Rodney Crowell - Meredith Moon - Cosmic Bull
Rodney Crowell will release The Chicago Sessions on May 5, 2023, via New West Records. The 10-song set was produced by Jeff Tweedy and recorded by Tom Schick at Wilco’s Loft in Chicago. The masterful, cross-generational collaboration follows Crowell’s acclaimed 2021 album Triage. Hailed by Rolling Stone as a “country music trailblazer” and by The New York Times as an artist whose songwriting “gets better and sharper with age,” Crowell delivers an incisive, engaging collection that balances careful craftsmanship with joyful liberation at every turn. Sounding both fresh and familiar, it’s among Crowell’s very best work.
As Jeff Tweedy puts it, “The way that Rodney writes is deeply connected to a classic era of country songwriters that I’ve always loved. In my estimation, it’s as close as I can get to working with Townes Van Zandt or Felice and Boudleaux Bryant — people who crafted songs with a very specific sensibility. And I like being near that.”
This week, Crowell released the video for the album highlight “Loving You Is the Only Way to Fly.” Of the song, Crowell says, “‘Loving You Is the Only Way to Fly’ is something I wrote a while back with Sarah Buxton and Jedd Hughes, both of whom appear on the record. Jedd and I were sitting around with guitars in our hands when he started playing the basic chord pattern. I’m pretty sure the title sprang from something Ben Vaughn said to me back when we were writing ‘When Losers Rule The World,’ but I haven’t had the nerve to ask. Ben, if you read this, I wish you could’ve been there. If you feel left out, you can have my portion of the proceeds and I’ll take credit for putting Jeff Tweedy in charge of overseeing a pretty dang decent recording of the song. Much love, Rodney.”
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Growing up in a musical family is not uncommon for many emerging artists, but for Meredith Moon, living in the shadow of her father Gordon Lightfoot’s spotlight, the expectations were onerous. So for the past decade Meredith kept a low profile, taking time to develop her songwriting, avoiding the Lightfoot association, practicing and performing her songs in folk clubs and online forums incognito, wherever there was an appreciative audience to be found. And there were many.
Now signed to the acclaimed Canadian roots music label True North Records and acknowledging the marketing demands of the music industry, has resulted in the forthcoming global album release of Constellations, a 10-song collection that showcases Meredith’s unique voice and captivating lyrics, wrapped in an raw neo-traditional folk sound.
A five-Time Mariposa Folk Festival performer, hiding her lineage with the simple description as a “multi-instrumentalist songwriter,” Meredith’s songs are crafted in a true storyteller's fashion. She has been described as a 'gem' among the Old-Time music scene for her unusual expression of the genre, combining influences of folk-punk with traditional Appalachian step-rhythms and banjo.
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Hangin' in the I.P. was released back in February but deserves to be heard albeit a little late. This collection of songs that Cosmic Bull band leader Mark Vickery collaborated on with multi-instrumentalist/producer Paul Von Mertens, known for his work with Brian Wilson, Mavis Staples, Stereolab, The Sea and Cake, Broken Social Scene, and Wilco.
Hangin' in the I.P. follows a handful of singles and the 27X2 EP, all of which were released last year.
Chicago's Cosmic Bull is the latest project from scene vet Mark Vickery, whose earliest band Word Bongo played the city's top venues including Metro and Double Door. Vickery was also a live guest vocalist for Chicago mainstays Liquid Soul before joining the acid jazz/trip-hop groove collective Zo (which eventually morphed into the band Sumo), who took over Liquid Soul's popular Sunday night residency at Elbo Room.
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