CMT Blog: Jerry Douglas

John Fogerty's surprise showcase during the Americana Music Festival turned out to be my favorite set of the festival but it frustrated a lot of other people at Nashville event. With his intimate two-hour set on Wednesday night (Sept. 16), some people complained that he drew people away from up-and-coming artists on the other stages around town. So, in order to spread the love around, let me tell you about some of the other cool shows covering the wide musical spectrum of Americana.

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In the last decade, Bryan Sutton has emerged as one of the most sought-after guitarists in Nashville. Originally from Asheville, N.C., Sutton has toured with the Dixie Chicks and Ricky Skaggs, but for the most part he makes a living as a session player. After all, his picking is fast and clear, and he's well-versed in country and bluegrass music. And like a lot of professional musicians, he spends his free time on ... music. Indeed, some of the most talented musicians in the city -- heck, the world -- can be found just hanging out at house parties, picking away with their friends. These gatherings are rarely captured for posterity so it's a real treat to listen to Sutton's new album, Almost Live, recorded with his pals in an effort to catch the atmosphere of a hot jam session.

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As the sun rose on the Summer Solstice, high above the festival grounds, I was busy celebrating the birth of the season with a ridiculously late lie-in. I'd jammed the night before until 7 a.m. with some of the finest acoustic musicians in the world, and only got back to my bed by 9 a.m., dishevelled and exhausted. That's why I'm unable to tell you how Mike Farris did. The same for WPA (featuring Glen Phillips and Sara Watkins), the SteelDrivers and Todd Snider. Is this why I'm a musician and not a journalist ... ? I'll leave it to Tim O'Brien, who gave Farris the award for Most Effective Use of Three Chords. He also raved about the SteelDrivers (listen to Lee Ann Womack's version of "Either Way" for Chris Stapleton's amazing vocals) and WPA. Tim himself gave an exquisite set, armed with Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Bryan Sutton on guitar and Dennis Crouch on bass -- a real master class in singing, playing and writing.

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Drop a bluegrass festival in one of the most stunningly beautiful environments in the country and you better get some great acts to do it justice. So how do you choose two musicians to kick off the party? Why not Tim O'Brien and Jerry Douglas? Tim can do no wrong -- not for me, and not for the thousands of people who watched his festival opening set with Jerry. If he was any more relaxed onstage he'd take a nap (I've seen him do that actually), and as they ripped into "Times in Life," you could feel the Telluride crowd collectively let out a sigh of relief as all their troubles floated up to the mountain top. Singing a collection of originals and folk tunes, Tim announced that by then he had lyrically already killed two women and made love to one - and he hoped to restore the balance before the end of the set!

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I've only been to MerleFest one time, back in 2006, and I wish I was hanging out there this weekend. Held at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C., the festival offers 14 stages and thousands upon thousands of people. But because the campus is so large, I never felt cramped and I don't remember waiting in any super-long lines, which is a blessing at music festivals. I also like how most up-and-coming artists play several times throughout the four-day festival. So if you miss North Carolina's own Tift Merritt tonight, don't worry -- she'll be hanging around all weekend. Other cool artists on this year's lineup include Blue Highway, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Travis Tritt, the Greencards, Emmylou Harris, Jim Lauderdale, the Del McCoury Band, Linda Ronstadt, the SteelDrivers, and of course, Doc Watson, who named the festival after his son, Merle Watson. If you go, please let me know how it was, and hopefully I'll see you there next year.

Photo credit: MerleFest

From the moment Vince Gill was introduced last night (Feb. 24) at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as "country's favorite knucklehead," he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand with a mix of humor and stellar musicianship. This was the last of his artist-in-residency shows at the Hall, a program that has previously honored Cowboy Jack Clement, Earl Scruggs, Tom T. Hall, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson and Jerry Douglas, and Gill intended to make the best of it with a three-hour performance that featured jokes and guest appearances.

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Whether you're an aspiring producer or a curious fan, the Music Producers Institute (MPI) offers an up-close look at how a recording session works. Classes are led by Steve Fishell, a former executive at Sugar Hill Records who has produced folks like Emmylou Harris and Pam Tillis. However, on the day I sat in on a session, Fishell stepped into the background and let the students watch former Mavericks frontman Raul Malo in action. The sessions were held in Sound Emporium, home to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, as well as Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand.

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I'm always eager to dig into a new bluegrass album, especially from perennial favorites like Rhonda Vincent, Blue Highway and Dan Tyminski. And if you haven't heard new bands like the SteelDrivers and the Infamous Stringdusters, I heartily recommend them. Here are some of my favorite bluegrass songs from 2008, with some folk tunes thrown into the playlist for good measure.

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Jerry Douglas figured he'd shoot for the moon when he realized that he could bring whoever he wanted during his four concerts at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. So his first call was to Garth Brooks -- who immediately accepted. So did Trisha Yearwood. And their appearance together Tuesday night (Sept. 30) at the museum's Ford Theater was one of the best-kept secrets in town. After playing a handful of familiar songs, backed by an incredibly talented band, Douglas exclaimed, "It's just like karaoke with the real people!"

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When Levon Helm's friends showed up Wednesday night (Sept. 17) in downtown Nashville for his concert at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, his admirers onstage included Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, Delbert McClinton, Billy Bob Thornton, Buddy Miller and Sam Bush. Oh, and two people from the audience -- Steve Earle and Allison Moorer -- also climbed onstage to help close the show. It was the kickoff for the Americana Music Festival and Conference that's taking place here this week.

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