So you know the routine it’s Folk Monday let’s check the Folk DJ Chart and maybe the Americana Chart for a list of some new folk music. First there was an interesting name on the Americana Chart Great American Taxi, then Sarah Jarosz (a voice I’ve heard on XM Radio The Village and enjoyed), next John Wort Hannam. So with list in hand I checked out Rhapsody. They had the new Great American Taxi CD Restless Habits and the Sarah Jarosz album Song Up in Her Head, but they didn’t have the new John Wort Hannam Queen’s Hotel so I downloaded his 2004 release Dynamite and ‘Dozers and I started working and listening.
I loved the Great American Taxi album Restless Habits and will comment on that CD in a future post to give the album justice. I also liked the Jarosz album. Sarah had turned 18 only a few weeks before the debut of this album in June of 2009 and it is an amazing debut from her website here is a list of the artist who played on this album:
(in alphabetical order) her collaborators: Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Chris Eldridge, Samson Grisman, Alex Hargreaves, Byron House, Paul Kowert, Tim Lauer, Kenny Malone, Mike Marshall, Tim O’Brien, Aoife O’Donovan, Luke Reynolds, Mark Schatz, Darrell Scott, Sarah Siskind, Ben Sollee, Chris Thile, and Abigail Washburn.
Jarousz plays banjo and clamhammer banjo and has a great voice. You can read some great reviews at her website Here. I only listened to the album once today so I don’t really know my favorites but I know I’ll be listening more and you’ll hear about the tracks I like!
The next album I listened to was Dynamite and ‘Dozers by an artist I had never heard before John Wort Hannam. Until he heard a Loudon Wainwright album in 1997 and fell in love with the music and stories, Hannam taught grade 9 language arts on the largest reserve in Canada – The Kainai Nation, part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. In 1998 he bought a guitar and learned to play and by 2002 he quit teaching to pursue his dream of a music career. Since then he has released four albums and won the following awards:
2009 Grand Prize Winner – Calgary Folk Music Festival Songwriting Competition
2008 North American Folk Alliance Award Nominee
2007 Double Western Canadian Music Award Nominee
2007 New Folk Winner – Kerrville Texas New Folk Songwriting Competition
2007 Grand Prize Winner – Calgary Folk Music Festival Songwriting Competition
2005 Double Canadian Folk Music Award Nominee
2005 Western Canadian Music Award Nominee
2004 Grand Prize Winner – Calgary Folk Music Festival Songwriting Competition
The album I listened to Dynamite and ‘Dozers was his 2nd album released in 2004 and the album is full of great story songs mostly about common working class folks, miners and mechanics and even ladies of the evening “Annabelle” and a great song about a homeless couple ” The Ballad of Nellie and Joe” . I really liked the song “Dickenson’s Slough” a great song about a man wishing that the woman who left him would come back! Really there is not a bad song on this CD.
So check him out! Again as for me I am going to go listen John’s other three CDs and don’t forget Great American Taxi a good day for new friends!
Here’s John performing the opening track of the album -“Church of the Long Grass”
