Interview

Interview: Chuck Mead (@ The Hamilton Live, 7/23/19)

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Chuck Mead
Chuck Mead (Photo by Joshua Moon Wilkins)

In the ’90s through the mid ’00s, Chuck Mead led the (alt-)country band BR5-49, which placed several albums into the country charts, despite minimal radio airplay. Following the band’s hiatus, Chuck became the musical director for the Broadway show Million Dollar Quartet and its TV spin-off, Sun Records. Chuck has also released four solo records including, just this June, Close to Home.

This coming Tuesday, July 23, Chuck will appear in the Cosmic Honky Tonky Revue at The Hamilton Live with Jason Ringenberg and Jim Lauderdale. Mark Engleson of Parklife DC caught up with him before the show.

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Interview: Abby Anderson (@ The Anthem, 7/12/19)

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Abby Anderson (Photo by John Shearer)

Abby Anderson was so anxious to get to Nashville and start her music career, she asked to be homeschooled through her senior year of high school so she could graduate early and get a head start. At just 17, Abby arrived in Nashville with a suitcase and a dream. That was 2015.

Today, she’s got a recording contract and is spending her summer touring the country in support of Rob Thomas’ Chipped Tooth Tour. The tour comes to DC with a performance on Friday, July 12, at The Anthem.

Parklife DC’s Ari Strauss recently chatted with Abby about the upcoming show at The Anthem and her experience getting her career underway in Nashville.

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Interview: Eilen Jewell (@ Mason District Park Amphitheater, 7/12/19)

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Eilen Jewell
Eilen Jewell (Photo courtesy conqueroo)

Americana singer-songwriter Eilen (pronounced ee-len) Jewell’s music mixes the influences of classic country and blues. On her last album, Down Hearted Blues, she covered a dozen classic tracks from that genre. She’s releasing a new album of original songs, Gypsy, next month.

Eilen will perform in Mason District Park on Sunday, July 12 at 7:30pm. The concert is sponsored Fairfax County and is free and open to the public. Parklife DC’s Mark Engleson caught up with Eilen for a chat prior to the show.

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Interview: Dom Flemons (@ Hill Center, 6/30/19)

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Dom Flemons (Photo courtesy Smithsonian Folkways)

Dom Flemons received a Best Folk Album Grammy Award nomination this past year for his album Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys. Black Cowboys sheds a light on the music, culture, and the complex history of the golden era of the Wild West by following the footsteps of the thousands of African American pioneers that helped build the United States of America. In 2010, as a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dom won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk for Genuine Negro.

In a conversation with Parklife DC’s Mark Engleson, Dom discusses his path from Phoenix to DC, the reception he’s gotten for Black Cowboys and for a broader history of the American West, and his upcoming gig at the Hill Center at the former Naval Hospital on Sunday, June 30.

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Interview: Jonny Grave (@ Black Cat, 6/15/19)

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Jonny Grave performs at Jammin’ Java on April 10, 2019. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)

Jonny Grave, the man and his music, defy categorization. Yes, he learned his chops studying blues greats like Son House, Blind Willie Johnson, and R.L. Burnside, but as I sat down to write this piece, I opened up the advance file of his new EP, IMPALA, and something unexpected and wondrous began pouring from the speakers.

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Interview: Terri Nunn of Berlin (@ The Anthem, 9/17/19)

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Terri Nunn
Terri Nunn (Photo courtesy Mint Artist Management)

Berlin, the California-based new wave collective, recruited Terri Nunn as lead singer in 1979, and so the band is celebrating 40 years of making music this year. Over the decades, Berlin has continued as a live band with Terri’s undeniably alluring vocals, but the classic lineup of the band only ever made three records together — Pleasure Victim (1982), Love Life (1984), and Count Three & Pray (1986). But what three marvelous albums!

Today, Terri has reunited with her classic bandmates, John Crawford and David Diamond. Berlin recorded a new album, Transcendence, due for release on Aug. 2. Meanwhile, The B-52s invited Berlin to open for them on a farewell tour, including a stop at The Anthem on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

Parklife DC’s Mickey McCarter recently chatted with Terri Nunn about working with John Crawford and David Diamond again, the upcoming megatour, and being a female musician, among other things.

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