BONUS TRACKS: The Facts Behind a Canceled Tour, A Tribute to Greg Brown, and More

Santigold, a singer-songwriter who touches the genres of rock, hip-hop, and dance, canceled her planned “Holified” tour this week, citing obstacles to touring that have only worsened since the pandemic. “After sitting idle (not being able to do shows) for the past couple years, many of us like everyone else, earning no or little income during that time, every musician that could, rushed back out immediately when it was deemed safe to do shows,” Santi White wrote on her website. “We were met with the height of inflation — gas, tour buses, hotels, and flight costs skyrocketed — many of our tried-and-true venues unavailable due to a flooded market of artists trying to book shows in the same cities, and positive test results constantly halting schedules with devastating financial consequences. All of that on top of the already-tapped mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional resources of just having made it through the past few years. Some of us are finding ourselves simply unable to make it work.” She described herself as both sad and proud about calling off the shows, the pride coming from setting healthy boundaries and following the self-care themes on the album the tour was to support, Spirituals. Her note goes a bit deeper into the current hardships of touring, and is well worth the read. Stereogum has the full text in its article about the canceled tour.

Even our musical heroes have heroes, and Seth Avett is honoring one of his with a whole album. Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown, coming Nov. 4, will honor the iconic Iowan with 10 songs Avett chose from across Brown’s catalog and recorded in hotel rooms while on tour with The Avett Brothers. “When I heard Greg Brown’s music, it opened the door to a world of songwriting inspiration,” Avett said in a press release announcing the album. “Since then, I’ve been connecting to the arc of a man’s life and his story. It’s laid bare the simultaneous nature of the entire human experience in a way. With this record, I just hope listeners get an introduction to Greg Brown, and for anyone who can enjoy it, I hope it’s a bridge into a place that otherwise perhaps they wouldn’t have walked into.” With the announcement, Avett released its first single, “Good Morning Coffee,” which you can hear below:

I realize I’m posting this directly under a Spotify link, ahem, but some people are pulling the plug on Spotify (and other streaming services) altogether, finding that they don’t like the experience it creates for music. It can be an ethical decision for sure — streaming services don’t value artists enough to pay them fairly, so why should consumers contribute to that with their subscription dollars? But it’s also a matter, some in this Guardian article say, of too much choice, which can make songs feel expendable and can make the listening and discovery experience just plain overwhelming. Apparently, there can be too much of a good thing, even songs.

WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO

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

The War & Treaty – “Lover’s Game,” the title track from their forthcoming new album
Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra – “Going Out West”
Clint Roberts – “Jeremiah”
Radney Foster – “Nobody Wins”
Tanya Tucker – “Delta Dawn”
Early James & Sierra Ferrell – “Real Low Down Lonesome”
Autumn Nicholas – “Light”
Melissa Carper – “Ain’t a Day Goes By”
2nd Grade – Easy Listening
Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted
Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda
Jeff Rosenstock – “9/10”
Coolio – “Gangsta’s Paradise”
Mark Erelli – “You’re Gonna Wanna Remember This,” from his new album, Lay Your Darkness Down, coming in February