Tag Archives: Lucinda Williams

KC Cafe Radio to cover SERFA, Kerrville Folk Festival

KC Cafe Radio is pleased to announce our first-ever broadcast coverage from two outstanding music events this spring!  Thanks to the efforts of our own David Hakan and his Gypsy Wagon Mobile Recording Studio, we will provide coverage from the 2019 Southeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference, May 15-19 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as well as the Kerrville Folk Music Festival from Kerrville, Texas May 23-June 9.

The annual Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) is one of the regional arms of Folk Alliance International.  Their annual conferences are held in the spring, this year in Chattanooga, Tennessee, bringing together artists, songwriters, presenters, DJs, and other music industry professionals.  This year, the conference will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the Chattanoogan Hotel.

Now in it’s 47th year, the Kerrville Folk Music Festival is an 18-day and night event held just south of Kerrville, Texas, in what is known as “Texas Hill Country.”  It has been instrumental in launching the careers of the likes of Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen, and Lucinda Williams.  Over 1500 musicians have appeared on its main stages over the years.

Tune in as David talks with both familiar and upcoming music talent appearing at these events, and we will get song or two along the way.  Listen for these conversations and performances throughout our regular programming on KC Cafe Radio Thursdays through Sundays between May 16 and June 9.  Archived recordings of the conversations and performances from that weekend’s broadcast will be archived to our website during the week following broadcast.

Lauren Adams : From Troubadour to Somewhere Else

Lauren AdamsHow many ways are there for a performing songwriter to “make it?”

You could hit the Top 40, as Ed Sheeran did.

A big-name recording artist could cover one of your songs, like when country superstar Dierks Bentley made Travis Meadows‘ song “Riser” the title track of his last album.

For Americana singer-songwriter Lauren Adams, it was when she met a fan who had tattoo’ed a line from one of her songs onto her foot. “I’ve shared the stage with some pretty big names and even had my song in a major motion picture but this girl’s foot is easily the most satisfying milestone of my career,” she said with a chuckle.

That kind of audience appreciation is what keeps an artist going in the absence of big-time success. From her first guitar lesson as a Florida teenager to her arrival in Los Angeles to her new album, Somewhere Else, Adam’s has always kept going.

Adams’ musical journey began on the stage of the world-famous Troubadour in West Los Angeles with a performance that was so tentative, she was completely caught off guard by the waves of applause. “The response was so positive,” she said, “that I realized, ‘Hey, I could actually do this.’” That was summer of 1978, when the club still hosted its open-mic “Hoot Night,” where songwriters could get up and play a few.

Since that time, Adams has opened shows for Leon Russell in Fort Lauderdale and for Rita Coolidge in Southern California; Gigged regularly (some would say “relentlessly”) at clubs and festivals across California, Texas, Colorado, and in Nashville, Tennessee; Released three albums of her own songs; Had her song “Thirsty” featured in the Lion’s Gate film Peaceful Warrior (starring Nick Nolte); And she has hosted LA’s longest-running Americana music event, the Americana Song Circle for 10 years.

On her newest album, Somewhere Else, Adams delivers quality songwriting in the Carol King/Eagles/Lucinda Williams vein: deep Americana roots and vivid storytelling delivered by a group of tasteful, compassionate players including her producer and friend Nick Kirgo (Nels Kilne of Wilco, JD Souther, Vonda Shepard, Pocket Goldberg and Dave Fraser).

Recently, KC Cafe Radio Music Director Kathy Forste talked with Adams via Skype. They talked about growing up with music in her life, brushing with greatness at the Trroubadour, and the uniquely rewarding connection she has been afforded between her life and her songs.

Listen to the interview here:

Download the interview here: Interview: Lauren Adams