The Decemberists have been promoting their new album entitled The King Is Dead. This song isn’t on it, but it does come from a recent KCRW session. It’s a cover of R.E.M.’s classic “Cuyahoga”, one of my personal favorites of theirs. Colin & Co. do great justice in their rendition.

The Decemberists – Cuyahoga

For you fans of Robert Zimmerman, as we are around here, you know where we will be on Tuesday, September 30th at 12 a.m. — clicking this link to listen to Bob Dylan’s newest album, Tell Tale Signs in its entirety. Dylan has been giving folks a free preview track from the album at bobdylan.com which has us all buzzing. Check out this song, “Dreamin’ of You” then check out the full preview at midnight Tuesday. See you then.

Bob Dylan – Dreamin of You

Exclusive Preview: Bob Dylan’s ‘Tell Tale Signs’ : NPR Music.

The seaport city of Boston, rich in musical tradition and heritage, has a legacy of turning out notable songwriters and musicians dating back generations. If you’re a follower of that long-standing tradition (or you happen to be one of the lucky ones who live there and get to experience it on a regular basis), you might have occasioned to stumble into places like Club Passim or The Middle East without expectation only to stumble back out deeply impressed with what you’ve just seen. This legacy has given root to Meg Hutchinson, a songwriter whose angelic voice, extraordinary lyricism and powerful delivery keeps us singing long after the music has. Ms. Hutchinson, who instantly won me over at this year’s Folk Alliance Conference, has released a new album entitled Come Up Full on Red House Records this year which, it is to be hoped, will help continue to garner her much-deserved accolades and gain a foothold of new fans.

Coming from a creative writing background helps to bolster the warmth layered throughout these twelve songs. It is a document of a woman who appears to have traveled around herself to become whole again, finding in her footsteps pieces of her personal mystery. It is a journey that this listener was able to relate to on a deep level of consciousness, making a connection in the desire to recover from the disasters laid upon us — the desire to find extraordinary beauty from ordinary things. On “Home”, she gives us reasons to count our many blessings; on the songs “Whole Bird” and “Seeing Stars”, she delights in the ironic dichotomies of what brings people together. Crit Harmon’s production values don’t ever become overbearing; they allow us to listen to and enjoy the songs in the simple way it seems they were always intended to be heard.

With Come Up Full, Ms. Hutchinson has catapulted into an upper echelon of songwriters. Seeing her placed along side names like Shawn Colvin, Natalie Merchant or Patty Griffin seems more than reasonable, ones for whom legacies and longevities seem pre-destined.

In spite of the many accolades laid upon Ms. Hutchinson and her work in this article, the simple fact that I can’t ignore is how drawn into the album I have become and, further, how I hope that others will begin to recognize her singularity as performer and songwriter.

Listen to Meg Hutchinson – “Home”
Listen to Meg Hutchinson – “Seeing Stars”

You can purchase Come Up Full on CD or Digital from Amazon by clicking here.

Rachel Ries – Hands to Water

There was an aching, a deep yearning, a soulful streaming longing in the words and in the refrain of the song and in the harmonies provided by Ariel Bolles, one whose melancholy created an immediate connection with everyone listening. Wiping tears from my face, I became instantly fascinated with who and what I had just heard so that I could share it with you.

Hailing from Chicago by way of South Dakota, Rachel’s intimately and directly powerful songwriting stems from classical training in piano, violin, viola and voice. It’s not quite folk, it’s not quite jazz, it’s not quite bluegrass and it’s not quite swing: it’s a beautiful melding of all these styles into a series of gripping and dramatic songs. With the addition of The Brawny Angels (Ariel Bolles, Alisa Rose and Adam Roszkiewicz), the simple, nuanced frameworks of her songwriting places her in a class of her own: vibrant and soaring one minute, down and diving the next. This represents the highest level of what we’re calling “indie folk” these days, and to hear and watch her is a rare and precious treat. It is as if Patsy Cline and John Prine had a terrific love child who grew up listening to Billie Holiday songs, learned to play and then unleashed their creation on the world.

I would recommend her latest album Without a Bird without reservation, and I hope that like me, hearing this song will have you longing for more. Be on the lookout for a 10″ split featuring Rachel doing country duets with Anais Mitchell on Righteous Babe Records very soon.

You can purchase Without a Bird from CD Baby (CD or MP3) by clicking here.

People are quick to make comparisons between da Costa and Conor Oberst because of the relative ages in which the two began their songwriting and performing careers. I think that the comparisons pretty much end there; where Bright Eyes is the posterized emotionally distraught poetic anti-hero of disaffected youth, da Costa’s poetry and passions lack the relative bleakness of Bright Eyes, offering the protagonist in his songs hope. In da Costa’s world, our hero’s emotional reactions to what is happening will always leave him a real chance at achieving the life and love he seeks. On his latest CD, Typical American Tragedy, we are offered a clean window into da Costa’s exceptionally complex understandings of love and hope, an unflinchingly moving portrait of a love we’re often curious how da Costa could know about at so young an age.

Regardless of why or how, the combination of spare arrangements and consistently solid songwriting place his current achievements in a class with some of our greatest American songwriters. One has to believe, upon hearing his work, that Tragedy is only the beginning for da Costa on a long string of accomplishments as a performer. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited to see where the future leads or more fortunate to have seen him so close to the beginnings. I sincerely hope and believe that ten years from now, we will all still be talking about Anthony da Costa.

Anthony da Costa – Ain’t Much of a Soldier

You can purchase Typical American Tragedy (CD or MP3′s) from CD Baby by clicking here.

We’re not sure what happened here, but we checked his pulse and the chicken was still alive as of this writing.

I really want to share a video with you to help you fully understand and embrace the classic American songwriting style and unencumbered delivery of songwriter Graham Weber, one of many young up-and-coming folk artists whose presence at Folk Alliance 2008 is everywhere. However, the obviously purposefully overpriced and spotty internet service at the Downtown Marriott (along with the cold water in the bathroom sinks and other cost-cutting signs of Marriott’s unhinged corporate greed which are not the fault of the Folk Alliance) prevent me from sharing. For now, check out this song from Weber’s newest album, The Door To The Morning.

Graham Weber will be appearing tonight at Otherlands in Memphis as part of a stellar lineup including Cory Branan, Colin Gilmore, and John August. Showtime is 7:00pm. Click here for more details.

Graham Weber – “Italian Lullaby”