April Is Gone....Let's Just Do Music

Some good stuff to ooze you into Autumn...From St. Kilda....

Let’s just talk about music as April 2026 fades into the mist. As I mentioned at the start of the year, I was going to be listening to older releases and visiting old friends who have been gathering dust in the crates of records scattered in my mind.

I took a detour this past month. I did do a deep dive into all the Subdudes releases, best of in my opinion, setlist is enclosed here for your listening pleasure. My detour was into New Releses for 2026. They were like candy sitting in a drawer, like that sweet treat you bought for later on, I just had to bite into some of these morsels now.

What did I find? In no particualr order, here are some I think you should check out.

https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/61737724 This is the Qobuz Playist link and the Evil Spotify List is below…

1-Johnny Blue Skies and The Dark Clouds-Mutiny After Midnight-Sturgill Simpson has created another masterpiece. It’s a country, disco, political firestorm. Just turn it up. Oh yeah, you will have to track it down on You Tube or buy a physical copy as he is not streaming it ….yet.

2-Cash Savage and The Last Drinks With Kutcha Edwards-Live At The Forum II-This combination of this proud Aboriginal man and his voice and words with one of the best Melbourne rock bands is the best live Australian album of the year. Hands down. Having seen them perform a handful of songs in April for Kutcha’s 60th birthday bash I am glad to have this collection to remind me of their musical powers.

3-William Crighton-Colonial Drift-This is an Australian Album the world should get to know. This album is about humanity. This album is about country. This album should be heard by all of us here on this land. This planet. And how Aussie is that album cover….Hills Hoist and all.

4-Melissa Carper and Theo Lawrence-Havin’ A Talk-Texas-based Nebraskan born bassist and singer Carper and Paris-born Texas-based Lawrence get together for a musical conversation. Charming duets from this lovely musical duo.

5-Band Of Heathens- Country Sides-25 years plus and this band leans into what they do best. Soulful, country, like a well-worn flannel shirt. Comfy, warm and just like grits, beans and cornbread.

6-Neba Solo and Benego Diakité - A Djinn And A Hunter Went Walking (The Complete Sessions-The CD version of A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking comprises two discs from Neba Solo and Diakité, the leading players of their traditional Malian instruments the marimba-like balafon, or bala, and donso n’goni, a hunter’s harp. On disc one, their acoustic instrumentals are complemented by vocals and percussion as well as touches of mellotron, guitar, and strings; the second disc features their original duo performances, unadorned, recorded in a Bamako garden under a mango tree. They started after the sun went down, and crickets can be heard chirping during the quiet moments.(from birdland.com.au)

7-Lil Ed and The Blues Imperials-Slideways-Ed has been playing the slide for almost 50 years, and that is one hell of a career. This is his first record in a decade and it’s damn near perfect. Get slideways.

8-Ry Cooder and David Lindley-Electric on The Eel (1990)-Cooder and Lindley. I was lucky enough to see them share a stage, with thousands of other NOLA Jazz ffetival peeps in 1994. Booby King and Terry Evans joined them. Earlier in the day, I was also there to see Ry Cooder with Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure. Please note, these two dudes can play…as if you did not know.

9-Tony Trischka-Earl Jam 2-Tony Trischka’s Earl Jam 2 revives rare Earl Scruggs–John Hartford home recordings with fresh energy and faithful precision. Joined by stars like Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Del McCoury, Sierra Ferrell, The SteelDrivers, the Gibson Brothers, and Sister Sadie, Trischka transforms these fifteen tunes into a vibrant celebration of Scruggs’ legacy and the living spirit of bluegrass.(bandcamp)

I have been listening to Tony for as long as I can recall bluegrass.

10-Parlour Greens-Emeralds-Tim Carman (Canyon Lights, formerly of GA-20) on drums, Jimmy James (True Loves) on guitar, and Adam Scone (Scone Cash Players, The Sugarman 3) on organ. Seasoned and soulful pros coming together to make infectiously funky instrumental jams. Get Green!

11-Laura Chavez-My Voice-Chavez has always been a joy to see live. Here she is with hr first solo record, and you get a good taste of her voice, her guitar. Enjoy the instrumentals. Love what she has done to “So Long, Baby, Goodbye” orignally recorded by The Blasters.

12-Imarhan-Essam-Algerian Tuareg desert rock music. There 4th release. This music soothes my soul.

13-Tinariwen-Hoggar-The pioneers of the desert blues scene. It resonates through my heart and soul….

There are some other odds and ends on this playlist. Enjoy.

And my Grateful Dead listening this month was from this 9-concert collection.

11 April 1978 Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia-Betty recording, but the energy is not grabbing me. Might revisit this box set another time…as there are more gems to listen to.

Wilco Roadcase Live Recording, Austin, 5 December 2024-You can download this from https://wilcostore.com/collections/roadcase for a slight fee. I have quite a few of these Soundboard recordings….this one is A++

Wilco Roadcase Live Recording # 77-From the Solid Sound Festival….another joyous night with Wilco.

Wilco Roadcase gigs can be purchased here:
https://wilcostore.com/collections/roadcase Someday I’d love to hear them all….but my pockets are not that deep….I do have a bunch that I purchased….some shows I have been to…even my first Wilco show at The Enmore in Sydney, which is a cherished recording….and moment in time. Jeff Tweedy | Starship Casual

I also spent a portion of April listening to the entire output of The subdudes. Hailing from N’awlins, I became a fan after witnessing them a few decades ago at the NOLA Jazz Festival.

IF you dig Los Lobos, The Neville Brothers and Little Feat, you will dig this playlist.

https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/61986516 Here is the Qobuz link….

Someday when Qobuz allows me to embed playlists I will stop Spotify. You should leave Spotify too. Qobuz pays artists more moola.

Who knew he was a Phish fan?