Margo Price thinks you should grab the vinyl reissue of Ween's 12 Golden Country Greats on the double!
Writes Margo...
"WEEN makes better country records than half the clowns in this this town 🤡 best pick up “12 Golden Country Greats” on vinyl if you know what’s good for ya!"
Get a copy of Ween's 12 Golden Country Greats (Deluxe Edtion) and/or their Golden Wastes EP right here: https://linktr.ee/weeninfo. Preview the deluxe edition of 12 Golden Country Greats followed by an interview with Dean & Gene and a performance in Nashville from 1998.
Watch Margo Price's video for "Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down" off her forthcoming album, Hard Headed Woman.
Margo Price's Hard Headed Woman album out August 29
Hard Headed Woman marks the first album that Price has made in Nashville, a town she has called home for more than 20 years, and vitally helped to transform, creating a lane where independent and insurgent country music can exist and thrive alongside the mainstream. Performed in the same room where late friends like John Prine and Loretta Lynn have all cut records, Hard Headed Woman looks forward and back, as it places her amongst her heroes as part of a new legacy. But this is country music as only Margo Price can make it: free of rules, cherishing tradition, hard-headed with a delicate heart.
“I always hope to do like Johnny Cash did, which is speak up for the common man and woman. But there have been so many threats and anger and vitriol over the years, when I am only coming from a place of love. So I made the decision to rebuild everything from the ground up. I hope this album inspires people to be fearless and take chances and just be unabashedly themselves, in a culture that tries as hard as it can to beat us into all being the same.”
-Margo Price
Watch the video for "Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down" along with a performance of the song following the track listing below. You can pre-order Margo's Hard Headed Woman album via your platform of choice right here.
Hard Headed Woman – Margo Price
1. Prelude {Hard Headed Woman}
2. Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down
3. Red Eye Flight
4. Don’t Wake Me Up
5. Close To You
6. Nowhere Is Where
7. Losing Streak
8. I Just Don’t Give A Damn
9. Keep a Picture
10. Love Me Like You Used To Do
11. Wild At Heart
12. Kissing You Goodbye
LINKS
Margo Price discusses the origin of the song: here
Margo's stylish new "Red-Tail Hawk" model Gibson acoustic is an enhanced version of her regular player mid-60s J-45.
Here's the scoop on Margo's signature Gibson J-45 "Red-Tail Hawk"...
The music of multiple award-winning artist Margo Price transcends the boundaries of traditional country, Americana, and classic rock, and her Gibson J-45™ acoustic has always been by her side during her rise as a top country artist. Gibson Custom’s Margo Price J-45 embodies the spirit, vision, and talent that has driven Margo to stardom and continues the nature-themed model tradition of Gibson.
The Margo Price J-45 was inspired by her mid-60s J-45, a guitar she’s called “my main baby; my guitar I play all the time.” The Margo Price J-45 features a slightly thinner mahogany body with a red spruce top with traditional hand-scalloped advanced X-bracing, a mahogany neck with a Rounded profile and rosewood fretboard, and Grover® strap tuners with white buttons. The nut and saddle are bone, and the bridge pins are TUSQ®. The Margo Price J-45 also comes equipped with L.R. Baggs™ electronics, so it’s studio and stage-ready right out of the included hardshell case.
Margo was also inspired by red-tailed hawks, which feature prominently on the distinctive double 50s-style pickguards of her new signature guitar. As Margo says, “Red-tailed hawks have always been symbolistic to me. I see them everywhere, and I always have, as they are common all over the United States, but to me, they are otherworldly, and they always come to me in my time of need with messages of strength and perseverance.
"Red, as a colour, relates to love, passion, and even anger, matters that we typically would associate with the heart, but if you look closely, the ends of the feathers are dipped in white, and the bird itself has a spiritual nature to them. When I’m on long road trips, I look out the window and count them alongside the highway. They pass over me at the most kismet times, reminding me to find strength in my vulnerability and to open up and connect to those around me. I hope this guitar will remind those who play it these lessons as well.” For more on Margo's signature Gibson J-45, visit the Gibson site right here and watch the clip. Catch Margo on tour – starting with an appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 3 – see dates below and get tickets right here: https://www.margoprice.net/tour.
Margo Price on tour
MAY 3 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - New Orleans, LA
JUNE 18 Scala - London, United Kingdom
JUNE 20 Holland International Blues Festival - Grolloo, Netherlands
JUNE 21 Azkena Rock Festival - Vitoria-Gasteiz, PV
JUNE 28 Blue Ox Music Festival - Eau Claire, WI
JULY 27 Newport Folk Festival - Newport, RI
JULY 29 Coastal Credit Union Music Park - Raleigh, NC with Mumford & Sons
JULY 31 The Orion Amphitheater - Huntsville, AL with Mumford & Sons
AUG 1 The Orion Amphitheater - Huntsville, AL with Mumford & Sons
AUG 3 Back Cove Music & Arts Festival - Portland, ME
SEP 13 Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO with Greensky Bluegrass
Better 4 years late than never, Sub Pop just released Like Someone I Know, a multi-artist reimagining of the late Margo Guryan's fab Take A Picture album.
Here's the scoop...
Most of our stories about cult musicians who make an album or two and then seem to vanish are framed by grief, despair, and frayed ambition. Not so with Margo Guryan, an ardent jazz anomaly who disdained pop music until hearing “God Only Knows” in 1966, opening a window onto the wonders that form could contain.
Only two years later, she released her own set of little pop symphonies, Take a Picture, to great praise and expectation. But, having already divorced the hard-gigging valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, she declined to tour or even talk about it all that much, content even if her reticence meant Take a Picture was soon consigned to discount racks and cutout bins. She wrote and recorded for years to come, even collaborating with Neil Diamond’s band, but mostly she seemed satisfied by her relatively private life.
As befits music so stunning and subtle, Guryan, who died in 2021, has enjoyed several renaissances during the last six decades. And now, it’s happening again: Soon after her near-whispered and lovelorn hymn “Why Do I Cry” made her a TikTok star in 2021, the same year she passed, Numero Group launched a reissue campaign, resulting in the acclaimed 2024 set, Words and Music. And now, a dozen artists—none of whom were born when Take a Picture was made, most of whom weren’t even born for a crucial early reissue by Franklin Castle—have reinterpreted and reimagined that entire album (plus one bonus track) for Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan. Empress Of, Margo Price, Clairo, June McDoom: They all affirm Guryan’s sharpness as a songwriter and the brilliance of an album that has far outstripped whatever promotional cycle Guryan rejected so long ago.
Guryan was born to a sprawling family in Far Rockaway, when the place was still mostly framed by trees. While a composition student at Boston University, Guryan stumbled into a gig playing piano between Miles Davis Quintet sets, signed a songwriting deal with Atlantic Records, and botched a session with Nesuhi Ertegun. But she wasn’t looking to be a singing star. In 1959, she headed to the Lenox School of Jazz in the Berkshires to write for Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, earn the attention of instructor Max Roach, and find a longtime mentor and friend in Gunther Schuller. She became an accomplished lyricist, writing not only for Coleman and Nancy Harrow but also for Harry Belafonte and Gary MacFarland.
But it was that subsequent encounter with the Beach Boys that opened the trap door for Guryan to Take a Picture and scores of other super songs, many of which appear on Words and Music. Take a Picture is a sophisticated survey of mid-20s romance and indecision, from the flirty romp of “Sunday Morning” and falling-for-you affirmation “Can You Tell” to the desperate helplessness of “What Can I Give You.” Her perpetually soft voice, audacious songcraft, and complete candor: Guryan, in 1968 and beyond, was making daring music, no matter how gently those sounds seemed to move.
With a portion of proceeds being donated to providing and advocating for affordable reproductive health services, Like Someone I Know reinforces the strength of Guryan’s songs by allowing a dozen different artists to take them for trips of their own. The core always remains, unwavering. McDoom stretches static and harmony beneath “Thoughts,” as if they’re spinning on a dub plate beneath her arcing vocals. Rahill lets “Sun” unfurl over harmonium drone and entrancing percussive ticks, digging into Guryan’s interest in the surreal. Frankie Cosmos and Good Morning take a country shuffle through “Take a Picture,” entwined vocals falling over the rhythmic skips with perfect romantic relish. Over the last few decades, it has become increasingly clear just how good Guryan was, how sturdy her songs have been amid varying tides of taste. Like Someone I Know offers absolute validation, a testament to the enduring relevance and brilliance of Guryan's work.
Get a copy of the new tribute album Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan and check out a few tracks via Bandcamp right here. Watch the animated video for Empress Of's version of the title track along with audio clips of TOPS doing "Sunday Morning" and Margo Price's version of "California Shake" after the tracklisting.
Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan
1. TOPS - Sunday Morning 2:26
2. Rahill - Sun 3:34
3. Clairo - Love Songs 2:58
4. June McDoom - Thoughts 2:54
5. MUNYA and Kainalu - Don't Go Away 2:20
6. Frankie Cosmos and Good Morning - Take a Picture 3:02
Margo Price's "Too Stoned To Cry" duet with Billy Strings is out now. Hear the audio clip following the Memphis performance below. Photo: Alysse Gafkjen
Here's the scoop on "Too Stoned To Cry"...
On Thursday (September 12), Margo Price releases new single, Too Stoned To Cry, featuring vocals and guitar from her friend, Billy Strings. Following the resounding reception of 2023’s Strays – the hard-rocking, shroom-steeped opus hailed as her “strongest solo work yet” (The New Yorker) – Too Stoned To Cry finds Price squarely in the saddle of the plainspoken, poignant and empowering style of music that first cemented her place as a generational storyteller. Written by Andrew Combs, and produced by Beau Bedford, the song exemplifies why country has been a comfort for Price in her darkest days, and signals much more to come as she prepares for new music in 2025. Listen to Too Stoned To Cry (feat. Billy Strings) via Loma Vista Recordings, and watch a performance in Memphis below.
"It was such a joy to work with Billy on this song. He really nailed the vocals and laid down a beautiful lead. I have wanted to record this song for years now, ever since I heard the writer Andrew Combs sing it. My buddy Beau Bedford and I had been in the studio together working on an Orville Peck track, and I asked him to produce this single for me. He put together a really great band – Beau and I, plus my husband Jeremy Ivey played acoustic, Aksel Coe on drums, Misa Arriaga on Bass, Russ Pahl on pedal steel, Joey McClellan on electric. Once we got Billy to add his guitar and singing, I knew this song was gonna be a special recording." - Margo Price
Too Stoned To Cry foresees the start of a fresh chapter for Margo Price, a restless spirit in the midst of a year full of change. From her new sound and bandmates, to both her look and outlook, she has written extensively and unabashedly in her publication Rawdoggin’ Reality, about the state of herself, her career and the world around her, the rabbit holes she has gone down and the regrets she lacks. Price reflects:
“When I first came on the scene, I was a countryfied, hard headed, whiskey drinkin nobody who was pissed off at the establishment. All of that’s still true, except for the whiskey drinkin part. If anything, now that I’ve lived for a while inside of the establishment, I’m even more pissed off. I’ve let some people go, I’m still fighting with others to let me be myself, but I know, I’m gonna make this next record the way I want to make it, no matter what it takes.”
This month, Margo Price will appear at AmericanaFest and Farm Aid, where she serves alongside Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Willie Nelson as the first female artist on its board of directors. She will also perform at upcoming celebrations for Robbie Robertson and Mavis Staples, and in recent weeks shared a new collaboration with Orville Peck called You’re an Asshole, I Can’t Stand You (and I Want a Divorce), an original T Bone Burnett-produced song and Elvis Costello cover for Netflix film, Downtown Owl (Shelter Me & Pump It Up), and a rendition of Ways To Be Wicked (feat. Mike Campbell) for Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.
Watch Margo Price perform "Too Stoned To Cry" in Memphis followed by the audio clip of her duet with Billy Strings below.
Margo Price recorded Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" at the behest of his old pal T Bone Burnett. Check out her version below.
Writes Margo...
"When T Bone Burnett calls and asks you to write a song for a movie soundtrack, you do it. Our original song “Shelter Me” and my cover of “Pump It Up” by Elvis Costello are out now!" https://i.margoprice.net/downtownowl
Responds Elvis Costello...
"This is just terrific, @MissMargoPrice!!! Thanks. E.C."
LINKS
Watch Elvis Costello & The Attractions perform "Pump It Up" in Paris back in 1979 right here.
Margo Price is joined on "Ways To Be Wicked" by co-writer Mike Campbell. Margo hits Toronto's Budweiser Stage on August 15.
Here's the scoop on Petty Country...
The Tom Petty Estate is thrilled to officially announce Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, out June 21 via Big Machine Records. The album is a country music tribute to Tom lovingly curated by some of his closest friends and collaborators, including great friend and Grammy-winning producer George Drakoulias and Tom's esteemed colleague Randall Poster.
Some of the most lauded voices in country music – including Margo Price with Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, George Strait, Rhiannon Giddens, Chris Stapleton and Jamey Johnson – explore the extensive Petty catalog and put their own personal touches on some of his greatest hits.
Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty is out June 21st. Get it right here. Also, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs play Toronto's Danforth Music Hall on July 16th.
Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty
1. “I Should Have Known It” by Chris Stapleton
2. “Wildflowers” by Thomas Rhett
3. “Runnin’ Down A Dream” by Luke Combs
4. “Southern Accents” by Dolly Parton
5. “Here Comes My Girl” by Justin Moore
6. “American Girl” by Dierks Bentley
7. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Lady A
8. “I Forgive It All” by Jamey Johnson
9. “I Won’t Back Down” by Brothers Osborne
10. “Refugee” by Wynonna Judd & Lainey Wilson
11. “Angel Dream No. 2” by Willie Nelson & Lukas Nelson
12. “Learning To Fly” by Eli Young Band
13. “Breakdown” by Ryan Hurd feat. Carly Pearce
14. “Yer So Bad” by Steve Earle
15. “Ways To Be Wicked” by Margo Price feat. Mike Campbell
16. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Midland
17. “Free Fallin’” by The Cadillac Three feat. Breland
18. “I Need To Know” by Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives
19. “Don’t Come Around Here No More” by
Rhiannon Giddens with Silkroad Ensemble and Benmont Tench
Margo Price discusses her new memoir and family roots with Sid Evans for Southern Living's Biscuits & Jam podcast.
Here's the scoop...
When Margo Price was nineteen years old, she dropped out of college and moved to Nashville to become a musician. She busked on the street, played open mics, and even threw out her TV so that she would do nothing but write songs. She met Jeremy Ivey, a fellow musician who would become her closest collaborator and her husband. But after working on their craft for more than a decade, Price and Ivey had no label, no band, and plenty of heartache.
Maybe We'll Make It is a memoir of loss, motherhood, and the search for artistic freedom in the midst of the agony experienced by so many aspiring musicians: bad gigs and long tours, rejection and sexual harassment, too much drinking and barely enough money to live on. Price, though, refused to break, and turned her lowest moments into the classic country songs that eventually comprised the debut album that launched her career. In the authentic voice hailed by Pitchfork for tackling "Steinbeck-sized issues with no-bullshit humility," Price shares the stories that became songs, and the small acts of love and camaraderie it takes to survive in a music industry that is often unkind to women. Now a Grammy-nominated “Best New Artist," Price tells a love story of music, collaboration, and the struggle to build a career while trying to maintain her singular voice and style.
Get a copy of Margo Price's memoir Maybe We'll Make It via University of Texas Press right here. Listen to her interview for the Biscuits & Jam podcast followed by the video for "Change Of Heart" off her forthcoming album Strays (due January 13th, pre-order it here: https://i.margoprice.net/Strays) and a list of upcoming book tour dates and you never know who might show up.
Margo Price fan Leslie Jordan recently turned up at a signing.
