Blue Mother Tupelo: Press

Blue Mother Tupelo -- Heaven & Earth - Diggin' Music
Review by David Blue
Flyinshoes Review

Tennessee husband and wife duo Ricky and Micol Davis’ third album has been mastered by Motown legend Bob Ohlsson who worked on many of Stevie Wonder’s hits. Heaven & Earth bears the Ohlsson stamp but is very far removed from those Wonder tracks. Always Lookin’ is a mid-paced Country rocker with a little funk on the side. A rasping vocal from Micol Davis makes for a good opening. The slow and hypnotic eponymous title track is played on piano and there is something spiritual about it. Give It Away/Hard Times has a grinding boogie slipping into a rhythmic Delta blues before reverting back to some grinding to finish the duet of songs off. The War is a beautiful piano ballad and their voices work well together on Goin’ Down Midnight, a mid-paced rocker. Wandering Soul is gentle Americana and so easy to listen to. Tupelo sees the introduction of saxophone to back up the slide guitar all played in a laid back Southern US style.

Ramblin’ Train is a bit heavier and darker than its predecessors although it is a bit out of sorts with the rest of the album. There is some more gentle Americana in the form of the Jesse Winchester written Biloxi and their strong harmonies underpin a classic Southern Country rock on Hand In Hand. The traditional I Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down brings Janis Joplin to mind and the gentle High In The Sky is much akin to Krista Detor in its execution. Runnin’ Around is rousing, rocking Country and they finish with the swamp music of Gustard Bellue. This is a jaunty end to an overall excellent album and it is split into two tracks, in effect. There are children singing on the second part and dogs barking in the background which gives a homely feel. To give more of a background, Gustard Bellue is the dog of the story – imagine calling out for him in the park!!

Blue Mother Tupelo
Heaven & Earth
Americana Rhythm Music Magazine
Brodgewater, Virginia

This Nashville husband and wife duo serve up another rockin' bluesy Americana set with their new CD, Heaven & Earth. Sounds a little like Sheryl Crow meets Nick Lowe and sings the blues - but better. This CD is really fun.

Blue Mother Tupelo
Heaven & Earth
Diggin’ Music
Review by Bob Smith

Good Times Magazine
New York’s #1 Entertainment Paper
Edition 1029 December 8 - 21, 2009
Serving Long Island & New York City, New York

Must be something in the water down South these days - Americana musicians are embracing their heritage and traditions, souping them up with modern recording techniques, and coming up with sounds that band on the past while pretty much forging entirely new genres. Blue Mother Tupelo - the somewhat odd husband and wife team of Ricky and Micol Davis - has released an incredible album of personal, vibrant songs that defy categorization. These songs - particularly the openter “Always Lookin’”, “Goin’ Down Midnight”, and “Tupelo” - sound as if Bob Dylan wrote them after spending two weeks shopping at Family Dollar and eating at Waffle House. That’s not an insult; few artists are as willing to bare their souls as these musicians, and the result is just about the best indie album you’ll hear anywhere. Melody, warmth, and sincerity - more, please, and quickly.

DISClaimer
by Robert K. Oermann
Music Row Magazine: Nashville's Music Industry Publication
Nashville, Tennessee

There are stars in the Americana field who are known almost as widely as many of Nashville’s mainstream country artists are. In the marketplace today are new efforts by Kris Kristofferson, Kieran Kane, Guy Clark, Maura O’Connell and the always amazing Chris Knight. Any connoisseur of songs will know those names.
Many might also know of the musical pleasures that a new album by Nashville’s Paul Burch always brings. In his own little acoustic and uniquely jazzy way, he steals the show today with a Disc of the Day win. And it wasn’t for lack of competition. In addition to Chris, Maura and Guy, Paul was up against the wildly creative Blue Mother Tupelo and a steaming blues combo previously known to me only because it landed a Nashville Music Awards nomination. The latter, Jason Ricci & New Blood, wins our DisCovery Award.

BLUE MOTHER TUPELO/Give It Away/Hard Times Writer: Ricky Davis/Micol Davis and Jessie Mae Hemphill; Producer: Ricky Davis/Co-Producer Micol Davis; Publisher: Go Ahead On/Squeeze Me Tight, BMI/ASCAP and Music River, BMI; Diggin’ Music (track) (www.bluemothertupelo.com)

—This Hendersonville husband-wife team craft their homemade CDs by layering instruments and emphasizing their soulful, harmonic, mountain-blues vocals. I love their rustic, earthy, gritty, groove-soaked sound. The album is titled Heaven & Earth, and you won’t find a more individualistic and ear-opening CD anywhere else in this city or in this format. I assure you, this little treasure is staying real close to my stereo for days to come.

Blue Mother Tupelo's, Heaven & Earth, is officially in its third week on the US AMA Americana Top 40 Terrestrial Radio Airplay Chart at #35; and fourth week at #2 on the Euro Americana Chart, on the US AMA Americana Internet Radio Airplay Chart at #26; #8 on the New Music Weekly chart; #11 on the Roots Music Report chart!

Blue Mother Tupelo - Heaven On Earth
Review by Chuck Dauphin
Music News Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee

One of the most intriguing genres of music out there is that of Americana. What exactly is it? I don’t know if there is any true clear-cut answer to that question. For me personally, I think that it means something that goes outside of the mainstream----whether it be traditional Country, Blues, or Bluegrass. Well, this husband and wife duo would fit in either of these sub-genres---if not on every track. I can honestly say it’s been a while since I have been as entertained with an album.

Micol and husband Ricky Davis have an outstanding knack for weaving a story throughout the album---regardless of whatever sound they approach it from. Do you like Motown sounds? Well, if so, look no further than “Always Lookin,” which sounds like it come straight from Detroit circa 1967. Staying with 60s sounds, Micol strikes a presence somewhere between Emmylou Harris and Bobbie Gentry on “Heaven And Earth,” and succeeds in her effort.

The two also blend their voices together in a way that sounds effortless. Tracks like “Wandering Soul” and “Biloxi” ooze with vocal chemistry, and “Tupelo” is very reminiscent of a 70s duet between George and Tammy or Porter and Dolly. Perhaps the most interesting cut on the album is “Gustard Bellue,” a cute tribute to the couple’s dog, complete with guest appearances from their nieces and nephews. Trust me, this one is worth checking out!

(c) 2005-2009 MNN Enterprises, LLC. Music News Nashville is designed, owned and published by Dan Harr. All rights reserved.

Blue Mother Tupelo's, "Heaven & Earth", is officially in the US AMA Americana Top 40 Terrestrial Radio Airplay Chart at #37

Blue Mother Tupelo's CD, "Heaven & Earth", debuts at #2 on the Euro Americana Chart

Blue Mother Tupelo
Heaven & Earth
[Diggin' Music 2009]
Review by Fabio Cerbone
Roots Highway Magazine - Italy

[7.5 Stars]

A couple so was lacking to Nashville and in general to all of the so-called world American: she, Micol Davis, make white and voice black&soul;of large intensity, he, Ricky Davis, I stamp southerner and guitar grown at the school of the Delta, together form an artistic team than simply between everything the scarcity of a production self-managed, delivers a disk, Heaven & Earth, from the genuine and blood tastes. We are just in half between sky and land, between the romantic carazze of the better tradition soul of the Deep South and the arrows blues of the Mississippi, between a church Baptist and a juke joint, a field of cotton and an old, neglected crossroads. It is not the first one some Blue whimpered Mother Tupelo, in activity from a ten of anni and perhaps more, and yet Heaven & Earth seems to collect definitive their influences in a medley that, in the "commotion" happy of its variegated musical stimuli, inserts at least five or you are danced that are worth the price of the ticket.

If alone someone it had still ears and good vibrations for this music the Blue Mother Tupelo could become the new Buddy & Julie Miller under the line Mason-Dixon: the passion is like, also a certainty "filth" in the approach in study, changes in any case the object of the desires. In a matter of Heaven & Earth is a gumbo of resonance on horseback between country country blues and tremblings southern rock that in the shouting of two protagonists find different declensions. In the beginning, in Always Looking, is a simple soul rock, winning and a little one abused that did brace in dance comparisons with Sheryl Crow in the interpretation of the Micol. The I continue it begins already to reveal passions and knowledge more deepened: the title track has a soul gospel with that beat itself the chest and a guitar swamp, but is the persistent groove content in Give It Away/ Hard Times (the second one a renewal of a piece of Jessie Mae Hempill) that begins to crush on the accelerator southerner. To the piece it participates Otha disappeared it Turner and its band for pipe (The Funks Star Rising & Drum Band), true local legend: is the signal of a belonging to the tastes of a territory, confirmed in the successive staircase.

They are the ballads to mark the points more weighing: while the rock' n' roll whipping of Goin' Down Midnight and the spirals hendrixiane of the guitar in Ramblin' Man have had perhaps need of a shrewder production, the aromas southern of a sweet Wandering Soul, the dedication of Tupelo (something that would have done sparks in hand to The Band and Staple Singers), the renewal of a moving Biloxi to signature Jesse Winchester, The song gospel for alone shouting and percussions of Wish THE was in Heaven Sittin Down are declarations of love on that you cannot blunder you. Making a virtue of necessity (play almost all their, with rare outside interventions) the couple of the Blue Mother Tupelo goes out winner in the comfortable wall of the ballad more consuming (aggiungeteci High in the Sky) and in that plain air from old Hague southerner (the final version in tone hillbilly with fiddle and banjo of Gustard Bellue) that does not do ever badly to recall.

Blue Mother Tupelo’s “Heaven & Earth”
Review by Nichole Wagner


If there’s one thing Ricky and Micol Davis (the husband-and-wife team behind Blue Mother Tupelo) know, it’s their harmonies.

Their latest record, Heaven & Earth, showcases the duo’s ability to play off of the other’s voice and their combined skills on everything from piano to banjo.

The 14 songs are brimming with delta soul and Appalachian energy. Tupelo and Always Lookin’ are back-and-forth duets that fall somewhere in the space between Johnny & June and an uncontrived version of Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock.

On the gritty Give It Away/Hard Times, Micol’s voice brings to mind Bonnie Raitt and then Shawn Colvin or Patty Griffin on Wandering Soul. Like a chameleon she blends with Ricky’s leads beautifully and can change styles on a dime when she takes a solo as in High in the Sky.

The traditional I Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down shows the pair’s shared roots in the church.

As for guests and friends on the album, Hand In Hand was co-written with Craig Fuller (Pure Prairie League, Little Feat), Molly Thomas adds violin to The War and Gustard Bellue includes Robin Roller (banjo), Sarah Pirkle (fiddle) and various members of the Davis’ extended family, and even the song’s subject, Gus the dog.

Blue Mother Tupelo has dates scheduled across Mississippi and Tennessee

Download Heaven & Earth on iTunes

Ain’t No Time to Sit Down: Review of Blue Mother Tupelo and Mindy Smith Concert
By Jody Collins


Blue Mother Tupelo is a band that’s been on the edge for a while now. Around here, they’re well known and well respected — as they deserve to be. But nation­ally they seem to be on the precipice, one hit song from truly break­ing big. Which… let’s just say it’s odd to say the least. I mean, the three albums that are out in the ether are all chocked full of poten­tial megahits. Why it hasn’t come for them is befud­dling to this very writer.

Say­ing Blue Mother Tupelo is soul­ful would be about like say­ing grass is green, the sky is blue and that birds fly. It’s just a stone cold fact. The hus­band and wife [Ricky and Micol Davis, respec­tively] duo have soul radi­at­ing from deep down in their bones. Take the aptly titled “Wan­der­ing Soul.” On record it’s an astound­ing achieve­ment in lush beauty. In per­son, it’s even bet­ter. The dynamic between Ricky and Micol is breath­tak­ing. Add onto that the fact that he [Ricky] was some­how able to get a steel gui­tar sound out of an acoustic gui­tar and you have some­thing truly amaz­ing. Micol’s piano accom­pa­ni­ment really added to the songs’ make-up. The final fac­tor, their over­lay­ing vocal per­for­mances, echoed of Kim Richey’s “Why Can’t I Say Goodnight.”

But it’s not all somber, sad and for­lorn. “Give It Away” brought to light the oft over­looked use of duel­ing tam­bourines. Its not often you see dual instru­ments with­out either puck­er­ing the ol’ bung­hole* or laugh­ing your bol­locks off**. This go ’round, many in the crowd squirmed, wig­gled and shook their prover­bial asses. That is another aspect that really dri­ves Blue Mother Tupelo, their abil­ity to slip eas­ily between the heart­break­ing and the booty-shaking.

In Tune

BLUE MOTHER TUPELO, "Heaven & Earth" (self-released)

[4 Stars!]

The husband-and-wife team of Ricky and Micol Davis have been making Blues-tinged Americana music for 15 years under the Blue Mother Tupelo moniker, though "Heaven & Earth" is just their third studio album and first since 2001's fantastic "Delta Low, Mountain High". The chemistry that exists in their personal life carries over to the music and these 14 tracks are a testament to that fact.
Blue Mother Tupelo are at the top of their game on originals such as "Always Lookin' ", "Heaven and Earth", "Tupelo", "The War" and "Runnin' 'Round" and additionally score with a soulful rendition of the traditional "Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down". Additional keepers include a sterling reading of Jesse Winchester's "Biloxi" and the heart-warming duet "High In The Sky". (JS)

Blue Mother Tupelo
"Heaven & Earth"

One of 2009's pleasant surprises is "Heaven & Earth'' by Blue Mother Tupelo. I hope there's room on Ricky and Micol Davis' bandwagon, because I am smitten by this stunning collection of songs filled with rich vocal harmonies and smart, world-wise lyrics.

Blue Mother Tupelo - HEAVEN & EARTH
Review by Blowfish

A successful marriage, both personal and musical ... What more could a man want. Marriage happiness and love for each other and therefore their music oozes from the new album in Nashville resident Mother Tupelo, aka Ricky and Micol Davis. Who is keen on a good portion gospel tinged, soulful blues, topped with a sauce swampvol and here and there crossed with hints of country and southern rock will certainly find something to their taste in romantic, loving and sometimes pious message that this duo proclaims.

The large crowd instruments such as keyboards, piano, guitar, dobro, steel guitar, bass, saxophone and the most amazing percussion work by Ricky and Micol own response. They treated this record if it were their own child, with the utmost care to detail and only after thousands ingen listen, the album finally canned. This attention to detail is clearly audible and the sound of Blue Mother Tupelo is recognizable, but highly original.

The album kicks off with the swinging country rocker "Always Lookin '" with its dark Groove guitar and tambourine percussion pronounced with the good times of Sheryl Crow's debut album "Tuesday Night Music Club" back up late drink. The successor and title track "Heaven and Earth" stumbles and shuffles forward in the most swampie voodoo procession ever in the streets of New Orleans has paraded with Micol in the role of priestess gospel dancing in the dark tones of piano and percussion husband Ricky. "Give It Away / Hard Times" continues with more than seven minutes the longest ZZ Top guitar center on the tables in a repetitive gospel blues with a dobro and a piercing whistle crazy tone the suffering of the poor of the earth reflects, despite their misery and suffering still willing to share all their possessions with their neighbors.

Romance, love and happiness accompanied by simple piano tones are with the lovely Micol voice of "The War" to a heartbreaking, soulful ballad that slowly rises to its climax with a heavy dose of strings when lonely lady certainty about the return of her beloved from the war. It was almost startled when the Southern rocking guitars strike in "Goin 'Down Midnight", but this is just a lead up to the rusty Jimi Hendrix meets Janis Joplin Wahwah sounds in the sad, almost psychedelic blues rocker "Ramblin' Train". The dreamy "beloxi 'piano takes us back to the sixties along with his beautiful harmonic singing and wide sounding ballads of Buffalo Springfield with dessert as Ricky's fine slide guitar playing.

How well the gospel written on their backs demonstrates the ardent singing couple in "Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down", executed in the purest form, relying solely on passionate vocals, foot stomping percussion and a clattering tambourine. After more than one hours closes the original album with a tribute to their honorable best friend "Guster Bellue, like a country blues roots with upright bass, banjo and violin, which apparently moving sounds like a love for dogs to coyote meehuilt tones of a children's choir and the slide guitar master Ricky. Blue Mother Tupelo with "Heaven & Earth" a strong, passionate completely put down with a rootsie own sound. Once this album in your CD tray will touch your hard drive this exciting let go, definitely.

Blue Mother Tupelo is honored & excited that the Micol Davis, Ricky Davis, Craig Fuller - penned song, "Hand In Hand" from the CD, "Heaven & Earth" is included in this playlist!

"Indian Summer" Leads Autumn Playlist of New Music
By: Craig Shelburne

When I listened to Brooks & Dunn's #1's ... And Then Some last week, it was almost like time traveling. I vividly remember being in a parking lot in Hastings, Neb., waiting for my family's gigantic VCR to get fixed, and passing the time by listening to Brooks & Dunn's debut album for the first time -- on cassette. For the last two decades I've been following their musical career and I've seen them play more times than I can remember. So as they say goodbye with "Indian Summer," I'll welcome the first day of autumn with this playlist of new music, led by the dynamic duo and featuring other longtime favorites like Diamond Rio, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Rosanne Cash.

"Indian Summer," Brooks & Dunn
"Wherever I Am," Diamond Rio
"Tulsa Sounds Like Trouble to Me," Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
"Good Intent" (live on KCRW), Rosanne Cash
"Somedays the Song Writes You," Guy Clark
"Durang's Hornpipe," Adam Steffey
"Hand in Hand," Blue Mother Tupelo
"Finding You," Tom Russell
"Only the Night" (live), John Cowan
"Heartache and Stone," Monroe Crossing
"L.A. County Blues," the Band of Heathens
"Lonely Road," Mason Jennings
"Sugarcane," Michael Ford Jr. & Apache Relay
"Hearts Are Breaking Across Texas" (live), Aaron Watson

GuestlistMagazine.net Review of BMT's New CD Heaven & Earth

I was once told that Americana music is anything that resembles country-based music that mainstream country radio is afraid to play. By that definition, Blue Mother Tupelo is indeed an Americana band as they show with their latest album Heaven & Earth. Through the years Blue Mother Tupelo has been building a very solid fan base and with the release of this album they are sure to grow it even more as this is quite possibly their most solid release to date. The comparisons the husband and wife duo have earned to Sheryl Crow and Gregg Allman are noticeable the minute that you hit play and “Always Lookin’” pulls you into the album. The swapping vocals that are presented captivate you throughout the song as the music that blends 60’s styled pop with country influences keeps you tapping your foot. This same feel can be heard throughout the album on tracks like “Goin’ Down Midnight” and “Runnin’ Round.” However, this isn’t all about the upbeat material. They also take the time to slow things down and showcase their talent as singer/songwriters on the more folk driven tracks like “The War” and “Biloxi,” which leans on their voices to carry the lyric over the subtle use of piano. With the lyrical focus being on aspects of everyday life such as love and faith this album is surely going to attract attention with its relatability factor. While walking the genre borders of Southern Rock, folk, country, and more, you will be hard pressed to categorize Blue Mother Tupelo as anything other than solid, good, Americana music. (JK)

Blue Mother Tupelo - Heaven & Earth

Some artists just cannot be kept down – they are irrepressible. Their years of traveling the roads of the South, playing anywhere they can and writing and performing some of the best tunes that two people can possibly put together eventually will show even the best critics and record labels that they are truly a force to be reckoned with. So it is with Blue Mother Tupelo, the husband and wife team of Ricky & Micol Davis of Hendersonville, TN. With this CD, self-produced and laden with a couple of friends, they have made one of the finest CDs I have heard this year. For the blues fans out there—you will take the Blues wherever you find it and realize that this music is true and, also, a product of the Southern fried tradition.

While not a Blues album per se, you just can’t get away from the fact that here are some great songs of love, faith, friendship, wandering and longing and beauty. From the mountains of Appalachia to Biloxi, from Clarksdale and Otha Turner’s farm to Tupelo and then to the hills and mountains of Tennessee this work is in the true American songwriting tradition.

These nice people have been together since meeting in Knoxville, Temmessee as college students. Their devotion to each other and to their musical life is so obvious in their songs; this CD proves you CAN DO IT YOURSELF. Produced, engineered and mixed in their home studio, they are true indie singer-songwriters that have put forth a thing of beauty. I predict some great things for Blue Mother Tupelo. Pick up the CD and Do Not miss them when they perform live.

(C) 2009, Gary W. Miller
BluesSource.com

(Available from their website – www.bluemothertupelo.com)
Or Contact me direct at bluessource. We carry it in stock

Sunset Music Series begins June 12

Townsend, TN – Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center’s Sunset Music Series, now in it’s fourth year, will premier on Friday, June 12. This year’s Sunset Music Series will have seven Friday concerts in the summer and three in the fall to be announced. All the concerts begin at 7:00 pm and are presented in the Heritage Center’s outdoor amphitheater which has new sound and lighting systems, an expanded stage, and a roof over the entire amphitheater so that concerts may be presented rain or shine.

Four of the seven concerts this summer will feature artists making their Sunset Music Series debuts. The Series premiers on June 12 with a performance by the heralded Boston-based stringband, Hokum’s Heroes featuring vocalist Samoa Wilson. The other new bands are the John Myers Band and Y’uns from Knoxville, and three-time national guitar champion, Steve Kaufman, from Maryville, concludes the summer concerts on August 21.


Another national touring act based in Maryville, Sparky & Rhonda Rucker, will be making their second appearance at the Heritage Center after making their debut at last year’s Sunset Music Series premier. Also back by popular demand are Blue Mother Tupelo, formerly from Knoxville and now based in Hendersonville, near Nashville, and Wild Blue Yonder, back for their fourth appearance and the only band to perform every year since the Sunset Music Series began.

Admission to each concert is $4.00 per person at the door, with Heritage Center members admitted free. Tickets may be purchased at the door. For further information, call the Center at 865-448-0044.

Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center

SUNSET MUSIC SERIES 2009

Friday, June 12 Hokum’s Heroes
String-band music with elements of swing, folk and blues

Friday, June 19 Blue Mother Tupelo
Blues-based Americana and Southern Soul

Friday, July 3 Sparky & Rhonda Rucker
Toe-tapping songs and stories from American folklore

Friday, July 24 John Myers Band
Soul, gospel and country

Friday, July 31 Wild Blue Yonder
Bluegrass-based Americana

Friday, August 14 Y’uns
Jug-band music with elements of country, swing and blues

Friday, August 21 Steve Kaufman
Three-time national guitar champion

Down south jukin': Blue Mother Tupelo stretches for the sky and the soil on new album
By Steve Wildsmith


Listening to Heaven and Earth, the new CD by Blue Mother Tupelo, and it sounds as if the husband-and-wife team that makes up the band, Ricky and Micol Davis, were born in the wrong time.

With another listening, it also sounds like they may have been born with the wrong skin color. Leave it in steady rotation on your music player, and by the time you've scrutinized every note of all 15 tracks, and you'll be ready to swear on a stack of Bibles that there's no way ... just absolutely no way ... that a young white couple can muster up that much soul, that much passion, leastways not without striking a bargain with the devil.

Because Heaven and Earth sounds like it was made by two people who spend their days working under a hot sun, callused hands driving a mule team or swinging a hoe, and spend their nights in a ramshackle juke joint barely visible through hanging moss, a place where smoke and stale beer and pine sweat from untreated boards hang thick while the two beat and wail and share their joy and sorrow and love and anger with whomever will listen.

"It's a spiritual kind of thing when we're on stage," Ricky told The Daily Times this week. "We're just in the moment, and you know you're making good music when you're out of your own body and just kind of grooving with it. It's a tough place to get to, but fortunately we've been able to figure out a way to make it happen. It's not a conscious thing, and sometimes it's hard reaching that plateau if the sound quality isn't right.

"I think a lot of times folks in the audience don't understand the sound engineering aspect of things, because the artist is hearing something different than what the audience is hearing. And if the artist is hearing things good, then we're off in our own little world, and we want everybody to come join us for a while."

Tonight, Ricky and Micol Davis invite their many Blount County fans for the unveiling of Heaven & Earth. It's been a long-time coming -- more than half-a-decade since the group's last studio album, Delta Low, Mountain High, was released -- and when it came time to deliver a new album, Blount County seemed like the best place for the two to do it.

"We probably spent a year talking with fans and friends and family, hashing out where the perfect place would be to have our CD release party, and The Shed (at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, where the group performs tonight) just felt like the right place," Ricky Davis said. "It's a fantastic music venue, it's outdoors but it's protected by the covering and it's family friendly. Knoxville has a lot of good venues, but the folks in Blount County and Maryville have been good to us, and 'The Shed' seems like a really good place for music in general. They just love music, and we love music lovers."

A love of music is what brought the two together, years ago when they first met in Knoxville's Old City. Both are East Tennessee natives -- Ricky graduated from Doyle and Micol went to Clinton -- and it was a fateful encounter that night. Ricky asked Micol out, and the two ended up dating, playing music together and eventually marrying. They moved to Nashville more than a decade ago to further their music career, and when they released Delta Low, Mountain High in 2001, they didn't anticipate that their burgeoning career would keep them so busy that a follow-up would take eight years.

"There were songs that we had started out with back in 2004 and 2005, and over the years since then, both of us had written other songs that we felt like had to go on there, too," Micol said. "We would come in off the road and take a day or two to settle in and record, and that's a hard thing to do. We just took it day by day, just come in off the road and work on it when we could. It's an adventure, and you've got to keep working at it all the time."

For Heaven and Earth, the two considered renting studio time, as they did for "Delta Low," but the more they discussed it, the more sense it made to do it themselves. They purchased recording equipment, rented what few instruments they didn't already own and set out to make an album.

"I thought, heck, I can play most of the things I want on this record, so doing it like this just felt easier to play the music the way I felt like it needed to be played," Ricky said.

The end result is like a meal of homegrown vegetables -- technically, they're the same as the stuff you've eaten before that's come from a grocery store, but there's something so much fresher, so much more authentic, about ingesting something that's been lovingly cared for and hand-crafted. It's a slurry of sound from a grab-bag of Southern soil -- rich silt from the Mississippi Delta ... thick loam from the cotton fields of north Alabama ... wet peat from Louisiana ... red clay mud from East Tennessee. It's earthy and gritty and celebratory -- it's the sound of two people who aren't afraid to get that dirt beneath their nails, who recognize that callused hands and muddy jeans are hallmarks of a hard-working man or woman to be worn with pride.

"That's what we wanted to come through," Ricky said. "I've listened to this record probably 10 trillion times between laying my parts down and producing it to sitting down with the mastering guy. It's kind of like having a kid in a way -- you hope you raise them right, but at some point you've got to let them out to the world. That's the way it feels with a record -- you've just got to put it out and hope it does well."

"To me, this record feels like it's about accepting and loving humanity, about being OK with life's ups and downs and all of our flaws," Micol added. "That's the earth part, and the heaven part -- that's love, pulling us all through this together. It's the hanging in there with somebody, about not letting go. You can be distracted by so much in life, but when it boils down to it, it's about hanging onto what you believe in."

soulful connection
BLUE MOTHER TUPELO
By Mary Margaret Miller


The couple that plays together stays together.

At least that's true for Ricky and Micol Davis, the husband and wife duo known as Blue Mother Tupelo. Recognized for their genuine demeanor and vivid performances, Blue Mother Tupelo represents two aspects of American life that have become a rarity in popular culture: both a band and a marriage that aren't breaking up.

So what's Blue Mother Tupelo's secret for a lasting relationship both on stage and off? The answer lies in the music, which pulls in listeners like a warm hug from a new friend. In the early years, their blues-inspired repertoire kept audiences on their feet, dancing in reckless abandon. Micol wailing on the tambourine and Ricky igniting the dobro, put excitement and soul back into a lackluster live music scene suffering from the '90s grunge era.

Their 1997 debut album My Side Of The Road quickly gained popularity, and the couple left their Knoxville home and headed for a bright future in Nashville. Among fellow musicians and friends, the couple grew as songwriters and musicians, expanding their range and harkening back to their musical roots.

"Ricky has always played music," says Micol, who was raised in church choirs as a preacher's daughter. "He grew up in a family of guitar pickers and his dad and uncles had a band. For me, playing music was something I knew was a big part of me, but it seemed like a dream; it seemed like a life that couldn't happen to a regular gal."

But Micol's dreams have come true, and in the midst, Blue Mother Tupelo has shared the stage with the likes of Willie Nelson, The Drive-By Truckers, Pinetop Perkins, Lyle Lovett and the North Mississippi All-Stars. Their music has been classified as blues, folks Americana, gospel and "swampadelic," but Blue Mother Tupelo prefers to leave the genre up for interpretation.

"It all comes from the soul," says Ricky. "One magazine said that we are 'a working man's band.' I took that as a compliment because I am a working man, I just make music for a living. I've had other jobs before, but we are working class people and I think that is why people connect to our music."

And connect they do. Blue Mother Tupelo's fan base is almost as passionate as the band's performances. Their 2001 album, Delta Low-Mountain High harvested strong bonds between the fans and music, and folks devotedly turn out to see their favorite songs performed live by Micol and Ricky. If you happen to catch Blue Mother Tupelo at one of their summer 2009 performances in Mississippi, you'll most likely find yourself sharing a table with some followers from North Carolina, Texas, Georgia or Tennessee.

"We feel a connection with the folks that come to hear us," says Micol. "Ricky and I are pretty transparent in that we are honest and open, and we really care about people. It means a lot for us to share our music with the people. We can get down and boogie, but we like to get personal, too."

In addition to their everyday admiration, fans are especially excited about the release of Heaven & Earth, Blue Mother tupelo's 2009 album. Folks are eager to hear the new tunes 9and a few cherished traditionals), and to once again experience the band's soulful energy and their sweet sincere affection for the music. Guest performances by Hattiesburg-based violinist Molly thomas [who is also now a Nashville resident] and North Mississippi fife player Sharde Thomas are also featured on the album.dm

Heaven & Earth will be available on the band's website www.bluemothertupelo.com , at their live shows or on Amazon.com and iTunes in mid-May.

Blue Mother Tupelo CD Release Reach Those Pearly Gaters
By Jewly Hight


Blue Mother Tupelo take their sweet time between albums. The husband-and-wife duo of Ricky and Micol Davis last released a full-length eight years ago, then commenced playing every dive bar and barbecue joint in Tennessee and Mississippi. But when they finally recorded the new album Heaven and Earth, they threw in a little of everything: bare-bones country-blues, hypnotic Mississippi Hill Country jams, starry-eyed duets, psychedelic guitar trips, a cappella spirituals, a chorus of singing kids—even the late Otha Turner. The album title could just as easily refer to BMT’s simpler live shows. They need only their voices—Ricky the soulful everyman, Micol the cayenne-and-sugar belter—his swampy guitar playing, her sanctified tambourine rattling and occasionally a drummer to provide a joyous, earthy sound.

Blue Mother Tupelo Celebrates a New Album and Talks Music
By Matthew Everett


Blue Mother Tupelo’s practically a local band—they formed in Knoxville and return from Nashville regularly—so it’s appropriate that they’re celebrating the release of their new album, Heaven & Earth, with a couple of Knoxville shows. The husband-and-wife duo check in with what they’ve been listening to lately.

RICKY:
Robbie Robertson, Contact From the Underworld of Redboy (Capitol, 1998)
This is a beautiful album. I love the grooves, the stories, Robbie and the American Indians singing on each track.

The Allman Brothers Band, The Fillmore Concerts (Island/Mercury, 1992)
The Fillmore Concerts is the entire Live at the Fillmore East album (which I and many others consider to be the best live rock ’n’ roll album of all time) and extra tracks from the Allman Brothers’ Fillmore concerts. I’ve been listening to Live at the Fillmore East all of my life and I keep coming back to be entertained and enlightened by it again and again.

Son House, Father of the Delta Blues (Sony, 1992)
A former preacher turned bluesman, Son House had Jesus and his demons following at his heels at every turn—something we can all relate to, right? He is just pure beautiful human spirit pouring out through one solitary man’s soul, voice, and hands.

MICOL:
Delaney & Bonnie, Motel Shot (Atco, 1971)
Beautiful and simple, with Leon Russell on a slightly out-of-tune piano and Bramlett friends and family joining in like it’s a Wednesday night after-church singin’.

Johnny Jenkins, Ton-Ton Macoute! (Atco/Capricorn, 1970)
My favorite CD to pop in the boom box when I’m hangin’ on the lake in the hot sun, all gritty and greasy.

The nurturing kind: Blue Mother Tupelo isn't giving up on its baby
By Wayne Bledsoe


... Ricky and Micol Davis, the long-standing core of bluesy rock act Blue Mother Tupelo ...

"We don't have children, so music is our baby," says Ricky in a call from the couple's Nashville home. "I guess some people throw up their hands and give up on their children, but I would never do that. I think I was put here to make music."

Music certainly seems to be part of the glue that keeps the couple together. Blue Mother Tupelo's new album, "Heaven & Earth," is harmonious and heartfelt. Music is what brought the couple together in the first place.

"I was playing the Old City one night when Micol came in," says Ricky. "We were friends from that night for a couple of years."

Micol joined Ricky's band Soulchaser on stage and sang a few songs, and the two became fast friends and musical collaborators.

Both say there was, and still is, nothing contrived about their music.

"I felt like we just sort of let the music just guide us," says Micol.

Both connected with music early.

Micol's father, a Baptist preacher, didn't approve of secular music, though he would sing Jimmy Reed blues songs as lullabies. The family settled in Clinton when Micol was [a teenager]. She later graduated from Clinton High School and earned a degree in music education from the University of Tennessee.

Ricky grew up in Knoxville. His father and other relatives performed in music groups that played at bars in the area.

"My parents said I was singing 'Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head' almost before I could even speak," he says.

Ricky graduated from Doyle High School and attended Middle Tennessee State University where he studied recording industry management.

It wasn't until Ricky and Micol had been married for a year that they decided to form Blue Mother Tupelo. As diehard fans of Van Morrison, Delaney and Bonnie, classic country, blues and rock, the two incorporated the sort of sounds that they both loved - music that was gritty and soulful.

In 1998, Blue Mother Tupelo moved to Nashville.

"I felt like we needed to be closer to a music-business center," says Ricky.

"But we really never thought we'd stay here this long," says Micol.

The move did give the act some opportunities that probably wouldn't have happened in Knoxville.

Blue Mother Tupelo was performing at a party in Nashville a few years ago where they met movie producer Katrina Holden Bronson.

"A couple of months later we got a call from her asking us to come to Chicago to record a song for a movie," says Ricky.

The film, "Daltry Calhoun," was not a commerical success, but the Davises did get to go to Hollywood to see its premiere at Mann's Chinese Theater. Blue Mother Tupelo are also featured in a jam on the album and in a special feature on the DVD.

The group will also contribute a song to an upcoming B-movie called "Sugar Boxx."

"It's a women-in-prison movie," says Ricky.

The two say another perk has been meeting their idols, including spending time with Delaney Bramlett before he died, watching legend Otha Turner dance to their music and telling them to "turn it up," and eating chicken and collard greens with bluesman and Robert Johnson contemporary Honeyboy Edwards.

The two say it would be nice to win GRAMMYs and have hit albums ...

..."We're not living like kings and queens, but we're making a living," says Ricky.

"I'd just like to make enough to take care of my mom," says Micol.

Clarksdale’s Sixth Annual Juke Joint Festival
By Deborah Cole


Clarksdale's Juke Joint Festival is in the planning stages and is coming along as planned, according to Roger Stolle, co-coordinator of the festival. The downtown event begins Saturday, April 18.

Family events will once again include the Monkeys Riding Dogs in addition to the Regions Bank Juke Joint Festival Parade. New to the attractions will be a Duck and Turkey call open to all wishing to try their skills.

Stolle named a sample list of groups and individuals who will be performing during the day including Honeyboy Edwards, Cadillac John, Bill Durham, BLUE MOTHER TUPELO, Reverend Peyton, and Terry Harmonica Bean. “I’m still working out the kinks for our daytime entertainment. We expect this to be one of our best festivals yet,” Stolle said.

“Our local restaurant fare will be spread throughout the downtown area so people will have the chance to sample our best. We decided to have our food vendors throughout downtown rather than putting them in one area,” Stolle continued.

Again, a $10 wristband will give festival goers access to all venues which will be serviced by three buses transporting participants.

Kick-off festival activities will begin with registration Saturday, April 18, at the Greyhound Bus Station for Wal-Mart’s Festival 5K Run. Pre-registration is $12 and $15 the day of the race.

Just a small listing of entertainment and activities include a live WROX remote, peddle power tractors, a Cellular South Children’s Train, a Petting Zoo, rock wall, and the Juke Joint Festival Pig Races.

Strut Your Mutt with dress-up pets will be sponsored by the Clarksdale Animal Shelter and Segways will be available for people to ride. Miss Del’s will host storytelling throughout the festival for children and adults.

For those interested in submitting their creative writing, a Festival Writing Contest on “Keeping the Blues Alive” can be entered either as an essay, a personal narrative, short story or poetry.

For additional information visit www.jukejointfestival.com. Information will be updated as events are finalized.

Rockin', Jammin' and Number Ones
Review by Krista

Blue Mother Tupelo opened the show and it was the first time I'd heard this duo. One word for you...amazing! It was a man (Ricky Davis) and woman (Micol Davis) singing music they classify as "Swampadelic Southern Soul Rock." That is a quite perfect way to explain it.

It was a perfect blend of voices, guitar and tambourine. Micol has this raspy, gritty, soulful voice that digs down to the depths of every song she attacks. Ricky complements that perfectly with a deep, meaningful harmonytastic voice. It is music that speaks to the soul.

I don't want to mention specific songs, because it is important you go listen to them. This music is so feeling-based, words alone will not get the message to you. Just take a sec and listen. This was a great discovery for me. I think you'll love it too. Right Brit?