Jeni and Billy Live in the living room

[Harvey2]

Here's a new song by Jeni, Google the following link or find it on YouTube.com

Jeni and billy sing the robin and the banjo

[russ]

Thanks Harvey... nice to know about these guys.

The Robin and The Banjo (song starts at about 4:00)

http://youtu.be/a8KdnHWNFlM


i like this next one very much:


Panting for Heaven - Sacred Harp #384

http://youtu.be/bVWKmf7cqWE

[Harvey2]

Thanks for adding the links Russ. I've mentioned Jeni and Billy many times before on this site but now that they are based in Nashville, I think we should all get behind them. They are the REAL DEAL. Genuine, sincere, intelligent etc. and Jeni makes her own dresses too! In some of their videos, you will see Billy playing a banjo which Jeni also made.

[glenalien]

We really enjoyed them at Merlefest 2010 and were disappointed they didn't return for 2011. They played consecutive nights around Richmond recently, a Hanover historical tavern and the Chesterfield library; we even crossed the river for that one (the James). They're a lot of fun and excellent storytellers. It's nice to talk with someone who sounds more mountain than me. michael

[russ]

Awake Productions.jpeg (104.89 KiB) Viewed 314 times

Recently, i got a dvd about sacred harp music called Awake, My Soul.
Actually, i am pretty embarrassed to say that i am just learning about
sacred harp or shaped music and i guess, have only just begun to
scratch the surface. Seems like it originally came from Europe
and like so much other music was carried to the States in the late 1600s
and early 1700s. Apparently it is a much more original, rural folk kind
of music than it's immediate descendant, gospel or other more
formalized genres.

For some reason, the music that seems to mean the most to me these days
is that which reveals a collective musical past and history. i remember one
of my favorite teachers growing up was my history teacher in seventh grade.
His name was David Hamlin and the main reason is that when he taught us
about historic events, he let us get a sense of and let us feel that history
through his telling. Maybe it's just that he was an old guy then - like me now.

Anyway, i am glad to have found it and thanks to Harvey for leading me to that
vein of roots music through that Jeni and Billy reference here back when.

[Harvey2]

Hi Russ

If you've only just discovered the music of the Sacred Harp then you might enjoy a 2 CD set that features Jeni and Billy (on one track). It was produced by a friend of theirs in Nashville called Jim Lauderdale. I'm not a big fan of this stuff personally but I love anything that is done with such enthusiasm, love and lust. When I was first introduced to this music by J&B, Jeni describe in her wonderful way, how people gather to perform Sacred Harp music. They have this thing, she said, where they all gather together and they call it a "Sing". You'd have expected a more unusual name for the occasion - well, you would if you lived in Yorkshire ;-) Speaking of which, a friend and I have managed to get the organiser of The Beverley Folk Festival to book Abigail Washburn for next years event and guess what, we've been given the job of looking after her while she's here. Hope she likes pubs!