Well it feels like that to us. It had been trundling along nicely here at the AC. We had some guests and occasionally we decided we’d rather just play some records we loved. Then suddenly, as if from nowhere we received news that three of the biggest names in our kind of ‘country’ were to be visiting us within a couple of weeks of each other. We will broadcast the half hour chat I had with Alison Krauss in her dressing room very soon and Steve Earle’s interview and live gig will be our pre-Christmas treat on the 16th of December. Meanwhile you can catch what happened when Ryan Adams came to Glasgow recently on tomorrow night’s show.
Ryan’s got plenty to say and has also been good enough to play us some songs. I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s all in hour two of the show this week. Did I mention I’ve got a great interview with Jim James from My Morning Jacket too?….Thought not.
Apart from all that, you say, what else have you got? We are in to the final countdown on Bob Backwards and The Times They Are a Changin’. People who half-know Bob – and that is essentially me – will know loads of songs on this record. There’s the title track, With God On Our Side, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and When The Ship Comes In. On the cover Bob looks like a share-cropper but, although the songs are still topical and disaffected, the title works on two levels. Hear Bob about to turn tomorrow night.
We have some archive material that is suitably obscure and some new records by The War on Drugs, Dave Alvin, Red Sky July and someone I’m just getting to know…Charlie Parr. If you are determined to listen to the radio this weekend remember I’ll be doing my last stint for Bob Harris on Sunday morning from midnight. Lots of great music including a live session from Cahalen Morrison and Eli West. If you’re not nocturnal you can use the break from league football to tune into Dermot O’Leary’s Radio 2 show on Saturday afternoon where I’ll be welcoming The Feeling and Jim James from My Morning Jacket. I know…it’s crazy this radio lark, but you get to meet some lovely people. It all starts Friday at five past eight on BBC Scotland.
