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The Best of 2020

Rock N’ Roll has carried society at large in its heaviest periods throughout history. A vehicle for change, progress, and expression, it endures elections, pandemics, and changes the way we think and connect with one another.

These are the best Rock albums of 2020.

5. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

Multi-dimensional, psychedelic, and full of love and gratitude, this is a spectacular album for Bridger’s. A 2020 theme seems to be mental health and the quality of emotions we give to life’s challenges, and no one embodies better the positive outlook of life’s curveballs than her. You can find the whole spectrum of emotions and experiences here, from a blunt abusive relationship to parading around Kyoto looking for old school experiences.

4. Bruce Springsteen – Letters of You

It sounds like time off and time at home has ‘The Boss’ looking at the past and wondering about the future. Few bands have lost as many members in the past decade as The E Street Band has, and it has taken a toll on Springsteen, who looks at their contributions and wonders what’s next for him and his life. A unique and beautiful collection from Springsteen, that will come alive in concert and make listeners appreciate he still has juice left in him.

3. Haim – Woman in Music III

With “Women in Music Pt. III,” Alana, Danielle and Este Haim exceeded all hype, experimenting with new ideas aboard their classic Nineteen Seventies soft rock that helps them have their best album to date. Still have their playful selves, there is a new sense of maturity here, one that relates to the world at large from both intimate relationships to embracing freedom and individuality.

2. American Love Story – Butch Walker

This album will go down, as the one that best captured a divided nation. Showing empathy for both sides of the political spectrum, Walker uses his timeless rock and outstanding production to show that what ultimately matters is caring for one another. Whether you live in rural Alabama or West Hollywood, we are all one.

Fiona Apple – Fetch the Boltcutters

A perfect 10 Album. An A++ Album Perfect in every way.

A cultural icon that only pops her head up on occasions to have her say in the discussion, Apple has a lot of wisdom here. Using a sound that someone’s life is falling apart, and traumas all over, there is also a strong texture of belief and inside fortitude that carries the characters through. Chaos all around, but God all-around at the same time. Perfection.

Whichever way the challenging year tested you, the music of 2020 provided a brief escape from the turmoil outside our windows. It offered some of the best songwriting in years, with raw emotion, incredible empathy and outstanding artistry.

These are the best albums in the Country/Americana genre of 2020.

5. Brit Taylor – Real Me

From East Kentucky, Taylor’ extraordinary debut brings a mixture of old school wisdom with timeless principles of overcoming life’s curveballs. Suffering is not in the fact, it is in the meaning we give to these facts, and Taylor’s 10 song journey may as well be a pocketbook to achieve one’s purpose. A wonderful Lyrical and musical collection. Future is bright for this Nashville based artist.

4. Ingrid Andress – Like Me

A deeply personal collection of songs, Andress brings a new depth so what at first listen may seem like slick pop country. Dig in deeper, and find an artist coming to terms with that it means to struggle with your head and how it has affected her relationships. Ultimately, understanding that mastering your thoughts and head is where true freedom lies. Doesn’t hurt the production and slick editing is so damn catchy!

3. Alright Alright – Crucible

Did anyone say ‘saga’? When we had this wonderful husband-wife duo on our show, we equated their album to a Martin Scorsese film. Time has only deepened this emotion, as the epic 11 song collection is a gut wrenching look at real life’s struggle and the slow but stead overcoming of them through hope and despair. A very real album for very real times.

2. Margo Price – That’s How Rumors Get Started

Margo Price’s wonderful album sees her keeping her authentic self, core values and adding elements of classic rock to the equation. You will find yourself flabbergasted at the musical artistry that has signs of her Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline heart, but now adding elements of Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty. If that’s not a sign of a grand slam home run, I don’t know what is!

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions

Connecting to someone overcoming addiction can be filled with sensitivity and empathy. With Reunions, Isbell seems to look back at these struggles with alcohol with pride and defiance. Someone who sees himself at peace with here is, ready for what’s next but not without the realization there was collateral from life choices of the past. His backing band adds a sophistication element that takes the songwriting to another level.

30,000 Listeners

30,000 Listeners.⁣⁣

As some of you know, my podcast– Jrodconcerts: The Podcast–was started on a whim.

It was intended as a return to my days of Top-40 radio and as a way to combat the post-divorce and pandemic blues by diving deep into the world of quality music which I know best.⁣⁣In the few episodes after I started, I let out a long sigh reviewing some of the rust I had to shake off. (Eternally grateful to Singer/Songwriters Vanessa Peters and Greta Morgan)

It had been a few years since I was on-air, and I was worried the podcasting experiment wouldn’t last a month. Or so I thought.⁣⁣

Now, here we are, 30,000 Listeners later, on the cusp of 100 episodes, and growing faster every month. I can say one thing for certain — I’ve only made it this far because of YOU. Thank you all so much for listening to this podcast. It means the world to me and keeps me going. You guys rock.

Here’s to many more adventures ahead! Your amazing feedback, support, questions, and comments are what kept this podcast alive.⁣⁣ Onwards.⁣

If curious, here are my top-5 most popular episodes to date, in order:

5. Pop/Folk Group: Smith and Thell

4. Guitarist/Entrepreneur: Brian Robert Jones

3. Singer/Songwriter: Eric Hutchinson

2. Legendary Singer: Mary Wilson (The Supremes)

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer: John Oates

PODCAST WEEK IN REVIEW: SOUTHERN ROCKER LIZ BRASHER SHARES HER STORY, KAT HIGGINS SPREADS HER WINGS AND MAYA VANDER PREVIEWS ‘SELLING SUNSET’ SEASON 3.

As we turn the corner in August of 2020, we enjoyed three amazing women in the week that was on the jrodconcerts: podcast.

First, A unique and trailblazing talent, welcomed critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Liz Brasher to the show. With a completely unique style of southern rock, Brasher has won over critics and international audiences alike earning rave reviews everywhere from NPR to Rolling Stone magazine. Her latest powerful and emotional single ‘Sad Girl Status’ is OUT now. Listen on your favorite streaming platform.

Mid-week, we talked to Kat Higgins, a unique and inspiring talent, giving light to country music first through her songwriting and now with her soaring vocals. Higgins has been writing songs for some of the biggest names in country music including Carrie Underwood and Kenny Chesney and now is releasing her own hits, including the instant classic ‘Gone Let Her Go’ and ‘We Go Driving’ which she performed for the show at the end of a special episode.

Lastly, Maya Vander, one of the beloved stars of the hit NETFLIX show ‘Selling Sunset, joined Jamie on the show. Ahead of the Season 3 premiere on August 7th, Maya talked with Jamie about a variety of topics. Among them, her upbringing in Israel, motherhood, what the year of Corona has been like for her, and gave us a glimpse of what crazy antics we can expect of the Oppenheim Group this season.

Podcast Week In Review: World Premiere from Smith & Thell, A Canadian Actress Spreads Her Wings into Music, and Brontë Fall returns with a masterpiece.

In peak summer form, we had a week of immense talents and a first on the jrodconcerts podcast. Make sure to catch all the latest episodes on our ‘Podcasts’ Tab.

First, this week had a shining star in today’s pop scene. Jamie welcomed Canadian Actress and Singer CARYS to the show. With a plethora of hit singles under her name, CARYS has become one of the most buzzed-about artists on Spotify, Apple Music, and TikTok. It’s in this increasingly popular platform where she has the title of ‘Most Streamed Song in TikTok History’ with her 2019 smash hit ‘Princesses Don’t Cry’ with a staggering 850,000 streams! Her latest single ‘No More’ has also been at the top of many charts since it came out mere weeks ago. Aviva told Jamie about her unique career arc, and what is next for her.

Mid-week, we talked to the author of one of the best EP’s of the year, Teri Bracken and her Brontë Fall artistic moniker. Bracken is back with ‘Finishing School’ out everywhere on August 21st. A six-song masterpiece that touches on the constraints that the modern woman faces on subjects ranging from marriage to aging, Brontë Fall achieves a spectacular indie-pop/Americana blend that will leave the listener inspired and in ‘awe’ of Bracken’s vocals

Lastly we had a first on the jrodconcerts podcast: a music world premiere!

Maria Jane Smith & Victor Thell, better known as ‘Smith & Thell’ joined Jamie for a wonderful and in-depth conversation that touched on a variety of fascinating topics. From their early beginnings in Sweden to International success that caught fire with their single ‘Forgive Me Friend’ the story of Smith & Thell is as inspiring as it is breathtaking. The excitement was palpable when towards the end of the conversation, the duo premiered their new gorgeous single ‘Year of The Young’ for the show’s audience.

exPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE: U2′s Epic Return To St. Louis

Originally published May 7, 2018

Less than a year after U2 U2 tried unsuccessfully to bring their 2017 Joshua Tree Tour to St. Louis, Missouri, the band was back in town with their eXPERIENCE+iNNOCENCE tour.

A rare occurrence for U2, the band was forced to cancel their concert after protests broke out in the city, when a white police officer was acquitted of murdering a black citizen. The large protests created a security crisis for the city, and the promoters made the difficult decision that they could not guarantee the safety of the band or concertgoers. It was a difficult day for St. Louis, for the country, and for the band and its fans.

On Friday May 4th at the Scottrade Center, Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry more than made up for the unfortunate incident of last September, with an explosive 2 hour and 15 minute set for the second stop in their eXPERIENCE+iNNOCENCE Tour.

“So glad that we’re all still here,” Bono told the very rowdy Missouri crowd as they kicked off the evening with a one two punch of Love is All We Have Left and The Blackout. “Sorry about last year.”

Apologies accepted for the thousands of fans who were treated to a journey that included a blistering All Because of You (which sounds fresh, raw, and delightful in its return to the U2 repertoire), a mesmerizing The Ocean and the psychedelic acoustic surprise of Staring at the Sun from the underrated Pop album. The rendition of the latter focused on the theme of blindness, and the accompanying videos forced all of us to reckon with the division and ugliness that currently permeates through our society in 2018.

Some fans were disappointed that the band cut a few highlights from night one in Tulsa, Oklahoma, most notably the Achtung Baby deep cut Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, but no one was complaining after a version of American Soul that is emerging as another live highlight in the band’s storied career.

Setlists aside, the beauty of this tour thus far has been the elegance in which the themes of iNNOCENCE+eXPERIENCE interlock and overlap with eXPERIENCE+iNNOCENCE. Has there ever been a band in history that has created a two-tour narrative masterpiece where the connected parts complement each other in this way? Willie Williams and the band count on audiences having done their homework, as the tour relays the relationship between Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, with powerful messages of loss and light being conveyed.

A vocal minority has complained about the lack of Joshua Tree songs, including a still hard to believe omission of Where the Streets Have No Name, but when past tours have been filled with such hits for decades, it’s hard to feel bad about these changes, especially when a fan favorite rarity like Acrobat emerges instead.

In short, St Louis got a very disappointing cancellation during last year’s Joshua Tree stadium tour celebration. But the band made the delay worth the wait, as the city got treated to a tour that will likely go down in history as one of live music’s best conceptual productions ever. –