going to be a ventriloquist.” (His singing career actually began at 3 — in church, of course; Thorn’s dad was a Pentecostal minister.)

Over a snaky rhythm enhanced by guest guitarist Luther Dickinson, Thorn fictitiously paints Geraldine as “a toxic opportunist looking for anything that will better her situation.” When she lands a dying old sugar daddy, she dumps Ricky. But karma catches up to Geraldine, while Ricky, thankfully, gets rescued.

But Life is Just a Vapor is not all homilies and humor. “I’m Just Waiting,” a catchy, funky tune featuring blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, deftly examines relationship insecurity. In “Chicken Wing,” over a cool melody on which guitarists Michael Graham and Bill Hinds (on slide) merge T. Rex with Southern rock, a former pimp and scam artist admits: “I’m in the winter of my life / I love my dog, I like my wife / I wash the dishes, I sweep the floor / I keep a 12-gauge behind the door.”

For the record, the song is not about the uncle Thorn introduced on Pimps and Preachers, one of a dozen albums he’s released on his own Perpetual Obscurity Records since founding the label in 2000. (Thorn made his recording debut on A&M Records in 1997, after ex-Police manager Miles Copeland III heard him and had him open for then-client Sting, one of A&M’s top talents.) And just to be clear, Thorn’s definition of pimp includes “anybody that manipulates people and doesn’t give them nothing in return.”

“I’m around pimps every day, especially in the music business,” he adds. “A pimp is a larger word than just somebody on the corner with a gold chain. ‘Chicken Wing’ is an overview of a bunch of pimps that I have known in my life and I melded their stories together. … all that song is about is different seasons of life.”

Speaking of seasons of life, two of the album’s most poignant songs contemplate the passage of time. “Old Melodies,” the kind of song a retro-country-loving couple might dance to after renewing their wedding vows, suggests challenges are easier to face with a partner by your side.

“It’s about being together through life, and that’s where I’m at,” Thorn says. “I’m 60 years old, and the stuff I’m writing about and singing about is for people that get what being 60 years old is.” Then he reveals the song’s sobering origin, which adds a different perspective.

“We had a family problem a long time ago, a relative that ran off the tracks with drugs and everything,” he explains. “When my dad was dealing with the pain of the heartache that somebody he loved was in a dark hole, he was just standing there, crying. And he said, “Man, ‘Amazing Grace’ used to be my favorite song, but now it’s ‘We Shall Overcome.’ Boy, that just hit me right between the eyes. They’re both great songs, but ‘Amazing Grace’ is more like a praise song. ‘We Shall Overcome’ is, ‘We got something we gotta deal with, and we’re gonna deal with it, and we’re gonna get past it.’ I thought that was a beautiful thing he said.”

Thorn, a brilliant gospel stylist, could sing the heck out of either of those songs. If you haven’t heard his version of the O’Jays’ hit, “Love Train,” from Don’t Let the Devil Ride, his 2018 album of gospel covers, you haven’t experienced the song the way it truly should be heard.

On this album, he’s backed occasionally by Tupelo gospel group New Testament, or Muscle Shoals session singers Cindy Richardson and Marie Lewey (aka the Shoal Sisters) — who sing on “Life is Just a Vapor,” a phrase adapted from scripture.

It’s safe to say no one but Thorn would start a song with the lines, “Me and John Prine was eating ice cream / at the Double Tree Inn Suite 1019.” And no one but Thorn would follow them with, “Don’t tell Fiona she won’t understand / Life is a vapor. Let’s live it while we can.”

Of his late friend, Thorn says, “He’s one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and one of the nicest people, too. I can’t even count the times I’ve opened up for him, which was a great opportunity for me.”

As he will do for countless audiences, Thorn narrates the story behind those lyrics: “One night after I opened up for him,” he recounts, “John invited me and a few other friends to come to his hotel room and have some ice cream after the show. So I went, and it was a big thrill. Then the next morning I went on Facebook and I wrote about my encounter, and I said to the world what a moment it was for me to get to hang with John and have this ice cream and everything.

“Right when I posted it, his manager called my manager and said, ‘Take that post down immediately. John is a severe diabetic, and his wife Fiona is going to kill him for eating ice cream.’”

In total straight-man mode, Thorn nonchalantly adds, “Yeah, I got him in trouble for eating ice cream.”

And that’s how the finest troubadours do it: Set ‘em up with humor, then hit ’em in the feels with lines like, “Every day’s a gift, breathe in and hold it. / Every day’s a gift, it’s gone before you know it.”

Gorgeous, moving words. Simple, straight-forward and, if you’ve lost a loved one, or a hero like Prine, very likely tear-inducing.

“I’m just trying to put out a good body of work that will be remembered like John’s music,” Thorn admits. “I’m trying to carry on his tradition, to keep it alive.”

Prine, the heavyweight champ at spinning humor and heartbreak into gold, would have loved this song, and this album. Maybe the lyrics he inspired will motivate someone to grab some thread and start stitching.

“Shoulda, woulda, coulda, I’ll do it someday, / Turns into time just slippin’ away. / The hour glass is runnin’ out of sand, / Life is a vapor. Let’s live it while we can.”

Even among the pantheon of music’s finest artists, Del McCoury stands alone. From the nascent sound of bluegrass that charmed hardscrabble hillbilly honkytonks, rural schoolhouse stages, and the crowning glory of the Grand Ole Opry to the present-day culture-buzz of viral videos and digital streams, Del is the living link. On primetime and late-night television talk shows, there is Del. From headlining sold-out concerts to music festivals of all genres, including one carrying his namesake, there is Del. Where audiences number in the tens of thousands, and admirers as diverse as country-rock icon Steve Earle and jamband royalty Phish count as a few among hundreds, there is Del.

Emerging from humble beginnings in York County, PA nearly eighty years ago, Del was not the likeliest of candidates for legendary status. As a teen, he was captivated by the banjo playing of one of its masters, Earl Scruggs, and decided he’d be a banjo picker, too. The Baltimore/Washington, D.C. bar scene of the early 1960s was lively and rough. Del caught a break. More than a break, really. It was an opportunity of a lifetime; joining Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in early 1963. Considered the Father of Bluegrass, Monroe transformed McCoury, moving him from the banjo to guitar, anointing him lead singer, and providing him with a priceless trove of bluegrass tutelage direct from the source.

Countless hours of recording sessions and miles of tireless touring dotted the decades. Del carried on, and carried with him the hallowed traditions of the form and its dedicated following. The passing years became certificates of authenticity. So, in the sea of grunge and R&B that dominated the music scene of the mid-1990s, it was special, perhaps even startling, to see: There was Del.

Now helming the Del McCoury Band, with sons Ronnie and Rob, the ensemble did and continues to represent in a larger, growing musical community a peerless torchbearer for the entire sweep and scope of bluegrass history. Those many years, not to mention a good-natured
willingness to stay alert to the latest sounds and opportunities around him, earned McCoury a whole new generation of fans, including some in unlikely places.

“I’m just doing what’s natural,” says Del. “When young musicians ask me what they should do I always tell them, ‘You do whatever’s inside of you. Do what you do best.’”

No surprise that contemporary, bluegrass-bred stars sang his praises; marquee names like Vince Gill and Alison Krauss (who first met Del at a bluegrass festival when she subbed for his missing fiddler). Yet, here too was rocker Earle recording and touring with the group. Here was Phish jamming onstage with the boys. Here was the band on TV, or headlining rock clubs and college campuses; the can’t-miss appearances at country and jazz festivals. There was Del.

“We don’t have a setlist,” says Del. “We try and work in the new songs, but a lot of times it’s just requests from the audience. It’s more interesting for the band, for me, and for the audience because nobody knows what’s coming next.”

Almost unimaginable, McCoury’s sixth decade in a half-century of bluegrass bliss brings new triumphs, new collaborations, and new music. With but a single change in membership in twenty seven years The Del McCoury Band shows unprecedented stability as well as garnering the respect and admiration of the industry for its unmistakable work: ten IBMA Entertainer of the Year trophies (most recently in 2024); in 2003, Del’s awarded membership in the cast of the legendary Grand Ole Opry; the band’s first Best Bluegrass Album Grammy award, in ’05, followed by a second Grammy win in 2014, (not to mention double-digit nominations).

“I know (having the same band) helped with my success. It keeps your sound constant,” says Del. “We really enjoy what we’re doing.”

The group traveled with the groundbreaking post-O Brother “Down From The Mountain” tour, and performed with Gill, recording on his Grammy-winning These Days, as well as country sensation Dierks Bentley. In addition to becoming something of a regular at the wildly popular Bonnaroo Music Festival, they’ve also curated and expanded Del’s annual namesake festival. One of the premier string-band events in the country, the multi-day, multi-stage DelFest showcases the new lions of the genre such as Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Greensky Bluegrass, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Old Crow Medicine Show, and legends like Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, and Bobby Osborne, plus a diversity of artists like Phish frontman Trey Anastasio and blues-rock veterans Gov’t Mule to Americana darlings The Wood Brothers and Rhiannon Giddens.

“DelFest is a great accomplishment,” says Del. “I never thought it would be as successful as it is.”

And, when Sony Music came calling, post-Hurricane Katrina, proposing a collaboration with New Orleans’ revered Preservation Hall Jazz Band, there was Del. If there was ever a collection of recordings confirming McCoury’s wide-ranging impact and spirit of musical comradery, it would be American Legacies. A wonderfully fulfilling cross-section of traditional bluegrass and the Dixieland pomp of New Orleans, the album typified the Del McCoury Band’s evolution from bluegrass vanguard to an American treasure.

“All music is related. Bill Monroe went to New Orleans and listened to jazz players. Earl Scruggs- some of the tunes he recorded were from New Orleans,” says Del. “It all fits together if you’re willing to be open-minded.”

And like any genuine treasure, the gifts keep coming. On their latest release, Songs of Love and Life, A glorious 15-song collection, the album follows 2021’s celebrated, Grammy-nominated release, Almost Proud, and once again features Del touching down on a diverse set of tracks–vintage and contemporary–as he and his crackerjack band nod to icons Kenny Rogers, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley, as well as welcome next-generation talent, Molly Tuttle, to the party. Across his six decades of making classic albums, Del knows what he’s looking for in a song. “I like a challenge. I’ve always liked a challenge,” says Del. “I like to learn different things. Doing the same things is boring to me.”

One listen and it’s clear as crystal. There is Del.