Author Archives: Jim Motavalli

Oldtone was Back for 2024, and Better Than Ever

It looked like we’d lose the wonderful Oldtone Festival, one of the few annual events centered on old-time music. There was no festival in 2020, limited events during COVID in 2021 and 2022, and 2023 went dark with some very regretful goodbyes. But the festival was back in full force this year, the eight annual from September 5-8, as a nonprofit Oldtone Arts Inc. event with sponsorship by the New York Foundation for the Arts. The festival in Hillsdale, New York is actually near the border with Connecticut and Massachusetts, so maybe those states could be supportive, too.  

Talking Hearts on the Medicine Wagon stage. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Other than kids walking around with buckets to solicit donations, the festival was otherwise unchanged from its very effective formula. It’s a compact event, with a small main stage, a dance tent, a workshop area and even what was referred to as a “medicine show wagon”—an old Chevy truck with a platform and a microphone, used for short between-act sets.

We arrived as Moonshine Holler was playing. This is a Massachusetts-based old-time trio. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Paula Bradley co-led the group with her late husband, Bill Dillof, for 20 years, but now it’s Paula with young musicians Rafe Wolman and/or Marco DePaolis. “I’m privileged to play with these guys,” Bradley said.

Moonshine Holler digs up the really old ones. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Paula’s a real historian of old-time music, as was Bill, and the group offered a program of both familiar old-timey tunes like “Devilish Mary” and obscurities from the likes of the Hackberry Ramblers and fiddler Clayton McMichen’s Wildcats (an offshoot of the Skillet Lickers). There was an incredible country interpretation of Adam and Eve in their garden. Apparently, they must have “shaken that thing.”

The Zach Bryson Band offered mainstream country, matching originals with Merle Haggard and Jimmie Rodgers. Later, he played solo.

The Downhill Strugglers continue the tradition of urban old-time pioneered by the New Lost City Ramblers. (Jim Motavalli photo)

The Downhill Strugglers continue in the tradition of the New Lost City Ramblers, Mike Seeger’s assemblage of New York-based old-time advocates in the 1950s and 1960s. The Strugglers, mainstays of the Jalopy Theater in Red Hook and the Brooklyn Folk Festival (coming up November 8-10), just released their new album on Jalopy’s record label. Old Juniper is a collection of songs that sound ancient but were in fact written by members of the band. Walker Shepherd’s “Valley by the Stream” sounds absolutely authentic, as does Eli Smith’s “Picking Dandelions.” I’ll bet fiddler Jackson Lynch wrote “I’m Getting Ready to Go,” but all the songs are just credited to the band.

The Strugglers switch off on instruments, but have fiddle, guitar, banjo and harmonica pretty well covered. Here they are on video. This version of “The Girl I Left Behind Me” contains verses I hadn’t heard before:

And here’s the Strugglers from their second set, playing “Valley by the Stream”:

Krissie and the Kranks were a great find at this year’s Oldtone. Krissie Nagy is a fine singer of jazz standards and the Great American Songbook, echoes of Billie Holiday and her disciple Madeleine Peyroux. Here they are with Hoagy Carmichael’s fine song, “Up a Lazy River”:

One of the best things about Oldtone is that its view of old-time music includes 1920s and 1930s jazz. Krissie’s band (see below) was also great, and featured a fiddle player named Charlie Burnham. This guy has worked with James “Blood” Ulmer, Living Color, Cassandra Wilson, Steven Bernstein, Henry Threadgill, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, Rufus Wainwright, and on and on. What a fine player. Joel Savoy, who also played cajun music at Oldtone this year, produced the group’s one album in Louisiana.

In the same vein and with some of the same standards, playing in the dance tent, was New York-based Sweet Megg, who is steeped in country swing and counts Patsy Cline and Billie Holiday as influences. She had great stage presence, and another great band.

Sweet Megg also explored the old jazz tunes. (Jim Motavalli photo)

The Foghorn Stringband is Caleb Klauder (vocals, mandolin, fiddle), Reeb Willms (vocals, guitar), Nadine Landry (vocals, upright bass) and Stephen “Sammy” Lind (vocals, fiddle, banjo). They’ve been Oldtone regulars since the beginning, and I’ve also seen them at Red Wing in Virginia. They brought out that old story song “Willie Moore,” as well as “The Roving Gambler” and “Jack of Diamonds.” There were some fine originals, too, including one Wilms sang about a winding river. Wish I’d caught it on video!

The fully engaged Foghorn String Band. (Jim Motavalli photo)

At this point the heavens opened up and a hard rain started a-fallin’. Everyone headed either for their RVs, the dance tent or the shelter of their cars. The rain interrupted the program for a couple of hours and soaked the site, producing a lot of mud. But soon the action continued in the covered dance tent.

Most of the acts did get to play, including a really strong set by The Louisiana-based Deslondes. They’re a rock group in the best sense, with great songs and a revolving cast of singers. In fact, everyone but the pedal steel player had a vocal lead. They’ve been together 15 years, informally at first, and made four albums that are well worth investigating.

How could you not like the Chattanooga Dogs (above), a fine young bluegrass band? They were substituting for the Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee, who were apparently ailing. They dug up a bunch of old Charlie Moore songs. The young group features Conner Vlietstra on guitar, vocals and fiddle, and Trevor Holder on banjo and voice. The latter has an uncanny ability to vocally echo the best 1940s bluegrass talent. “Hillbilly F-fever’s going ‘round,” they sang, and it indeed is.

Also in this vein was Danny Paisley and Southern Grass, mainstays of this music.

Probably the most valuable player for the weekend was locally based fiddle player Sophie Wellington, who appeared with numerous aggregations, including the Talking Hearts trio that sang from the medicine wagon. She’s a fine old-time musician who knows a lot of obscure tunes. She also appeared in her five-year-old Dumpster Debbie guise (that’s them below), leading a seven-piece band. That one was more like a rehearsal, with a lot of “what shall we play next?” comments. The audience would have benefited from a little context for the tunes.

Wellington was also heard during the Nadine Gospel Set segment. I wish I’d heard more of it, because I love old-time gospel music. Songs like Jesus is “Building a Mansion for Me.” And there she was again with the extravagantly bearded JP Harris, as fine an exponent of old-time and pre-1970 country music as exists in America today.

Harris had played with a full band late the previous night (too late for me, alas) but a little hoarse he was back on Sunday with an old-time trio. “I Wish I Were a Mole in the Ground,” “The Dying Cowboy,” “Been All ‘Round This World” were the songs he sang, but there were also fiddle tunes led by Wellington, such as “Belle of Lexington.” Harris said, “I owe all of my musical upbringing to the old-time scene.” He meant that he’s branched into more mainstream country—his most recent single is “Dark Thoughts”—but will never stop turning the clock back.

Here’s Harris on video doing a fine old song called “Mole in the Ground”:

 The last act I saw was the Cajun Surprise. It was such a surprise I never did learn who they were, but the group—with accordion, guitar and two fiddles—sure sounded good.

Bosch’s Better Tech Ideas for Future Mobility

“We’re proud to be part of a global organization, but our mission is to develop products that are appropriate for our region,” said Paul Thomas, president of Bosch in North America. The world’s largest auto supplier, based in Germany, has indeed developed tech tailored for U.S. car buyers, and displayed it at the Bosch Mobility Experience at the company’s proving grounds in Flat Rock outside Detroit. September 10. It was a behind-the-wheel demonstration, with much visceral impact.

The driver can place the trailer precisely on the screen, then the tech takes over steering. (Bosch photo)

Perhaps most relevant to American buyers—who do like to tow—was the Anywhere parking trailer, which enables pinpoint location. On the HMI display, the driver moves a shaded box to the exact location desired (also setting the vehicle’s orientation), then pushes a button and the car takes over steering functions (though the driver still uses the accelerator). The tech can also be used to precisely align a truck with a trailer hitch, without using another person as a guide. This might frustrate dedicated haulers who’ve perfected their technique over decades of trial and error, but it’s a godsend to occasional towers. Anywhere is not on cars and trucks yet, but it’s coming soon.

You can park this rig…anywhere. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Bosch also demonstrated how its technology can be used to accurately keep a trailer (with a jet ski on board) moving straight when backed up, or aimed on a desired angle.

Bosch partnered with Linamar on e-axles that hold its electric motors front and rear. This one-off Ram truck demonstrated the technology. (Bosch photo)

Bosch is partnered with Canada-based Linamar on rigid electrified axles, which were demonstrated on a one-of-a-kind Ram 2500 Laramie electric truck. Bosch motors were integrated into both axles front and rear to deliver four-wheel drive, 11,200 pound-feet of torque and 750 kilowatts of peak power. They wouldn’t let us drive, but the truck certainly did a fine job around the steeply banked test track. Ram is obviously using its own solutions for electric trucks, but this one could be ready-made for other automakers.

Bosch has pioneered ABS braking for e-bikes, and this was the first time it was publicly shown in the U.S. The company is a major supplier to e-bike brands, providing motors and battery packs, displays and controllers. Bosch components have been seen on many European brands, and I’ve recently tested Bosch on-board in e-bikes made by the Dutch Gazelle and German Riese & Müller companies. In Flat Rock, Bosch had two e-bikes from R&M equipped with second-generation ABS, including a cargo-type designed to carry two kids forward of the driver that proved tricky to master.

Bosch on-board bikes included two from Riese & Muller. (Jim Motavalli photo)

The ABS pulled the bikes up quickly, but a Bosch spokeswoman said that the systems have been slow to acquire customers in the U.S., possibly because of the cost. “We take the long view,” she said. According to AAA, in the U.S. e-bikes have only eight percent of the bike market, but in Europe it’s more than 30 percent. E-bikes are good business because they account for more revenue per unit than standard bicycles. According to Circana, they were responsible for 63 percent of the growth in sales between 2019 and 2023.

Testing brake-by-wire–with no physical connection from master cylinder to calipers. (Bosch photo)

In a Tesla Model S, we tested brake-by-wire technology with no physical connection from the pedal to the pads. At first, the fact that the pedal doesn’t have much “give” seemed like an obstacle but in practice it didn’t matter at all. The driver could sense the immediate response from foot pressure on the car’s braking. People who try it—including me—love it, and it will be incorporated into production vehicles for the 2026 model year.

A Lucid Air EV was the test vehicle for a test of steering by wire through a water obstacle. The vehicle management detects wet pavement and reduces braking distance—even for drivers with one hand clutching a cup of coffee. Without the assistance, we flew all over the place.

Powernet Guardian takes over if you lose steering assist. (Bosch photo)

The Powernet Guardian demonstration was certainly vivid. It’s a solution for an emergency I’ve actually experienced (in a Chevy Bolt EV)—the sudden loss of power-assisted steering. I drove down a narrow track and suddenly felt complete loss of steering control, sending cones flying. I would have had manual steering, but only with extreme effort. With Powernet engaged, I felt no loss of control, though the screen in front of me went blank. They gave me the blown fuse as a souvenir.

Bosch is moving heavily into the software-defined vehicle, and I talked to Eric Cesa, vice president of ETAS, a Bosch subsidiary that does software and cybersecurity solutions. “People expect their cars to offer the same level of usable technology as their homes,” he said. “They expect a seamless experience.” And because cars typically have a four- or five-year development cycle, their on-board technology can be out of date before the car is sold. That’s why over-the-air updates are so critical to cars going forward, he said. Tesla is now issuing as many as 200 such updates annually, and some automakers are using fewer development vehicles because their on-road performance an be simulated.

Roots Music, Live and Local

When most people rattle off the names of great blues guitarists, they name such British stalwarts as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Of course, this does a total disservice to the African-American luminaries they all learned from, including Buddy Guy, T-Bone Walker, Albert Collins, B.B., Freddie and Albert King, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf.

Sue Foley, tearing it up in Ridgefield. She’s a one-guitar woman. (Jim Motavalli photo)

And let’s not forget the women: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Geeshie Wiley, Etta Baker, Elizabeth Cotten and Memphis Minnie included. But the discrimination against women in this field is still continuing. Proof is the show I saw August 20 at CHIRP in Ridgefield, Connecticut—the Sue Foley Trio.

How this woman remains below the radar is beyond me. I first heard her in approximately 1994, following the release of her first album, Young Girl Blues (1992). Amazingly enough, the same guitar that’s one the cover is the one she played in Ridgefield.  

The Canada-born Foley is simply an astounding blues guitarist, a very accomplished songwriter, a fine singer (reminding me a bit of Bonnie Raitt, complete down to the red hair), and an amiable leader. In Ridgefield, she played one amazing song after the other, with solos that made the hair on my arms stand up. Here’s proof, a song called “Fool’s Gold.” For some reason, the vocals didn’t come through clearly. But the guitar sure does:

Again, I can only surmise that sexism is holding her back. If you offered a blindfold test with one of her solos and told people it was the vaunted Stevie Ray Vaughan, then the critics would sit up and listen. Or maybe it’s Foley’s refusal to compromise. The aforementioned Bonnie Raitt long ago crossed over, but she became a pop star and largely left unadulterated blues music behind. Eric Clapton claims to be a blues purist but his most popular music is laid-back pop.

Foley acknowledges the blues women on acoustic. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Foley’s most recent record is One Guitar Woman (A Tribute to The Female Pioneers of Guitar), covering artists like Memphis Minnie on her acoustic. In Ridgefield, she opened her show solo and played some songs from it, including Elizabeth Cotton’s “Oh Babe, It Ain’t No Lie” and Minnie’s “In My Girlish Days.” A highlight of that set was Foley’s own “Maybelle’s Guitar,” a tribute to that Carter Family stalwart and proof Foley listens to country, too.

Foley is 56, and much of that time has been spent on the road, playing blues all over the world. She’s built up a following—the park was crowded the night I saw her—but a wider public should be hers.

APQ takes a bow. Shah is at right, Ross second from right. Rudy Royston is a regular fill-in on drums. And Nakamura is an outstanding bass player. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Also in local live shows, I saw the wonderful American Patchwork Quartet at the Levitt Pavilion in Westport, Connecticut. It’s fusion music at its best, combining Falguni Shah, a 11th generation Hindustani classical vocalist with the Americana and old-time folk of Clay Ross, founder of the Gullah group Ranky Tanky. The Japanese bassist is Yasushi Nakamura, and the drummer (on the record) is Ellis Marsalis protégé Clarence Penn, but in Westport it was acclaimed jazz player Rudy Royston.

Ross and Shah do a great job of explaining what they’re doing to folks just out for a good time. As they put it, “APQ is a deliberately designed homage to America’s past and a showcase of its dynamic present.” The cultures blend wonderfully well, particularly on their takedown of the ancient folk tune “The Devil’s Nine,” a/k/a “The Devil’s Nine Questions.” Mark how Shah colors the English tradition with her own roots music:

Amy Helm’s star has risen. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Also at Levitt was a reunion of the group Ollabelle, getting some recognition now as Amy Helm’s star rises. Check out her fine Silver City release. The eponymous Ollabelle album came out in 2004, when there weren’t all that many old-timey releases around. I guess they were ahead of their time, but I loved it and played it often on WPKN for their take on “How Long?” (acapella), “See Line Woman” (via Nina Simone), “John the Revelator” (via Son House), “Soul of a Man” (via Blind Willie Johnson), “Storms are on the Ocean” (Carter Family), and “Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos” (every Village folkie, including Bob Dylan).

Olabelle are back! (Jim Motavalli photo)

Helm, the Australia-born Fiona McBain and keyboard player Glenn Paschka all have excellent voices, and they worked up quite a head of steam for a group that’s been dormant for a while. It was nice to hear they’re working on a new album, because the last one was in 2011. As we were walking out, McBain was giving “Brokedown Palace” by the Grateful Dead a workout.

Music on the River

The Saugatuck Rowing Club dates only to 1990, but it looks older. Its original proprietor was Dr. Howard Winkelvoss, and it’s where his famous twin sons learned to row under Coach James Mangan. It continues to produce champion rowers, including, may I boast, my cousin’s children.

Still, I hadn’t been there until August 4, my birthday, and the most recent concert in the First Folk Sunday series, produced by the team of Rozanne Gates and Suzanne Sheridan. The latter (below), possessed of a big, warm voice, is also a working singer-songwriter, and opened the show with a short and charming set of covers (Richard Farina, Joni Mitchell, Karla Bonoff) and originals—including a very personal song about her uncle Mike. “Daydreaming,” another original, was jazzy and enveloping.

Suzanne Sheridan. (Jim Motavalli photo)

They concluded, Gates adding vocals, on “90-Pound Housewife Driving in her SUV.” This amusing novelty song, co-written with Gates, managed a placement on a Car Talk CD, where it was much requested. I was the Magliozzi brothers’ blogger; well do I remember this one making a splash.

The series stays close to home. Lisa Bastoni may live (and teach art part-time) in Northampton, Massachusetts now, but she’s a native Westporter, and her mother and even some of her teachers were in the audience.

Lisa Bastoni and Sean Staples. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Bastoni is not well-known yet, but she should be. She’s a really exceptional singer-songwriter, strong on both sides of the hyphen. She was accompanied, on vocals and mandolin, by the fleet-fingered Sean Staples.

Rather than list some titles, which would be meaningless to you, I’m just going to cite some fine lyrics from Bastoni’s songs.

“Two orange peels in perfect spirals.”

“Stars dancing on the waves, in my neighbor’s brand-new pool.”

“Just because there’s a ladder doesn’t mean you have to climb.”

“How’d you ever learn to play the blues in this town.” (That one was about a high school crush who sang Robert Johnson songs at the local deli and delivered pizzas for the parlor next door. The high point of their relationship was when he asked her to accompany him on his rounds.)

“I don’t know your favorite color, but I’m going to guess it’s blue.”

“Let’s look at houses we can’t afford.”

“You’re as close to me as a coat in winter.”

“There’s nothing I can say you can’t see through.”

The afternoon concluded with Bastoni remarking that the hometown appearance “exceeded my expectations of what it would be like to appear here.”

The shows continue with Sheridan performing the music of Joni Mitchell (September 1) with Bob Cooper and Cat Lines; The Flying Fingers Jug Band (a hit last season, October 6); and a Woody Guthrie tribute with many performers (November 3).

Driving the New Models, Summer ’24

The test cars keep on coming, presenting an amazing cross-section of what Americans are driving—or will soon be. The average price of a new car is creeping up, and was at a sobering $47,433 in July, says Cox Automotive. These vehicles, mostly SUVs and pickups, are being laden down with all the latest technology—which excites buyers these days more than engines do.

Electric vehicles had a bad first quarter in the U.S., but sales zoomed upward from there by 23 percent in the second. And in that period they were up 14 percent from the same quarter in 2023. Prices for EVs are coming down, which should help sales.

2024 Toyota Crown. You’re forgiven for missing the Crown the first time around, because Toyota was barely known then. This upmarket offering was sold in the U.S. from 1958 to 1972, when it was replaced by a car my mother bought the Corona Mark II. Meanwhile, in Japan and other markets the Crown went through 16 generations.

The crossover Crown we have today was launched in 2022, the first to be sold in the U.S. for 50 years. It certainly stands out in a parking lot, looking halfway between a sedan and an SUV. The effect is not unpleasant. And the hybrid vehicle is an amazingly smooth driver, with lots of creamy torque available.

As equipped the Crown is powered by a 2.4-liter turbocharged four, with permanent AWD and an impressive 340 net horsepower. Despite the power, it’s good for 32 miles per gallon on the highway and 29 in the city. It comes loaded with safety equipment, with no options necessary. The only real drawback to this lovely car is its price, $54,590 as equipped.

Most Crowns will have more modest bottom lines, coming as they do with a 236-horsepower drivetrain and even better fuel economy. That should be OK many buyers. The pricing starts at $42,575.

2024 Toyota bZ4X AWD Limited. Toyota is currently riding high on hybrid sales, but also weathering a testing scandal. The company has been very cautious about EVs, and the bZ4X is its first, co-developed with another latecomer, Subaru (which calls it Solterra).

Tested was the upmarket Limited trim with two motors of 80 kilowatts each and AWD. Total horsepower is a modest 214. The Limited adds such niceties as heated seats, a glass roof, adaptive cruise control and useful safety tech. It’s a competent EV—for a first effort—but it feels like Toyota’s attention is still elsewhere. The battery is a 65.5-kilowatt-hour unit in the dual-motor version, with an estimated range of around 228 miles. That’s not horrible these days, but 300 would be much more reassuring. The EV competition is strong.

2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy 2.5T AWD. As noted, it’s difficult to stand out in the hyper-competitive crossover field, but the all-new Santa Fe manages it. Everything about this car feels crisply styled, fresh and innovative.

The Santa Fe is now larger, with more storage and passenger space, a third row of seats, and styling that stands out—something that’s hard to do within the boxy confines of the SUV cues. The rear view is particularly felicitous—you’ll know when you’re following one of these. The car is comfortable, with a well-laid-out, spacious interior. And it drives and handles well.

The Santa Fe is available as a hybrid, but the tester had the turbo 2.5-liter inline four with 277 horsepower and an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. Bigger is thirstier, so the 23 mpg combined isn’t impressive. Definitely check out the hybrid, which starts at $36,950 and yields up to 36 mpg combined. As tested in loaded form the Santa Fe was $50,375.

2024 Lexus TX 550h+ Luxury PHEV AWD. We’re starting to see more and more models with plug-in hybrid and hybrid options, and this three-row Lexus has both. In the as-tested PHEV form the Lexus has more than 30 miles of EV-only range. It’s also got a total of 404 horsepower on tap from its combination of 3.6-liter V-6 and two electric motors (for AWD), coupled to a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The Lexus was big and impressive and drove quietly, with imperceptible transition from electric power to internal combustion. It has plenty of luxury touches. Going to the Luxury trim adds a whole lot of features, including lots of leather, a power folding third row, and a Mark Levinson stereo. But the bottom line in this form is a hefty $82,619. A less-expensive alternative is a modestly equipped TX 500h Hybrid (27 mpg city and 28 highway), which uses a 2.4-liter four and, again, two electric motors, for 366 horsepower.

Fun at the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival 2024

There’s a certain loyalty to the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival, held annually for 32 years. If you go on consecutive years, as I have, you realize the performers tend to repeat. They’re friends of host Donna the Buffalo, part of the big herd.

The 2024 edition was blessed with excellent weather, as long as you stayed out of the sun. There was music over four days on five stages. You couldn’t see all 80 acts—the music went to 2 a.m. some nights, but you could see a lot. We made it Thursday night just in time to hear a local favorite, Rose and the Bros.

There must be something in the Ithaca-area water, because Donna and Rose have a similar—and unique—sound. Who else does accordion-driven roots rock/cajun boogie? Rose Newton is equally adept on accordion, fiddle and vocals, and Paul Martin, who’s also a farmer, writes some of the songs and plays guitar. The whole group is great. “Lazy Eyes” was a standout ballad, as was the new single, “Heaven Help Us.”

Rose also has a duo with Richie Stearns called Richie and Rosie, firmly in the old-time country camp. Richie is another very talented Ithaca-area songwriter and banjoist, as well as former member of Donna the Buffalo. Here they are taking on Dirk Powell’s “Waterbound”:

We’ve been just missing the tight rocking sound of Miss Tess and the Talkbacks at several venues, though we did hear her playing bass with some others.

Out front she’s amazing, a really talented songwriter with a grasp of retro tradition, a fine singer, and even a very solid guitarist—though she’s somewhat overshadowed by the hotshot Thomas Bryan Eaton. He’s one of the best Americana guitar slingers I’ve ever heard. Here’s Miss Tess essaying “Cry Cry Cry”:

And the title song of her most recent album, “The Moon is an Ashtray”:

We saw an interesting international band called Kajuneji on the infield stage. Members were from all over (with a homebase in Geneva, New York) and recalled a latter-day Earth, Wind and Fire. The lead singer had a nice set of pipes.

Johnny Nicholas is ex-Asleep at the Wheel and now runs a roadhouse in Texas, which is perfect for the bluesy piano/country swing he delivered. They had a horn section, too. A novelty song concerned a condemned prisoner who keeps ordering his last mile so he doesn’t have to die. “I want a barbecued brick of ice cream, and I ain’t goin’ until you get back with it.”

Keith Secola and the Wild Band of Indians had some overlap with Jeb and Friends, since both featured the amazing cellist Hank Roberts and Donna mainstay Jeb Puryear. Secola favors an easy Dead-adjacent boogie rock, with parallels to Canned Heats meets John Lee Hooker. He also pulled out his Native American flute. All of it went down easily.

Jeb and friends apparently get together only for their set at Grassroots, but they’ve been doing it for 15 years. Puryear calls it “unrehearsed music,” but it comes together awfully well. The Cabaret was so crowded I couldn’t even get close enough for a decent photo. The local Sim Redmond Band, with Sim and vocalist Jen Middaugh are a big part of it, and get features. Everything is enhanced by Roberts’ heavily improvisational electric cello, heard to good effect on numerous Bill Frisell albums. “We apologize for the smoke that comes off Hank’s cello,” Jeb said.

“Happy Birthday, Jesus” was heartfelt song from Jeb (seen above with Donna the Buffalo), but he also sang Willie Nelson’s “Bloody Mary Morning” and Middaugh had some fine songs, including one that seemed to be called “Watch it Fall.”

Our big discovery at this Grassroots Festival was a very young band from Potsdam, New York called Tiger Eye. The group has two really good female singers, and both are strong songwriters. They have a fiddle player along, but the keyboard and hand drummer—they were parents. Let’s hope this group gets wider recognition. They said Big Thief is a major influence, but they also did Townes Van Zandt (“Loretta”) and Joni Mitchell (“Big Yellow Taxi”).

Bobby Henrie and the Goners came from Rochester—as they do every year—for some rockabilly and Chuck Berry duckwalking.

Another fine regular is Walter Mouton and the Scott Playboys, with the leader playing his accordion from a chair these days. The music, sung in French, was vibrant and demanded movement.

As Saturday night came on, it was time for Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. The group performs standing in a line with all acoustic instruments. It’s proof that electricity isn’t necessary to generate ultra-high energy. This band is on fire.

Molly Tuttle has long been a jaw-dropping guitar player, but she’s assembled a band that’s equally adept, and they never slow down in the slightest—even on the ballads. At the end of the show, Tuttle announced a “costume change” and took off her wig—she’s had alopecia, which causes total hair loss, since she was two. By the way, “Playing with the Queen of Hearts,” which they did at a breakneck tempo, sounds for all of the world like a Mark Knopfler song. But the hit was by Juice Newton.

The group’s albums are fine, but you really need to catch Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway live to know what it is they do.

It was nearly dark by the time we saw part of Bombino’s set. Desert blues from Africa is one of my favorite genres, and certainly my favorite way to hear loud electric guitar these days. After seeing Mdou Moctar at the Green River Festival a bit ago, I’m totally sold on the whole field. Catch Tinariwen too, if you can.

Grassroots also hosts a Shakori Hills Festival in North Carolina October 3-6.  

Rounding Up the Recent Cars, Summer 2024 Edition

It’s time again for a roundup of recent rides. My neighbors—those who haven’t been wised up already—probably suspect something shady is going on in my driveway, given all the comings and goings. But people up to no good drive a Volvo plug-in hybrid or a Toyota RAV4 Woodland edition? Here are some thoughts on the new test cars.

2024 Volvo XC60 Recharge eAWD Ultimate Dark. Station wagons used to be an affordable form of transportation, but as they’ve morphed into upscale SUVs they’ve also gone up in price. Volvo, once one of the world’s biggest station wagon purveyors, now sells safety-conscious off-roaders like this one for $74,690. For that, the owner gets a big, powerful plug-in hybrid that gets 28 mpg combined in gas mode, and 63 MPGe as a PHEV. The XC60 is all the wagon most owners will need, though the XC90 is also available. Combined, the two-liter turbocharged four and electric motor produce a whopping 455 horsepower and 523 pound-feet of torque. There is 32 miles of electric range. This was a top-of-the-range model, and it met every need. Not a performance car, exactly, but there’s no substitute for a lot of horsepower. The PHEV format is perfect for Volvos, which tend to be weighty because of all their safety equipment—and the test car had the full complement. Drive it mostly in electric mode and there’s very little weight penalty.

2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition. For $37,470, the buyer of this special edition gets a very, very practical and well-equipped vehicle that can deliver 37 miles per gallon combined and transport the family and their dog, with room left over for the luggage. Really, it’s hard to see why families need to spend more and buy something bigger and more powerful. The engine is a 2.5-liter four, putting out 219 horsepower. That’s considered anemic these days, but why are we in such a hurry? The Woodland is a weather package that adds heated front seats and steering wheel, as well as rain-sensing wipers. It’s easy to live with one of these, and the hybrid version is the one to get. You’ll save $2,500 on fuel over five years, compared to the average new car.

2024 Genesis G90 AWD 3.5T E-Supercharger. This is one of the few vehicles, redesigned for 2023, that justifies a price point above $100,000. The bottom line on the test car was $101,400. The electric supercharged, twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 produces a hefty 409 horsepower, and is connected to an eight-speed automatic. To shave a bit off the price, you can opt for the 375-horsepower version without the supercharger. The car bristles with high-tech features, including rear-wheel steering to aid cornering, air suspension, and smart hands-free trunk with auto open. The audio system is from Bang & Olufsen. The car not only uses premium materials, it blends them in an overall presentation that far exceeds the competition. It’s quiet as a church in operation, too. As I’ve noted, most consumers don’t really need anything above the level of a Toyota Corolla or a Honda CR-V, but if your needs include wanting to feel like a million dollars, the Genesis G90 has you covered.

2024 Toyota Sienna Hybrid XSE AWD. The hybrid minivan has been a long time coming, with the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid having the field to itself (at least in the U.S.; Japanese consumers have enjoyed a variety of choices.) The Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey are power pair in the minivan category. The 2.5-liter four and electric motor deliver a combined 245 horsepower in this upscale Sienna, which is a lot of van for $52,745. No one buys minivans for stoplight competitions, and this one accelerates in a leisurely watch-the-world-go-by fashion. It’s actually relaxing.

The Sienna is actually hybrid-only at this point. Honda’s Odyssey is going hybrid for 2025 with a system that delivers 204 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque. The horsepower figure is lower than the standard Odyssey, but the torque figures are about the same (262 pound-feet in that version).

Vans aren’t known for their fuel economy, but with Toyota’s celebrated hybrid drive this Sienna delivers 35 mpg combined (36 if you forget about the AWD you might not need). If you want to use your Sienna as a hauler (as in my brother’s antique book business), be advised that the second row isn’t removable. But dual power sliding doors make loading very easy.

2024 Acura TLX Type S. For 2024, the TLX lineup was revised with this performance variant at the top. Acura has concentrated more on luxury than sport, but this all-wheel-drive Type S boasts a turbocharged, 24-valve three-liter V-6 that produces 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. That’s attached to a 10-speed automatic. Brembo does the front brakes, and the Type S adds an exclusive Sport+ driving mode. Torque vectoring can send 70 percent of the power to the rear axle, and all of it to the outside rear wheel. It was genuinely fun to drive, though Acura will have to lure consumers away from their BMWs and Audis. The price of the TLX starts at $45,000.

Genesis GV70 3.5T AWD Sport Prestige. The average price of cars sold to Americans keeps creeping up. In June it was $47,433, according to Cox Automotive. Given that, the $68,870 for this Genesis doesn’t seem so bad, but it’s still a considerable piece of change. It buys a compact luxury SUV that’s about as far from a 1963 Jeep Wagoneer as could be imagined. Luxury SUV was once an oxymoron. Under the hood of this one is a 3.5-liter twin turbo V-6 similar to that in the GV90, but it’s an option in the 70. The engine, coupled to an eight-speed automatic, produces 371 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque in this iteration. The Genesis sedan are more to my taste, but this type of SUV has its advantages, not least ease of entry and exit for some of our more senior citizens. As for off-roading, few will take advantage. It’s hard to imagine scratching and dirtying this pretty car.

Rain and Sunshiny Music at Green River 2024

The 2024 Green River Festival in Greenfield, Massachusetts is in its 37th year and appears to have been canceled only once, in 2020, because of COVID. It survived this year, but torrential rains and thunderstorms made it a near thing—proceedings were suspended several times, as fairgoers huddled in the buildings that dot the Franklin County Fairgrounds (known as “the new location”).

But the rain let up, the thunder stopped, schedules were rearranged, and most acts actually played (some in the standing-room-only Roundhouse). Tommy Prine, son of John, played exactly one song, “Precious,” before he got his cord pulled. He appeared later, though. The earlier Greenfield Community College site was charming, and perfect for the hot air balloons that dominated the festivals that began in 1986, but it was somewhat lacking in available shelter.

The Wonder Women of Country, from left, Leigh, Willis, Carper. (Jim Motavalli photo)

I was afraid that one of the main events I’d come to see, The Wonder Women of Country—Brennen Leigh, Melissa Carper and Kelly Willis—were going to get cancelled on me. But the festival restarted just in time for their set. All three are amazing singer-songwriters, and Leigh (lead guitar) and Carper (who plays bass) have been teaming up to pen songs lately. “No effects, please,” Leigh (resplendent in a flowered hat a la Minnie Pearl) told the sound crew, and indeed there weren’t any—just the women and their unadorned songs. The first of the collaborations by Leigh/Carper was the whimsical “I Wanna Fly Ya to Hawaii-ay,” on video here:

Another of their songs, which seemed to be called “Won’t be Worried Long,” was based on an old Carter Family/Kingston Trio number, “(It Takes a) Worried Man.” That’s called the Folk Process, and it’s perfectly legal. The audience definitely sat up and paid attention to their other new song, “Pray, Pray, Pray the Gay Away.” The kicker, of course, is that it doesn’t work, and the next morning you still wake up gay (and very happily so at the end of the song). (Leigh has an incredible LGBTQ-themed song in “Billy and Beau” on her stellar roots album Prairie Love Letter.)

The Wonder Women backstage: Brennen, Willis, Carper. (Jim Motavalli photo)

Willis was celebrating the 25th anniversary of her fourth album, What I Deserve—which went to #30 on the Billboard country charts. She offered a spirited version of the title song, co-written with the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris. Carper’s dry vocals highlight droll songs (“I Ain’t Getting’ Lucky Tonight”) that always have some swing to them—they’re not jazz, but jazz is in there. All the songs were enlivened by the other women’s harmonies and Leigh’s pitch-perfect guitar solos. Hear them on a new eponymous six-song EP.

Here’s one more video from the Wonder Women, Leigh’s truck-drivin’ song, “Carole with an E.”

Bonny Light Horseman was the only group I saw on the main stage. If you’re not familiar, this is the group that includes Anais Mitchell, author of the Broadway miracle Hadestown. But BLH is a group, not a star turn, and it has its own unique approach—celebrating and building on traditional American and UK songs. (The group’s namesake song was included on their first album and performed at Green River; it dates to the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. Said horseman is lost in battle, with the loss lamented by his beloved.)

Bonny Light Horseman has recently issued a stellar double album called Keep Me on Your Mind/Set You Free. They did several songs from the album of mostly originals, including “When I Was Younger,” which manages to combine the feel of a trad folk song with raucous rock and roll guitar from industry vet Josh Kaufman. Taking the lead probably more than half the time was multi-instrumentalist Eric D. Johnson, late of the Fruit Bats and Shins. This is why they call it a supergroup. Both Mitchell and Johnson are fine lead singers.

Bonny Light Horseman loves the traditional. (Jim Motavalli photo)

I wondered if the audience realized that when the group performs standards like “Down by the Sally Garden” or “Bonny Light Horseman” they’re actually hearing an ancient tune that has survived many vicissitudes. It might be useful to tell them.

Willi Carlisle (above) is in the Woody Guthrie/Pete Seeger folk tradition. He sings about injustice and wants you to sing along. If his reach exceeded his grasp here and there (as in “Two-Headed Lamb”), it didn’t take away from his being a heartfelt, giving-it-all performer.

And then there was S.G. Goodman (below). Her album Teethmarks is delightfully varied, from big sweeping ballads to rockers. She has an incredibly good band, with a lead guitarist, pedal steel player, bass and drums. They can turn on a dime.

Goodman led off with three hard rockers that somewhat strained the singer’s voice and made it hard to distinguish the songs. But she slowed down in the second half, showcasing that strong voice on the K.D. Lang-like “I Never Want to Leave This World.” And she closed with the tough rocker, “Work Until I Die,” seen in part on a warts-and-all video:

Goodman is a farmer’s daughter from western Kentucky. Her American Gothic family gives her material, which can be heard on early recordings under the Savage Radley moniker that have just been re-released. She tells funny stories with a strong Kentucky accent. I bet her Substack is fun.

Mdou Moctar is a Touareg electric guitarist from Niger (below). If you’ve heard Tinariwen, the group of Malian nomads that brought the music to global attention, you know (and hopefully love) the desert blues genre.

The music reflects several international journeys. African music came to America with the slave trade. Slaves and their descendants adapted that music into American blues, which electrified when it followed the jobs to cities like Chicago and Detroit. From those antecedents rock shredders like Jimi Hendrix grew, and their music soon traveled to Africa, where it was filtered through the local lens.

It didn’t matter that the audience couldn’t understand the songs. They were there for the quartet’s hypnotic grooves and Moctar’s supercharged guitar. A man who, forbidden a guitar, had to build his own, is now entertaining people at festivals around the world. Much the same thing happened to Mississippi John Hurt, Son House and Bukka White when they were re-discovered in the 1960s (after recording in the 1920s).

The festival took place over three days, and each one contended with rain. But, even wet, the patrons seemed pretty happy.

In the Poconos, a Cornucopia of Cars

The International Motor Press Association (IMPA)’s “Spring Brake” event is a chance, in warm weather, for auto journalists to drive a wide cross-section of new cars. The setting May 21 was the Camelback Resort in the Poconos, skiing in the winter and a water park in the summer. The idea was simple: Drive the cars up the mountain to the parking lot at the top, then drive them back down again. Repeat with another car. Here’s a rundown of the drives:

Mazda CX-90 Premium Plus. The Premium Plus CX-90, the top of the line, starts at $57,325. The model replaces the less-high-end CX-9. Mazda is not known for luxury cars, and the CX-90 is a conscious effort to offer a competitive three-row SUV, but it doesn’t stand out in a crowded field. Automakers were eager to get rid of the inline six (in favor of V-8s) in the mid-1950s, but it’s literally a badge of honor in this model. The 3.3-liter engine is turbocharged, with versions offering 280 or 340 horsepower. Handling was not all that agile on the mountain roads, especially with the company showing what it can do with its ever-popular Miata. Also sampled was the CX-50 Turbo Meridian Edition ($42,670) which seemed a happy compromise between utility and performance.

Honda Civic Type R. The car, resplendent in bright red, was a throwback of sorts. Few manufacturers are offering hot hatchbacks with manual transmissions these days. The Type R starts at $45,890, which is of course exorbitant for a Honda Civic, but not so bad when considering the performance. The car sure looks the part, with spoilers, hood scoops and air dams in profusion. The bright red seats wear red seatbelts and sat on red carpets, and red also shined through the wheels from the Brembo brake calipers.

The turbocharged two-liter four is a popular engine globally, and in this configuration it yields 315 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, enough to get it to 60 in less than five seconds. And it handled beautifully through the mountain curves. Every bump is felt through the steering wheel, which is a good thing if you like your car to communicate its experiences. But speed bumps felt like mountains. The car was also kind of noisy, which might make it a bit trying as a daily commuter.

Lucid Air Pure. These EVs do everything so well, and with such performance, that it’s hard to see the added value of the traditional supercar. The Air Pure is the single-motor version, starting at $71,400—the cheapest Lucid. And yet it showed the same quality materials as the upper trims, which peak at the $250,500 Sapphire (capable of sub-two-second zero-to-60 times). The Pure, with its motor driving the rear wheels, offers an impressive 430 horsepower and 4.3-second zero-to-60 times. It’s full of thoughtful touches, such as the below-floor storage in the trunk, the 12-way power seats and the neatly integrated central screen. The 92-kilowatt-hour battery pack yields 410 miles of range. If the battery runs low, it can recoup 300 miles of range in 21 minutes at a fast charger.

The Pure felt like a smaller car on the hillclimbs. Lucid, whose funding was recently replenished with $3 billion from stock sales and the Saudi private wealth fund (which owns 60 percent of the company).

Hyundai Ioniq 5N. Consumers will pay a premium to buy the performance version of the Ioniq 5 electric car, $67,475. But the money buys access to as much as 641 horsepower. With two electric motors the baseline is just over 600 horses, but the N Grin Boost feature (activated by a big red NGB button) temporarily (up to 10 seconds) pushes that up to 641. The styling is very much from the same styling school as the Honda Type R—full of big wheels and sticky tires, with spoilers, fender flares and go-faster protrusions galore. You either love it or hate it. The cabin is more subdued than said Honda, and quite tasteful.

Acura MDX Type S SH-AWD. The three-row MDX is a bestseller for Acura, considerably outselling the two-row RDX. The Type S, starting at $68.450, is the sporty version, if that’s not a contradiction in terms when discussing a big SUV. The three-liter turbo V-6 engine produces 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque (a gain of 65 hp and 87 pound-feet over a standard MDX). The SH-AWD stands for “Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive System.” The car was nicely appointed and finished, with a nice-sounding ELS Studio sound system. Second-row passengers get useful climate settings. The mountain road was probably not the best place to test out its capabilities, but it did not resemble a sports car in any fashion.

 Genesis G70 3.3T AWD. This kind of luxury sedan is more something I can see in my garage. All the Genesis cars are impressive, and there’s no sense that there are two levels above this one—the G80 and G90. The only compromise is rear-seat legroom in this more compact car. The G70 was refreshed in 2022, and sports a 300-horsepower, turbo 2.5-liter four in base form or, as tested, a 365-horsepower 3.3-liter V-6. You’ll pay $51,700 to get into that power plant. This car seemed to have just about everything, quiet when needed, a top accelerator when that was needed. The Lexicon stereo was nice, as was the two-tone beige-and-black interior. The G70 is in BMW and Audi territory.

Ford Ranger Raptor. I’m pretty out of the demographic for this one. The only truck I’ve admired recently is the Ford Maverick (hybrid version), and the Tremor version of that one, on the stand here, was always being driven by someone else. The $57,065 Raptor is very boy racer, and hard to see as an actual work vehicle. Its twin-turbo V-8 produces 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. It’s only available as a crew cab, with a smallish five-foot cargo area. The big knobby tires gave it a very rough ride, especially on acceleration, and it was noisy as all heck. But that’s what these buyers want, isn’t it? The interior was on the garish side, dominated by a big vertical 12.4-inch center screen.

Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition. This wasn’t actually on the Toyota stand; it’s the car I drove to the Poconos. I just wanted to put in a word. For $37,470 in the Woodland version, the owner gets a really reliable and versatile small SUV that can deliver 37 mpg overall. Great suite of safety features. The 580-mile cruising range meant we could drive it up to Boston and back without visiting a gas station, and the trip to the Poconos was similar.

The Wailin’ Jennys: Longevity Becomes Them

The Americana group Wailin Jennys have been together for 22 years, and it showed on stage at District Music Hall in downtown Norwalk, Connecticut. “This is our first time here [the club], but not our first time in Connecticut,” said Nicky Mehta, who plays drums.

From left, Masse, Mehta and Moody–the three Ms. (Jim Motavalli photo)

In two sets (punctuated by an intermission) the Jennys performed songs from their six albums with the confidence of pros. Heather Masse (the jazzer in the band; she’s made duet albums singing standards with trombone player Roswell Rudd and pianist Dick Hyman) plays bass. And Ruth Moody is a guitarist. In Norwalk they had two men helping them out, on lead guitar, mandolin and fiddle.

The Jennys’ put lovely, soaring harmonies at the center of their sound, and at the service of their strong songs, from the pens of all three. It’s a very democratic group. For Paul Simon’s “Love You Like a Rock,” they put their instruments down for unison singing and syncopated handclaps. They came forward to do it again for traditional Irish song “The Parting Glass” at the end, but kept dissolving in laughter, eventually singing something else.

The Jennys just before they cracked up. From left, Mehta, Moody, Masse. (Jim Motavalli photo)

After 20 years, if bands don’t drift apart—and break up—they drift apart geographically and stay together. Masse grew up in Maine and now lives in Taos, New Mexico. Moody is one of the band’s two Canadians. Canada is integral to their story: The band got started at a performance in a little guitar shop in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Without Masse; she arrived a few years later.)

Today, Moody splits her time between Nashville and Vancouver Island, BC. Mehta is the last band member in Winnipeg, where she mentors young musicians through Manitoba Music. Masse, who grew up in Maine, is now in Taos, New Mexico.

Warren Zevon’s last song ever was “Keep Me in Your Heart,” and the Jennys wrang every ounce of pathos out of it. It’s what we want, isn’t it? That we be remembered, at least for a little while. There seems to be a Tom Petty revival underway—including a new country tribute to him—and in Norwalk it was turned into an aching bluegrass ballad. The man could write.

One of my favorite Jennys songs, performed in Norwalk, is “The Bird Song,” a Mehta/Masse co-write. “I smell the flowers blooming, opening for spring/I’d like to be those flowers, open to everything.” It’s the title song of a Masse album, too.

Mehta made a pitch for the National Alliance on Mental Illness that works with disadvantaged populations. It’s a band cause. The names of contributors at the concert went into a hat, and the winner got a pile of Jennys merch. Innovative.

Ruth Moody on stage with the Jennys. (Jim Motavalli photo)

A few days after the show I spoke briefly with Ruth Moody for my WPKN radio show. Her solo album Wanderer is just out, and well worth investigating. If it sounds quieter to these ears it’s because, as Moody puts it, “The three-part harmony in the Jennys makes it a bigger sound.” The album was recorded in Nashville at Sound Emporium, which Moody says is “a great studio.”

Barely home, she was already packing for a solo tour that will take her to Joe’s Pub in New York May 25. “I just got home from the Jenny’s tour, and I have just enough time to do the laundry and have a couple of rehearsals with my band,” she said.

Moody said that Canadian radio’s local content laws don’t help her get much airplay in the Great White North. “Maybe it helps Bryan Adams,” she said. And as to breaking up on stage, she said, “We come forward and sing that song off-mike, and that means hearing each other differently. Sometimes one of us will get the giggles because someone else’s voice sounds a little funny. It triggers something and it can be hard to recover.” The full WPKN interview with Ruth Moody is here.