Another year has passed, and we were once again treated to so many great new albums. I just hope that 2025 presents us with as much music enrichment as these last 365 days. I am attempting to list my Top 5 records of 2024 and in doing so I have scratched out so many, then rewritten some of those deleted mentions and then re-rewritten the entire list multiple times. Each time that I have done so I have compiled an original listing once again
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As I stood outside The Blue Room, I felt my body battling both the 25-degree weather and the sheer excitement of the show that I was going to see. Tonight, attached to Jack White’s Third Man Records, the shivering crowd was going to be let in to Elke’s record release party. Elke was debuting her new project Divine Urge. It is her sophomore record. The show was being sponsored by Nashville’s public radio station WNXP and the former “Record of the Month” artist, Meg Elsier, was slated to be the opener. This was going to be a beautiful culmination of talent, music and like-minded folks gathered to share in the mystical power that live music holds over us.
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It’s a very personal and reflective album that showcases her range of musical platforms. Tracks jump from slower orchestral driven sonatas to energetic pop songs, which might distract some listeners. However, it is ultimately her journey and we are just the onlookers. It reads as fragments, which I think is fantastic.
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Last Sunday I was able to cross a venue off my concert bucket list by going with my wife and daughter to the Blue Note in NYC. My 17-year-old loves jazz and wanted to go to a jazz club while we were visiting New York for Thanksgiving week. If you are going to go to your first jazz club it has to be the Blue Note, one of the most recognized clubs in the US.
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If you’re ever in the Huntsville area stop by Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment and help support all things local and if you are into vinyl you MUST stop by Vertical House Records. My experience was an impeccable five-star one and I highly recommend.
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Record Store Day was created with a nod to “Free Comic Book Day”. Its inspiration came from an independently owned record store ownership meeting in Baltimore. Founded officially by Michael Kurtz, Eric Leven, Amy Dorfman, Carrie Colliton, Brian Poehner, and Don Van Cleave, Record Store Day was established in 2007 in celebration of individual artists. Packed with performances, special appearances, and meet-and-greets, Record Store Day celebrated everything musical while upholding the individuality of each store.
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“Cowboy Carter” has been considered a reclamation of country music because it highlights Black artists’ contributions to the genre. Many folks had hoped that it would bring even more visibility to country Black artists. Emmett Price III, dean of Africana studies at Berklee College of Music, said her album was “calling into question not only the historical and cultural roots of country and Western but also how we normalize certain cultural aspects of country culture.”
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