BONUS TRACKS: Robert Earl Keen’s Touring Road Comes to An End

I think we all secretly hoped he’d reconsider, but Robert Earl Keen really did say farewell to the road forever last weekend after a final show at Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, Texas. As he announced back in January, he’s done with touring but plans to continue writing songs and interviewing fellow artists for his Americana Podcast. It was a bumpy ride to the finish line, with back problems that required medication he turned out to be allergic to, band members sidelined by injuries, and even a bus fire in New Orleans. Even at his very last show on Sunday, there was a power issue onstage after he was introduced, and the show was on awkward pause for half an hour. But in all those cases, the music remained the main event, and Keen took the stage in good humor and good voice. Read all about his final performances, including some special guests, in this write-up from Rolling Stone.

Wheelchair users at Lollapalooza (photo by TJ Hayes via Accessible Festivals)

Accessible Festivals, a nonprofit that advocates for accessibility in live music events and produces the annual sensory-friendly Inclusion Festival, has launched the Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Program to provide free tickets for disabled music fans to concerts, festivals, and conventions. The program, named for one of the first accessibility consultants in the music industry, is now accepting applications for free entry to Lollapalooza, Stagecoach, Moon River, Austin City Limits Festival, and several other events, all of which have committed to serving disabled attendees in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and beyond. For info or to nominate someone or apply for the ticket program, visit Accessible Festivals’ website.

The #HereForTheMusic sexual violence prevention program has received a grant from Plus 1 x Spotify USA to bring free anti-harassment training and consultation sessions to independent venues and events this fall. Online workshops are available nationwide, and in-person training will take place in New York City, Austin, and Tampa, Florida. The program, a partnership between the National Independent Venue Foundation and Association and Calling All Crows, is aimed at helping staff at live music events identify, prevent, and disrupt harmful behaviors. Find out more about the program’s offerings here.

We Americans might know Queen Elizabeth II better from pop culture than we do from the real deal. To mark the queen’s passing yesterday, Rolling Stone collected 18 times Her Majesty was portrayed in music, movies, and TV, including that unlisted track on The Beatles’ Abbey Road, The Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen,” and her actual appearance with Daniel Craig’s James Bond in a video promoting the 2012 Olympic Games in London. With a 70-year reign that coincided with the rise of television and the internet, she offered plenty of material, for better or worse, but this week she was remembered kindly by many of music’s biggest stars (mostly the British ones), including Elton John, The Rolling Stones, and Ozzy Osbourne, whose tweets reacting to news of her death are compiled in this article from Billboard.

WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO

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

Blind Boys of Alabama with Black Violin and Marcus King – “The Message”
Mya Byrne – “Autumn Sun”
Tommy Prine – “Ships in the Harbor”
Mali Obomsawin – “Odana,” from her new album, Sweet Tooth, coming in October
Barefoot Movement – “Outlander Medley,” a cover of the TV show’s opening theme to benefit Soles4Souls
Will Stewart – “Nothing’s Right”
Plains (Waxahatchee & Jess Williamson) – “Abilene,” from their new album, I Walked with You a Ways, coming in October
Lindsay Lou – “Don’t Go Back”
Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti
The Twilight Sad – Nobody Wants to Be Here & Nobody Wants to Leave
Mary Bragg feat. Caroline Spence – “Hard Time,” from Bragg’s new, self-titled album coming Sept. 30
Bratmobile – Pottymouth
Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
Tyler Childers – “Angel Band (Jubilee Version)” (ND story)