BILLY BRAGG: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY GETS NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION
Earlier this year, British folk-rock icon Billy Bragg announced the October publication of his latest book, Billy Bragg: A People’s History, in partnership with U.K. publishing house Spenwood Books. Bragg recently announced that the book now has North American distribution through Illinois-based Continental Sales Inc., and Bragg suggested that those interested should ask their local bookstore to order copies from Continental Sales via the email address prazur@wybel.com.
Billy Bragg: A People’s History is an oral history of the British singer-songwriter and political activist in the words of people who have been moved by his music. Containing fan memories of seeing Billy in concert, on a demonstration or on TV, it is the story of the Bard of Barking as it’s never been told before. With memorabilia from Billy’s personal archive and contributions from the man himself, the book spans Billy’s career in music, from his days with the punk-inspired Riff Raff through to the present day, and includes anecdotes from fans, friends and collaborators as well as Billy’s reflections on his career.
Running to almost 600 pages, the book comes with over 50 contributions from Billy and contains the memories of over 700 fans, friends and collaborators from across his career. Contributors include Juliet Wills, Chris Packham, Wiggy, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Cara Tivey, Dave Woodhead, Grant Showbiz, Neil Spencer, Martin Goldschmidt (Cooking Vinyl), Sid Griffin (Long Ryders), Nora Guthrie and Jamie Webster, with an introduction by Phill ‘Porky the Poet’ Jupitus.
Here’s a fan-shot video of Billy at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver from his most recent North American tour last fall.
JONATHAN RICHMAN ANNOUNCES CANADIAN TOUR DATES
Legendary folk-punk iconoclast Jonathan Richman just released his 18th studio album Only Frozen Sky Anyway, and as part of the tour to support it, he’s announced the following Canadian dates:
07 Oct / Calgary AB @ Royal Canadian Legion No.1
08 Oct / Edmonton AB @ Myer Horowitz Theatre
09 Oct / Saskatoon SK @ Roxy Theatre
11 Oct / Winnipeg MB @ West End Cultural Centre
01 Nov / Dartmouth NS @ Alderney Landing Theatre
On Only Frozen Sky Anyway, Richman collaborates with longtime percussionist Tommy Larkins and his former Modern Lovers band mate Jerry Harrison, continuing to inject his lyrical wit into indie rock in a fashion he has perfected over the decades.
The album finds Richman traipsing through acoustic styles effortlessly from track to track. Talking about the Spanish-inflected “Se Va Pa’volver,” which captures the album’s thematic thread of departures and returns, Richman said in a press release, “Like many of the songs on this new record, which either existed in a vague, skeletal form or did not at all before we started recording on January 5th of ’25 (and finished by January 10th), this song fits in with the theme that seems to have taken shape during that recording session. The song is about how our friends are leaving, in their dying, on an errand, only to return in another role… with another mission. How do I dare say such a thing? Oh…I don’t know.”
Only A Frozen Sky Anyway is out via Blue Arrow Records and can be purchased from Bandcamp.
FARM AID ANNOUNCES 40TH ANNIVERSARY LINEUP
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the annual Farm Aid concert to benefit the non-profit organization of the same name that administers funds to bolster a North American family farm-based agricultural system. This year’s event is set to take place Sept. 20 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at Huntington Bank Stadium. Tickets are on sale now at farmaid40.org.
Along with Farm Aid figureheads Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, this year’s lineup includes Margo Price, Billy Strings, Steve Earle, Nathaniel Rateliff, Kenny Chesney, Wynonna Judd, and others.
Legend has it that the idea for Farm Aid came from an off-hand remark Bob Dylan made on stage during the 1985 Live Aid concert, saying that along with donating money for African famine relief, money should also be donated to struggling American family farmers. The inaugural Farm Aid concert was quickly arranged a few months after Live Aid in Champaign, Illinois, and since then the organization has reported raised more than $80 million.
Commenting in a statement on this year’s lineup, Farm Aid co-executive director Jennifer Fahy said, “We’re excited to have Kenny Chesney back on the Farm Aid stage this year. He’s one of many artists who have returned to Farm Aid, generously donating their travel and performances to raise awareness about the family farmers who grow good food for all of us. Kenny’s appearance, along with the addition of music legends Wynonna Judd and Steve Earle, will make this an unforgettable anniversary event.”
STEVE EARLE AND RECKLESS KELLY TEAM UP FOR “BAD GIRLS”
Speaking of Mr. Earle, we’re a couple week’s late in sharing his new single “Bad Girls,” made in collaboration with the prolific Austin, Texas-based band Reckless Kelly. It’s the first of two tracks they recorded together that will reportedly be released, made after a run of joint live dates. The simple melodic structure and direct message of “Bad Girls” hearkens back to Earle’s classic 1980s sound.
Earle explained in a press release, “Playing these shows together the last couple of summers has been such a blast, we just thought it needed to be documented in the studio.”
Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly added, “In 2004, we recorded two tracks with Steve at his and Ray Kennedy’s studio in Nashville for tribute albums honoring Warren Zevon and Alejandro Escovedo. We had a great time and hoped to do it again someday. Here we are, 21 years later, doing just that.”
“Bad Girls” is available now on all streaming platforms.
MONTREAL COUNTRY MUSIC FIXTURE JEANNIE ARSENAULT PASSES AWAY
We here at Roots Music Canada would like to express our deepest sympathies over the passing of Jeannie Arsenault, a beloved figure within Montreal’s country music scene, and longtime host of The Wheel Club’s weekly Hillbilly Night. The Monday night tradition began in 1966 as a singalong hosted by Bob Fuller at the Blue Angel bar, before migrating to The Wheel Club during the mid-Nineties.
Arsenault had been a part of it since 1974, and took over from Fuller as host, singing classic songs and mentoring generations of Montreal country musicians. In order to perform on Hillbilly Night, participants famously had to stick to her rules of only using acoustic instruments, and not playing any songs written after 1969.
Montreal singer/songwriter Ben Vallee (also a member of Steel Saddle) posted on Instagram July 29: “Montreal’s country music scene suffered a big loss last night with the passing of Jeannie Arsenault. I’ll miss singing Ray Price songs together and calling her up to see how she was doing whenever I was away on tour. I’ll also miss getting Canadian country music gossip from 50 years ago.”
There’s no word yet on the future of Hillbilly Night, but in a 2020 Montreal Gazette article, Arsensault said, “Sometimes people are mad that they can’t play newer songs, but I tell them, ‘We’ve been doing this for a long time – why change things now?'”
