Pages tagged “jim lauderdale”

MerleFest, which honors the memory of the late Merle Waston, has announced that Jim Lauderdale will serve as Honorary Chairperson of the Chris Austin Songwriting contest; entries for the contest must be received by March 4, 2007.

Lauderdale will be accompanied by a group of Nashville music industry figures to evaluate the entries; the panel will then choose three finalists for the categories of country, bluegrass, gospel and general. The finals will be at MerleFest 2007 on April 27 on the Christ Austin Stage.

For more information, click here.

Jim Lauderdale has always followed his muse wherever it moseyed. In recent years he’s collaborated with bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley and rootsy jam-band favorites Donna the Buffalo. This latest disc, a songwriting collaboration with Robert Hunter, should presumably fall somewhere in between. But despite the psychedelic baggage Robert Hunter’s association with the Grateful Dead carries, his songwriting has always been grounded in country and roots motifs (see American Beauty’s “Ripple,” “Brokedown Palace” and “Box of Rain”). So instead of creating twanging Head music, Lauderdale and Hunter have created a hickory-smoked batch of tunes that proves one of the best traditional releases of the year. Of course it doesn’t hurt that Lauderdale is one of the strongest singer/songwriters out there, investing all the considerable charms of his high, lonesome baritone behind the tunes. And he’s ably backed by some excellent bluegrass and country players, including Tim O’Brien, Bryan Sutton and Bucky Baxter. Headed For The Hills is a remarkable effort that finds striking originality in exploring some of the oldest strains of American music.