BONUS TRACKS: Good Deeds and Good Work From Amos Lee, Dolly Parton, Rhiannon Giddens, and More

Before his music career went big, Amos Lee was a teacher, and he remembers well how tough a gig that is — made even tougher amid the pandemic the past two years. In each town of his upcoming spring tour for his latest album, Dreamland (ND review), Lee is holding a “Tickets for Teachers” giveaway: The local community can nominate area teachers who have made a particular difference, and those teachers will get free tickets to Lee’s show as well as a donation of classroom supplies. Fill out the nomination form here, or nominate via social media by tagging @amoslee and using the hashtag #ALTicketsforTeachers.

Dolly Parton was honored to make the list of nominees for the 2022 induction class for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but she didn’t feel it was a good fit, and this week she publicly requested to be removed from consideration. “I don’t feel that I have earned that right,” she said in a statement posted on social media. But she left the door open for future consideration, “if I’m ever worthy,” and said the nomination has “inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock ‘n’ roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do!” Read her full statement here. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, however, on Thursday tweeted admiration for Parton and its belief that the music she has made has indeed impacted the rock genre, and it doesn’t appear to be complying her request. As this piece from The Washington Post explains, ballots have already been mailed out, so it’s up to voters, at this point, to decide what to do.

Rhiannon Giddens is hitting the road with Lucy Negro Redux, the acclaimed ballet for which she wrote the music. The ballet, which debuted in Nashville with the Nashville Ballet in 2019, begins its tour in Nashville once again, where it will be performed today through March 26. From there, the Nashville Ballet, with Giddens and Francesco Turrisi performing the music live, will head to Denver, Santa Fe, Kansas City, and Norfolk, Virginia. Read more about the ballet and see tour dates here.

Guitar maker Gibson is paying tribute to rock and roll foremother Sister Rosetta Tharpe with a cool line of merch, including, of course an anniversary edition of the Les Paul SG Tharpe frequently played. Other items in the collection (thankfully less expensive than that $6,700 guitar) include T-shirts, pennants (in partnership with Wilco favorite Oxford Pennant), a poster, a guitar strap, and a sweet vintage-style tour jacket.

We all hate Ticketmaster, or at least their fees — but what’s really up with those fees, and are they really all Ticketmaster’s fault? John Oliver took an in-depth look at the fees and more of Ticketmaster’s business model in a 20-minute segment this week on HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Come for the really interesting info, but stay for the footage of Justin Bieber falling into a hole during a concert — trust me, it’s worth it.

WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO

Here’s a sampling of the songs, albums, bands, and sounds No Depression staffers have been into this week:

William Prince and Serena Ryder – “Sing Me a Song”
Gaby Moreno – “Nobody’s Wrong,” from her new album, Alegoría, coming in April
Mipso – “Call Your Girlfriend” (Robyn cover)
Cymande – Cymande
Jeremy Ivey – Invisible Pictures
Matt Dorrien – “That Gets Me Through”
Brandy Clark – “Who I Thought I Was”
Belle and Sebastian – “If They’re Shooting at You” video, created with photographers working in Ukraine as a fundraiser for the Red Cross