In what must be the strangest interaction of my short life in my short history on Twitter I found myself having a barney with the wife of Miami Steve Van Zandt/Little Steven/Silvio-in-the-Soporanos. Someone had asked a question and I, oh callow naive fool that I am, answered it honestly. This is, of course, always a fatal error. It’s not going to happen again.

I’m going to do what politicians do when asked a direct question; I’ll answer a different one. In fact, I’ll write my own questions if that’s ok with you? A friendly cove asked me what I thought about Miami Steve/Little Steven/Silvio-in-the-Soporanos school programme. It had something to do with schools following some sort of curriculum which was based on rock ‘n’ roll or something. No doubt, entirely laudable. So what happened? Having no intention of having any involvement in anyone’s school programme (mate, I did my time) I was asked if I’d support a programme which included a ’40 chapter history of rock ‘n’ roll.’ I demurred sighting my firm religious belief that rock ‘n’ roll is something you want to get OUT of school for. I still believe that.

Mrs. Van Zandt/Little Steven/Silvio-in-the-Soporanos was less than impressed it seems. My duty, I understand, was to assist this programme. Well, good luck to it. Hope the kids enjoy it and it keeps them loving school. But here’s my question: when you walk out of the gates at night; what are you left dreaming about? Isn’t rock something we made despite teachers? Didn’t we find corners of days and nights to escape all of that? I did.

So it was interesting to meet those lovely Massachusetts former college-boys, Darlingside, who all met while studying together. It wasn’t at the prestigious Berkeley School of Music, however but at another Massachusetts school. Did they study music? No, it seems they used the music as the great escape from whatever it was they were meant to be doing.

You can hear why this was such a good idea on Tuesday when we’ll broadcast the results of that amazing session and conversation with the band.hear what they did to a Neil Young song just so they could perform it at a pal’s wedding. Hear how great their voices sound around one microphone and see (on video) how they still manage to play an assortment of instruments while they’re doing this.

We’ll celebrate lots of harmony groups from CSN and the aforementioned Y, to Fleet Foxes, I’m With Her and our dear Jellyman’s Daughter. Will there be any Miami Steve Van Zandt/Little Steven/Silvio-in-the-Soporanos? No there bloody won’t!

I often think of my wife’s Uncle Joe. He’d spent a bit of time in Scotland and different parts of the UK over the years but essentially he stayed home and kept the small piece of land in Gweedore Co. Donegal where he’d been born. There were a couple of cows and a good load of turf which would be dug out and fetched on a tractor and trailer to be dried and set out at the back of the house. A turf stack is in itself, a fabulous, practical installation.

He’d come over to Scotland occasionally and one time he visited us I offered him a whisky. Carrying two glasses in my hands in recognition that I would sit down with him and enjoy a drink together I clearly sent out an ambiguous message. He took them both and accepted with alacrity. I could almost imagine him saying to himself, ‘It must be a tradition here that you get 2 drinks.’

Joe’s own natural tongue was Gaelic so there was always the thought that everything was being translated. He’d have loved contemporary Scotland with the dual English/Gaelic signs but in those days he screwed over interesting words and rehearsed them aloud. I remember driving him to the station and him repeating over and over again the words, ‘Queen. Street. Station.’ It seemed to become a mantra. New names were an interesting verbal conundrum. My sister in law’s name, Lynsey, became a short musical canon for about five minutes. Never loud, almost mumbled but always audible.

Names, titles and categories fascinate me too. How used we are to certain ones and yet our tongues can spend an eternity twisting over a new discovery. I’m currently enjoying the word Ameripolitan. Until this morning I even thought I knew what it meant. I could imagine taking Countrypolitan as produced by Owen Bradley and moving it in to the next century. Oh yes, that would work.

I came across the word when doing a little reading about this week’s session guest, Whitney Rose. Encouraged and produced by Raul Malo (of Mavericks fame) Whitney has that Ameripolitan tag all over her. I kinda liked it. It seemed to suit the roots sophistication of what she’s doing. You can hear all of that in this Tuesday’s special session she recorded for us.

This morning I decided to dig a little deeper. I discovered that I was wholly wrong about my understanding of the word. It was coined by Texan Dale Watson to describe how he heard his own music which was struggling for it’s own categorisation.

I’m now feeling slightly cheated. I liked the idea of something that flowed on from Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells…hell, I like my own version of Ameripoltan! Step forward Rickapolitan…you heard it here first.

Join me this Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland anyway. You’ll hear lots of music you love on vinyl, the fine Whitney Rose in session and we’ll again remind you that on our show, we just love country music. We’re live from five past nine.

It’s a funny old thing getting old. On one hand there’s much of modern life which eludes me and on the other there’s so much of the past I can enjoy for reasons of nostalgia which must seem incomprehensible to any millennial.

Much of this came to me while watching the football the other night in my old home town of Dundee. There’s so much that is familiar in walking down to Tannadice from Clepington Rd with my son. In some ways almost nothing has changed and yet…My pal and I got talking in the ground about how much of the stadium had changed, what half time refreshments consisted of (was it simply pies and bovril as he remembered?) and I recalled how during the early 70’s the crowds were so low the club put on side-shows at half-time to bring in more customers. Who can forget the pie eating contest or Santa visiting one year? (Santa, it seems, still runs our defence)

There is in music too a great nostalgia for the past, often half remembered. There’s much that I forget but I’m quite good on years. Unfailingly someone will insist on telling me they saw a gig I was involved in before it was even possible to have performed it. Musicians will wax endlessly about instruments built in particular years and insist (usually to long suffering partners) how owning a particular guitar of some far off year will make  their musical journey so complete that all appropriate sacrifices should be made.

There is too a  great myth of old for old’s sake. The word ‘tape’ is now expelled so reverently in some circles one almost feels the need to genuflect. The disdain with which certain musician vew the term MP3 is always a joy to behold. A very good producer told me how a more famous producer colleague insisted he had such items on his computer until the first one helpfully went through his digital store to point out that, contrary to his claims, he listened to them all the time. Neil Young is the high priest of this incorruptible sonic school. Quite how Neil establishes the difference in the aural quality of digital sampling after a lifetime of rockin’ in the free world at deafening volume is beyond me.

I thought of some of this when thinking about our guests this week, The Low Anthem. When they first appeared as session guests they brought with them a rolling musical junk shop of instruments and tuned percussion that delighted us. Eschewing the musical snobbery of all I have set down above they rejoiced in the pump organ, the crotale and the slightly distressed drum kit. They created the impression that, should someone offer to replace any of these artefacts with more reliable pristine items, they’d be told where they could put store them.

So it was sad to hear of the missing years of the band where many of the instruments used in these early gigs and recordings were destroyed in the van crash which also injured bassist and founder member Jeff Prytowsky. In a remarkable turn of events it was the convalescence of his band mate Prytowski that triggered the creative spurt of Ben Knox Miller to write the current album, ‘The Salt Doll Went To Measure The Depth of The Sea.’ You can hear that story and the band in session on this Tuesday’s Another Country when they’ll share the genesis of this album and what really went on in the years since we last saw them.

We’ll have bluegrass, gospel, country music you love and some great new things from Kim Richey, Kala Kater, Deam Owens and many more. We’ll be live this Tuesday from five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland FM. Join me if you can.

In a fairly shabby common room within a college that no longer exists there was a juke box whose contents were seldom, if ever, rotated. Money being tight for students in the late 70’s it’s probably fair to argue that choosing an EP on the old wurlitzer was a little more of a thrifty option than selecting a straight 45. One of the EPs available was a beautiful 4 track selection by Hall and Oates. There is always something about ‘She’s Gone’ that thrilled me then but perhaps the extra bottom end from the old record machine just drove the point home. Somehow that Hall and Oates EP could delay anything…usually a swift return to study….and even sliced between the most hideous hits from the era it would resolutely proclaim to anyone who was listening, ‘we’re from Philly and we make this music because we love it.’

It was in that context I first went to see Hall and Oates. By this time a further ten years or so had passed and I was keen to see was the new Concert Hall in Glasgow looked and sounded like as we were booked to play a little later in the year. We went, Mrs R and I, to see Daryll and John and their splendid combo of musicians. It didn’t disappoint.

Apart from the brilliant tv show, ‘Live From Daryll’s House,’ which has featured some great Americana acts I had no expectation that my radio life would ever cross paths with Daryll or John. That all changed a few weeks ago when new Nashvillian, Mr Oates released his latest solo album, ‘Arkansas.’ It turned out that we would be in Music City at exactly the same time as John’s album was coming out and the final night of his tour came to town. Like all things Hall and Oates, it was perfect timing.

I spent an hour or so with John talking about his new life in the south and the music of the south inspiring him in his new direction. We shared mutual joy at the draw of the landscape which opens up as you drive south-west to Memphis and encounter the majesty of the Mississippi as it separates the two states of Tennessee and Arkansas. We talked about Mississippi John Hurt, the great players John encounters in his new home town – including mandolin legend Sam Bush – and why all of this is really a home coming to the music he was making before that fateful meeting with his old partner, Daryll Hall.

What you won’t hear in the interview is how wonderful all of this was live as it wasn’t until three days later that we went down to 3rd and Lindsley to watch, at close quarters, John Oates and a hand picked selection of great pickers play a spell binding gig.

So this Tuesday night on Another Country you can hear all of that conversation, more selections from the south from Elvis Presley, Sonny James, Ashley Monroe and new acts Mattiel and Cicada Rhythm. Join me from five past nine this Tuesday evening on BBC Radio Scotland FM….I think there’s some football match on the other side…can’t quite remember who’s playing though.

As Patty Loveless (sort of said) I think about Elvis quite a lot these days. I blame the last ten years of visits to Tennessee where it’s hard not to let your mind wander a little towards the times when The King was in town.

One of the things to do in Nashville is to go on the RCA Studio B tour to see where Elvis Presley recorded. Apart from that particular studio there really isn’t much other evidence that Elvis was ever in town. However, he really was in Nashville a lot. The only apparent reason for the lack of any physical relics of his recording career there seems to be that his fame was so great his recording schedule was entirely nocturnal and during daylight hours Elvis laid low in his hotel suite. This seems reasonable, though slightly inconclusive for me and my search for Elvis in Music City continues.

On our visit this year I was therefore quite taken by the large billboards bearing his image which trailed the upcoming HBO documentary on his music titled, The Searcher. Produced and directed by Thom Zinny with additional support from Bruce Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, The Searcher has still to get a transmission date in the UK. We’ve therefore asked our Nashville correspondent, Bill DeMain to give us the low down having watched  the screening last week.

What we do  know is this: Popular music journalism  declared Elvis unfit for rock ‘n’ roll duty after his return from the army and his enrolment in Hollywood. Purists will declare that nothing is worthwhile in his post-Sun Records recording career. Visit Graceland and the experience (in my sad experience) will do its utmost to divorce Presley from the music he created. In this film the producers have attempted to reverse all of these trends and get us ‘behind the carnival barkers, the headlines and the histories. This is a film that wants us to move in closer.’

Some of us would like to, HBO – but we’ll need to wait and see it first. In the meantime the soundtrack is a joy. A Double CD of Elvis recordings from all parts of his career and a bonus CD of the music which shaped him . If you can look and listen out for The Blackwood Brothers, Little Junior’s Blue Flames, Howling’ Wolf and Bill Monroe.  We’ll be thinking and talking Elvis on Tuesday evening.

Bill DeMain will also showcase some records which have crossed his Nashville turntable since his last visit. Meantime we want you to hear  The Jellyman’s Daughter, Scott Matthews and Isaac Gracie from this side of the Atlantic and from America we’ll bring you wonderful new records by The Brothers Osborne, Brent Cobb and Little Bandit.

So much to enjoy and only two hours to play everything. Check in early. We’re on air from five past nine this Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland.

We all know what Philip Larkin said about parents and there’s time when, as a parent, I’ve whole heartedly agreed with him. However over the last few weeks I’ve had a chance to think on all of this a little further.

My own Mother turned 90 a couple of weeks ago and with most of her grandchildren and great grandchildren around her we’ve been celebrating her remarkable life. My Mum was a teacher all her working life and (fortunately for me) was  popular at the primary school I where she worked and I attended. Though she never took my own class I knew a lot of pals who were taught by her and she was loved and respected by all of them…though, like me, they probably knew she could take them apart if they stepped out of line.

One Friday at the fag end of June I was on the bus which took me to my grandparents’ house at the other side of town when two girls from the year above started a conversation. They were to be taught by my mother the following year and they identified me as her offspring and wanted a word. I was nervous. It came as such a relief to be told they were so delighted to be getting taught by Mrs Ross and were at pains to tell me how happy they were. The journey went a little better than expected.

I’ve been thinking about parents and children a lot over these last few weeks. In Nashville we spent a fascinating evening with Del Bryant as he told us the remarkable story of his parents Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and their ground breaking songwriting career. The pride of a man towards his folks was palpable. Similarly, later in the same visit, I spent some time with Gordon Kennedy as he told me stories of his father Jerry and his role as a Nashville Cat as well as producing some of the seminal 60’s country records. These are tales we hope to tell in full over the coming months.

Meantime we caught up with one of Nashville’s most interesting families. Marcus Hummon is a great musician and songwriter who has written massive hits for The Dixie Chicks and Rascal Flatts for which he was nominated twice for Grammy, winning once. A few weeks ago we caught up with his son Levi when he visited Glasgow. Levi’s music career is just taking off and we’ve been enjoying playing his gorgeous single, ‘Love Heals,’ a duet with a duet with Alison Krauss.

Love Heals is the motto of Levi’s mother, Becca Stevens’, charity Thistle Farms. You may have heard me talk to Becca on my Sunday Morning special from Nashville a couple of weeks ago. An Episcopal Priest, Becca responded to the need of women she encountered in Music City who were struggling to re connect after penal sentences.

Combatting a wide range of problems she established safe houses and a social enterprise which allowed them to find a settled home and work pattern in an otherwise disrupted life. It was at a charity night for Thistle Farms that her son, Levi and her husband, Marcus had the idea of writing the anthem, ‘Love Heals’ and releasing the song for the benefit of the project. On Tuesday we talk to Marcus, hear Levi in session and you will discover their remarkable story.

Elsewhere we will celebrate Kacey Musgraves‘ position of queen of all she surveys by playing you some of her current collaborations and another gem from Golden Hour. We’ll introduce you to the joys of The Brummies, Sarah Shook and play you the man Nashville passed on and Jack White believed in, Joshua Hedley.

All in two hours? We’ll try but we’ll be starting sharp at five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland this Tuesday evening. Join me if you can.

Did that just happen? It’s a question we’ve asked ourselves a lot over the last ten years or so as we (metaphorically) sweep out the studio floor after a mesmerising session or interview. In Nashville this year it happened about twice or three times a day.

It started early too. Within a couple of hours of our first morning we had our hands on a grammy.(I checked my spelling twice there) You can hear some of the fruits of our labours this coming Tuesday on Another Country when you’ll hear some of the records we heard on our little Mitsubishi rental car radio. Listen out for some great things from Conway Twitty and Carly Pearce heard in the car or spilling from a honky-tonk or two or at a song writers round.

Conversationally we catch up with Johnny Cash’s younger brother, Tommy Cash, radio veteran Keith Bilbrey but spend a great deal of time with the great John Prine. Our first Nashville ‘moment’ came early on the first morning as we steered our car out of the parking garage and fumbled around to find our go-to modern country radio station…Nash FM. (There are a few but, for whatever reason I’ve used this FM station as a reliable guide to what’s happening on country radio at any given moment.) To our delight and surprise the opening chords for ‘A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega’ were playing. It was a magical moment as we were due to catch up with the singer and writer of the song, Ashley McBryde the following day.

When the day came round we found our way to a famous club gig in Music City called Third and Lindsley. It was around 6 o’clock in the evening and we’d timed it to be there for her finishing a sound-check. The doors weren’t opening for another hour and winter was having one last blast as sleet started to fall. Nevertheless, snaking round the club was a 150 yard queue of fans determined not to miss the support act...Ashley McBryde. The gig was a triumph as you might expect and for  40 minutes before the show we sat down with her in her dressing room and heard the story of how Ashley played her own string of dive bars or as she sings it:
It took a whole lot of yes I wills and I don’t care
A whole lot of basement dives and county fairs
To this show right now and y’all sure look good out there
Not bad for a girl goin’ nowhere

Later on that first morning we had another ‘Did that just happen?’ moments too. I think it was walking out of John Prine‘s ‘Oh Boy Records’ office and realising we’d spent an hour with one of the greatest songwriters of the last 50 years. We were celebrating the fact John is releasing his first new recording since before Another Country went on air and the fact we were getting a chance to reflect on his rich back catalogue of songs. We talked about ‘The Tree of Forgiveness’ (it’s a nightclub you know), Dan Auerbach and then we talked through some old songs and that Chicago mail route John was walking when he came home and wrote Sam Stone. It’s all in a fascinating second hour this Tuesday.

Along the way you’ll hear how Keith Bilbrey remembers his first night hosting The Opry and you’ll hear some amazing music and how Ray Stevens came to Music City where, aged 79, he’s opening his own caba-ray. Only in Nashville folks!

We’re on air from five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland FM. Join me if you can.

A few years ago I was working in Brixton, London with a young Ugandan keyboard player/producer called ‘Fingaz.’ We talked over many things and (for some still unknown reason) the subject of Country Music came up. ‘I love it,’ he told me. I looked askance ….’Fingaz,’ I implored, ‘why would YOU love country music?’ ‘Simple.’ he replied ‘The stories.’

He was right of course. It’s the stories. This week’s Another Country comes from our recent adventures in Music City where we encountered a great variety of music people who all had a great collection of stories. In this week’s first episode you’ll hear Josh Osborne tell you how he played his first nervous song round through to his multi platinum successes with Chris Young, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Sam Hunt and Midland. It’s a great listen for anyone who feels like almost giving up…..Josh had a few false starts so talking to him in his writing room where he was surrounded by awards and gold discs told its own story.

Josh’s office is a brand new-build on Music Row belonging to his publisher Smack which is owned by Shane McAnally. The Row is changing but publishing is still the core of its working life. Little publishing houses with dusty writing rooms and large corporate shiny offices are all part of the geography of 16th and 17th Avenue South..the postal address of Music Row. That is all in cosmopolitan West Nashville. However if you’re looking for the new, the strange or the alternative then you need to head over the Cumberland River to East Nashville. On Gallatin Pike you’ll find a unique little pre-loved clothing store called High Class Hillbilly which is owned by one of our favourite artists from 2017, Nikki Lane. Here’s what the front window of her shop looks like:

Nikki is an artist and and an entrepreneur and it’s the latter which has allowed her music to flourish. Alway from the mainstream of Music Row hers is a story which will help you understand how country keeps being re invented. You won’t hear Nikki on the main country FM stations or see her being music being discussed or played on CMT. She is however doing something vital, fresh and new which will eventually inform and influence the mainstream. You need to hear her story, not least to find out how she managed to get so close to those buffalos on her record sleeve.

Finally we caught up with Nancy Jones (widow of George) who gave us a personal tour of the George Jones museum. Nancy will tell you how George never could duet with Frank Sinatra, the real tractor story and explain how George’s hair always looked so well kept. Mostly she’ll reflect on why most people agree George had the best country voice of all time.

It’s the stories people…..and they’ll all be part of our Nashville radio specials this week and next. Start this Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland FM from five past nine.

It’s been interesting being in Music City for the last week or so. There’s much to tell you about our visit here, but safe to say, many people we meet are interested in our take on C2C. BBC Scotland’s close proximity to the event itself has been one of the reasons why we’ve been able to lock in with the festival. As the soundchecks roll through we can ‘spring’ an artist or two from the confines of their dressing room and bring them over the river to talk at our live events.

On the Saturday of the festival we welcomed a live set from Brett Young as well as an extended conversation from rising superstar Kelsea Ballerini. So it’s welcome news that as the sun went down on Nashville last night the news broke that Brett had just won an early ACM award as Male Vocalist of the year. Though the awards are made on the 15th of April three of the winners received ‘surprise’ phone calls from host Reba McIntire. (So surprising that the phone calls were filmed and posted on twitter…but hey it’s Nashvegas!) Brett is a worthy winner. Two great Number One singles and another which we loved (Sleep Without You) gave him an incredible 2017 and he talks too in this conversation about his current single, ‘Mercy’ written with Sean McConnell.

We catch up too with Kelsea Ballerini. Kelsea, as my family will attest, is my go- to pop country artist of the last 18 months or so. I was originally interested in her progress as she was a lone woman in the country air-play chart at the time. I can’t remember the exact details but I seem to remember one week where the only other female singers on the countdown were members of duos or groups. With her excellent follow up album to ‘The First Time’ coming out towards the end of 2017, C2C was a perfect place to reflect on three hugely successful years. Oh and you’ll get to hear about her dog called….‘Dibs.’

We’ll catch up with Sugarland backstage at the Hydro too. They’ve gone through a fairly lengthy hiatus but are back with a new album and renewed energy. You can hear the inside chat from Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles as they set out on an extensive road trip over the spring and summer.

And finally but with the biggest fanfare I can muster….. we also welcome Kacey Musgraves. I’ve already gushed about Kacey’s C2C set here a couple of weeks ago so I won’t bore you again, you will however hear what happened when she popped into our mini studio (my breeze-block dressing room)  backstage in her pre gig slippers. I’ve met Kacey a few years back and the contrast of her then and now is profound. First time round it almost seemed if every step of the promotional journey was a little tentative at best and painful at worst. Three albums later and huge success already behind her it’s remarkable how confident and happy she now seems. Newly married and with the knowing look of someone who’s just delivered the album she knows will change perceptions, Kacey was in expansive form. The five minute chat we had planned suddenly became much longer and it was great to hear her take on her success as well as her palpable excitement about the new album, Golden Hour.’ The album comes out this coming Friday so you can judge for yourselves but you need to hear the conversation.

That will all be played out this Tuesday on Another Country on BBC Radio Scotland FM. Wee start at five past nine.

We’re out in music city. As I write this it’s warmer here than back home and we’re glad to see the back of the snow…though a tornado warning here does give me pause for thought.

On this week’s Another Country we’re going to let you have your own Nashville experience as we play out the conversations we recorded at C2C at BBC’s Pacific Quay. If you couldn’t be there you’ll not know that we had some great stories on the Friday afternoon when we welcomed Midland, Lukas Nelson, Ashley Campbell and Margo Price.

It was a great pleasure to welcome back Margo. The first time round she’d managed to fight off a stomach bug and still perform brilliantly for the round at our Celtic Connection show in Glasgow’s CCA. A year before her album came out we played a track by Margo on our show as recommended by our correspondent Bill DeMain. Margo’s own story of being roundly ignored by the Music Row community is one of life’s sweeter tales when viewed from her current position as the darling of the alt-country loving world. On the Jack White’s label and free to write and record the music she’s always wanted to, her interview makes for compulsory listening for anyone wanting to be inspired to make music when everything is conspiring against you. (Selling the car to pay for studio time is a particular tale that sticks in my mind)

Of course Margo’s story contrasts with our two members of country’s royal families. Ashley Campbell and Lukas Nelson are the daughter and son of two of the greats of country music. Ashley’s father Glen Campbell has brought so much pleasure to generations of fans but it’s questionable whether his influence status is any greater than the last of the living Outlaws, Willie Nelson, father of Lukas. You will enjoy hearing their own stories of their parents while Willie makes an extra guest appearance on Margo’s record too.

Midland are going to be such a huge country act. Based in Austin Texas they bring something fresh and raw to country music. Three western guys who love the music of Gary Stewart and Keith Whitley. Their harmonies bear witness to the influence of these two  artists and for people of my generation think those early Eagles albums and you’ll get a good sound picture of the band.

Yesterday Richard Murdoch and I spent time with Josh Osborne one of the co-writers on Drinkin Problem and his writing room was proof of the success of that song. No 1 country song awards and ACM nominations were littering the place and really it’s just the beginning for Midland. We will play the conversation with Josh out in future weeks but he confirmed what you’ll hear for yourself: Midland are something very special.

It’s a show packed with country stars and it starts at five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland FM. Join me if you can.