Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers | “THE LONG-AWAITED ALBUM”

Actor, comedian and bluegrass musician Steve Martin plans to release The Long-Awaited Album on September 22nd through Rounder Records. On his latest LP, Martin reconnects with his backing band the Steep Canyon Rangers, who previously contributed to 2011’s Rare Bird Alert, 2013’s Love Has Come for You and 2014’s Live.

Martin also unveiled his record’s lead single. “Caroline” is a banjo-slathered number that manages to be unfailingly jolly even as it dissects a brutal break-up. The song opens not long after the title character has unceremoniously dumped Martin’s narrator, and he’s still hung up on her: “Can you tell me why you left me standing in the parking structure/ Caroline, I was the almost-perfect boyfriend ever for you/ And you even said that to me one time at the Olive Garden.”

George Thorogood Returns, with a Solo Release Album

Rounder Records has announced the first-ever solo album release from legendary guitarist/vocalist George Thorogood, entitled PARTY OF ONE, which will be out on August 4. The album will feature 14 cuts of traditional blues, classics, and modern blues songs, from John Lee Hooker’s “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” to Hank Williams’ “Pictures From Life’s Other Side,” and The Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations.” The CD version of the album will also include a Robert Johnson bonus track, “Dynaflow Blues.”  Check out album preview below and order via Title Source 360.

PARTY OF ONE was produced by Grammy-winner Jim Gaines (John Lee Hooker, Luther Allison, and Stevie Ray Vaughan), who reunites with Thorogood on the debut solo project, having produced several of Thorogood’s biggest albums to date (RIDE ‘TIL I DIE, THE HARD STUFF, THE DIRTY DOZEN). The album’s primarily acoustic instrumentation – including slide, Dobro, and harmonica – is performed entirely by Thorogood, raw and stripped down, with an intimate one-on-one feel.

"Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris:An All-Star Concert Celebration" on CD/DVD/BD on November 11

For four decades, Emmylou Harris’ music has had a profound influence on countless musicians and  On November 11, 2016, Rounder will release The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris: An All-Star Concert Celebration, created and produced by Blackbird Presents. The set will be released in multiple configurations, including Blu-ray, DVD, CD, and various combo packs and is available for immediate preorder. Pre-order now through Baker & Taylor.

On January 10, 2015, a remarkable and diverse assemblage of artists, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chris Coleman, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Patty Griffin, Chris Hillman, Iron & Wine, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, Daniel Lanois, Martina McBride, the Milk Carton Kids, Buddy Miller, Conor Oberst, Herb Pedersen, Shovels & Rope, Mavis Staples, John Starling, Trampled by Turtles, Sara Watkins, Holly Williams, Lucinda Williams, Lee Ann Womack and Emmylou Harris herself gathered together at Washington, DC’s DAR Constitution Hall to honor one of the most distinctive and deeply-admired musicians of our time. The house band, led by co-musical directors Buddy Miller (guitars) and Don Was (bass), featured Sam Bush (mandolin, banjo, fiddle), Audley Freed (guitars), Fred Eltringham (drums), Matt Rollings (keyboards), Greg Leisz (pedal steel, lap steel), and Sara Watkins (fiddle, harmony vocals).

Writing in Rolling Stone, Jonathan Bernstein observed that “The breadth and variety of the evening’s lineup — scrappy and elegant, mainstream and indie, legendary and freshman — reflected the many artistic dividing lines that Harris has straddled throughout her entire career.”
songwriters, and has inspired legions of loyal fans throughout her extraordinary career.

Raffi Announces January 15 Release for "Owl Singalong" CD

For four decades, children's troubadour Raffi has been the world’s best-selling and most influential

children's entertainer, delighting successive generations of kids and their parents with his playful, exuberant personality and his irresistibly infectious songs.

Owl Singalong is the latest masterful children’s recording from Raffi, featuring 16 new songs incorporating a range of styles and a variety of instruments including strings, horns and ukulele. Raffi entertains his young fans with exuberant, infectious new tunes such as"More We Sing Together" and "Dog on the Bus," sings in Spanish on "Somos El Barco" and in French on "Dans La Forêt Lointaine.”

He pays tribute to the late folk-music icon Pete Seeger with "Garden Song" and a rollicking spoken-word rendition of the beloved African folk tale "Abiyoyo.”  The children’s voices on this album are a total delight. 

"Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon, GA" DVD/CD Set for August Release

Rounder Records has announced the release of Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon, GA on August 7, 2015. The stellar live DVD/CD captures Allman and his eight-piece solo band in a high-energy performance that was recorded on January 14, 2014 at the venerable Grand Opera House, a 1,000 seat jewel of a theatre that was built in 1884 in Macon, GA, the Middle Georgia town where it all began for the Allman Brothers Band over 40 years ago. The album features 16 tracks, made up of a varied selection of songs from the ABB catalog, tunes from Allman's solo albums and several dynamic cover songs. The DVD, the first Allman's ever released as a solo artist, will include two bonus tracks, as well as special interview segments.

"We played, lived, laughed and cried there," says Allman about Macon in the package's liner notes. "And I wrote many, many songs in that town. It's always good to play Macon, man."

Thet ABB historian and Hittin' the Note editor John Lynskey wrote the liners. They capture the emotion and historic power of the extraordinary event.  "Gregg took to the Grand Opera House stage with a group that, as he put it, 'is a real kick-ass band.' Featuring Scott Sharrard on guitar, bassist Ron Johnson, Ben Stivers on keyboards, drummer Steve Potts, Allman Brothers veteran Marc Quinones on percussion, saxophonists Jay Collins and Art Edmaiston and Dennis Marion on trumpet, these eight players plus special guest, Allman's son Devon, formed one of the best solo units Allman had fronted in years.

Shelby Lynne Set to Release 'I Can't Imagine' on May 5th

Shelby Lynne will release her 13th full-length album, and first for Rounder Records, called I Can’t Imagine, on May 5, 2015.  Said to possibly be her most beautifully crafted and intensely affecting set of songs since her landmark I Am Shelby Lynne in 2000, I Can’t Imagine is powered by Lynne’s lustrous vocal performance, indelible, illuminative songwriting, and the sympathetic, versatile playing of her top-flight band. Listen to her new song, below.

The new album includes 10 new songs written or co-written by the GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriter, I Can’t Imagine reflects an array of Lynne’s influences; from Southern soul, Crescent City R&B, and California country & western to the ardent social consciousness of precursors like Woody Guthrie and even the roots 'n' blues vocalizing of Billie Holiday, all brought into clear focus by Lynne’s keen pop sensibility.