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.

Hailing from the music-rich town of Halifax, Nova Scotia, songwriter Joel Plaskett has been through multiple incarnations as a songwriter and a performer. As a member of ’90s alt-rock band Thrush Hermit, Plaskett first came to Memphis to record the band’s Elektra Records release, Sweet Homewrecker, at the original Easley Recording Services. Returning to Memphis proved to be a bittersweet yet joyous homecoming for Plaskett; Easley Recording Services burned down a few years ago, but Plaskett had the good fortune to record a couple of tracks at Doug Easley’s newly-built (and just opening) recording studio while he was in town for the Folk Alliance 2008.

Joel’s newest album, La De Da is full of quirky songwriting gems and gently skewed observations that provoke conversation as they invoke singalongs. This song, “Love This Town”, was enamored by everyone who heard it at Folk Alliance 2008 including your author. Enjoy.

Joel Plaskett – “Love This Town”

You can purchase La De Da from CD Baby (CD or MP3) by clicking here.

Click here for more pictures from Folk Alliance 2008

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

Even 40 years later, it’s as if time stood still when you hear them. These guys were so good, it made everyone in the audience fahrklempt. If you love indie pop or folk pop, you owe it to yourself to see Chad & Jeremy performing live in a city near you, and here’s the proof.

Listen to Chad & Jeremy – A Summer Song

You can purchase Chad & Jeremy’s Greatest Hits from Amazon.Com

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”

Young, highly original, depth-laden songwriters, including John Elliott and Raina Rose (above) are everywhere at Folk Alliance 2008.

There is a good natured sense of community everywhere you turn at the Folk Alliance Conference. The first thing you notice is the lack of artifice or self-consciousness present in performers here compared to other music conferences of its kind. Critics of folk music and its followers tend to focus on how it lacks the trappings of celebrity, youth and glamor that they believe is a necessary ingredient to the creation of great music. One look around this group of musicians of all ages, levels of success in the music industry and senses of style who have traveled from all over the world to be in Memphis cause such criticisms to grow meaningless. Youth is well represented here, and the dynamics of the performers whom I witnessed on opening night have the kind of talent that overshadow the bloated world of hipster saddlebags searching for an identity in music that lacks this level skill or foundation seen here.

If you’re reading and will want to remember who the emerging artists are, you should start a list which includes the consistently notable Cory Branan, 17-year-old wunderkind Anthony da Costa, the belle of Portland and Austin Ms. Raina Rose, and a young songwriter named John Elliott whose gripping stream-of-consciousness songwriting is the most compelling thing I’ve heard since Bright Eyes himself.

I’ll keep giving updates on a daily basis, but here’s some photos from the first night to give you an idea.

Betty Soo and Will Sexton

Giant Bear

John Elliott, Anthony Da Costa and Raina Rose

John Elliott, Raina Rose and Anthony Da Costa

Cory Branan

You can view all the photos from Folk Alliance 2008 as they are added by clicking here.

The window of opportunity for master musicians and legends of the craft to come together with a forward-moving, fast-coming younger generation of folk artists closes a little bit more each year. I hope you’ll be able to come and enjoy some of the wonderful performances, spend one-on-one time with these folks and enjoy the great music.

The 2008 Folk Alliance Conference will be taking place here in Memphis from February 20th thru the 24th, and I hope you’re planning on attending. Last year’s attendees are making a splash everywhere, from movie soundtracks (attendees Alvin Youngblood Hart and Carolina Chocolate Drops are featured in the soundtrack to the movie The Great Debaters) to concert venues and festivals around the world. Of all the music conferences happening in the U.S. today, none is more vibrant, exciting, eclectic, or more reflective of the wide reaches of creative power than the Folk Alliance conference.

This month, Loudersoft will be highlighting songs by artists who will be attending the festival. Stay Tuned.