Just a quick news item here.
The folks at Big Hassle have announced a release date for Patty Griffin’s upcoming gospel disc, Downtown Church, which includes collaborations with Buddy and Julie Miller, Emmylou Harris, Raul Malo, Jim Lauderdale, Shawn Colvin, Mike Farris, and Regina and Ann McCrary. Adding to the star power, the backing band includes Jay Bellerose, the fabulous Stuart Duncan, Dennis Crouch, Doug Lancio (who’s been playing with Griffin for some time), John Deaderick, Russ Pahl and others. In other words, it’s a community affair, it would seem – not unlike your average downtown church.
According to the press release, Griffin only wanted to do this record if Buddy Miller was willing to produce. Needless to say, that’s exactly what happened. It’ll include her originals (which she says she wrote after listening to a lot of Dylan), as well as her versions of gospel tunes by Hank Sr. and others. Due date is January 26, 2010.
