Arlo McKinley “Stealing Dark From The Night Sky”
Things are heating up for Cincinnati-based Oh Boy Records artist Arlo McKinley, who’s got management through the Huntington/Nashville-based WhizzbangBAM (Booking and Management). McKinley’s first single off, “Stealing Dark From the Night Sky,” dropped just days before playing to a great crowd at the historic Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, the city that has birthed a bevy of country stars from The Judds to Billy Ray Cyrus.
The dark and gorgeously cinematic song that is set off with a fiddle and strings arrangement comes perfectly paired with a fresh and dusty cowboy/fairy-tale-themed animation video by Matt Reynolds (of Adult Swim). That powerful combo sets the mood and timbre for McKinley’s new album, This Mess We’re In that drops July 15. You can pre-order the album here, https://ohboy.lnk.to/ThisMessWereIn
You can watch the video:
Fair warning you won’t be able to just watch it once or twice as both the video and song sink their hooks deep into your soul.
For the record, McKinley comfortably got back into the studio saddle with producer Matt Ross-Spang (who also produced Die Midwestern) at the famed Sun Studios with a rock star backing band that included: Will Sexton, Ken Coomer, and Rick Steff.
“I’ve always heard the term “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” but I could never apply that to my life for some reason,” Arlo said in a release about the album. “Maybe it’s because I’ve always felt that I am a bit broken and could use a good fixing. I often still feel that way to be honest but I’ve learned to embrace it and to face the struggle that is growth. My new album, This Mess We’re In, out July 15 is my truth, my story and my growth that I’ve experienced since Die Midwestern. I’m beyond proud of this album which is now the second that I’ve gotten to make with my good friend that always seems to get what I’m trying do, Matt Ross-Spang. I hope you get out of these 11 songs the heart and spirit that went into making them. To quote Jody Whelan, the man that has given me the chance to make music my job I must say “what a time to be alive.”
McKinley and his band (the guys from the well-honed Cincy band, Frontier Folk Nebraska), are gearing up for some big shows this summer including Mountain Stage, Merlefest, and the just announced Oh Boy Goes to Europe, a week-long your with Kelsey Waldon, Emily Scott Robinson, Dan Reeder and Fiona Prine, emceeing some dates. McKinley also contributes a fresh set to An Evening With Healing Appalachia, a concert stream that also features Tyler Childers and Jeremy Pinnell. That fundraising concert is set for 8 p.m. Thursday, April 28 on Mandolin. Get more info at https://www.facebook.com/healingappalachia Go online at https://ohboy.com/collections/arlo-mckinley for more info on McKinley.
Charleston Ace of Bass Breaks Out With First Solo Project
One of the most in-demand musicians, Charleston bassist, John Inghram has made a name for himself the past couple decades performing regularly as bassist for the Mountain Stage Band, with WV Music Hall of Fame member, Bob Thompson (Mountain Stage), the jam band Fletcher’s Grove, as well as Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (2011 Winner of “America’s Got Talent”) and bluegrass mandolinist Johnny Staats.
Inghram, who is also assistant producer of Mountain Stage, has also toured with and/or backed up musical luminaries such as Chuck Prophet, Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon), Joshua Hedley, Catherine Russell (Steely Dan, Bowie), Roosevelt Collier, Larry Coryell, Branford Marsalis, Janis Ian, Kathy Mattea, Kris Myers (Umphrey’s Mcgee), Patrick Sweany, Christian Lopez and many more.
In recent years, Inghram has stepped up to the microphone to share his in-pocket funk and soul originals.And wisely, Inghram used the Covid time with a relaxed touir schedule to record a tasty self-titled album, John Inghram that was engineered by Bud Carroll and Justin Francis and mixed and mastered by Francis. The album features such musical all-stars as Carroll and Adam Meisterhans on guitars, Randy Gilkey and Micah Hulscher on keys, and Sam Wiseman on drums. Release date is May 13.
You can get a taste of the album’s flavor on a sizzling, slow-burning single “Palisades,” that boils up the importance of living in the moment and in the present tense.
Glide Magazine debuted the single stating: “Backed by soulful organ and jagged guitar, Inghram brings together Americana, folk-rock, and a kind of laid back 70s rock sound to make for a song that feels reflective yet forward-thinking.”
Keep up with Inghram at https://www.facebook.com/johninghrammusic/
McCourys Raise A Glass to Tom T. Hall
With a timely release on the heels of National Beer Day and ahead of festival season, the Grammy-Award winning bluegrass group, The Travelin’ McCoury’s released a spot-on cover of the late, great Olive Hill, Kentucky native Tom T. Hall’s tavern classic, “I Like Beer,” with Banjoist
Rob McCoury — self-proclaimed as Bluegrass’s unofficial #1 beer drinker — on lead vocals for the first time in Travelin’ McCourys history. Fans can stream or purchase “I Like Beer” now.
The Travelin’ McCoury’s feature two area natives, Huntington-born Alan Bartram on bass, and Greenup County, Ky., native fiddler Jason Carter, who’re in the band with brothers, Rob and Ronnie McCoury, and newest member, Cody Kilby.
The Travelin’ McCourys, who took home the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, are currently on tour, and will be backing RCA Records artist Tyler Childers at their festival, DelFest, set for Memorial Day weekend near Cumberland, Maryland. For more information please visit thetravelinmccourys.com/tour.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Salute the Songs of Bob Dylan
One of my perennially favorite bands, Americana-pioneers The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, have been cross-pollinating and preserving the American roots music scene for decades through their series of ground-breakiing Will The Circle Be Unbroken albums. The band’s newest album Dirt Does Dylan pays homage to Bob Dylan with a little help from their friends including Jason Isbell, The War & Treaty, Steve Earle, and Rosanne Cash, to name a few.
The ten-track album highlights some of the gems from Dylan’s vast catalog (including some rarities like “Country Pie,” and “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You,” with the help of three new band members: fiddle specialist Ross Holmes; singer-songwriter and bass player Jim Photoglo (who wrote one of the Dirt Band’s biggest hits, “Fishin’ in the Dark”); and Dirt Band founder Jeff Hanna’s son, the absurdly talented singer and guitarist Jaime Hanna. Produced and recorded by Ray Kennedy at Room & Board Studio in Nashville.
The first single released is a beautiful rendition of “I Shall Be Released,” which Dylan originally recorded with The Band during their infamous Basement Tapes sessions. On this version of the tune, sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell—better known as accomplished blues-rock duo Larkin Poe—lend their perfectly-blended voices and Megan’s lap steel guitar skills to the mix.
Fans can watch the band record “I Shall Be Released” in its official music video:
Pre-order or pre-save Dirt Does Dylan ahead of its May 20th release at https://orcd.co/dirtdoesdylan
The band’s closest area date is July 21 at Marietta, Ohio’s Peoples Bank Theatre. For more information on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Dirt Does Dylan, please visit nittygritty.com.
