 |
Purveyors of Twangy music from all over the country and all over the world since 1989.
Western Swing / Bluegrass / Oldtime / Honky-Tonk / Folk / Blues / R&B / Cajun / Celtic / African
Broadcast every Tues Evening from 6-8pm on WXDU, Durham 88.7 FM
"It's better than a cold bath with someone you dislike"
Kids with ball caps turned funny and prison pants probably won't like it one bit.
In addition to the House Concerts, we will, from time to time, organize and present a show in larger venues, such as clubs, cafes and theatres in and around the Triangle area. Past shows have included events at The Skylight Exchange, The Durham Armory, The ArtsCenter in Carborro and The N.C. Museum of Art. Tickets for these other shows are usually purchased through traditional ticket outlets instead of online via e-mail. If you have a novel idea for a venue for a Hoedown-sponsored event, please let me know. Also, please let me know about your favorite performers who deserve more attention, and we'll try to bring them to town for a show.
Curious about our previous concerts??? Check it out...Fall '99 Concerts Winter/Spring 2000 Concerts 2000-2001 Concerts
"As a front man Lee is arresting: his think, crackly, longing voice is the perfect vehicle for the vicious, bitter and hilarious tunes" -- Chicago Reader
"Lee has distilled 50 years of great honky-tonk and rock into a 200-proof cocktail that's all his own" -- Boston Phoenix
Phil Lee's debut album, "The Mighty King of Love", was picked as "one of the best new country albums" by the Nashville Scene before it was even released - which was especially encouraging to Phil, who was making a living driving a big rig at the time. Now that Shanachie has released The Mighty King of Love, Phil's truck-driving days may be over but his stature, in the renegade east Nashville music scene and beyond, is on the rise. The album delivers a winning combination of guitar-slashing roots rock and heartfelt country twang, mixed with Lee's irrepressible sense of humor.
His latest effort, "You Should Have Known Me Then", also on Shanachie Records, hits the stores Sept 13 and promises more of the same, but also features guest artists Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Allison Moorer and members of Wilco, among others. Look for it in local stores any minute now....
Born in Durham, N.C., Phil made his way to NYC and LA and now resides in Nashville. But in the meantime, he has accumulated more adventures along the way than one person should be allowed. His newest record features another batch of his "mostly true" tales. Songs like "Daddy's Jail", "Carl's Got Louise", "I Lost Two For the Price of One" and "I'm the Why She's Gone" tell bittersweet tales of love and trouble, while "A Night in the Box" and "Les Debris Ils Sont Blanc" talk about life in a trailer. Other songs such as "She Ran Outa Give (Before I Ran Outa Take)", "Blueprint for Disaster", "The Mighty King of Love", and "Good For Me" recount various romantic adventures gone awry...
Put away the good china...
Henderson, NC native Danny Flowers (now residing in Nashville, TN) is an extrodianry guitarist and sogwriter who is probably best known through his huge hit "Tulsa Time" which he wrote during his 13-year tenure as lead guitarist for Don Williams' band. The song was recorded on five albums by Don Williams and also on five albums by Eric Clapton (who is a huge fan of Danny's work and refers to him as one of his "top 10 favorite guitarists"). As the story goes, Don Williams and Eric Clapton actually fought over who would get to record "Tulsa Time" first!! Danny is also well known for his work with Texan Nanci Griffith, co-writing the hit "Gulf Coast Highway" and also organized and led her famous "Blue Moon Orchestra". Danny is also known for his song "Before Believing" which appeared on Emmylou Harris' very first record. Danny is a hot hot hot acoustic and electric slide guitar player, at home equally on either instrument, and especially happy playing National Steel.
More recently, Danny was inducted into the North Carolina Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame on Aug 4, 2001 for his many talents and accomplishments in the field of Country Music. Also this year, Danny released his very first solo recording "Forbidden Fruits and Vegetables" on Nashville's Groovetone.com records label. The record includes a number of hits that Danny has written over the years for other artists as well as more recent tunes as well as some cover tunes penned by some of his idols such as Freddie Albert and BB King and Eric Clapton.
Although Danny is not well known in this area, he has spent some time in town and has befriended a number of local music luminaries (some of which now reside in Nashville, such as Michael Kelsh) including The ChickenWire Gang, among others. He has appeared at the Eno River Festival by himself as well as with The ChickenWire Gang and has made live appearances on WXDU-FM.
Check out what these musicians have to say about Danny Flowers...
"Dear God, Please let millions of people hear 'Forbidden Fruits and Vegetables' so they can come to know what a great singer and songwriter Danny Flowers is and perhaps they will get to see what a beautiful human being he is as well. I love Danny Flowers and I want everyone in the world to feel the same way i do.... Your humble servant."
-- Rodney Crowell
"Dashboard slappin' music. What a great ride!"
-- Delbert McClinton
"I think this album is tremendous. I consider Danny a good friend and a great musician in the truest, old school rock style. There is just not enough of this kind of stuff around any more"
-- Eric Clapton
"From the first beat of 'Tulsa Time' you know Danny Flowers' talents as a performer and songwriter are rare gems seldom seen in the music world today. He is honest, pure, driven and talented talented talented!! Turn it on and enjoy the soul of Danny Flowers"
-- Anson Funderburgh
More recently, Danny was inducted into the North Carolina Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame on Aug 4, 2001 for his many talents and accomplishments in the field of Country Music. Also this year, Danny released his very first solo recording "Forbidden Fruits and Vegetables" on Nashville's Groovetone.com records label. The record includes a number of hits that Danny has written over the years for other artists as well as more recent tunes as well as some cover tunes penned by some of his idols such as Freddie Albert and BB King and Eric Clapton.
Although Danny is not well known in this area, he has spent some time in town and has befriended a number of local music luminaries (some of which now reside in Nashville, such as Michael Kelsh) including The ChickenWire Gang, among others. He has appeared at the Eno River Festival by himself as well as with The ChickenWire Gang and has made live appearances on WXDU-FM.
Check out what these musicians have to say about Danny Flowers...
"Dear God, Please let millions of people hear 'Forbidden Fruits and Vegetables' so they can come to know what a great singer and songwriter Danny Flowers is and perhaps they will get to see what a beautiful human being he is as well. I love Danny Flowers and I want everyone in the world to feel the same way i do.... Your humble servant."
-- Rodney Crowell
"Dashboard slappin' music. What a great ride!"
-- Delbert McClinton
"I think this album is tremendous. I consider Danny a good friend and a great musician in the truest, old school rock style. There is just not enough of this kind of stuff around any more"
-- Eric Clapton
"From the first beat of 'Tulsa Time' you know Danny Flowers' talents as a performer and songwriter are rare gems seldom seen in the music world today. He is honest, pure, driven and talented talented talented!! Turn it on and enjoy the soul of Danny Flowers"
-- Anson Funderburgh
7:30pm
'Blues-grass', 'Americana', 'Roots', 'Y'all-ternative' - whatever you want to call it, David Via and Corn Tornado's eclectic acoustic mix of bluegrass, blues, jazz and funk definitely has an original twist. It's a wild twisted ride, but the Corn Tornado revolves around a core reason-for-being: the driving soulful songs of David Via. These songs are real: they tell the true stories of love gone wrong, living off the land, of good luck and hard times.
Speaking of David Via's songs, more than just a few people are starting to notice how good his songwriting and singing is... David Via won first place in the Merlefest 2001 Chris Austin Songwriters Contest (Country category) for his song "Pawn Shops and Wedding Rings." This is the second time David has won the Chris Austin Award. He won in 1997 for his song "Never Hear The Call". He must be doing something right, since he is in good company...past Chris Austin Award winners include Gillian Welch and Tift Merritt.
Fans of great songwriting and hot instrumental work will really enjoy seeing the Corn Tornado in action on November 15th. This band is nothing short of amazing and had my jaw dropping the first time i saw them play live. Fans of Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and other hot NewGrass pickers will be mightily impressed with the boys of the Corn Tornado - David Via on Mandolin, Danny Kincely on Guitar, John Flower on dog-house bass and the amazing "Fiddly Dave" Dave VanDeventer on, you guessed it, the fiddle. All the Corn Tornado boys sing great harmonies together -- raises the hair on my arms sometimes. Mighty Fine, Mighty Fine...
David Via's songs come from being raised and living in the Blue Ridge mountains of Patrick County, VA. Via(as most folks call him) is a well known figure in bluegrass and newgrass circles -- with some twenty-some odd years of singing and songwriting, he's made a lot of pickin' buddies along the way and has been in groups such as The Bluegrass Buddies, In Sync and Dan River Revue.
David Via and Corn Tornado have just recently released their first CD recording "It All Comes Down To a Song" which is available in local independent record stores and is getting airplay on local stations as well as those out of state.
For more information on the boys, make sure you check out www.davidvia.com
It's both, Hoss, so take a powder already -- Every sunday night the Hoedown broadcasts its extry-speshul mix of roots, blues, country, folk,, hilllllbilly and other trad-centric musics. The program features new music by emerging artists as well as plenty of old and rare LP's and 78 RPM records by artists long since gone -- vintage country and blues music, lost or forgotten jazz, blues and R&B greats, neglected Texas songsters, music from the bayou and the big city, music from Africa and other points overseas, hillbilly, blues and gospel music, all rubbing shoulders and bumping into each other in the same crowded phone booth every Sunday night. In addition, you can hear frequent live performances by local and visiting musicians of all shapes and sizes right in our studio, thanks to the miracle of big microphones and judicious use of cattleprods to herd bands into our broadcast studio.
The Cosmic Hoedown has been on the air since 1989 at WXDU on the Duke Campus in Durham, North Carolina. The broadcast reaches Durham/Chapel Hill, out to the edge of Raleigh in the East, and out to the edge of Greensborro to the West. In addition we broadcast in RealAudio, so you can always tune us in via the Internet.
In the last few years, the Hoedown has started up a House Concert series to showcase some of the artists we like to play on the air, as well as some folks who have never recorded an album at all. Some of these groups are well known, some of them brand new, some of them are playing our House Concert in a format or lineup unlike what they normally do. Some of these artists haven't played in the area for years and years - others have never played in North Carolina at all. In picking artists, we try to present unique and what we feel are under-appreciated or rarely heard musicians. Got a suggestion for a show? Email me and let me know...
NEWS FLASH: Former Red Clay Rambler and Pianist and Songwriter Extraordinare, Mike Craver, will be visiting us live in the WXDU Studios this Sunday evening, June 16, from 7-9pm, to play songs from his forthcoming cd "Shining Down". Tune into 88.7fm and check him out...
Please be patient while we whoop our web pages into shape. This site is under construction, and likely will be for a while. Thanks for the many suggestions and requests for information. Hopefully within the month we'll be able to have more background information about the radio program, playlists, and top-30 reports each month. Please e-mail any suggestions you have to me at <dave@hoedown.org>, and we'll try to incorporate them into the site as we have time. Until then, tune in on Sunday nights 7-10pm for the best in Traditional and Roots Music, and we'll see you out on the town for some live music...
-Washboard Dave