Four words: Garage. Rock. Girl. Band. Those Darlins are a super fun group from Tennessee. They’ve got a country / punk / rock fusion thing going on thats really cool and makes it impossible to sit still while listening to them. They are playing the Austin Ventures stage on Friday at 1:20 pm.

Some sounds to kick off labor day weekend in style:
NPR Music First Listen: Justin Townes Earle, ‘Harlem River Blues’
The Philip Cohen Collection: Rolling Stones – Some Girls Outtakes
The Mynabirds Daytrotter Session
Two New Songs from Okkervil River’s Will Sheff
Sir Paul McCartney & Wings – Arles, France 7/13/1972
No Depression Festival video sessions with Swell Season’s Glen Hansard, The Cave Singers, Sera Cahoone and The Maldives
Superb cut from Megafun’s new mini-album Heretofore which is set to be released on Sept 14
Delta Spirit “White Table” Video
JJ Grey & Mofro: Georgia Warhorse (World Premiere)

What a great tune and video! Not sure how they’d ever make this radio friendly which I think might have been the point of the entire song.

It’s hard to believe that ACL Fest is little more than a month away! Its always fun exploiting the lineup for cool new bands. The best way to do this is to start at the bottom of the list and work your way up to the headliners.

Maxim Ludwig & The Santa Fe Seven are a great folk group from California. They are playing the Austin Venture’s stage at 12:20 on Sunday. This is a great show to ease your way into Sunday. Here is the Bio from the Band’s myspace:

In California, Maxim Ludwig lives surrounded by the ghosts of the “Gone West” migration. Though barely broken into his 20s, Ludwig embraces folk music of eras past, and his songs seem drunk-honest in their depiction of an uncertain life in a temporary town. Whether he is crooning over lap steel, piano, or violin, the young musician’s lyrics channel the feelings of rambling desperation that inspired such greats as Hank Williams. Confessing, “I became heavily obsessed with words,” Ludwig’s songs unveil themselves like good literature, and string the listener along with equal parts suspense and intrigue. Maxim eventually released an album, and later picked up a full band to become Maxim Ludwig and the Sante Fe Seven. The band would have you believe they are touring to earn another sip of warm whiskey and another story to tell; they may not be far off the mark. With their cool confidence and coiled-snake energy, it is hard to believe otherwise.

Here’s some great old time songwriting from Charlie Parr.

There is an excellent hard rocking blues outfit out of Dallas called Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights that’s making waves with their new album Pardon Me. I’m not going to make any cliche Led Zeppelin meets Lynyrd Skynyrd with a pinch of Black Crowes type of comparisons. Bottom line is they RAWK!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Living on the Edge of the World from Little Rock August 28, 2010. While I’ve really dug the last two PJ albums this cover makes me thirsty for some more solo Eddie Vedder records!

I have just what you need to make manic Monday not so manic. Here are some superb live tracks from three of the finest songwriters that are making up tunes today:

Ryan Bingham, Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO September 8, 2009
Tell My Mother I Miss Her So
Depression
White Freightliner Blues
Sweet Louisiana

Justin Townes Earle Symphony Hall Atlanta, Georgia May 28, 2010
They Killed John Henry
I Don’t Care
What I Mean To You
Ain’t Waitin’

Todd Snider & Vince Herman Hoxeyville Music Festival Wellston, MI August 21, 2010
This Land Is Our Land
Bring Em Home
Easy Money
D.B. Cooper

Here’s a great session with Alejandro Escovedo and Chuck Prophet that took place at No Depression Festival 2010 last weekend in Seattle. This was one of many high quality recordings from the session.

Very cool video for a cool tune from Vandaveer. The video was directed by Antonin Le Guay. Great songwriting, old time sound and poignant lyrics are what makes Vandaveer so great!