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The Amp Reviews New Single from Van Plating

Geographical origin often plays an integral role in the influence of music and lyric development. The case of Van Plating’s new album, Orange Blossom Child, is no exception. Florida is a cultural melting pot of dialect, instruments, and storytelling that all lend influence to the music made by artists of the region. Storytelling among the indigenous Seminoles and early Spanish settlers laid the foundation of folk music traditions. Telling tales of life in the swampland and along coastlines, these stories evolved into songs set to music throughout the generations. The rich culture of Florida is a blend of African American, Caribbean, and Latin heritages. 

Some of the most prolific Americana musicians and storytellers from Florida include an intricate finger-picking style guitarist, Gamble Rogers; Americana rock icon, Tom Petty; and alt-country legend, Gram Parsons. As with Van Plating, they all built a sonic patchwork of the influences that make Florida the place it is. It’s rich with blues, rock ‘n roll, folk storytelling, and country music. Plating tied the sounds of music in her home state to the lyrics that tell the story of her life and created Orange Blossom Child. Van Plating wrote, engineered, and produced the album herself. The multi-instrumentalist invited along 33 fellow creatives to impart their talents onto her album. When I spoke with Van, I asked how she managed to get so many artists onboard. She revealed that she simply asked and to her great surprise, they all said yes.   

When Plating began writing songs again after a several-year hiatus, she hadn’t really thought it would be roots music. However, when she started playing live again after the pandemic shutdowns, many people even in her home area thought she was from another region. They assumed that because she “sounded so country” that she must be from Texas or Tennessee. This was a compliment to her authenticity. Van Plating grew up on country music. So, it was no wonder that when writing about life in the Sunshine State, that she would gravitate toward the genre known for documenting the American way of life. In a genre full of subtypes, Lakeland, Florida’s Plating has delivered her own brand of country: Orange Blossom Country. The beautiful photography for the album and its singles really prepares the listener for what they are about to hear. The jewel tones are so indicative of the Florida patina. The photo shoot wardrobe choices are also suggestive of the 90s country influences that Van Plating grew up with. 

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Americana UK Premieres New Single By Ed Snodderly

From learning old-time music in his family home to hosting John Lee Hooker, Guy and Townes.

Ed Snodderly is a child of the American South and he so is obsessed with its culture and music that he has spent nearly fifty years working with it. He learnt guitar on his father’s and uncles’ guitar which was bought in the ‘30s from the profits of the family’s tobacco crop. He has built a career as a singer-songwriter who had a couple of albums on the famed Sugar Hill label and his songs have been covered by Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas amongst others, he is co-founder of The Down Home venue in Johnson City, Tennessee, which has played host to everybody from blues players Willie Dixon and John Lee Hooker to songwriters of the calibre of Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. If this wasn’t enough he also teaches Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music at the University Of East Tennessee. Americana UK’s Martin Johnson caught up with Ed Snodderly over Zoom as he sat on a park bench in Asheville, North Caroline, to talk about his career and his latest record, ‘Chimney Smoke’, which features the cream of Nashville players and ex-pupil Amythyst Kiah. While he is a champion of roots music, he also recognises the influence of The Beatles on the world of music and he shares his love of avant-garde, jazz and rock guitarist Marc Ribot.

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Holler Premieres New Single from Van Plating

“Good girls have edges that the boys can’t break,” Van Plating remembers her mother saying to her. It’s a line that comes back to her in the bittersweet singalong chorus to ‘Orange Blossom Child.’

“You don’t get your significance from your role or your relationship to other people,” she explains. “It’s all about who you are, your intrinsic ‘you-ness’. That’s what makes you special and it’s worth celebrating.”

Taken from her keenly anticipated new album of the same name, ‘Orange Blossom Child’ is a dreamy slice of power pop reminiscent of the playful country-leanings of Jenny Lewis or Neko Case. It’s the kind of song that could have soundtracked The O.C.‘s Marissa and Ryan driving around Newport Beach in his beige Toyota Land Cruiser just as the sun slips down below the horizon.

“Jenny Lee passed away last year. Cancer, I think,” Van Plating says about the inspiration behind the song. “Everyone tells us to dream big, and she sure did.”

“Jenny’s dreams stayed big even when life didn’t cooperate. She wasn’t good in the obvious ways, but she was a brilliant cartoonist. After disappearing for years, she returned home and spent her last working years tending bar at the local restaurant.”

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Saving Country Music Premiers New Single by Ross Cooper

A real deal rodeo cowboy who turned in his spurs for a guitar, if you’re looking for authenticity in today’s plastic cowboy country space, look towards Ross Cooper. He gets you super excited for his new release by calling out all of the “all hat, no cattle” cowboys in Nashville with his song “Everybody Wants To Be A Cowboy.” 

“I’m a cowboy, and that’s always been a huge part of my ethos, and it’s absolutely inspired my songwriting, but at my core, I’m a writer and storyteller,” Cooper says. “It’s the part of me that has endured and makes me feel like I have a purpose. It’s so hard for me to pick a favorite on this album. Every song is a page out of my life that I’m excited to share with people.”

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Glide Magazine Premieres New Single by Colin Cutler

North Carolina-based singer-songwriter and Army veteran Colin Cutler might very well be the second coming of fellow Carolina musician/historian Dom Flemons. Armed with a banjo, guitar, and harmonicas, Colin’s music draws inspiration from various genres, including early country, blues, old-time, gospel, and rock and roll. It might be safe to say that if Bob Dylan would listen to new music, he might even mark a spot on his playlist for Cutler who evokes a Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft era of folksy and bluesy aesthetics. 

His upcoming album, Tarwater, set to be released on October 31st on Bandcamp and via streaming on November 3rd, is a unique marriage of Culter’s literary and musical interests. In a pilgrimage across the Americana genre, from his folk roots in banjo-based old-time to the gospel music of his Pentecostal upbringing, to honky-tonk country and blues-based roots rock, the lyrics explore the literary works of Flannery O’Connor, the Georgia Catholic writer whom Kurt Vonnegut hailed as “the greatest American short story writer of [his] generation.” Colin has transformed these stories into a captivating musical tapestry weaving together sound that captures the essence of life’s highs and lows.

Cutler first encountered the works of O’Connor during his college years. Initially uncertain about his feelings toward her writing, he recognized the depth of her storytelling, which placed characters in challenging circumstances to explore their true essence, shot through with sparks of the divine. This connection inspired him to record the Peacock Feathers EP (2018), featuring four songs based on characters from O’Connor’s short stories. The EP not only sparked engaging discussions at conferences but also granted Cutler the privilege of performing at O’Connor’s former home, now a museum, in Milledgeville. The project even caught the attention of BBC Introducing, earning him international recognition.

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Americana UK Premieres New Single By Philip Bowen

Appalachia is still a fertile breeding ground for new roots artists.

Appalachia has exerted a massive influence on American roots music over the years, being the region where the original Scottish and Irish settler’s music from Scotland and Ireland mixed with the blues of the black population to create something that is at once familiar but also different. The music was homemade, and played by friends and family rather than by professional musicians. This process is still happening today as the latest musician to emerge from the area, Philip Bowen, uses his Appalachian experiences as inspiration for his album ‘Old Kanawha’. Americana UK’s Martin Johnson caught up with Philip Bowen over Zoom in Detroit to discuss the stories behind ‘Old Kanawha’ and why he thinks there is a vampire in Appalachia. He explains how when he was growing up music was everywhere and at every gathering, including birthdays, weddings and funerals, guests would bring their instruments. He also hints at the challenges posed by Appalachia as he explains that his grandfather’s brother died of black lung, and how serious the current opioid crisis is in Appalachia. As far as his own musical influences are concerned he lists James Taylor, The Milk Carton Kids, Watchhouse, John Prine, and Jason Isbell as modern-day inspirational acts who are also very good storytellers. He also explains how social media has played a big part in his success to date. Finally, he explains that the Scottish influence in Appalachia is still strong as he names Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit as his favourite band of all time.

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