Digesting the Jason Isbell Documentary “Running With Our Eyes Closed”

‘Running With Our Eyes Closed’ delves into the making of Jason Isbell’s album ‘Reunions,’ and the conflict that arose with his wife Amanda Shires.
‘Running With Our Eyes Closed’ delves into the making of Jason Isbell’s album ‘Reunions,’ and the conflict that arose with his wife Amanda Shires.
Amanda Shires, Dave Cobb, Jason Isbel: Running With Our Eyes Closed, Jason Isbell, Jimbo Hart, Shonna Tucker
Lets not overlook that a bunch of very cool and important artists all announced new albums this week in a cavalcade of titlesthat shouldn’t be allowed to slide under your radar.
Caleb Klauder, Dave Cobb, Doug Sahm, Gordy Quist, Hillary Lindsey, Jason Eady, Jay Farrar, John Baumann, Lori McKenna, Margo Cilker, Randy Rogers, Rhiannon Giddens, Sera Cahoone, Son Volt, Wade Bowen
It is times like these when cooler heads and calming wisdom is what the world needs. In fractured and fevered moments, ratcheting down the rhetoric, centering the most important things in life, and working towards being the solution as opposed to the problem is the approach that you hope prevails.
Produced by Dave Cobb and featuring an all-star cast of players like Hall of Famer “Hargus” Pig Robbins, and the “Man of Steel” Robby Turner, it was Sturgill Simpson’s official debut after moving on from his original band Sunday Valley. For many traditional country fans, ‘High Top Mountain’ is the album of choice.
Dave Cobb, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, High Top Mountain, Robby Turner, Sturgill Simpson
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats, or you can just use the song, artist, and album recommendations.
Dave Cobb, Dierty Grass Soul, Drayton Farley, Gloria Anderson, Sadler Vaden, Shefton Kash, SJ McDonald, The Broken Spokes, William Prince, Zara Alexander
You probably know him from being the drummer, bandleader, and harmony singer for Sturgill Simpson during Sturgill’s rise to fame. But if Miles Miller has his way, soon you’ll be regarding him as your new favorite country-flavored singer/songwriter, with his debut album “Solid Gold” on the way.
Dave Cobb, Miles Miller, Solid Gold, Sturgill Simpson, Town Mountain, Tyler Childers
Reaching for Channing Wilson is reaching for the hardest stuff possible in the realm of country music. If this music was alcohol, it’d be the kind of spirits that are illegal in some parts of Alabama—the stuff that dubs as turpentine in a pinch. You want country damn music, straight with no chaser.
The alpha male of Americana Jason Isbell has announced his latest album to be released via his own Southeastern Records distributed by Thirty Tigers, and in anticipation the album has already swept the Americana Awards and been bestowed three Grammys, even though it won’t be released until June.
Chad Gamble, Dave Cobb, Derry DeBorja, Jason Isbell, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Jimbo Hart, Mickey Raphael, Sadler Vaden, Weathervanes
Before all the pomp, pop, and circumstance of the televised portions of the 2023 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Premier Ceremony transpired Sunday (2-5) afternoon in Los Angeles. This is where many of the country awards are given out, as well as awards for bluegrass, folk, Americana.
Aaron Neville, Ashley McBryde, Ben Stennis, Billy Joe Shaver, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Cody Johnson, Dave Cobb, Edgar Winter, Madison Cunningham, Molly Tuttle, Shane McAnally, Shooter Jennings, Wilco, Willie Nelson, Zach Bryan
Don’t let the baby face of Myron Elkins fool you. You pipe up Factories, Farms & Amphetamines, and it’s like you’re immediately ferried off to some faraway, ramshackle roadhouse set in 1970s sepia, with some 70-year-old cat in polyester butterfly collars crooning out stories of blood and bruises.
Dave Cobb, Factories Farms & Amphetamines, Myron Elkins, Review
Zach Bryan and the Paramount TV show Yellowstone rekindled their affinity for each other and in a big way on Sunday night, December 18th. The 7th episode of Season 5 included not one, not two, but three Zach Bryan songs via the official soundtrack, and not through a superimposed backing track.
Andrea Van Foerster, Dave Cobb, Flatland Cavalry, L.A. Edwards, Lainey Wilson, Under The Big Sky Festival, Whiskey Myers, Yellowstone, Zach Bryan
We’ve seen the hit TV show series Yellowstone help wing a dozen or so worthy independent country artists into the stratosphere through the show’s soundtrack. Now we’re seeing a reversal of roles as one of the primary cast members of Yellowstone has just signed a major label record deal.
Brent Cobb, Dave Cobb, Hillary Lindsey, Jamey Johnson, Jessi Alexander, Jon Randall, Josh Osborn, Kayce Dutton, Kevin Costner, Lainey Wilson, Liz Rose, Lori McKenna, Luke Grimes, Ryan Bingham, Under The Big Sky Fest, Whiskey Myers, Yellowstone, Zach Bryan
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats, or you can just use the song, artist, and album recommendations.
Channing Wilson, Dave Cobb, Elle King, Evan Felker, Marty Stuart, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Teague Brothers Band, The Williams Brothers, Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers, Whitehorse
Concept albums have been an integral part of country music history, with the release of certain projects completely reshaping the country music paradigm, including in recent memory. Just in case you need an illustration of the breadth and importance of concept albums in country music
Ashley McBryde, Brandy Clark, Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, Drive By Truckers, Earl Scruggs, Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton, George Jones, Gram Parsons, Hank Williams III, Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Jessi Colter, Johnny Cash, Joshua Ray Walker, Kathy Mattea, Kenny Rogers, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, Kris Kristofferson, Kyle Nix, Lindi Ortega, Maddie & Tae, Mamma Coal, Marty Robbins, Marty Stuart, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Pam Tillis, Paul Kennerley, Peter LaFarge, Porter Wagoner, Slackeye Slim, Sturgill Simpson, Terry Allen, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Woody Guthrie
Trigger Random Notes 73 Comments
On Wednesday, August 31st, 2022, Florida Georgia Line played its final show as a duo at the Minnesota State Fair. “This is our last official concert as Florida Georgia Line… let’s see what we got left in the tank,” Tyler Hubbard said at the start of the performance, goading the crowd. It’s been a long, slow, painful death.
Brian Kelley, Brothers Osborne, Chris Stapleton, Cody Jinks, Dave Cobb, Florida Georgia Line, Joey Moi, John Marks, Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Nelly, Nickelback, Sam Hunt, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Hubbard, Zach Bryan
If you asked me point blank what the single most important moment in country music over the last ten years has been, without any hesitation, I would answer conclusively that it was Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake performing “Tennessee Whiskey” at the CMA Awards.
Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, David Allan Coe, Dean Dillon, George Jones, Justin Timberlake, Sturgill Simpson, Tennessee Whiskey
Aaron Raitiere has this favorable disposition for a songwriter of not taking himself too seriously, and this interesting knack for always being able to see the bright side of things, even if there really isn’t one. “Single Wide Dreamer” is a musical attitude adjustment.
Aaron Raitiere, Anderson East, Ashley McBryde, Ashley Monroe, Bob Weir, Brent Cobb, Dave Cobb, Hayes Carll, Midland, Miranda Lambert, Robert Randolph, Shooter Jennings, Single Wide Dreamer, Waylon Payne
Trigger Random Notes 49 Comments
It seemed just about perfect. In hindsight, perhaps it was a little too perfect. The owner of Robert’s Western World on Lower Broadway—JesseLee Jones—would purchase one of the oldest operating businesses in Nashville, housed in one of the oldest buildings.
Aubrey Preston, BR549, BUddy Emmons, Country Music Hall of Fame, Dave Cobb, David McCormick, Earlene Huff, Ernest Tubb, Ernest Tubb Record Shop, Glen Douglas Tubb, Gloria Ellingson, Hatch Show Print, JesseLee Jones, Joe Buck Yourself, Julie Richmond, Layla's, Midnite Jamboree, Robert Moore, Robert's Western World, Ryman Auditorium, Shot Jackson, Sonya Ray Haskins, Terry Tyson, Victor Black
Before you can understand where country music is going, you first have to know where it’s been. And since the very beginning of the genre, country music has been calling on the roots of Gospel music for much of its structure and inspiration.
And Now Let's Turn to Page, Brent Cobb, Dave Cobb, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Luke the Drifter, Review
The elusive and enigmatic Ian Noe from Kentucky stunned many and left them hungry for more with his debut album Between The Country from 2019. But aside from some scant touring and appearances, the songwriter has been mostly out of the spotlight.
Andrija Tokic, Dave Cobb, Ian Noe, River Fools and Mountain Saints
For Brent Cobb, the motivation to record a Gospel album isn’t just symbolism. Although he’d wanted to record a Gospel album for a long time, it was a near-death experience in July 2020 when the vehicle that he was driving with his young son inside, got T-boned at a crossroads
Brandi Carlie just turned in some monster numbers for her new album In These Silent Days released on October 1st. And even though she’s not included on the Billboard Country Albums Chart, her showing is good enough to hit #1 on a host of important lists.
Blackberry Smoke, Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Jason Isbell, Morgan Wallen, Shooter Jennings, Taylor Swift
It takes seconds, not minutes into this new album for the brilliance of writing and the power of performance that Brandi Carlile boasts to be self-evident. Immediately an internal dialog commences in the listener on if Carlile is one of the best singers in the roots realm.
Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, In These Silent Days, The Highwomen
Released in 2014, “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music” was Sturgill Simpson’s breakout release, and helped put him on the map in country music and beyond. Metamodern Sounds wasn’t just well-received by critics, it helped further stimulate a cultural revolution in country music.
Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, Kevin Black, Laur Joamets, Metamodern Sounds In Country Music, Miles Miller, Ray Charles, Sturgill Simpson