Roots Round-Up (Willie Nelson, Ruthie Foster, Joel Wood and more)

Ever since we lost Canyon Records, there have been far fewer pow wow albums coming out, it seems. So it’s nice to see something new in the field, especially from Joel Wood of the renowned Wood family who runs the Northern Cree pow wow drum, one of the best North American pow wow groups. Wood’s new album, Nîkan (Joel Wood ^****), has songs from the pow wow world, but sung in a slightly more intimate style, as well as prayer songs. The singing is glorious and uplifting and once you’ve acquired the taste for pow wow music – which can be a bit abrasive at first – you’ll find yourself wanting more.

At 91 years old, the great Willie Nelson is still releasing fantastic music and, more importantly, taking chances. His new album, Last Leaf on the Tree (Sony Music Entertainment ^****), was produced by his son Micah Nelson in Venice Beach, Los Angeles, and is mainly a series of inspired covers by the likes of Tom Waits, Beck, Nina Simone, Neil Young and others. His cover of Venice Beach alum Sunny War’s ‘If It Wasn’t Broken’ is one of my favourite moments on the album.

Speaking of legends reflecting back on their lives, the new album from Texas blues/folk singer Ruthie Foster, Mileage (Sun Label Group ^****), is a revelation. She’s looking back at a long life and bringing a feeling of hope to everything she’s seen. As always, Foster moves effortlessly through the crossroads of blues, folk and soul, buoyed by a roof-shaking voice and ace band. You’d think that folks from Foster’s generation, or from Nelson’s generation before, would be beaten down by the turn to the far right we’re experiencing in the US, but if she can anchor herself in love and hope, then we all can.

Way out in the Southern prairies of Alberta, Canada, precocious young songwriter Noeline Hoffman has just dropped an album, Purple Gas (La Honda Records ^****), of real-deal cowboy country music. The Canadian prairies’ rural reaches turn out some surprising great artists: Kacy & Clayton, Colter Wall, Richard Inman. You hear the difference especially in how they write about nature; the poetry of an artist that works in the harsh natural world every day sounds different. Hoffman’s a great example of hard-bitten, blue-collar roots country done very, very right, rife with references to ranch life in Canada, like her breakout title-track, about gas sold for agricultural purposes and dyed purple, that country star Zach Bryan covered with her.

Nashville-by-way-of-New Zealand old-time fiddler George Jackson can do no wrong by me. He’s technically brilliant as a fiddler, able to handle top-flight bluegrass, but plays pitch-perfect old-time fiddling as well. Pairing up with American old-time banjo player Brad Kolodner (who has a great duo with his father Ken and runs the Baltimore Old-Time Festival) on a duo tour of New Zealand, the two cut an album later in Nashville of subtle and sublime fiddle and banjo duets, Shady Lane (George Jackson ^****). Wandering behind many different instrument tunings and exploring tunes from across the South, the two blaze a path that’s lovely to follow.