Covering the arts, from news to personal views and personalities
Jason Evans is a seasoned veteran of Nashville, having played with country stars having and co-written popular songs.
Now Evans has returned to Florida, doing gigs with his band and aiming for music that makes fans want to “stomp those boots.” Continue reading “Seasoned in Nashville, Jason Evans aims for ‘stomp those boots’”
When news broke that Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth had been nominated for a Grammy, many people were surprised. I wasn’t. Continue reading “For Sturgill Simpson, Grammy nomination is nod to ‘real music’”
On Saturday a group of us traveled from different cities to a farm near Lake City, South Carolina, to hear The Crazy Daysies perform at the American Heritage Festival.
The weekend-long event is only a couple of years old, but organizers and vendors offer a lot of sights, sounds, and handmade crafts for guests. Continue reading “American Heritage Festival lit up the night, literally”
I first met Kent Smedley when my younger daughter Rebecca was in middle school. Transplants in Florida, we were searching for a guitar teacher. The day we found Kent was a lucky one for us. Rebecca began to study with him and results were immediate and impressive.
Rebecca is an adult now, with her own band The Crazy Daysies. She’s self-employed as a musician. Just about every time I see Kent, I thank him again for teaching and mentoring her. He was one of the keys she needed to unlock the career she dreamed about as a child.
Kent is an icon in the music community in Jacksonville. It would be impossible to estimate how many lives he has touched with music.
Now Kent and his wife Amy are facing the challenge of a lifetime with their own daughter Camie who is the mother of two little boys. Continue reading “Performers raise funds for music icon’s daughter”
Aaron Lewis, familiar to many as lead vocalist in the band Staind, is aiming for country music roots as the genre is increasingly affected by creeping pop. Lewis’ latest album, Sinner, released recently, includes the song ‘That Ain’t Country’, an ode to a style of music that is based on heritage and to some degree, geography in the sense of ties to an agrarian culture, past or present.
Lewis’ criticism of some artists who are taking the country out of country is well-placed. Continue reading “Lewis aims for country roots with ‘Sinner’”