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The TakeRoot 2019 review

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Garrett T. Capps. Photo by Knelis / TakeRoot 

It’s midnight in Groningen. It’s the end of an abnormally warm November saturday and it should also have been the end of an eight hour marathon of roots and americana across six rooms in the De Oosterpoort complex. But Garrett T. Capps and his NASA Country have different ideas. Suddenly, a “curfew” seems like a malleable concept as fellow Texans Robert Ellis and James Steinle join the band on stage for a sprawling and ecstatic “Born in San Antone” and a version of the classic “She’s About a Mover”, penned by San Antonio’s very own Doug Sahm. Capps seems comfortable as the frontman to a 21st century version of the mighty Texas Tornados, powered by a strong rhythm section and an unusual synth that takes his brand of Americana to another dimension. I’ve been calling it krautcountry after seeing them in Paradiso’s small room in the same evening as Faust and Camera, and you should too.

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live

TakeRoot Festival 2019: our picks

The Grote Zaal of De Oosterpoort during the 2018′s TakeRoot festival.

TakeRoot Festival. Saturday, 2 November 2019, at De Oosterpoort, Groningen, The Netherlands. Tickets for sale here.

Coming of age in the era of MySpace meant stumbling into a lot of “A little bit of everything, except country and rap” on your fellow scenester’s profiles. Fast forward some 15 years, and there’s a rapper headlining your favorite indie festival, much to the disgust of a few folks who haven’t grown from their proud everything-except-country-and-rap pedestal. But most young alternative Europeans still look at country music with the same disgusted look that your aunt made the first time she stumbled upon a 50 Cent music video.

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Bolachas Now Playing

#186: Craig Finn, “I Need a New War”

I need a new playlist. The fourth solo LP by the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, “I Need a New War”, has won the race to spearhead our playlist, following one of the year’s strongest Release Friday. Ten more sublime songs by one of the greatest songwriters of the century century. Plus: new tracks by Bedouine, Aldous Harding, Honey Harper, Olden Yolk, Lucy Dacus, Kevin MorbyDylan LeBlanc, Starflyer 59, Josh Ritter, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Wand, Psychedelic Speed Freaks, Kyle Craft, Marika Hackman, Jackie Cohen, Better Oblivion Community Center, Esther Rose, I am Oak, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Willie Nelson, and the Mountain Goats.

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Bolachas Now Playing

#184: Damien Jurado, “In the Shape of a Storm”

Less than one year after the release of the excellent “The Horizon Just Laughed”, Damien Jurado is back with his 14th LP, the first on Mama Bird Recording Co. and Loose Music. It’s impressive how his songwriting keeps getting better with time – Jurado’s output between “Saint Bartlett” and now is arguably the best of his career – and this (mostly) acoustic collection of songs that clocks at a mere 27 minutes is by no means a secondary volume of his immense discography.

Plus: new tracks by Todd Snider, Paper Beat Scissors, Carl Broemel, Richard Hawley, The Mountain Goats, Alex Schaaf, Courtney Barnett, Aldous Harding, Heather Woods Broderick, Mega Bog, Sonny & the Sunsets, Os Amigos dos Músicos, Evripidis and his Tragedies, Trond Kallevåg Hansen, Lily Hayes, Palehound, Jesca Hoop, Lowly, Mutual Benefit, Josh Ritter, John Paul White, Anthony D’Amato, and Adam Carroll.

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Bolachas Now Playing

#182: Andrew Bird, “My Finest Work Yet”

Andrew Bird’s “My Finest Work Yet” might not be exactly his best, but it’s definitely his most interesting record in ten years. It sounds familiar, it sounds like it has always been there, but it never sounds redundant. There has never been a better time to get back into his discography. What’s more: new songs by Kevin MorbyBedouineOlden YolkJosh RitterCraig FinnJustin Townes EarleLily & MadeleineDrugdealerDark TeaSam OutlawSon Volt, Richard Dawson, HRNSBlanco PalameraRyan PollieC DuncanChris ForsythBlack MidiLow Life, and American Football.