I started writing the blog on Monday morning, full of hope and excitement for the Scotland game. Fortunately I’m old and have learned to pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again. As I remind my family and friends too, supporting a team like Dundee United has given me all the grounding I need in learning to live with disappointment.
There are some things we can rely on however, and as ever, country music will provide us all with any consolation we might be requiring. I knew too that we had something rather special in the can for this week’s show. We have long been fans of all three Pistol Annies on the AC. You will remember previous sessions and conversations with Angaleena Presley (Holler Annie) and a week rarely goes by without a song from Miranda Lambert (Lonestar Annie). However, on this week’s show we’ll be hearing from Hippie Annie, the third member of the trio, Ashley Monroe.
‘I don’t want a hint of sadness,’ was the agenda Ashley set out for making her new album. You can understand why too. Rosegold is the first new record by Ashley since she gave birth to her son, Dalton, three years ago.
On this week’s Another Country we will play out a conversation I recorded with Ashley a few weeks ago just as the album came out. It’s a lovely listen and if it’s any kind of genre it’s a summer record. There’s sunshine pouring in through every space on this album and it works perfectly. Sure, it’s like so many records that come out of Nashville in that it adheres to the rule that artists, who are mainly songwriters first, enjoy collaborating with other writers. But, in this case, Ashley has departed from her normal template and palate of instrumentation to make a very interesting, fresh and often blissed out record. Judge for yourselves on this week’s show, when you can hear Ashley’s album and her take on it.
Elsewhere there’s new music from Teddy Thompson and Jenni Muldaur doing Porter and Dolly, Chris Stapleton being brilliant on the CMT’s, Nashville’s new star, Lily Rose as well as Jack Francis.
I am delighted to say we won’t be on air next Tuesday evening, as correctly, we’ll all be watching the games. I know that many of you will be as keen to watch England as Scotland but you probably know by now who I’ll be supporting. It wouldn’t be fair not to send out a little greeting to any listeners we have from Wales too. Good luck to all of us!
Either way, as the great Michael Marra often reminded us in song, ‘Win lose or draw, you get home to your bed just the same.’ See you on the other side. Meanwhile we will be on BBC Radio Scotland this Tuesday at five past eight or any time of your choosing on BBC Sounds.
