LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Townes Van Zandt Covers

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country, and roots music

September 9, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We actually began this Episode of the Lookback Machine considering our thirty (30) favorite songs from the rich catalog of Townes Van Zandt himself, before decided to do something a bit different. Several years ago, back in our Radio Daze, we presented a program featuring nothing but Townes covers. Of course, there are plenty of these to choose from - we're pretty confident that only Dylan covers outnumber TVZ takes in our kind of music. In most instances, we haven't highlighted some of the more obvious, front-of-mind choices (Willie Nelson's "Poncho & Lefty"), opting for a wider range and reach. 

We've arranged these in order of appearance, like we like. Songs are ordered based on their initial studio recording - Townes had a habit of recording certain tunes multiple times for different albums. Following the artist and song, we've noted the record which included the cover and the year of that release. Of course, there have been copious posthumous collections (of varying quality). With a couple exceptions, we focus on the man's legendary stuff, released during his lifetime. 

TOWNES VAN ZANDT COVERS: thirty favorites

For the Sake Of the Song  (1968)

   - Azure Ray, "For the Sake Of the Song" November EP  (2002)

   - Nanci Griffith, "Tecumseh Valley" Other Voices Other Rooms  (1993)

   - Shane McGowan, "Waitin' Around To Die" Riding the Range: Songs Of Townes Van Zandt  (2010)

   - Jason Molina, "I'll Be Here In the Morning" Townes Van Zandt Covers EP  (2016)

   - Lemonheads, "Sad Cinderella" single  (2025)

Our Mother the Mountain  (1969)

   - Erika Wennerstrom & Heartless Bastards, "Be Here To Love Me" Tribute To Townes Van Zandt EP  (2019)

   - Jonell Mosser, "St John the Gambler" Around Townes  (1996)

Townes Van Zandt  (1969)

   - Jay Farrar & Shannon McNally, "Don't Take It Too Bad" Don't Ya Take It Too Bad  (2025)

   - Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer, "Lungs" Not Dark Yet  (2017)

   - Bright Eyes, "Fare Thee Well Miss Carousel" I'm Wide Awake It's Morning: Companion EP  (2005)

High Low and In Between  (1971)

   - Jolie Holland & Samantha Parton, "You Are Not Needed Now" Wildflower Blues  (2017)

   - Scott H Biram, "Highway Kind" Fever Dreams  (2020)

   - Guy Clark, "To Live Is To Fly" Old Friends  (2006)

   - Pete Bernhard, "Mr Mudd and Mr Gold" Straight Line  (2009)

   - Bart Budwig, "High Low and In Between" The Moon and Other Things  (2016)

Delta Momma Blues  (1971)

   - Hurray For the Riff Raff, "Delta Momma Blues" My Dearest Darkest Neighbor  (2013)

   - Steve Earle, "Brand New Companion" Townes  (2009)

   - Alela Diane, "Rake" Alela & Alina  (2009)

   - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, "Nothin'" Raising Sand  (2007)

The Late Great  (1972)

   - Jason Isbell & Elizabeth Cook, "Poncho & Lefty" single  (2013)

   - Holmes Brothers, "If I Needed You" Simple Truths  (2004)

Flyin' Shoes  (1978)

   - Sallie Ford, "Loretta" Days Full Of Rain  (2016)

   - Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, "No Place To Fall" Hawk  (2010)

   - Lyle Lovett, "Flyin' Shoes" Step Inside This House  (1998)

   - Malcolm Holcombe, "Dollar Bill Blues" When the Wind Blows: Songs Of Townes Van Zandt  (2018)

   - Son Volt & Kelly Willis, "Rex's Blues" A Retrospective 1995-2000  (1995)

At My Window  (1987)

   - Gretchen Peters & Tom Russell, "Snowin' On Raton" One To the Heart One To the Head  (2009)

   - Peter Case, "Ain't Leavin' Your Love" Beeline  (2002)

Abnormal  (1998)

   - Gourds, "Two Girls" Shinebox  (2001)

No Deeper Blue  (1995)

   - Cowboy Junkies, "Cowboy Junkies Lament" Black Eyed Man  (1992)

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK (September 8, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

September 8, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

For this week's WSGATW?!! we gave some thought to reviews of records from Hollow Hand and the two-disc set from Futurebirds. We puzzled over the possibility of shedding light on the rebirth of the Yawpers. And we flirted with rewinding the clock for an appreciation of a couple earlier projects that we discovered through some of our fellow blogging pals - Convinced Friend and Will Hasell. In the end, we settled on this. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Listening to Lily Seabird is a thrill, akin to witnessing a wirewalker about whose fate you're genuinely concerned and uncertain. Most met the Vermont songwriter (nee Lily Seward) on 2025's rootsy Trash Mountain, a project that served as an exception from her first pair of albums, 2021's Beside Myself and '24's superb Alas, both of which dwelt in more noise. While Lightspheres On Their Way (Lame-O, presently in physical release, streaming on October 2) strikes a balance, it is more a return to the noise and sprawl than an extension of last year's work. 

Coproduced with Garret Linck, Lightspheres speaks to instability and change, but is ultimately victorious in its confidence of expression. Seabird invests more in her singing voice on these songs, an often unsteady instrument that can't help but betray a touch of twang. This is most evident on "Bindlestiff", a piece that owes its imagery to the itinerant wanderers of Steinbeck's East Of Eden: Jumbled up and wandering men, drifters with associations only for a day or two. Rick Soszynski's polished lap steel carries across a strummed acoustic guitar and Seabird's wordy delivery. Seabird's lyrics are uncommonly poetic, bending the visionary and personal to meet familiar detail: I saw the road going on forever long after you had departed / And there will always be that lonesome dog barking / And the low and tumbling hum of the forever young. "Slipswitch" portrays the songwriter recklessly balancing her lyrics atop a rickety acoustic guitar for a stunning effect. 

"Election Day" and "Portal To the Past" trade acoustic for a savage and growling electric guitar, sometimes resembling Magnolia Electric Co. at their most unleashed. Lily Seabird launches her vocals aloft during these moments, contributing to the air of abandonment and intensity. On several tracks, Eliza Niemi's cello stirs the tempest, contributing an ominous note to the arrangements. Lyrics seldom reach for the rhyme, and songs eschew a verse-chorus-verse structure in favor of a stream-of-consciousness sprawl. An impact often triggers with just one phrase or tangle of words. The album's opener, "The Pulley" pulls us along with a steady harmonium and acoustic strings, the singer asking, Am I still allowed to pray even if I don't believe anymore. 

On the LP's closing title cut, Lily Seabird sketches the figure of her mother: Underneath those Bucks Country stars, with her cigarettes in the snow / Bleary-eyed and too far gone, crying out to her daily dose of the Dead. Following eight-and-a-half songs of doubt and soul-searching, "Lightspheres On Their Way" resolves with the emotional major chord release. The songs of Lightspheres identify where we've been severed from one-another, but also hint at what might gather us back together and pull us forward. From the voice of Lily Seabird, it's an intensely personal message, relayed via music and lyrics that are stirringly original. 

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ROUTES-cast September 6, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

September 6, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast September 6, 2026

^ Hollow Hand, "Love Again" Wish Road South  (Loose, 26)

- Rubber Band Gun, "Carlo" Bloodwork  (Historic New Jersey, 26)  D

- Little Grandad, "Tiny Feet" Speak Softly Son  (Communion, Jan 22)  D

- GracieHorse, "5 Card Stud" Breaking and Entering  (Wharf Cat, Jan 29)  D

- Convinced Friend, "On Fire" Nowhere Songs  (Suddenly, 26)

- James Eichman, "4am" St Catherine Street  (Eichman, 26)

- Lou Turner, "Ants Underfoot" Strangels  (Turner, Nov 6)  D

- Angus & Julia Stone, "Take Me Back To Japan" Karaoke Bar  (Stone, 26)

- Bill Baird, "Horse Moon" Life Creates Itself  (Royal Oakie, Sep 25)

- Israel Nash, "Pretty Boy Floyd" Sweetheart Of the Rodeo  (Desert Folklore, Sep 25)

- Lily Seabird, "Lightspheres On Their Way" Lightspheres On Their Way  (Lame-O, Oct 2)

- Yawpers, "Starting Over" Teething  (DTTW, 26)

- Aaron Frazer, "Paint the Picture" Corners EP  (Dead Oceans, Oct 30)  D

- Liam Kazar, "Brain Dry" single  (Congrats, 26)  D

- Muireann Bradley, "Dancing On My Grave" Blackwood Pew EP  (Fontana, Oct 23)

- Sam Burton, "Fairweather Friend" Fairweather Friend  (Captured Tracks, Oct 30)

- Maisy Owen, "Fair Thee Well Miss Carousel (ft BJ Cole)" single  (Tompkins Square, 26)  D

- Anna Graves, "Damn In Love" America's Favorite Burnout  (Rounder, 26)

- AJ Fullerton, "All the Wrong Choices" Baretone EP  (Gitcha, 26)  D

- Cory Branan, "Price and the Cost" You'll Live  (Blue Elan, Oct 9)

- Johnny Delaware, "Less Fear More Soul" On God's Time  (Normaltown, Nov 6)

- Big Trouble, "Pipeno" On Elephant Hill  (Royal Oakie, Sep 18)

- Kacy Lee Anderson, "Outdated Songs" Hello I'm Irrelevant  (Earth Libraries, Oct 23)

- Bures Band, "Ozonia" Ozonia  (Love Police, 26)

- Futurebirds, "All I Want" Far Out Country I & II  (Dualtone, 26)

- Flatland Cavalry, "Strangers & Angels" Work Of Heart - Heartstrings  (Lost Highway, Oct 2)

- Benjamin Tod, "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend" Country Is Dead  (Tod, 26)

- case/lang/veirs, "Best Kept Secret (live)" case/lang/veirs (10th Anniversary Edition)  (Anti, 26)

- Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth, "Distance From Then" Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth  (Western Vinyl, Oct 2)

- Alabama Shakes, "Tea Time" I Must Be Dreaming  (ATO, 26)

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (September 4, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

September 4, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Almost any week prior to a holiday weekend provides a real challenge to practitioners of new music discovery. I suppose the folks who decide these things assume we're all too busy grilling things to fit it into our crowded schedule. Fortunately, our barbecue is currently full of bees, so that's not an option for us. 

It all makes us even more grateful for the artists who don't know any better than to share their new stuff  before Labor Day weekend. Here we'll also express our thankfulness for the tireless bloggers who do the same - you can browse some of our favorites right there beneath the A Good Place To Start heading. 

Following are five (5) new singles that we've especially enjoyed over the past week. We call it

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

^Lou Turner, "Ants Underfoot" Strangels  (Turner, Nov 6)

One of our very favorite records from this year is Styrofoam Winos. One of our very favorite records from last year is Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band. Those two projects share Lou Turner in common, who has just announced her next solo collection (and she's bought her flute!). Also, Lou's gorgeous take on Bruce Cockburn's "Pacing the Cage" was our favorite cover of 2024. 

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Little Grandad, "Tiny Feet"  Speak Softly Son  (Communion, Jan 22)

We're proud to present our first werewolf video here on WSGATW?!! At least that's what we think is going on here. What begins as a sweet acoustic ode crashes into a full-band buzz at the halfway point, sounding like classic Deer Tick. Perhaps the dog is just having a dream. 

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Lily Seabird, "Lightspheres On Their Way" Lightspheres On Their Way  (Lame-O, Oct 2)

Stop us if you've heard this one before: Glowy balls turn into bandmates who proceed to get stupid on the beach. No? Us neither. But it's a very good song from a potentially year-defining record that seems to maybe be released in physical format today, though streamers continue with the initial October 2 date. Surely we'll figure it out (though this video remains a mystery). 

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Muireann Bradley, "Dancing On My Grave" Blackwood Pew EP  (Fontana, Oct 23)

From Ireland, Bradley is a nineteen year-old folk 'n blues guitarist. Their 2023 debut was a raw, acoustic affair eavesdropping on the phenom as she performed a set of standards. Last Fall's Rose Dogs EP featured covers of more contemporary songs, as well as Bradley's debut original. This original hails from her October EP, and suggests somewhat of a more forward-thinking arrangement. 

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Kacy Lee Anderson, "Outdated Songs" Hello I'm Irrelevant  (Earth Libraries, Oct 23)

We've featured every single to date from Kacy Lee Anderson's debut full-length (she previously performed as half of Kacy & Clayton). This one speaks to the class and culture inherent in a public bowling alley. But also, good god what a voice. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (September 3, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

September 3, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

^If it seems Futurebirds have been releasing singles from their Far Out Country I & II project since dinosaurs and Sleestak roamed the earth, you're not wrong. We'll get the entire package tomorrow (Friday). Until then, Twangville checks in with the band about the value of something called Bandago, gas station chicken tenders, and working behind the counter at a Nashville candy store. 

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I Must Be Dreaming is the name of Alabama Shakes' just-released CD, as well as our response when we were told the trio would be reconvening after a lengthy hibernation. Paste magazine fleshes out the story of their reunion, how one or two songs became maybe an EP, then grew into a real live album. Oh, and hey, here is a full concert video, recorded a few days ago in Minneapolis. 

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As you're well aware, R&B is all about saving the world. The Guardian has leapt aboard the bandwagon (not really much room left), and has published a good piece about alt.country's newfound appeal to the British youngsters. Among other drops of knowledge: Florry's next album will have a Broadway show tune and a Caribbean rock song ... Huh. 

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Next week. Next Friday, Angela Autumn will release her long-awaited (by us) Believer album. Good Noise (we were here first) shares a video of Autumn sittin' in somebody's backyard playing a handful of her new tunes. 

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Is our kind of music funny? No. Not really. Not at all. Nevertheless, Lambchop celebrates the release of their excellent Punching the Clown with an amusing short about a radio interview gone awry. Incidentally, the part of Kurt Wagner will be played by a struggling actor. 

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As we eagerly await Twisted Teens' third LP of the year (and their debut for Sub Pop), the Another Thought Substack takes a deep dive into their feelings about the duo. If that doesn't grab you, there's also several videos and a couple cartoons. 

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Raven Sings the Blues comes through with a playlist curated by Jeffrey Silverstein, in advance of October 23's Doggone. In the guitarist's own words, This collection of songs is for truckin' on or truckin' home, songs for long hauls, road trips, and eeking out that last bit of summer. Get ready to learn yourself some new artists. 

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A couple weeks ago, Lindsay Lou released Bluegrass Women, a record rich with collaborations. She also prepared a four-part mini-doc of the same name, providing a glimpse behind the scenes into the album's creation. This week we've got the second Episode, which features ... well, just about every woman in the genre. 

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Here. You deserve this. Marcus King has gifted us with a lovely acoustic run through Wilco's "Either Way" from Sky Blue Sky. And if you're looking for some sideburn inspiration, go no further. King also offers some first-hand perspective on mental health. 

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We call it A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, at least until somebody steals that name. It's our exhaustingly updated release calendar. This week, we've added news of forthcoming music from Manor Close, whose Nobody Knows You're Here should be here on or around October 9. Aaron Frazer continues working on behalf of the Dead Oceans label, and has announced an EP, Corners, due October 30. Jake Bugg presents Alamo on November 13 (Lovebugg). And finally, Little Grandad (mentioned in that Guardian piece above) plans a January 22 release date for Speak Softly Son (Communion). Listen, not every week can be a blockbuster ...

LOOKBACK MACHiNE: David Berman

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

September 2, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Some of the artists we hold dearest can be acquired tastes. We're careful recommending them, knowing that they could do damage in the wrong ears.  Here we're thinking of names like Bill Callahan (and Smog), Bonnie Prince Billy (and Palace Brothers), Joe Pernice (and Scud Mountain Boys). We began this week considering assembling an entire playlist of these lovely train wrecks. Then we got to listening to David Berman (Silver Jews, Purple Mountains). 

Berman could also be part of our Gone Too Soon playlist, one of those tragic figures whose foreshortened lives can't help but add to their legend. Berman's own story speaks to a lifelong struggle with depression and addiction, brought to an end with his 2019 death. 

We begin our Lookback with a song from Early Times, an almost unlistenably lo-fi LP that brought together two very early Silver Jews EPs. At that time, both Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich played along with Berman, albeit under pseudonyms in hopes of shaking the accusation that Silver Jews was just a Pavement side project. On their own, those early recordings can sound awfully raw and unfinished, amateurish at best. The value of a playlist like ours is to suggest Berman's remarkable growth and evolution as a songwriter, catching glimpses of this brilliance at its inception. 

Now under their proper names, Makmus and Nastanovich continued to contribute to Silver Jews records going forward. But the focus of projects like American Water and Bright Flight was rightly on David Berman's lyrical gift. Set to a shambling, countrified expression of indie rock, he was a poet who fronted a band, an accomplished writer whose output usually rhymed. 

Following 2008's Lookout Mountain, he dissolved Silver Jews and retreated from the spotlight. 2019's Purple Mountains featured Berman with the support of members of Woods and Dan Auerbach, for a terrifically promising result. Lamentably, David Berman ended his life just weeks after its release.

We never apologize for the music we love. In fact, one of the purposes of R&B is to bring attention to artists like David Berman, ideally telling readers why you should care. Even as the project of a troubled soul, Silver Jews and Purple Mountains have added light and color to our lives. We're gonna live in Nashville / And I'll make a career / Out of writing sad songs / And getting paid by the tear ...

DAViD BERMAN: thirty favorites

- "Secret Knowledge Of Back Roads" Early Times  (2012)

- "Trains Across the Sea" Starlite Walker  (1994)

- "New Orleans" 

- "Rebel Jew" 

- "How To Rent a Room" Natural Bridge  (1996)

- "Black and Brown Blues" 

- "Dallas" 

- "Pretty Eyes" 

- "Random Rules" American Water  (1998)

- "Smith & Jones Forever"

- "Honk If You're Lonely"

- "Wild Kindness" 

- "Tennessee"  Tennessee EP  (2001)

- "I'm Gonna Love the Hell Out Of You" 

- "Slow Education"  Bright Flight  (2001)

- "Room Games and Diamond Rain"

- "Horseleg Swastikas" 

- "Friday Night Fever"

- "Punks In the Beerlight" Tanglewood Numbers  (2005)

- "Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed" 

- "I'm Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You"

- "How Can I Love You If You Won't Lie Down"

- "Suffering Jukebox" Lookout Mountain Lookout Sea  (2008)

- "San Francisco BC"

- "Candy Jail" 

- "We Could Be Looking For the Same Thing"

- "That's Just the Way That I Feel"  Purple Mountains  (2019)

- "All My Happiness Is Gone"

- "Darkness and Cold"

- "Snow Is Falling In Manhattan" 

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK (September 1, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

September 1, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

There was a time in the 80s when just about every week brought a new batch of music that sounded like variations on REM. 10,000 Maniacs, Lloyd Cole, Let's Active, Pylon, etc etc. And that's just the handful of acts that momentarily rose above the pack. Eventually, the whole jangle thing died down, leaving just a few surviving acts (and a couple Prefab Sprout devotees wondering whatever happened to Paddy McAloon). 

Point is, today's torrent of slacker country feels sort of similar, with a weekly slate of bands produced by Alex Farrar and six degrees from MJ Lenderman. This too shall pass a'la jangle pop, and in the meantime our challenge is to identify the artists with the staying power to outshine the flash in the pan. This isn't to say that there's little or no value in the trend. It's often how musical evolution happens, and change is essential to the abiding relevance of our kind of music. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Among our favorite purveyors of slacker country is Dogwood Tales. From rural Virginia, the quartet's January collaboration with Euphoria Again has held a spot on our running year-end favorites list. Though their new Every Star In Rockingham County is their fourth full-length project, it's their most widely publicized. Most earlier Dogwood Tales records featured elements of the indie country that populates their new collection, but Every Star unpacks their sound a bit, leaning more deliberately in that roots direction. 

Fronted by singer-guitarists Kyle Grim and Ben Ryan, and featuring drummer Jake Golibart and Danny Gibney on bass, these songs are ingrained in the anxiety and longing that typifies small town days. "McMemories" notes, Stadium lights / Always felt like / The only way this little town could see / A good thing. The music of Dogwood Tales has always included more dense guitars, though they are increasingly sludgy here, frequently paired with more melodic pedal steel. The project's most decidedly country moment, "Angel Dreams" is rooted in Jason Summer's playing, lyrics addressing that pervasive uncertainty: We drove to Southern Kitchen / You wouldn't even play my favorite song. 

Produced by Erik Romero, Every Star balances midtempo cuts with slower, hungover numbers. Lyrics are occasionally opaque, but convey real overall emotion, peppered with passages that are eloquent in their yearning. One of the LP's only acoustic arrangements, "Try 2" begins, I'm thinking about getting stuck in Ohio / I don't miss you, I just try to. And later, I still feel the weight of the world / On your back through my fingertips. Where some indie country outfits emphasize volume over finesse, Dogwood Tales achieves an admirable balance. "Ralph Samson" projects that melodicism through a wall of electric guitar: When I drive to your place / I always take the long way / There. 

Every Star In Rockingham County can be both romantic and defeatist, not infrequently in the same track. The title song begins, Purple mountains, empty highways / Moon in crescent, brake lights guiding / You're so high but you feel like driving. The chorus continues, I have wished on / Every star in this county / But it's so hard to focus / When everything feels / Broken. Slacker country, indie country, alt.country. Whatever you call it, the trend is building new branches for our kind of music. Artists like Dogwood Tales are expanding the boundaries, increasing the volume, flying in the face of tradition and familiarity for all the right reasons. 

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