FAVORiTE SONGS of 2020

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

November 6, 2020

Scott Foley, purveyor of lists

FAVORiTE SONGS of 2020

In future days we will look back upon this pandemic time and the changes that were wrought upon the music industry.  We'll note the monumental effect, for instance, of the artists' inability to tour, and the venues' struggle to survive.  The shuttering of festivals, the rarity of disposable income, the retreat of the music loving populace behind the walls of our houses in order to outlast the scourge.  It's all linked, and we'll be surfing the waves of the repercussions for years.  

We can also ask what will be the effect of this plague year on the music itself.  2020 has seen the web choked with living room concerts and virtual events, artists offering meh cover songs from the intimacy of their home studio.  We know that the global shutdown has delayed the release of countless albums, and postponed the career plans of rising stars.  Things aren't what they used to be.  

Nevertheless, music has been shared this year.  Albums have been released, and stories like Gillian Welch's remind us that some artists have been spurred on to fill their suddenly free time with creation and new recording projects.  2020 has likely seen more singles and EPs in our kind of music than in past years, perhaps serving as stopgaps until the reopening of roads and stages across the country.  Artists have tried new things, which is often a Good Thing.  

Throughout it all, we fans and consumers need to remain aware that livelihoods and careers are at stake in many cases.  Even when moderate gatherings are once again safeish, when the Music Machine begins to rumble back to life, some will be left behind.  We focus largely on independent artists, small labels and promoters who operate on a shoestring as a true labor of love.  Which makes it all the more important to support this under-the-radar stuff, to commit with Routes & Branches to the mission of music discovery.  

Which brings us to this year's ROUTES-cast of my favorite songs - thirty tunes that have remained prominent among the couple hundred we included in our weekly set lists over the past twelve months.  These are in no special order, and I would be hard-pressed to decide which among these would end as my Number 1.  These might be my Top Five:

Innocence Mission, "On Your Side"

Jerry Joseph, "Sugar Smacks"

Pokey LaFarge, "Fuck Me Up"

Low Cut Connie, "Wild Ride"

Margo Price, "That's How Rumors Get Started"

But on to the ROUTES-cast.  

- Jerry Joseph, "Sugar Smacks" Beautiful Madness  (Decor, Aug 21)

- Futurebirds, "My Broken Arm" Teamwork  (VL4L, Jan 15)

- Jaime Wyatt, "Neon Cross" Neon Cross  (New West, May 29)

- White Buffalo, "No History" On the Widow's Walk  (Snakefarm, Apr 17)

- Sarah Siskind, "Carolina" Modern Appalachia  (Soundly, Apr 17)

- Grant-Lee Phillips, "Straight To the Ground" Lightning Show Us Your Stuff  (Yep Roc, Sep 4)

- Bonnie Whitmore, "Flashes & Cables" Last Will & Testament  (Starlet & Dog, Oct 2)

- John Moreland, "When My Fever Breaks" LP5  (Old Omens, Feb 7)

- Innocence Mission, "On Your Side" See You Tomorrow  (Therese, Jan 17)

- Jonathan Wilson, "69 Corvette" Dixie Blur  (BMG, Mar 6)

- Will Hoge, "Maybe This is OK" Tiny Little Movies  (EDLO, Jun 26)

- Courtney Marie Andrews, "If I Told" Old Flowers  (Fat Possum, Jul 24)

- Hellbound Glory, "Damned Angel" Pure Scum  (Black Country Rock, Jun 5)

- Katie Pruitt, "Loving Her" Expectations  (Rounder, Feb 21)

- Chatham County Line, "Strange Fascination (feat. Sharon Van Etten)" Strange Fascination  (Yep Roc, Apr 24)

- Harmed Brothers, "Skyline Over" Across the Waves  (Fluff & Gravy, Jun 5)

- Margo Price, "That's How Rumors Get Started" That's How Rumors Get Started  (Loma Vista, Jul 10)

- Nathaniel Rateliff, "And It's Still Alright" And It's Still Alright  (Stax, Feb 14)

- Kathleen Edwards, "Glenfern" Total Freedom  (Dualtone, Aug 14)

- Pokey LaFarge, "Fuck Me Up" Rock Bottom Rhapsody  (New West, Apr 10)

- Robyn Ludwick, "Don't Cry Love (feat. Ray Wylie Hubbard)" Lake Charles  (Ludwick, Sep 15)

- Tre Burt, "Franklin's Tunnel (feat. Sea of Bees)" Caught It From the Rye  (Oh Boy, Jan 31)

- SG Goodman, "The Way I Talk" Old Time Feeling  (Verve, Jul 17)

- Low Cut Connie, "Wild Ride" Private Lives  (Contender, Oct 13)

- Elliott BROOD, "Full of Wires" Keeper  (Six Shooter, Sep 18)

- Whitney Rose, "In a Rut" We Still Go to Rodeos  (MCG, Apr 24)

- Joshua Ray Walker, "Voices" Glad You Made It  (State Fair, Jul 10)

- Tessy Lou Williams, "Mountain Time In Memphis" Tessy Lou Williams  (TLW, May 22)

- Samantha Crain, "Pastime" A Small Death  (Ramseur, Jul 17)

- Waylon Payne, "Shiver" Blue Eyes the Harlot the Queer the Pusher & Me  (Carnival, Sep 11)

Please enjoy on repeat.  Share with friends.  By all means please operate heavy machinery while listening.  And use the oft-neglected Comment option below to share your own favorite songs for 2020.  

And stay tuned for our yearly Christmas Episode the week of December 20, followed by our Favorite Albums of 2020 the week of December 27.  

To enjoy our weekly 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: