Rhinestones, cowboys and reunions

NASHVILLE -- The AMA folks paid tribute to Glen Campbell tonight on Cannery Row, with a raucous band backing up a series of singers that drove home his fabulous career.

They did almost all of the big ones:
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
"Reason To Believe"
"Gentle on My Mind"
"Kentucky Means Paradise"
"Wichita Lineman"
"Let It Be Me"

Then Campbell came out and did "Rhinestone Cowboy," leading a sing-along. He also covered Green Day ("who I love," he said) with "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" from his new CD.

With his rosy cheeks and perma-hair, Campbell used to be a good-humored foil for The Smothers Brothers and others. But the guest musicians gave heartfelt tributes to his influence, even if he did say the Sin City band "looked more like a gang."

Later in the Mercy Lounge, Buddy Miller led a four-piece outfit that seemed utterly comfortable, although they had never played together. Early on, they did Miller's previous Song of the Year winner, "Worry Too Much."

And Miller surprised everyone by bringing out '70s soul shouter Bonnie Bramlett for two songs, including Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got a Hold on Me." On one web site, Bonnie has been called "the queen of hazel-eyed soul." Randall Bramlett was in town, too, for his own set.

It's been a great four days of music, for a pretty unbelievable price. If you love this kind of music, you owe it to yourself to check it out next year.

Meanwhile, we've found lots of acts that we can try and bring to Tampa at one of our five venues at the TBPAC.

If we do, it will be because we heard it here first.

Thank you, Nashville and the AMA. -- MichaelK

More lipstick at the AMA

NASHVILLE -- So everybody is trying to figure out what Americana is, although we ran a pretty good definition back in September of 2006.

From the Nashville paper:

Well, it's modern music that's based on American roots forms, and there are more tendencies than hard-and-fast rules. In a lot of instances, it sounds a whole lot like country. In fact, platinum country act turned platinum non-country act Dixie Chicks will compete in the "best song" category at the awards show. While country radio booted the Chicks from play lists, Americana stations continue to embrace the band. Americana is a rather amorphous genre, though, and many artists also delve beyond country into rock, folk, blues and jazz. If Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," Don Williams' "Amanda," Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" or Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" were released today, they would all be classified as Americana. And Americana is not limited to Americans: Brits Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler and Nick Lowe are always invited to the party."It's music that is coloring outside the lines, but somehow is connected to that big pool that is folk and country and storytelling and doesn't fit any particular mold," said Emmylou Harris.

But that's pretty long. Here's a simpler, funnier explanation that presenter Elizabeth Cook said from the stage at the Ryman, home to last night's Americana Honors and Awards:

"What's the difference between a folksinger and an Americana singer?"
"Lipstick."

What that means for Buddy Miller I'm not quite sure. -- MichaelK