Johnny Cash sing “All Over Again.” Marshall Grant, who played bass in The Tennessee Two (Cash’s backing band) died over the weekend.

This is a hodgepodge of a post, but it seems like there has been a lot happening in the music world.

Tulsa isn’t far away from us, and they had a new music festival there over the weekend. All was well until it wasn’t. High winds came through on Sunday night just before The Flaming Lips were to perform, causing damage to a light fixture when it crashed to the ground. No one was hurt, but total damage was estimated at about $800,000.

The Lips have promised to come back, and no doubt, we’ll have a few from Northwest Arkansas make the trip when they do.

Next up: Loretta Lynn, who is scheduled to appear in Fayetteville on Sept. 23.

The bad news is she will soon have surgery and have to reschedule some tour dates. The good news is that the Fayetteville date isn’t among those being rescheduled.

And, a sadder note: The last remaining member of the Tennessee Two, the backing band for Arkansas born country legend Johnny Cash, passed away in Jonesboro over the weekend. Marshall Grant, who played bass, was 83. Cash, along with Grant and Luther Perkins, developed the chugging, rhythmic ‘boom chicka boom’ beat that would spawn legions of fans and imitators.

Grant was working to help restore Cash’s boyhood home when he fell ill, Pollstar reports.

I realize my music-listening deficiencies, most notably, that I don’t listen to much rap or country. And I further realize that there aren’t a lot of surprises here, and that you can find a lot of these albums on other Best-of-the-Year lists.

But…

These are what I listened to, and these are what I liked. That’s good enough for me.

In descending order, with No. 1 being my favorite:

10) “This is Happening” by LCD Soundsystem

We’ve been told this is the last album from LCD Soundsystem, and that’s a shame. If LCD Soundsystem brainchild James Murphy knows anything, it’s how to make a groove-thick dance party of a record.

That happens again on “This is Happening,” the third offering from LCD Soundsystem. It’s all delivered in Murphy’s half-talking, half-rapping banter, but that only adds to the sheer joy of songs such as “Drunk Girls,” “Dance Yrself Clean” and “I Can Change.”

9) “Transference” by Spoon

Britt Daniel and company have produced another catchy, power pop record, as fans of the Austin, Texas band Spoon have come to expect over the group’s 15-plus year career. Accurately capturing both the pain of a broken relationship (as captured in the snarling boogie “Written in Reverse”) and the power of love (“I Saw the Light”), Spoon proves they are little if not consistent.

8) “Expo 86” by Wolf Parade

From the driving pulse and heavy riffery of “Pobody’s Nerfect” to the quick-tempoed, punk-fueled burst of “Cloud Shadow on the Mountain” to a touching bit of balladry on “Yulia,” a song about an astronaut lost in space, Wolf Parade has created an eclectic album in “Expo 86.” Don’t take that as a complaint, though. The band alternates songwriters, and that’s evident, but it fails to get in the way. This album is a ride, but a fun one.

7) “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire

Perhaps there will never be a better record about urban sprawl ever recorded. That’s faint praise, considering the subject matter, but this is the territory Arcade Fire choose to invade on the August album “The Suburbs.” It’s a slight departure for the Canadian indie rockers, and not only because it contains their most radio-ready single — “Ready to Start.” It doesn’t mesh perfectly with their two previous outputs, “Funeral” and “Neon Bible,” but songs such as “We Used to Wait” and “Month of May” contain enough harmony and fire-and-brimstone style bombast that the band can be permitted to explore whatever territory they choose.

6) “American VI: Ain’t No Grave” by Johnny Cash

“I see a band of angels, and they’re coming after me,” Johnny Cash sings in the title track of “Ain’t No Grave,” the sixth and (allegedly) final of the Rick Rubin-produced American Recordings series. As Cash recorded these songs, the angels were chasing him, as he was in his final days of life. He confronts death and the afterlife straight on, offering songs such as “Ain’t No Grave” and a cover of Sheryl Crow’s “Redemption Day.” With the rich back story, and with the lifetime pass earned by Cash, it might be tempting to stop the analysis there. But there is a delicacy here, a sparseness, that warrants more than one listen. The emotional cries here are real, and Cash’s swan song would hold up if it were his first recording, too.

5) “I Learned the Hard Way” by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

The first song on the album “I Learned the Hard Way,” the new release by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, “The Game Gets Old,” starts with a beat, a horn blast and then the siren-like call of Jones. That’s just the first few seconds, and there are 39 more minutes of powerpacked, emotive soul. On most of the tracks, Jones is a woman scorned, but there are no wimpers here. She’s equal parts contemplative (“If You Call”) and resolved to get over it (“Better Things”). Jones has a fantastic voice, and she may have managed to outdo her own fantastic 2007 album “100 Days, 100 Nights.”

4) “Gorilla Manor” by Local Natives

Despite their terrible name, the Local Natives were responsible for one of the tastiest party pop albums of the year. It’s not all sunshine and roses, though, and buried beneath the tribal drumming rhythms, harmony vocals and bright hooks are sullen tales of abandonment, like “Airplanes,” perhaps my favorite song on any album released this year.

3) “Brothers” by The Black Keys

The Black Keys, perhaps because of the song’s connection to its producer, Danger Mouse, pushed the song “Tighten Up” — a song that reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock Chart — as the single for their May release “Brothers.” It’s interesting, considering it may be my least favorite songs on “Brothers,” an album the Ohio duo recorded in Muscle Shoals, Ala. That’s a fitting location for the recording, considering that town’s soul and blues connections. The Keys have created a living homage to that sound, one that sounds fresh and important, especially during the killer come-on “Howlin’ for You.” The Keys may have taken a step back with “Attack & Release,” their 2008 offering, but they’ve rebounded nicely here.

2) “High Violet” by The National

At a concert in Kansas City earlier this year, Matt Berninger, vocalist for The National, joked that his band is considered to be “dad rock,” the indie world’s example of refined, somber songwriting. In some ways, they earn that billing with “High Violet,” the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Ohio band’s fifth full-length. Songs on the album discuss fatherhood (“Afraid of Everyone”) and financial insecurity (“Bloodbuzz Ohio”), all told in Berninger’s hard-to-find-comparisons-to droning baritone. That might sound boring, but the album is full of lush, carefully orchestrated songs that are as gorgeous as they are melancholy.

1)  “Sigh No More” by Mumford & Sons

This was, for all practical purposes, my favorite album of 2010 the first time I heard it. The debut album from Britain’s Mumford & Sons is alternately somber and uplifting, raucous and mellow, haunting and moving. The album’s big single is “Little Lion Man,” but the album also shines with tracks such as “Winter Winds,” “The Cave” and “White Blank Page.” It’s an album about, among other things, a failed relationship, and lead singer Marcus Mumford spends time blaming both himself and his romantic partner. It’s not always happy, but it’s always emotional and honest. And that’s powerful.

Merle Haggard. All photos by KEVIN KINDER, NWA Media.

Merle’s still got it.

Most of it, anyway.

He is missing part of a lung, something doctors took away from him a few years ago when it was discovered he had cancer.

Merle Haggard may have once been a country outlaw like his friends Johnny Cash (a performer Haggard covered during his set) and Willie Nelson, but age has stolen a little of that. In performance now, he comes across as a grandfatherly figure, a wise old man who shuffled on and off the stage but was plenty animated at the front of the stage.

But that charm and charisma and grit and voice haven’t failed him just yet, and he proved it on Wednesday (Nov. 10) during a sold-out show at the Walton Arts Center.

During a set that lasted just about an hour, Haggard delved into some of his early hits (“Mama Tried”), his collection of mid-career hits (“Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Star”) and two of his newest tracks, both of which can be found on “I Am What I Am,” an album he released in April.

His energy flagged at the end the set, and his voice lost some of its characteristic bombast for a few moments towards during a few songs late in the evening. There would be no encore.

These things are to be forgiven, however, considering his health and the energy he offered early in the night. He told jokes about Muskogee, and his age. He told the crowd he wrote most of the songs he would play in his 20s and mentioned it was nice to play those songs now that he was in his 40s. That got a healthy laugh. Haggard is 73.

Merle Haggard and The Strangers

Haggard brought his road-tested backing band, the Strangers, a nine-piece collection, with him. Despite their talents, Haggard was content to do a lot of the work himself, taking the guitar leads and offering a few fiddle runs, especially during a fiddle duel during the band’s take on the traditional “Corinne, Corinna.” That was a highlight of the set.

Others memorable moments came during “The Fighting Side of Me,” a song he dedicated to those fighting overseas, and his closing number “I Am What I Am,” the beginning parts of which featured just Haggard and his guitar. The band followed in midway through.

There are a lot of things Haggard is, among them a patriot, songwriter and former hellraiser.

He made certain everyone in the crowd knew something else he is: an American legend.

He proved that all over again Wednesday night.

A note about the openers: The Malpass Brothers from North Carolina offered four songs to start the evening. They promised the crowd there were trying to preserve traditional country. They weren’t lying.

After the brothers left the stage, Noel Haggard, one of Merle’s sons, sang four more songs. His songs were solid, particularly “I’m Sure Going to Miss Me When You’re Gone.” He looked a little bored with the performance, and didn’t have the energy of his father.

Merle Haggard set list: 1) Silver Wings; 2) Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star; 3) Fugitive; 4) Swinging Doors; 5) Mama Tried; 6) Big City; 7) T.B. Blues; 8) Kern River; 9) Take a Lot of Pride; 10) Heaven Was a Drink of Wine; 11) Corinne, Corinna; 12) Take Me Back To Tulsa; 13) Jackson [Johnny Cash cover]; 14) Pretty When It’s New; 15) Fighting Side of Me; 16) Okie from Muskogee; 17) I Am What I Am

George Thorogood and the Destroyers

“I know I’m full of (crap), but I’m having a good time,” George Thorogood told a crowd gathered to watch him perform March 7 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

And that pretty much sums it up.

George Thorogood, approaching 60 years of age, is still full of vim and vigor. He’s still got chops on guitar. He’s still got a few moves, too, as he spent a good part of the evening wriggling about onstage, shaking his hips or spinning in circles while playing his white Gibson guitar.

But Thorogood isn’t the best guitarist you’ll ever see. His stage show isn’t the most advanced, although the LED video boards that flanked him on both sides of his spot in the middle of the stage had their moments. And, heck, he doesn’t even play that many of his own songs, making hits instead of blues standards by John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and more.

But, you know what? He’s on to something. When you’re having as he was on Sunday night, it’s hard not so share some of that enthusiasm.

About 1,000 people avoided the Oscar broadcast and showed up at the Walton Arts Center on Sunday night to see Thorogood and his backing band, The Destroyers, do their thing.

What is that thing? At this stage in his career, Thorogood sounds like a classic rock jukebox, but that’s in large part because he has half a dozen songs that are staples on such stations.

He played all of those hits, including “Move It On Over,” “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” “I Drink Alone,” “Bad to the Bone,” and more.

During each of those songs, he had a classic-rock-aged crowd on the move, dancing in their seats and singing along with gusto.

Thorogood is an expert at this, having toured the country nonstop for years. He famously crossed the country in 1981 on the 50/50 Tour, which took him to 50 gigs in 50 states in 50 days, including a night at the Library Club in Fayetteville.

Although his antics — slinking across the stage, dropping to his knees, twirling — got a little old by the end of the 95-minute set, Thorogood never physically flagged.

His vocals lost some of their oomph, but it’s debatable if that was because he was tired or just vocally lazy. His playing and his band — which was military marching precision tight — suggested no lack of energy.

At the conclusion of one song, at the end of a lengthy jam segment, he proclaimed, “Pretty good, huh?,” to which the adoring crowd screamed approval.

“It never hurts to have a little confidence,” he said. “If you got it, you got it.”

I doubt many of those in the audience would have said Thorogood had anything but exactly what they asked for.

About the opener:

Dustin Arbuckle, left, and Aaron Moreland

Moreland & Arbuckle, from Kansas, played a way-too-short set as Thorogood’s opening act. The group, which consists of a vocalist, guitarist and drummer, remind me most immediately of The Black Keys but with the sounds of harmonica added to the mix. Their third song of the evening, which I believe was called “Troll,” was a particular highlight with its stomping beat and fat chords.

George Thorogood setlist: 1) Rock Party; 2) Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley cover); 3) Did not catch the title of this song; 4) Night Time; 5) I Drink Alone; 6) One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (John Lee Hooker Jr. cover); 7) Cocaine Blues (Red Arnall/Johnny Cash cover); 8) Did not catch the title of this song; 9) Get A Haircut; 10) Bad To The Bone; 11) Move It On Over (Hank Williams cover); 12) Taildragger (Howlin’ Wolf Cover); 13) You Talk Too Much;

Encore: 14) Did not catch the title of this song

The Avett Brothers are moving onward and upward. Here, they sing a song called “November Blue,” a tune about leaving. They perform tonight at the Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival.

It’s been a slow and steady climb to success for The Avett Brothers.

They started gigging in their native North Carolina as a rootsy respite from a more straight-ahead rock group. They started to get a following and went on tour. As an independent band, they saw their 2008 EP “The Second Gleam,” hit No. 82 on the Billboard album charts when it debuted, quite a feat for a band without major-label backing.

They’ve also established themselves as a major concert draw. They will headline tonight’s (Aug. 14) festivities at the Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival near Ozark. They are scheduled to perform from about 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

The group, composed of brothers Scott and Seth Avett and friend Bob Crawford, have taken what they hope will be the next move upward. Since releasing “The Second Gleam,” the brothers have signed with American Recordings, owned by Rick Rubin. Rubin’s producing credits are extensive, and he is credited with helping revive Johnny Cash‘s career in the late ’90s.

Crawford recently spoke with the Northwest Arkansas Times about the band’s ascension, which he compared to climbing a ladder. He also talked about touring and the band’s new album, “I And Love And You,” which will be released on Sept. 29.

He also chatted about the band’s performance at last year’s Harvest Festival.

You can read the story here.

The festival continues through Aug. 15.

Tickets are still available and are $94/two-day pass, $59/Saturday-only pass. Get them on the festival Web site or by calling (866) 667-1919.

Click on the ‘more’ link below for a schedule of the remaining performances.

See you there.

Aug. 14

Main Festival Stage
Noon to 1 p.m. — William Elliot Whitmore
1:30-2:30 p.m. — Steep Canyon Rangers
3-4:15 p.m. — Hot Buttered Rum w/Peter Rowan
4:45-6 p.m. — Railroad Earth
6:30-8 p.m. — Tea Leaf Green
8:30-10 p.m. — Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. — The Avett Brothers

Downhome Stage
Noon to 1:15 p.m. — The Lovell Sisters
1:45-3 p.m. — Mountain Sprout
3:30-4:45 p.m. — Dirtfoot
5:15-6:30 p.m. — Split Lip Rayfield
7-8:15 p.m. — Peter Rowan
8:45-10 p.m. — My-Tea Kind
10:30-11:45 p.m. — Cindy Woolf Band
12:15-2:15 a.m. — Cornmeal

Harvest Tent Stage
10 p.m. to midnight — Squirrel Nut Zippers
12:30-3 a.m. — Blue Turtle Seduction

Aug. 15

Main Festival Stage
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. — Big Smith
2-3:15 p.m. — The Duhks
3:45-5:15 p.m. — Corey Smith
5:45-7:15 p.m. — Squirrel Nut Zippers
7:45-9:45 p.m. — Ozark Mountain Daredevils
10:15 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. — Umphrey’s McGee

Downhome Stage
10:45-11:45 a.m. — 3 Penny Acre
Noon to 1:15 p.m. — Randy Crouch
1:45-3 p.m. — Ten Mile Tide
3:30-4:45 p.m. — Mountain Sprout
5:15-6:30 p.m. — Hackensaw Boys
7-8:15 p.m. — Green Sky Bluegrass
8:45-10 p.m. — Cletus Got Shot
10:30-11:45 p.m. — Elephant Revival
12:15-2:15 a.m. — The Duhks

Harvest Tent Stage
9:45-11:45 p.m. — The Lost Pines
12:30–3 a.m. — Tea Leaf Green

Lucero

The boys of Lucero are no stranger to Fayetteville.

And they’re coming back. The Memphis-based band will perform tonight (Jan. 23) at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville.

Lead singer and Little Rock native Ben Nichols recently chatted with the Northwest Arkansas Times, offering a status report of sorts about his band and his NUMEROUS projects.

Read more about that here. For exclusive content, which wouldn’t fit in our newspaper story, click the ‘more’ link below.

The concert begins at 9:30 p.m. Songwriter Cory Branan opens. Tickets are $13 and available on the venue’s Web site.

We’ll see you at the show.

Remember when we said Nichols was involved NUMEROUS projects:

To wit, Nichols in the past year has:

1) Appeared as a guest vocalist on The Hold Steady’s excellent new album “Stay Positive.”

It just sort of happened, Nichols said. He was in New York, where The Hold Steady record was recorded, on a brief solo tour. He stopped by the studio to see his friends, and all of the sudden he was singing on the album. He appears on three tracks, one of which, fittingly for a man who lives in that town, is “Sequestered in Memphis.”

2) Created and released a solo recording, “The Last Pale Light In The West.”

The seven-song collection, released Jan. 20, is based on Cormac McCarthy‘s “Blood Meridian.” Nichols considers himself a big fan of the author, having read the rather lengthy Border Trilogy (“All The Pretty Horses,” “Cities of the Plain” and “The Crossing,”) “No Country For Old Men,” “The Road” and “Blood Meridian.” McCarthy, though bleak, offers glimpses of hope in his prose, Nichols said of one of this post’s author’s favorite novelists.

3) Filmed segments for an upcoming Webisode series on MTV called “$5 Cover.”

The series is produced by Memphis filmographer Craig Brewer, who did “Hustle & Flow” and “Black Snake Moan.” The series, produced by MTV, will debut in March. The show is a psuedo-reality show that shows the music scene in Memphis, and Nichols plays a fictionalized version of himself as a character named Ben. Nichols said Brewer has long been a fan of Lucero’s music.

4) And, thankfully, recorded some music with Lucero.

There are 18 demo tracks that exist right now and the band is getting ready to tweak them further. Nichols said the tracks are more-rock oriented than some of the group’s previous work, which delved into punk and country like some strange hybridization of Johnny Cash and Social Distortion. However, the new album might also include tracks written during the “Tennessee” era, the album the band created in 2002. Nichols expects to play a few of the new tracks in Fayetteville. It will be the group’s first album for a major label, having signed with Universal Music Group late last year. If things go well, the album might be available by September, Nichols said.

Despite everything he and his band have going for them, Nichols said he doesn’t necessarily believe his band is poised for superstardom.

“I hope so. If we can get a few more people through the show, that would be nice,” he said. “I’m kind of pessimistic. We’ll see how big a difference it makes.”

Lucero promises to do some new songs, but expect some older stuff such as “Sixteen,” below, as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Actor Joaquin Phoenix, clearly, has at least some music talent. He played Johnny Cash, after all, in the 2005 movie “I Walk the Line.”

Still, it was a little bizarre when Pheonix announced he was quitting acting to become, of all things, a rapper. And, stranger yet, that his transition to rap superstardom would be chronicled for a documentary by Casey Affleck, brother to Mr. Jennifer Garner.

Here is a clip of a the heavy-on-beard, light-on-rap-talent star’s debut performance, which took place recently at a club in Vegas.

Caution: There might be swear words in the videos, but it’s really difficult to understand anything he’s saying. REALLY DIFFICULT.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And here is him falling from the stage (and grace). No, really.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m thinking this is all one terrible, and terribly funny, joke.