Roots music choices from No Depression readers and BGS staff

On 12 Dec. the BIB reported that no bluegrass or old-time albums are among the 'twenty-two Best Southern albums of 2022' listed by the Bitter Southerner online magazine. The balance has now been somewhat redressed by the results of the 'No Depression 50 Favorite Roots Music Albums of 2022' poll, in which over 4,000 readers voted; Billy Strings's Me and Dad came in at third place, Molly Tuttle's Crooked tree at fourth, and other musically related recordings appear further down the list.

The latest Weekly Dispatch, issued by the Bluegrass Situation (BGS), is entitled 'Christmas time's a-comin'', and opens with a video (also on YouTube) of the Del McCoury Band singing the Tex Logan classic, as part of the BGS 'Del in December' series of features. It continues with a staff article featuring the ten top videos from the 'Sitch Sessions' series over the past ten years, opening with 'Burn them' by Greensky Bluegrass, the most popular video the BGS has ever presented. However, the video which is 'probably' the BGS staff's all-time favourite is of Tim O'Brien singing 'You were on my mind' with banjo (and the one your editor most enjoys hearing and watching shows the Earls of Leicester doing 'The train that carried my girl from town').

The feature ends with a link to another - Justin Hiltner's choice of 'Eight of our favourite underrated Sitch Sessions', which includes a link to a further video (also on YouTube) of Alice Gerrard singing 'Bear me away', unaccompanied.

© Richard Hawkins