Independence Day - July 4th Musical Salute!

The independent spirit fuels the music and operations of Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records. It’s only natural that Allison Crowe, since embarking on her own course as an international touring and recording artist, looks to Ani as a model. Allison’s Rubenesque Records Ltd. has taken the road less traveled since 2001. From “Live at Wood Hall”, (released by RRL in 2005), here’s Allison in concert with a cover of Ani’s song, “Independence Day”: https://allisoncrowe.bandcamp.com/track/independence-day

This track joins a cadre of tunes for a July 4^th feature of the “Cover Lay Down” blog. Boyhowdy presents music of Allison + Ani alongside Eva Cassidy, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Richard Shindell and a dozen more artists performing songs of Paul Simon, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bobby Darin and more.

"Cover Lay Down" founder Boyhowdy, aka Joshua Farber, pens the latest installment to an eloquent "America The Beautiful: More Coverfolk For A Thoughtful Fourth" posting this Independence Day for our American friends and neighbours. It's an episode worth revisiting, notes Farber, "as music which speaks of and for a people, American folk music holds a particular place in the conversation which is America...making it real and vivid, whether it is through the lens of policy critique or protest cry, the immigrant experience or the internal monologue of a singer-songwriter struggling to be free."

Farber wraps the intro to this musical salute: "Happy Birthday, America. Long may your contradictions endear us to you. May you never lose hope. And may we never stop singing."