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After Being (Fictionally) Born There, Dickey Betts May be Immortalized on Highway 41

- Sarasota County commissioners to ask Florida DOT to rename stretch of road in “Ramblin’ Man”’s honor

After claiming to have been born there, “Ramblin’ Man” Dickey Betts may live forever on Highway 41.

Sarasota County commissioners plan to ask the Florida Department of Transportation to rename a stretch of the road in honor of the late Allman Brothers Band co-founder, the Daytona Beach News-Herald reports.

I was born in the backseat of a Greyhound bus, rollin’ down Highway 41, Betts sung on the Allman Brothers’ 1973 hit.

Betts, who died in 2024, lived for decades near the road he immortalized in song.

8/30/25

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Song Review(s): Sierra Ferrell - “Give it Time” and “The Bells of Every Chapel” (Live, Aug. 29, 2025)

Sierra Ferrell leaned into her country side during her latest performance of “Give it Time,” where pedal steel, mandolin, fiddle and wistful harmonies floated over a walking bassline and rimshot percussion.

Ferrell and her five-piece band were on stage in Colorado and offered “Time” and “The Bells of Every Chapel” as the livestream giveaway from the Aug. 29 gig and pay-per-view.

These are smart performances with slight alterations designed to create space between them and their studio counterparts but not so much as to alienate folks who want to recognize the numbers in the wild.

In strong voice and spirit, Ferrell plays acoustic guitar and tosses in a few vocal ad libs. And when she calls out for mando, steel and fiddle solos on “Chapel,” the players respond without ever losing the theme of traditional country music with a decidedly untraditional attitude.

Grade card: Sierra Ferrell - “Give it Time” and “The Bells of Every Chapel” (Live - 8/29/25) - A/A

8/30/25

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Song Reeder: Dan Reeder - “Up on the roof”

Dan Reeder’s “Up on the roof” is not a cover of the well-loved Goffin-King number.

If the lack of capitalization doesn’t give it away, a listen will. This standalone ballad is 100 percent Reeder - funny and sparse with its we’re-fucked lyrics cloaked in keys and nothing else.

In 4 billion years/the sun will explode/and all this will go away/and if I’m still here as I plan to be/it will be hope’s finest day/and all the dumb things I’ve ever said and done/all things near and dear/all the things I love and all the things I despise/will vaporize and disappear, Reeder sings, proving he needs only 98 seconds to create a feel-good mix of fatalism and sarcasm.

Grade card: Dan Reeder - “Up on the roof” - B

8/29/25

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Song Review: Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma - “(Don’t Be A) Good German”

Yes, it’s a protest song. But more than that, “(Don’t Be A) Good German” is a plea for those not being persecuted to speak on behalf of those who are.

The latest from Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma follows Dispatches: Songs from a World Gone Mad and “Epstein Prison Blues.” And like the music that preceded it, “(Don’t Be A) Good German” finds Rubin wrapping despair in a solo-acoustic soundtrack that would be joyful if not for the allusions to concentration camps, ICE and its transgender, non-Christian, non-white targets.

When I say ‘good German,’ I want you to you know/they didn’t stop the Nazis not long ago/so don’t be a good German/ … you can do something after all, he sings as his tapping boot keeps the beat.

Rubin sees his latest as a call - a reminder to speak up for those at risk.

“Your non-WASP friends are counting on you,” he said.

Grade card: Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma - “(Don’t Be A) Good German” - B+

8/29/25

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Song Review(s): Sierra Ferrell - “I Could Drive You Crazy,” “I’ll Come off the Mountain” and “Silver Dollar” (Live, Aug. 28, 2025)

Sierra Ferrell was just warming up her voice on “I Could Drive You Crazy.” And by the time she got to “Silver Dollar,” her vocal cords were all set.

The pair bookended “I’ll Come off the Mountain” as part of the livestream sampler from Ferrell’s Aug. 28 performance at Red Rocks and found roots music’s heroine blossoming.

Whether the altitude or just first-song jitters, Ferrell, bedecked in a feathery skunk suit, was short a few high notes on “Crazy;” however, the innovative vocalist found her way around that as she sawed her fiddle and her crack band provided a deliberately rickety soundtrack.

Switching to acoustic guitar, Ferrell sparkled on the jaunty “Mountain.” Things were now settling.

Ferrell and her band hit their stride on “Silver Dollar,” with fiddle, banjo and acoustic guitar revving their engines alongside the rhythm section and Ferrell letting out a mid-song yee-haw! to let everyone know her voice was now primed.

When she screamed Red Roooooooooooooocks! at the number’s conclusion, any lingering doubts were wiped away.

Grade card: Sierra Ferrell - “I Could Drive You Crazy,” “I’ll Come off the Mountain” and “Silver Dollar” (Live - 8/28/25) - B+/A/A+

8/29/25

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Song Review: Sierra Hull - “Nahatlach” (Live, July 25, 2025)

Sierra Hull, Shaun Richardson and Avery Merritt all have time to solo. But it’s when their respective mandolin, guitar and fiddle come together with Erik Coveney’s double bass and Mark Raudabaugh’s brushed snare that “Nahatlach” really shimmers.

Recorded June 25 at Maine’s Ossipee Valley Music Festival, Hull’s rendition of Mark Simos’ instrumental is a bluegrass humdinger, with sonic dew sparkling on the edge of every note.

And Hull knows it. Smiling and swaying with eyes closed and head back, rarely has a musician looked so lost in the sound she and her band conjure.

And she when snaps out of it and steps to the mic for her own solo, Hull once again reminds fans why she is considered among the premier mandolinists of her generation.

She also happens to be a top-flight arranger and band leader. Consider “Nahatlach” exhibit A.

Grade card: Song Review: Sierra Hull - “Nahatlach” (Live - 7/25/25) - A+

8/28/25

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Song Review: Seth Avett - “It’s Natural”

Seth Avett raps his way through the six minutes of “It’s Natural.” And it ain’t natural at all.

Despite some rapping in the Avett Brothers’ oeuvre, it’s not Avett’s strong suit. And it shows, as he mixes braggadocio (Brain so big, I need a 10-gallon hat) and uhs with lyrics that reference James Joyce, Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Gone with the Wind,” “Star Search,” Cher and Sonny … the list is long.

I ain’t duckin’ down/tryin’ to hide like Nixon from Watergate/I’m startin’ fires left and right/like Hendrix at Monterey, is one of the many unfortunate lines in this abomination.

The sad thing is, Avett’s bass-and-drum-machine beat is infectious. But brother Seth is not a good, or even a decent, rapper and “It’s Natural,” which announces the Sept. 5 release of Feathe, does a disservice to hip hop, not to mention Avetts’ fans.

Grade card: Seth Avett - “It’s Natural” - D-

8/28/25

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Song Review: The Steel Wheels - “Easy”

Coming as it does in late-summer 2025, the Steel Wheels’ declaration: Everything is easy is more than slightly ironic.

Titled “Easy,” the standalone single that contains the lyric hews toward country-folk, with Eric Brubaker’s fiddle the featured instrument alongside electric guitar, banjo and rhythm section.

Further irony comes in the difficulty of trying to decipher the meaning of Trent Wagler’s “Easy” lyrics, which are opaque in the extreme:

Working for funny/college agree/I find it money/that joke is on me/I want some friction/room of confusion/no one is chosen/that’s everything/everything/everything is easy, he sings.

Sound Bites has no idea what the fuck the Wheels are singing about. But “Easy” sounds nice enough.

Grade card: The Steel Wheels - “Easy” - B-

8/28/25

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Pete Townshend Turns Spotlight on Loren Gold’s “Love Reign O’er Me” Intros with Studio Series

- “They all most certainly shout out for song lyrics,” guitarist says of instrumental pieces

Pete Townshend was so enamored with Loren Gold’s 2022 improvised piano intros to “Love Reign O’er Me,” the Who guitarist decided to take them to the studio.

Gold, who plays with Chicago when not with the Who, thus re-recorded some of his works with the “hugely moved” Townshend producing and crew member Brian Kehew directing.

The result is 12 classically minded, solo-piano pieces released to YouTube. Gold - a kind of bizarro Liberace, subdued and in black - plays at a candle-shrouded piano and recreates his various introductions, including this one, first composed on the fly in Italy.

These pieces are gentle, glistening and their connection to “Reign” is clear even in the absence of the song proper.

“They all most certainly shout out for song lyrics,” Townshend said.

8/27/25

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Beatles Plug Anthology Reissue and Update with Trailer

The award for musical understatement of, well … forever, goes to John Lennon, who once said of the Beatles: “We were just a band who made it very, very big.”

These words are the first in the new trailer for the Beatles’ forthcoming (Nov. 21) Anthology reissues and expansion; read Sound Bites’ previous coverage here.

Built around video and still-image montages of the Fabs’ throughout their career, the clip is soundtracked with, among other cuts, early versions of “One after 909,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “And Your Bird Can Sing” and “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which will presumably appear on Anthology 4.

“I just wanted the lyrics to be like conversation - like we’re talking,” Lennon says of “Fields,” before switching to falsetto.

“But I just happen to be singing.”

8/27/25

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Song Review: Mavis Staples - “Beautiful Strangers”

With her cover of Kevin Morby’s “Beautiful Strangers,” Mavis Staples emphasizes the spiritual side of a song bemoaning secular evil.

Set to a gently flowing soundtrack accentuated with rimshot drums and wordless, gospel-flavored backgrounds, Staples sings gracefully of Freddie Gray and Bataclan in an uncharacteristically smooth voice.

Pray for Paris/they cannot scare us/or stop the music/your sweet voice, child/why don't you use it/if I die too young, or the gunmen come/I’m full of love, Staples sings with utmost confidence and faith.

This masterful remake follows “Godspeed” and announces the Nov. 7 release of Sad and Beautiful World, which combines originals with the aforementioned Frank Ocean track and others by Tom Waits, Gillian Welch, Curtis Mayfield and Leonard Cohen.

If any of them come close to the monster of heartbreak and hope that is “Beautiful Strangers,” then Staples will have more than one new song to call canonical.

Grade card: Mavis Staples - “Beautiful Strangers” - A+

8/27/25

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Album Review: Maria Muldaur - One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey

Sixty years after Victoria Spivey mentored a young Maria Muldaur, the now-elder stateswoman returns the favor by updating Spivey’s 100-year-old songs for the 21st century.

It comes via Muldaur’s One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey, a collection of 12 tracks made famous by Spivey in the 1920s and ’30s, when the blues were more racy than sad and ribald songs were suggestive rather than explicit. Still, it doesn’t take a filthy-minded listener to understand what Muldaur means when she sings: Sometimes he’s up before the dawn/busy working on my lawn, on “My Handy Man.”

At 81 and huskier in voice than the woman who sang “Midnight at the Oasis” and toured with the Jerry Garcia Band, the contemporary Muldaur is right at home on such bawdy numbers as the title track, “Don’t Love No Married Man” and “Organ Grinder Blues.”

Supported by big bands including James Dapogny’s Chicago Jazz Band and Tuba Skinny that bring authentic instrumentation including brass, acoustic guitar, banjo, piano, washboard and fiddle to bear, Muldaur has the cushioning needed to do her work. And when Elvin Bishop and Taj Mahal engage the singer on “What Makes You Act Like That?” and “Gotta Have What it Takes,” respectively, Spivey’s horny nature shines as a reminder there is nothing new under the sun.

But when it feels good, it’s timeless.

Grade card: Maria Muldaur - One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey - B+

8/27/25

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Song Review: I’m With Her - “Crossing Muddy Waters” (Live)

I’m With Her went back to where it all began, playing “Crossing Muddy Waters” at the 2025 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, a performance captured on video.

The trio’s take on John Hiatt’s number was I’m With Her’s first studio recording and a decade of familiarity with the song is evident in the loose perfection captured here. The band is so sure of itself that guitarist Aoife O’Donovan doesn’t miss a note or a chord even as she struggles with her in-ear monitors during the homestretch.

Arranged to showcase the band’s unique blend, “Crossing Muddy Waters” finds O’Donovan and fiddler Sara Watkins on co-lead vocals as the harmonies drift between three-part with banjoist Sarah Jarosz and two-part among O’Donovan and Jarosz and Jarosz and Watkins. They nail it and a decade in, still seem to get as much as they give from this sisterly blend of voices and instrumentation.

Grade card: I’m With Her - “Crossing Muddy Waters” (Live) - A

8/27/25

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“Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run” Will be Published Nov. 4

- “I’m so very happy to be transported back to the time that was Wings,” Paul McCartney says

Wings is getting a book of its own.

Credited to Paul McCartney with editing by Ted Widmer, “Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run” is due on bookshelves Nov. 4.

“I’m so very happy to be transported back to the time that was Wings and relive some of our madcap adventures through this book,” McCartney said in a statement.

The oral history is drawn from interview with Wings co-founders McCartney, Linda McCartney and Denny Laine; band members Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, Jimmy McCulloch, Geoff Britton, Joe English, Steve Holley and Laurence Juber; and others including John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, George Martin, Sean Ono Lennon and Chrissie Hynde.

“Wings was about love, family, friendship and artistic growth, often in the face of tremendous adversity,” Widmer said in a statement. “It was a joy to relive the madcap adventures of a special band, by listening to their stories and compiling this oral history.”

8/26/25

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Song Review: Alison Brown and Steve Martin feat. Jackson Browne with Jeff Hanna - “Dear Time”

Wistful but full of gratitude, Steve Martin looks at - and back from - 80 with “Dear Time.”

Pairing his lyrics with balladic music co-written with fellow banjo picker Alison Brown and giving the words to Jackson Browne to sing in harmony with Jeff Hanna, Martin and his friends - including Stuart Duncan on fiddle and a full rhythm section - go for the heart as Browne’s narrator asks for a chance to see his parents and his dog again.

Hey time/thank you for the lovers/the ones that went astray and thank you for the one that stayed/hey time/accepting of each other/hold off on that buzzer for a little while, Browne sings on the way to the clincher.

In addition to putting lumps in older throats, “Dear Time” announces Brown and Martin’s guest-fueled Safe, Sensible and Sane. Out Oct. 17, the 12-track LP will also include the previously released “Bluegrass Radio,” “Wall Guitar (Since You Said Goodbye)” and “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back,” singles that began appearing in early 2024.

Grade card: Alison Brown and Steve Martin feat. Jackson Browne with Jeff Hanna - “Dear Time” - A-

8/26/25

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Song Review: Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini - “Blues for James”

Truth be told, “Blues for James” sounds more like a party for James - James Casey, that is.

Guitarist Ian Faquini composed the track in memory of the late Trey Anastasio Band saxophonist and recoded it with his wife, Natalie Cressman.

Released as a classical-acoustic-guitar-and-trombone duet for Faquini and Cressman’s forthcoming (Sept. 26) Revolução, “Blues for James” finds the pair playing a low-speed game of instrumental follow the leader that leads to occasional lockstep passages that celebrate Casey’s life more than lament his 2023 death.

Cressman called her former TAB mate “a great musical talent and one of our closest friends” and said the song “attempts to capture the energy and vitality that (Casey) brought to every musical setting.”

It worked.

Grade card: Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini - “Blues for James” - B

8/26/25

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Song Review: Tommy Emmanuel - “Scarlett’s World”

“Scarlett’s World” fits somewhere in the middle of Tommy Emmanuel’s songbook.

The lead single from Living in the Light (Oct. 10) has had a stage presence for a few years now. And while Emmanuel’s virtuosity is evident on this instrumental, solo-acoustic number, it is not among his more-complex compositions.

It is rather a gently flowing sonic river, shimmering and relatively simplistic; beautiful, but not mind-blowing.

Grade card: Tommy Emmanuel - “Scarlett’s World” - B-

8/26/25