Pipes's Picks: Best of 2021

2021 saw a boon of great music from established artists and emerging performers alike

Here are 15 amazing records worth a spin that I really enjoyed this year.

Cheers to a great 2022 which hopefully will bring a year with more live shows and fine tunes!

1. Billy Strings- Reveal
Arguably the hottest roots/Americana act to emerge out of the pandemic, Billy Strings is the real deal in terms of his guitar dexterity, songwriting, and passion.  His live show is exceptional, and his most recent record, Reveal,  may be his best to date.  Great lyrics, songwriting, and blending of bluegrass and Americana styles.

Stand-Out Tracks: "This Old World," "Know it All," "Heartbeat of America"

2. Hiss Golden Messenger- Quietly Blowing It

MC Taylor has emerged as one of the top troubadours of our era.  Seriously, I don't think there is a Hiss album that has not made my best of the year lists in quite some time.  Quietly Blowing It has a sincerity and earnestness about it which makes it stand out in a field of great singer-songwriter records.  In addition, his holiday record Oh, Come All Ye Faithful is superb (best holiday record in a long time). 

Stand-Out Tracks: :"Hardlytown," "Glory Strums (Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner)," "Sanctuary"

3. Them Coulee Boys- Namesake

Soren Staff and company are on the top of their game these days. The Eau Claire natives delivered a stellar follow up to their acclaimed Die Happy record from 2019. With strong, emotive, narrative lyrics, a diversity of styles and sweeping harmonies, Them Coulee Boys are growing into a midwest juggernaut of soulful Americana music.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Namesake," "Given Up," "Knuckleballer," "Phil's Song"

4. The War on Drugs- I Don't Live Here Any More

Adam Granduciel and the boys have come a long way from when I first saw them at the Metro in Chicago in 2014 on the Lost in a Dream tour. The band takes its time in between releases and has become one of indie rock's biggest acts in recent years blending styles of Americana, neo-psychedelia, and even some late 70's/80's album-rock guitar work. It is a masterful combination that works. I Don't Live Here Anymore holds up as another stellar release from start to finish.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Change," "I Don't Live Here Anymore," "Living Proof"

5. Fruit Bats- The Pet Parade

Eric Johnson is a busy man these days. His folk supergroup, Bonny Light Horsemen dropped one of my favorite records last year, and this year Johnson and his lead project, Fruit Bats, dropped not one but two stellar releases. The original recording The Pet Parade and a cover album of Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream, which the band reinterpreted in a really creative and interesting way. While Fruit Bats have been a staple on the folk-indie scene for quite some time now, Johnson and his crew have aged like a fine wine or barrel aged stout, as his recent songwriting is perhaps his best to date.

Stand-Out Tracks: "The Balcony," "The Pet Parade," "Holy Rose," "Cherub Rock," "Hummer"

6. Courtney Barnett- Things Take Time, Take Time

There isn't an artist out there right now who can spin a tale with such description of the ordinary in an extraordinary way like Australia's Courtney Barnett. Her collaborative record with Kurt Vile, 2017's Lotta Sea Lice, has grown into one of my favorite records of all time, and her penchant for quirky storytelling has continued to evolve. Things Take Time, Take Time, is true to form for Barnett whose masterful lens at life is evident across the short but sweet record.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Rae Street," "Before You Gotta Go," "Write a List of Things to Look Forward To"

7. My Morning Jacket- My Morning Jacket

The Jacket has been one of my favorite bands for decades now, and they continue to evolve and impress with great new music. Their self-titled release from this year is on par with some of their best, and is my favorite Jacket record since Circuital which was released in 2011. You can tell that Jim James and company took their time off in solo projects to reenergize a bit as this record is a real barn burner of rock in only the way My Morning Jacket can deliver.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Penny For Your Thoughts," "Love, Love, Love," "Lucky to Be Alive"

8. Mdou Moctar- Afrique Victime

Mdou Moctar has arrived in a big way on the global stage. The Turaeg guitarist and his bandmates have created a unique sound filled with amazing guitar work and jams. Afrique Victime is Mdou's most ambitious album to date. Often times you can feel the beat of the music sounding like the footsteps of camels through the Sahel region of Africa on the tracks, as pointed out to me by Mdou's virtuoso bass player, Mikey Coltun in a conversation this past year. While I was extremely bummed that Mdou's shows with fellow superb guitarist, Steve Gunn were cancelled last year, I can't wait to see him and his great band again this spring in Milwaukee.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Tala Tannam," "Chrismitin," "Afrique Victime"

9. Sierra Ferrell- Long Time Coming

Upon first listen to Sierra Ferrell, I thought to myself, "am I listening to a younger Dolly Parton?" Ferrell's voice has a huge range like Parton's and her songwriting focuses on relationships and storytelling. Ferrell is one of the top emerging Americana artists, and her live show really showcases the sheer power of her vocals. Her music takes you through the full prism of emotions from jolly jams to more reflective ballads, told in a more traditional country style that she simultaneously pays homage to and makes her own. She is certainly an artist on the rise whose record Long Time Coming continues to grow on me with each listen.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Jeremiah," "Bells on Every Chapel," "Dreams"

10. Strand of Oaks- In Heaven

Timothy Showalter is a man who has found a new lease on life since getting sober. A longtime fan of Strand of Oaks, it is clear to see the progression and expansion of Showalter's sound that started on 2019's Eraserland and continues on his most recent release In Heaven. Showalter is about as emotionally raw of a songwriter as you can find. He is a human who truly wears his heart on his sleeve and is about as committed to his fans as any performer I know. This record further expands Showalter's music into psychedelic rock realms while holding true to the rawness of emotion that has made Strand of Oaks such a stellar act over the past decade plus. You can feel the joy that Showalter experienced making this record come through on each and every listen,.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Somewhere in Chicago," "Galacticana," "Easter."

11. Trapper Schoepp- May Day

Milwaukee's own Trapper Schoepp released his finest record to date this year, May Day. Schoepp is a true observer of the world around him and crafts his songs with precision and great attention to detail. May Day showcases this from the opening title track on. Schoepp happens have a May 1st birthday and released the record with sending fans who ordered it packs of flower seeds (a truly creative touch). As Schoepp continues to hone his craft, this young songwriter proves how his tales of life, loss, love, and laughter can be delivered with great introspection and emotion. May Day serves well as a full piece record to enjoy in one sitting, while simultaneously being a collection of ten stellar tracks. The sky's the limit for Schoepp and his awesome band.

Stand-Out Tracks: "May Day," "Yellow Moon," "Solo Quarantine," "River Called Disaster"

12. Mike and the Moonpies- One to Grow On

Austin's Mike and the Moonpies have continued to grow as one of the premier country honky-tonk acts in the country. Their live show is packed with energy, enthusiasm and terrific tight musicianship. True to honky-tonk form, Mike Harmeier tells stories that hook the listener into the world of juke-joints, bars, and tales from a band on the road. The dexterity of the musicians in the band and their honest and jovial take on our modern times makes One to Grow On a stellar record.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Rainy Day," "Paycheck to Paycheck," "Social Drinkers"

Enjoy my Pipes's Picks Best of 2021 Playlist which features these great artists and many others who produced exceptional music over the past twelve months.

The Reemergence of Live Music: Getting Back to the Love of Shows

As the great Joni Mitchell once wrote in her hit single “Big Yellow Taxi,”, “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?” (Joni Mitchell “Big Yellow Taxi,” Ladies of the Canyon, ©1970).  

The past eighteen or so months living in a general void of live music has taken its toll on musicians, venues, and the hospitality industry for sure.  It also has taken its toll on the fans, and in so many ways, the lack of music has been a punch to the gut of our collective human souls.

There is something purely magical about a live performance and the relationship between the artist and the audience… an energy so palpable that it cannot truly be recreated in any other setting.  Sure, streaming shows served their purpose of keeping people connected with artists and provided a reprieve in Netflix binge watching.  However, without a live audience there isn’t that same communal feeling or energy.  Music is best when it is shared live and with an audience.  Period.  Live music unites us as diverse people in our great city, not unlike how this summer the entirety of Milwaukee seemed to be “Fearing the Deer,”  and supporting our World Champion Milwaukee Bucks. 

“It feels amazing to be back out there making music together and in front of an in-person audience!” Sarah Vos, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Milwaukee folk-Americana band Dead Horses exclaimed in a recent interview with MKERocks,  “I believe that the audience and the space literally change what is happening musically, and I really missed that. It's fun to re-approach the performance and the songs after having over a year off from touring as everything feels so fresh.”   

Vos and her band Dead Horses, which features longtime bandmate bassist Daniel Wolff,  went from playing over 100 shows a year to hardly any during the COVID pandemic.  Vos continued, “Not being able to tour provided a space from the go-go-go attitude we've had throughout much of our time together as a band. New and fresh perspective and inspiration is so necessary in art, and these challenging times have presented just that.”

“I feel so refreshed and focused after the time off,” Vos added with a grin, “It's fascinating that the pandemic and the times that have come with it are affecting all of us together- regardless of our beliefs or any divisiveness about it. This is something that the whole world has been going through together. Personally, I took a fair amount of time off from writing much music. The time really refreshed me in a way that has helped me take a turn in my songwriting which is super exciting!” 

Dead Horses have played a few shows this summer with more tour dates being added this fall, as the band begins to emerge from the thralls of the pandemic and get back on the road.  Dead Horses have performed primarily at smaller festivals this summer, including their headlining performance at “SnoFest '' in Two Rivers, Wisconsin this past July alongside Adam Gruel of Horseshoes and Handgrenades, and Ryan Necci and the Buffalo Gospel.  Speaking of Adam Gruel, he and Vos collaborated on a project during the quarantine where both songwriters crafted a series of duet performances.  Vos guested on Gruel’s set, sharing some of these new tunes at the SnoFest gig.  In addition, Dead Horses has a series of theater shows coming up this fall as well as a run opening for virtuoso mandolinist, Sierra Hull.  

Like Vos, Milwaukee’s Joseph Huber went from a robust touring schedule to almost a complete shut-down as well.  Prior to the pandemic, Huber had a long run of shows scheduled in support of his 2019 record Moondog.  Sadly, most of those did not happen.  MKE Rocks caught up with Huber before his recent show at the Cooperage earlier this month opening for country crooner Dale Watson. “Probably the best part of ‘getting back out there’ is remembering that music isn't just content that you create in some hidden behind-scenes-scenario and click out into the world from your computer. I had been working on a record and became so exhausted and jaded with the technical tinkering that the music seemed to no longer be a route to feeling freedom or joy. The first show back was nerve-racking like it hadn't been in years (while also being fun), but then every show following that just felt natural and great. People were ready to dance; ready to smile; ready to let loose--and we were too. It's the little or big surprises that come with every live performance that make you surprise yourself or be taken by surprise by others. We try to keep our live performances pretty informal, loose and fun. It's pretty much every show that someone takes a picture of us and I can look at us and see us smiling or laughing about something that I can't even remember, but...it happened. We were lost in the moment. It wasn't ‘just playing the songs,’ --it's the other surprises and moments that the songs allow to happen both for you and the audience.”

Huber continued, “Since being back at it a bit, everyone is just ready to have fun and there's been no pulling teeth. In terms of songwriting, I assume everyone thinks ‘Oh, you had so much downtime and inspiration from topsy-turvy world events that you were probably inspired to write so many songs!’ I guess I'd say that I wrote "a few" but really it was a difficult time in the moment as it was happening, and it didn't seem like it was my time or turn to write songs. I wrote poetry instead and worked in my shop to keep my hands busy. But music was zapped out of me for a second. That never lasts. It always comes flowing back into you, but I'll admit 2020 was a less-than-music year for me.”

Huber, alongside longtime bandmate Eston Bennett and Kenny Leiser on fiddle and guitar, blew the roof off of the Cooperage with a high-energy set of songs spanning his career.  From the sound of things, the smiles on the audience’s faces and the pure joy emanating from the band, Joseph Huber sounds as grand as ever.  

When asked about what the future holds for Joseph Huber, the prolific songwriter replied, “One thing I’ve definitely learned over the past year plus is let whatever comes your way speak, and let ideas that pop into your head have a fair shake and experiment with them, because they may make sense later way on down the road even if they don't make sense now.”

With the long absence of live music, I think we all, as fans and artists, realize that without tunes there was a piece of our collective souls that was missing. Let's do whatever we can to make sure that live music doesn't go away again. Music is a blessing, plain and simple.

To The Muse of Live Music by William Piper 
(recited as the introduction for Ryan Necci and the Buffalo Gospel @ Piper Patio, 7/10/21)

There is something extraordinarily palpable about live music.

Something primal, 

tangible, 

boisterous

Bold.

Something simultaneously whole ……………….and h o l y…. 

Something so powerful it has the ability to make us pound our feet passionately on the pavement, clap our hands until they are red and raw, 

and  high-five joyful strangers with exuberance and reckless abandon 

rejoicing in offkey unison
belting out a catchy refrain.

You see, there is something unique about live music,
Something that forces you to live in the moment…. 

To rejoice in the PRESENT…..that is the present……

and to put aside worries, anxieties, petty-problems, misunderstandings and the tick tock clock of everyday life, if even for just a second…..
for maybe a moment….
perhaps if you are truly blessed and lucky 

you 

may 

lose 

yourself 

for a while………….

perhaps tonight on this hill outside our home….

perhaps by sending your love on an 18 wheeler….
perhaps in a letter to Georgia…
perhaps….

 just  perhaps……

We can rejoice and celebrate together as one people clapping to one universal beat and in doing so we can escape the monotony and rigor of everyday life.

You see, live music is powerful… it’s big… it’s bold… it’s unabashed and raw and honest and RIGHT THERE.  

And that, that, my friends is the blessing and gift of it all… to be here, right here and right now, together, enjoying the beautiful muse that we call music.