2020 Year-End Music Round-Up Wrap-Up Extravaganza

No one could have predicted a year like 2020. The live music industry is on life support. Bandcamp came through just about better than anyone else to support music. And there was a ton of great music released this year.

Per the norm, I do not rank albums. Music is not a competition and my taste is not your taste. So, after lots of thought and list-shuffling and winnowing, these are the 75 albums that really stood out for me. My original list was quite a bit longer (and you can always keep up in real-time by following the Yearly Bookkeeping page), so I can tell you that this list provides a great overview of my music listening for this crazy year.

Here are my favorite 75 albums of 2020.

The Visual List:

The Alphabet List:

1. Live at Tubby's by 75 Dollar Bill Little Big Band

2. Shaman! by Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids

3. Time is A Gift Which We Share All The Time by Afriquoi

4. Rejoice by Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela

5. Live by Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood

6. Fu Chronicles by Antibalas 

7. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple

8. Roy Ayers JID002 by Roy Ayers, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad

9. Ex-Voto by Jamie Barnes

10. Please Advise by Beauty Pill

11. Crash Test Kid by Sammy Brue

12. Long In The Tooth by the Budos Band

13. Regresa by Buscabulla

14. Shadow Talk by Café Racer

15. Echo Mine by Califone

16. Gold Record by Bill Callahan

17. Have We Met by Destroyer

18. I Just Wasn't Made For These Set Times by Dire Wolves (Just Exactly Perfect Sisters Band)

19. Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan

20. Afternoon Tea at Six by Eishan Ensemble

21. Acoustic Storm Sessions by Elkhorn

22.  Kahil El’Zabar’s Spirit Groove by Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray

23. Wake Up! by Hazel English

24. Shore by Fleet Foxes

25. A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C.

26. Peoples Motel Band by Chris Forsyth and Garcia Peoples

27. SOURCE by Nubya Garcia

28. Nightcap at Wits' End by Garcia Peoples

29. Big Dark Bright Futures by Growing Concerns Poetry Collective

30. Women In Music Pt. III by Haim

31. Infinity Of Now by the Heliocentrics

32. National Freedom by Lonnie Holley

33. Muerto, Carcel o Rocanroll by Huntingtons

34. Beginners by Christian Lee Hutson

35. Reuinions by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

36. Babani Koné by Babani Koné

37. Mutation by Les Freres Smith

38. 2020 by Magik Markers

39. Eno Axis by H.C. McEntire

40. Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock by Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock

41. Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones

42. Circles by Mac Miller

43. Dimensional Stardust by Rob Mazurek/Exploding Star Orchestra

44. Annual by Modern Nature

45. Getting Into Knives by the Mountain Goats

46. Staunch Honey by David Nance

47. Three by the Necks

48. Rob Noyes & Sam Moss by Rob Noyes & Sam Moss

49. We No Be Machine by Onipa

50. Jams From The Sun by Oregon Space Trail of Jazz

51. High Upon The Mountain by Pacific Range

52. Suite For Max Brown by Jeff Parker

53. Summerlong by Rose City Band

54. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels

55. Landwerk demos by Nathan Salsburg

56. Acoustic by Oumou Sangaré

57. Untitled (Black Is) by Sault

58. We Are Sent Here By History by Shabaka and the Ancestors

59. The Don of Diamond Dreams by Shabazz Palaces

60. Ocean Bridges by Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk

61. Companion Rises by Six Organs of Admittance

62. Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? by The Soft Pink Truth

63. Optimisme by Songhoy Blues

64. Swirling by Sun Ra Arkestra

65. Oh Yeah? by Sunwatchers

66. Wooden Flower by Tambourinen

67. Folklore by Taylor Swift

68. Nomad by Tengger

69. Sun Racket by Throwing Muses

70. Siftorde by Tidiane Thiam

71. New Vanitas by William Tyler

72. The Great Mountain by Waterless Hills

73. Eau’d To A Fake Bookie Volume 3 by Wet Tuna

74. Strange to Explain by Woods

75. Homegrown by Neil Young

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• Browse Volume 01 of my 2020 favorites playlist

• Browse Volume 02 of my 2020 favorites playlist

• Browse Volume 03 of my 2020 favorites playlist

• Browse Volume 04 of my 2020 favorites playlist

• Browse Volume 05 of my 2020 favorites playlist

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Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 05)

Volume 05 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

1. “Sam Sam” by Afriquoi

2. “Fight Am Finish” by Antibalas

3. “Tulips” by Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk

4. “Sixth Hammer” by the Budos Band

5. “Signs” by Eishan Ensemble

6. “Acoustic Storm Part One” by Elkhorn

7. “Further” by the Necks

8. “Wooden Flower” by Tambourinen

9. “Walkin’ In Rhythm” by Wet Tuna

10. “Snake Mouth” by Rob Noyes & Sam Moss

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Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 04)

Volume 04 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

1. “Solace” by Adrian Younge And Ali Shaheed Muhammad

2. “Theme For Cecil” by Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids

3. “Venom” by The Heliocentrics

4. “Slow Bones” by Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela

5. “Eurasia” by Tengger

6. “Galaxy 1000” by Rob Mazurek and the Exploding Star Orchestra

7. “Two” by Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock

8. “The Message Continues” by Nubya Garcia

9. “Makoma” by Onipa

10. “Ju$t” by Run The Jewels

11. “The Coming Of The Strange Ones” by Shabaka and the Ancestors

12. “Wet” by Shabazz Palaces

13. “No Talk Talk” by Les Freres Smith

14. “Strange To Explain” by Woods

15. “Go Away” by Jeff Parker

16. “Pray Up Stay Up” by Sault

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Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 03)

Volume 03 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

1. “Houses of the Holy” by H.C. McEntire

2. “Low to the Bird” by Jamie Barnes

3. “It Gets Easier” by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

4. “Santa Monica (Through the Canyon)” by Pacific Range

5. “The 101” by Six Organs of Admittance

6. “Howard St. & The Beach Nov. 1988 After 11” by Califone

7. “Maestranza” by Fleet Foxes

8. “(Our Life Could Be Your Van)” by Garcia Peoples

9. “The Law Of Hospitality” by Waterless Hills

10. “Four Corners” by William Tyler

11. “Protest Song” by Bill Callahan

12. “Crystal Doorknob” by Lonnie Holley

13. “Landwerk 03” by Nathan Salsburg

14. “Love Is The Main Thing” by Fontaines D.C.

15. “Find You Ride” by Magik Markers

16. “Fadjamou” (Acoustic) by Oumou Sangaré

17. “St. Charles” by Throwing Muses

18. “Nenamev” by Tidiane Thiam

19. “Bon Bon” by Songhoy Blues

20. “Love Paste” by Sunwatchers

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Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 02)

Volume 02 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

1. “Single For The Summer” by Christian Lee Huston

2. “Off My Mind” by Hazel English

3. “Crimson Tide” by Destroyer

4. “NTE” by Buscabulla

5. “We Don't Smoke It No More” by Neil Young

6. “If The Truth Ever Shows Up” by David Nance

7. “Die Before You Live” by Sammy Brue

8. “Not Penny’s Boat” by Huntingtons

9. “Empty Bottle” by Rose City Band

10. “Out The Window” by Café Racer

11. “Nektar” by Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray

12. “Jams From The Sun (Part III)” by Oregon Space Trail of Jazz

13. “F&N” by 75 Dollar Bill

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Holiday At The Sea's Favorite 2020 Music Mix (Volume 01)

Volume 01 of some of Holiday at the Sea’s favorite 2020 music. I chose 75 albums this year and the playlists total 74 songs since “Microphones in 2020 by the Microphones” is 45 minutes long and I didn’t want to include the whole album as part of a mix.

Anyways, enjoy!

Tracklisting:

1. “(Brother Lee) Womblife Blues” by Dire Wolves (Just Exactly Perfect Sisters Band)

2. “exile” by Taylor Swift

3. “Tattooed Love Boys” by Beauty Pill

4. “Good News” by Mac Miller

5. “Djatigui Baro” by Babani Koné

6. “I Know Alone” by Haim

7. “Flourish” by Modern Nature

8. “Murder Most Foul” by Bob Dylan

9. “Picture Of My Dress” by the Mountain Goats

10. “We” by the Soft Pink Truth

11. “Shout Across Mountains” by Growing Concerns Poetry Collective

12. “Mystic Mountain” by Chris Forsyth & Garcia Peoples

13. “Angels And Demons At Play” by Sun Ra Arkestra

14. “Heavy Baloon” by Fiona Apple

15. “The Wicked Shall Not Prevail” by Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood

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Daniel Lanois Live At KEXP

“Daniel Lanois performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded February 27, 2015.”

Setlist:

1. Senegal

2. Opera

3. The Collection Of Marie Claire

Important People:

• Host: Kevin Cole

• Audio Engineers: Alex Krispin, Homero Glez & Kevin Suggs

• Cameras: Jim Beckmann, Scott Holpainen & Justin Wilmore

• Editor: Justin Wilmore

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• Visit Daniel Lanois’ official website

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• Follow Daniel Lanois at Twitter

• Purchase Daniel Lanois’ music at Amazon

• Browse other Holiday at the Sea Daniel Lanois posts
  

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Can Live At Rockpalast (1970)

Can Live At Rockpalast (1970)

Setlist:

1. Sense All To Mine

2. Oh Yeah

3. I Feel Alright

4. Don’t Turn The Light On (Leave Me Alone)

5. Mother Sky

6. Deadlock

7. Paperhouse

8. Bring Me Coffee Or Tea

Besetzung:

• Holger Czukay - bass

• Irmin Schmidt - organ

• Michael Karoli - guitar

• Jaki Liebezeit - drums

• Damo Suzuki - vocals

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• Visit Can’s official website (Spoon Records).

• Follow Can on Facebook.

• Purchase the album at Amazon.

• Listen to “Oh Yeah” from Tago Mago on Episode 26 of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow.

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James Brown Monterey California 1979

From the Youtube page:

[NOTE: The "Body Heat" DVD - released in 1989 - is the exact same thing as the VHS tape entitled "The Lost James Brown Tapes." In fact, the company that released this DVD didn't even bother to re-do the titles sequence--it still reads "Lost James Brown Tapes." The good news is that, even though the picture quality is only marginally improved from the VHS version, the sound quality is markedly better. AND, I'm not sure whether THIS video came from the VHS or DVD version.]

Setlist:

1. The Godfather of Soul

2. Hardest Working Man In Show Business

3. Soul Brother No.1

4. Minister of Funk

5. Mr. Dynamite

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• Visit James Brown’s official website

• Follow James Brown at Facebook

• Purchase James Brown’s music at Amazon

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Massive Attack Live At The Melt Music Festival

Massive Attack live at the Melt Music Festival in Germany, July 2010.

Setlist:

1. United Snakes

2. Babel

3. Girl I Love You

4. Invade Me

5. Teardrop

6. Safe From Harm

7. Inertia Creeps

8. Unfinished Sympathy

9. Atlas Air

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• Visit Massive Attack’s official website.

• Follow Massive Attack at Facebook.

• Purchase Massive Attack’s music at Amazon

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Beastie Boys Live In Glasgow 1999

Beastie Boys Live In Glasgow 1999.

Setlist:

1. Super Disco Breakin'

2. Flute Loop

3. Root Down

4. Shake Your Rump

5. Time for Livin'

6. Egg Raid on Mojo

7. Gratitude

8. Song for the Man

9. The Move

10. Unite

11. Skills to Pay the Bills

12. Slow and Low

13. Sabrosa

14. Lighten Up

15. Believe Me

16. Tough Guy

17. Pass the Mic

18. Sure Shot

19. Putting Shame in Your Game

20. Three MC's and One DJ

21. Something's Got to Give

22. Son of Neckbone

23. Nervous Assistant

24. Heart Attack Man

25. Remote Control

26. Body Movin'

27. Time to Get Ill

28. So What'cha Want

29. Intergalactic

30. Sabotage

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• Visit the official Beastie Boys website

• Follow Beastie Boys at Facebook

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• Purchase Beastie Boys’ music at Amazon

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Mac Miller's Tiny Desk

Mac Miller at NPR’s Tiny Desk, 2018.

Setlist:

1. "Small Worlds"

2. "What's the Use? (Feat. Thundercat)"

3. "2009"

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• Visit Mac Miller’s official website

• Follow Mac Miller on Facebook

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• Purchase Mac Miller’s music at Amazon

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New Order Live At the Ukrainian National Home (Taras Shevchenko)

New Order live in New York, 1981.

Setlist:

1. (Opening Montage)

2. Chosen Time

3. Dreams Never End

4. Everything's Gone Green

5. Truth

6. Senses

7. Procession

8. Ceremony

9. Denial

10. Temptation

11. (Closing Montage)

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• Visit New Order’s official website.

• Follow New Order at Facebook.

• Follow New Order at Twitter.

• Purchase New Order music at Amazon.

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Hot Tuna (46th Street Rock Palace)

Hot Tuna plays Brooklyn. 03/22/73. 46th Street Rock Palace.

Setlist:

1. Keep On Truckin'

2. Been So Long

3. Water Song

4. Come Back Baby

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• Visit Hot Tuna’s official website

• Follow Hot Tuna at Facebook

• Purchase Hot Tuna Music at Amazon

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INXS, "OZ For Africa" (1985)

“Oz for Africa was an Australian concert held on 13 July 1985 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. It was broadcast locally and internationally as part of the worldwide Live Aid performances to raise money for famine relief in Africa.” (Wikipedia)

Setlist:

1. Original Sin

2. Listen Like Theives

3. Kiss the Dirt

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• Visit the official INXS website

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• Purchase INXS music at Amazon

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Neil Young Live At BBC 1971

Neil Young live at the BBC, 1971.

Setlist:

1. Out on the Weekend

2. Old Man

3. Journey Through the Past

4. Heart of Gold

5. Don't Let It Bring You Down

6. A Man Needs a Maid

7. Love in Mind

8. Dance Dance Dance

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• Visit Neil Young’s official website

• Follow Neil Young at Twitter

• Purchase Neil Young’s music at Amazon

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The Legendary Roots Crew at NPR's Tiny Desk (2017)

The video’s Youtube page says:

“Armed with the incredible vocalist Bilal, The Roots performed the signature track from Detroit, a film about the race riots in 1967. "It Ain't Fair" glares unflinchingly, takes a knee and raises a fist against the societal construct that has systematically denied equality of experience to those "presumed inferior," to quote one of Bilal's verses. And it achieves all this while covering its heart with its right hand. This reflective hymn tenderly yanks your heart strings and offers a window into the ethos of those who would like to stand for the flag but cannot in good principle, lest these same evils continue to exist.”

Setlist:

• "It Ain't Fair"

Musicians:

• Curtis L. Jones Jr (Trombone)

• Arnetta Johnson (Trumpet)

• Hiruy E. Tirfe (Sax)

• Richard L. Tate II (Sax)

• Joseph Streater (Trumpet)

• Norman J. Bradshaw (Trombone)

• Damon Bryson (Sousaphone)

• Ahmir (Questlove) Thompson (Drums)

• Tarik (Black Thought) Trotter (Emcee)

• Bilal Oliver (Vocals)

Important People:

• Creative Director: Bob Boilen

• Producers: Abby O'Neill, Morgan Noelle Smith

• Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin

• Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Alyse Young

• Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR

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• Visit The Roots’ page at Facebook

• Follow The Roots at Twitter

• Purchase The Roots’ music at Amazon

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Fiona Apple Live at the New Yorker Festival (2020)

Fiona Apple performs three songs live at the New Yorker Festival 2020.

“Shameika”

“Fetch The Bolt Cutters”

“I Want You To Love Me”

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• Follow Fiona Apple on Facebook

• Purchase Fiona Apple’s music at Amazon

• Visit the official New Yorker Festival website

• Browse all Holiday at the Sea posts tagged Fiona Apple

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Jamie Barnes' 'Ex Voto"

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Louisville’s Jamie Barnes. And since musicians are people, it is only natural for us to wonder what’s he’s been up to in the years since his last release. Well, since musicians are people, we don’t necessarily get to know what Barnes has been doing for the last few years and we honor that privacy. But since he is a poet and songwriter, we do get to peek in on Barnes as he opens a window into his soul on his latest release “Ex Voto.” And the good news is that, even though we may not have heard from him in a while, Barnes’ clever and intimate songwriting sensibilities have only sharpened.

Barnes plays quiet folk-ish music that is pregnant with imagery and warm details. But this is quiet music to be played loud. Barnes has always been known for his lush instrumentation, even though he often records at home. There are new layers, intricacies, and flourishes discovered with each listen and only discovered when we allow ourselves to be in the moment and fully present with this music. Which I think is part of its message.

Barnes gives away few personal details, but as the title suggests, there is a sense of someone struggling to find gratitude and devotion in the wake of something serious; in the wake of life, love, and loss. Sometimes relationships feel like planets trying to find their orbit or two songbirds on opposite branches.

Weaving imagery that oscillates between the here and now; being grounded in nature along with with scenes from the stars (“Perseid and Leonid fall,” “Mercury's in retrograde,” “Binary star,” etc.) Barnes holds a liminal space for the listener. It exists in the moment between inhale and exhale. Maybe it’s a Fall record caught in the moment between expected freeze, remembered warm breezes and the reality of nature’s passing everywhere around us. Does it bring us comfort to know that we’re not alone in our cycle of death and rebirth? Or does it reinforce our hurt, leaving us hopelessly caught in a never-ending cycle? That’s for the listener to decide. But throughout, Barnes evokes that sense of pain, loss, and longing. The opening words set the stage:

Turn the Earth upside down
Shake the dead things from their holes
While the memories drape
Like white chemtrails in our souls

Barnes explores the tension between endings and beginnings, trying to make sense of them both. In “Low To The Bird” (previously released as a single), Barnes laments, leaving us to wonder if his broken relationship is with a lover, himself, or maybe even his God (or maybe all three?):

Now I'm too many words lost down the drain
Gather me like rivers, gather me like rain
I don't mean to accuse, I don't mean to complain
I'm too low to the bird for my prayer to be heard anyway

Maybe we should expect nothing less from a man whose Twitter bio reads “Per aspera ad astra” (“through hardships to the stars") but this interplay between the imminent and the transcendent; that in-between space where life occurs provides the perfect canvas for Barnes’ clever and often insightful words. But the music is just as vital as the words. They weave in and out of one another; melodies softly soar and swirl, uplifting the soul even while the words might keep us grounded. Exploring that “in-between” space, “Ex Voto” is a record that doesn’t shy away from the hurt of life, but it is also not a record which leaves us in the mire.

Though Barnes acknowledges and explores despair and hurt and the dark realities of life, love, and loss, there is never a sense of despair or defeat. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Consider these lines from album opener “Pennyrile”

“And its shadow found me
There beneath it all
And with lifted hands to high we gasped and wondered at the writing on the sky
What a thing it even is to be alive”

Despite it all, “what a thing it even is to be alive!” Even though “crooks and carnivores are closing,” “Ex Voto” finds Barnes “holding fast, holding fast” (“Hollow Dusk”). The mountains may be crashing in to the sea, but Barnes is struggling to be still and make sense of it all; all without giving up the still small light of hope in the darkness. It’s that quiet sense of hope that seems to not only keep Barnes afloat but able to still try and make sense of it all. In “Christ of the Ozarks,” he sings:

“Christ of the Ozarks, hold out your kind arms to me
I lost my landmarks,
I lost my family
Bring down your home
Hold me in mystery
Hold me till the end and then always”

Sometimes we just wish we could make sense of things. There are days when we need to be held and assured and that’s part of what it means to be human. “Hold me till the end and then always.” Even now in the in-between. The night may be dark, but Barnes will not let us give up searching for the meaning behind it all:

“I wish there was a liturgy for the hour soon forgotten
I wish there was a prayer for the when and they why
I wish there was a litany for the names evanescent
A benediction for the long goodbye”

I don’t know if “Ex Voto” is Barnes’ “long goodbye” to something or someone, but it’s an album that deserves our full attention. It is a timely record for a culture caught in societal grief. Hopefully it will help us make sense of suffering while not giving in to despair. We may be broken, but only “just enough” that it’s like blood-letting; for our good. We may each have a vision of what we need to be purged of, but Barnes reminds us that even if the “great cloud of witnesses dissolves overhead,” we are not alone. Wherever you find that “Silent Partner,” Barnes reminds us that there are other hands reaching out in the dark. There are other people caught in the in-between just like we are.

Barnes may not chart a clear path back to daylight and out of the suffering, but he will “hold the space” for us as we “sundown” and in that, he has reminded us of the beauty of life, and love, even when there’s loss. Winter might be coming but, we can still “harmonize our sorrows and sighs and brace for the winter gloom.”

“Hear them now, crooks and carnivores are closing
Bar the door and guard my ruby heart 'til morning
Catalog what's left and wake the weary dawn

Holding fast, holding fast.”

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• Support Jamie Barnes at Bandcamp

• Follow Jamie Barnes at Twitter

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Roy Ayers: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Roy Ayers’ stopped by the NPR Tiny Desk in March 2018 with keyboardist Mark Adams, bassist Trevor Allen and drummer Christopher De Carmine.

Setlist:

• "Searching"

• "Black Family"

• "Everybody Loves The Sunshine"

Musicians:

• Roy Ayers, Mark Adams (keyboards)

• Trevor Allen (bass)

• Christopher De Carmine (drums)

Important People:

• Producers: Abby O'Neill, Morgan Noelle Smith;

• Creative Director: Bob Boilen;

• Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin;

• Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kara Frame, Bronson Arcuri, Dani Lyman;

• Production Assistant: Joshua Bote;

• Photo: Jenna Sterner/NPR.

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• Visit Roy Ayers’ official website

• Follow Roy Ayers at Facebook

• Follow Roy Ayers at Twitter

• Purchase Roy Ayers’ music at Amazon

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