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There are many great websites featuring live performances by Americana artists. We try to keep track of some of these sites for your convenience.  Check out the Concert Page for links to free online concerts featuring Americana artists. 

70s Outlaw Country Artists in the News

The past few months have witnessed a re-discovery of the outlaw country movement of the 1970s.  Perhaps spurred in part by the popularity of the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, several of the key figures of outlaw country have prepared new releases for older fans who remember the heyday of the musical movement as well as new fans who have recently discovered the rougher side classic country.

On February 28, Jessi Colter released her first solo album in over 20 years.  Colter is well known to outlaw country fans as the surviving wife and sometimes musical partner of Waylon Jennings. (For some younger Americana fans, she is also the mother of Shooter Jennings.)  Her most notable recording is the classic outlaw country release Wanted! The Outlaws.  This seminal recording was the first country album certified platinum for selling over 1 million copies. Joined by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser, Colter's appearance on the collaborative effort helped her to emerge as perhaps the only female voice of the outlaw country movement. 

Colter's most recent release is Out of the Ashes on the Shout! Factory label. The release features a sophisticated blend of country, blues, gospel and soul.  In addition to Colter's original songs, she includes several covers including a notable version of Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35."  The recording also features a song based on an old tape recording made by Waylon Jennings and Tony Joe White.  The result is a new collaboration between Colter, Jennings and White entitled "Out of the Rain."

Speaking of Waylon Jennings and Tony Joe White, each are the subject of new CD/DVD releases as part of the Live From Austin, Texas series featuring highlights from the PBS series Austin City Limits.  The Waylon Jennings performance was recorded in April 1989.  The Tony Joe White performance dates from December 1980.  Other new and recent releases from the series include an October 1985 performance by Merle Haggard and a January 1987 performance by Johnny Cash.  

In other outlaw country news, veteran country music outlaw Willie Nelson is set to release his latest CD on March 14 entitled You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker. In what was most likely a publicity stunt to promote the new release, Nelson released a new song on Valentine's Day with a Brokeback Mountain-ish theme.  "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)" debuted on Howard Stern's satellite radio show and is only available through iTunes.  The song was written by Texas-born songwriter Ned Sublette during the Urban Cowboy craze of the early 1980s. Nelson recorded the song last year.  Nelson also performed a song on the Brokeback Mountian soundtrack entitled "He Was A Friend of Mine."                

(Mar. 5, 2006)