Month: July 2012

Kate Stone’s Civil War: Sad Christmas

Stone’s first entry for 1862 was a somber one. The shadow of her brother’s death darkened the holiday cheer.

From 2012 to 2015, Stillness of Heart will share interesting excerpts from the extraordinary diary of Kate Stone, the daughter of Louisiana cotton plantation owners who chronicled her turbulent life throughout the Civil War era.

Learn more about Stone’s amazing life in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865 and beyond. Click on each year to read more about her experiences. You can read the entire journal online here.

(Photo edited by Bob Rowen)

Stone’s first entry for 1862 was a somber one. The shadow of her brother’s death darkened the holiday cheer.

Jan. 6:

Christmas passed very quietly with us. Greetings on all sides but no gifts and not many good things prepared beforehand. Had the customary eggnog before breakfast, but not a prize nog. It was made of borrowed whiskey with a strong flavor of turpentine. A lovely day, so warm that we sat on the gallery until bedtime.

Julia Reed came on the twenty-seventh and stayed until today. This is the first Christmas in our recollection that was not a time of fun and feasting. We missed Ashburn’s kiss and blithesome presence.

Mamma invited the two Mr. Valentines, father and son, to dinner, thinking it would be pleasant for Other Pa (Stone’s maternal grandfather) to meet the older man, and rather to our surprise they came and stayed until sundown. We never heard of Mr. Valentine, Sr., paying a social visit before. He is odd, just as we fancied he would be, but an excellent talker. He and his son are strikingly alike in looks, manners, and turn of mind, though they generally take opposite sides on every proposition. Mark, Jr., says they are forced to do so to have something to talk about the long winter evenings.

Mark, Jr., acquainted us with his fixed determination to pay us a New Year’s call. So Julia and I hurried back from our ride that misty, misty morning and looked for him all day. In the afternoon we begged Mamma to let us pay our expected visit to Mrs. Savage, but she would not allow it. So he ruined our plans for all day. It will be long before we let an engagement with him keep us in again.

The morning after Christmas Mamma gave all the house servants holiday … and they all went down to the quarters. She hired some of the field women, who were busy in the backyard drying out lard, making up sausages, cleaning feet and so on. …

Kate Stone’s Civil War: Rainy days

As the war’s first Christmas approached, life went on at Brokenburn. Soft winter rain drenched the neighborhood. A strange relative got married. Sickness claimed yet another acquaintance. It’s a fascinating record of a quiet home front. Quiet for the moment.

From 2012 to 2015, Stillness of Heart will share interesting excerpts from the extraordinary diary of Kate Stone, the daughter of Louisiana cotton plantation owners who chronicled her turbulent life throughout the Civil War era.

Learn more about Stone’s amazing life in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865 and beyond. Click on each year to read more about her experiences. You can read the entire journal online here.

(Photo edited by Bob Rowen)

As the war’s first Christmas approached, life went on at Brokenburn. Soft winter rain drenched the neighborhood. A strange relative got married. Sickness claimed yet another acquaintance. It’s a fascinating record of a quiet home front. Quiet for the moment.

Dec. 22:

I have been sleeping with Mamma and so I have not written for some time, as night is my time for scribbling.

Aunt Laura left us ten days ago after a two-week stay, and she seemed to enjoy so much being with us all, especially Mamma. Her visit was a pleasure to us. …

After two weeks of the lovliest warm spring weather with skies as blue and bright as bend over Italian plains, we wake to hear a soft, warm rain pattering down, and so no church for us today. And none of us went last Sunday. Sunday spent at home is a long, weary day. …

The greatest news of all Uncle Johnny is married. On the seventeenth of this month he gave his heart and hand to Miss Kate Boone, a girl from Charleston, S.C., who has been visiting her brother at Pine Bluff, Ark., for some months. She is quite a young girl, not more than seventeen, while Uncle Johnny is thirty-five. We wish them every happiness, and I wish he would bring her down to see us. I only hope he will not try to educate her according to his theories but will let her go on as Nature and her own antecedents and education would have her. But for years he has had the idea of marrying a very young girl and molding and educating her according to his pet theories. My mind misgives me that such is still his plan.

Other Pa (Stone’s maternal grandfather) left the day after the wedding, which was very quiet. He is not pleased with the marriage, though he does not say much against it. Uncle John is editing a paper in Pine Bluff. He is a most impracticable man with so many theories, and he has made ducks and drakes of all the money inherited from Other Ma (Stone’s maternal grandmother) and every other cent he could get. We hope marriage will be his salvation, an anchor to keep him from drifting with every tide, or feeling, or impulse. Johnny says he shall call his new Aunt “Aunt Boone.” He likes it better than “Kate.” I have pre-emption title on that name. …

Mrs. Virginia Cavalier, the oldest sister of the Morris girls, died a week ago of swamp fever. She was a widow with two young children and a very attractive woman. Her brother-in-law, Mr. Joe Cavalier, has been addressing her for the last year, so report says.

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Less poverty by 2030 / Don’t ‘Like’ James Holmes / Springsteen at 62 / What we don’t know about forgiveness / D-Day deception

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. US intelligence sees poverty plummet by 2030
By Kimberly Dozier | Associated Press | July 28
“The chief at the U.S. government’s top intelligence analysis shop says if current economic and demographic trends continue, 1 billion people who live on less than a dollar a day now will drop by half in roughly two decades.”

2. You Can Become a Fan of James Holmes on Facebook (But You Shouldn’t)
By Louis Peitzman | Gawker | July 28
“The largest fan page, which appeared the same day as the Aurora shooting massacre, has over 800 followers.”

3. Re:Re:Fw:Re: Workers Spend 650 Hours a Year On Email
By Jordan Weissmann | The Atlantic | July 28
“There’s a good chance you spend more than a quarter of each week reading and answering those emails.”

4. Myths of Forgiveness
By Will Meek | Notes to Self :: Psychology Today | July 26
“Most of them are ways that our minds and culture bundle other things with forgiveness, rather than seeing it as a process of its own.”

5. Before The D-Day Invasion, Double Talk And Deceit
Weekend Edition Saturday :: NPR | July 28
“The British effort to feign, trick and fool the Germans into believing the D-Day invasion would be anywhere but Normandy was largely the work of people plotting at desks: untrustworthy double-agents, West End set designers and at least one pigeon handler.”

6. We Are Alive
By David Remnick | The New Yorker | July 30
“Bruce Springsteen at sixty-two”

7. David Perry: Are games better than life?
TED | October 2008
“Game designer David Perry says tomorrow’s videogames will be more than mere fun to the next generation of gamers. They’ll be lush, complex, emotional experiences — more involving and meaningful to some than real life. ”

8. Presidents at the Olympics
Politico | July 24
“President Barack Obama does not plan to attend the London games, but first lady Michelle Obama will represent him at the event.”

9. Where Was Stonewall?
By Ben Cleary | Disunion :: The New York Times | June 22
“[Stonewall] Jackson may have relied on his will to push himself beyond the limits of human endurance, but those limits are very real, and he encountered them in the hot, swampy lowlands east of Richmond in the summer of 1862.”

10. Loss of Spy Plane Sabotaged 1960 Summit
By Walter Cronkite | NPR | May 2005
“Former CBS anchor and commentator Walter Cronkite recalls the tension of spring 1960 when an American spy plane helped to plunge East-West relations into one of the deepest chills of the Cold War.”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. MOONLIGHT Ludwig von Beethoven & Cafe Del Mar
2. RIVERWIDE Sheryl Crow
3. I DON’T LIKE MONDAYS Tori Amos
4. SECRET GARDEN Bruce Springsteen
5. LOVELY DAY Bill Withers
6. CERTAMENTE Madreblu
7. THERE’S A RIVER Steve Winwood
8. TELL IT LIKE IT IS Aaron Neville
9. COUNTING WAVES Sarah Fimm
10. ALIBABA Karunesh

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Video of asteroid near miss / Peruvian food around the world / Death in a Facebook status / Cronkite remembers the Battle of the Bulge

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Near-Earth Asteroid Fly-By Captured by Observatory
Space.com | July 2012
“Asteroid 2002 AM31 flew by Earth on July 22nd. The Slooh Space Camera in the Canary Islands observatory was on hand to capture the space rock zoom by. It was about 3.2 million miles away on its closest approach.”

2. Peruvian Independence Day Celebrated With Google Map Of Peruvian Restaurants Around The World
The Huffington Post | July 28
” You don’t have to travel all the way to South America for a taste of Peru’s cuisine.”

3. Facebook, in Life and Death
By Rubina Madan Fillon | The Juggle :: The Wall Street Journal | July 25
“I’ve grown accustomed to finding out about friends’ milestones on Facebook: graduations, engagements, weddings, new jobs and children. But hearing about death that way — I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.”

4. Gang Violence Smoulders On Hot Chicago Streets
By Scott Simon | Weekend Edition Saturday | July 28
“When the sun goes down behind the glimmering lakeshore skyline, blocks on the South and West Side of the city can ring with shots and sirens.”

5. She’s taking on everything that’s wrong with movies
By Karina Longworth | The Village Voice | July 25
“Julie Delpy materializes on the patio of Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont on a wave of nervous energy.”

6. Texting: Grammar suffering as a result, finds a new study
By Alexander Besant | GlobalPost | July 28
“Researchers from Penn State have found that teenagers who use text messages to communicate tend to have worse grammar skills than those who don’t.”

7. J.J. Abrams’ mystery box
TED | January 2008
“J.J. Abrams traces his love for the unseen mystery … back to its magical beginnings.”

8. Fancy that: the golden age of the sexy geeky leading male
By Zoe Williams | The Guardian | July 27
“The home-grown actors making it big in Hollywood these days aren’t chiselled or buff, but funny, nerdy and strangely attractive”

9. Runaway Masters
By Daniel W. Crofts | Disunion :: The New York Times | June 22
“All hope vanished that the war might end soon, or that the old Union might somehow be restored intact.”

10. The Battle of the Bulge Remembered
By Walter Cronkite | NPR | December 2004
“Cronkite reflects on what remains the largest pitched battle in the history of American arms.”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. NEVER AN EASY WAY Morcheeba
2. AIR Cuba Percussion & Klazz Brothers
3. WITH YOU Smoke City
4. ISOBEL Dido
5. LIGHT MY FIRE Jose Feliciano
6. MAD MEN SUITE David Carbonara
7. I KNOW Fiona Apple
8. SEVEN YEARS Natalie Merchant
9. MAYBE I’M AMAZED Paul McCartney
10. CAN’T FIND MY WAY HOME Blind Faith

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Has Madonna gone crazy? / Sandals and flip-flop advice / NBC’s Olympics coverage slammed / U.S. Grant’s third star / Too many Agrippinas

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. The Truth About the Shoes of Summer, Sandals, Flip Flops and Wedges
By Steve Rosenberg | The Huffington Post | July 25
“Let the truth be told, most shoes are not designed for comfort — only for fashion.”

2. Nazis, breasts and guns: Has Madonna lost it?
By Laura Barcella | Salon | July 27
“Madonna’s European shows have included swastikas, sex and violence. Is it more than the usual button-pushing?”

3. NBC lambasted over banal butchering of opening ceremony
By Emma G. Keller | The Guardian | July 28
“Tim Berners-Lee? Who’s that? Madagascar? Oh, like the kids movie! If you’re going to make us wait hours to watch the ceremony live, NBC, the least you could have done is keep quiet”

4. Pot of crusader gold found where Richard I defeated Salahaddin
Al Arabiya | July 28
“The castle was used by the Crusaders as a stronghold between 1241 and its destruction in 1265 when it was attacked by the Egyptian Sultan Baybars.”

5. Lincoln, Congress, Grant, and the Lieutenant General Act
By Brooks D. Simpson | U.S. Capitol Historical Society | May 4
“The act made Ulysses S. Grant a lieutenant general and gave him command of the Union Army.”

6. They loaded mortars in the war, so now what?
By Pauline Jelinek | Associated Press | July 25
“U.S. combat troops patrol dusty pathways in Afghanistan, look for hidden roadside bombs, load and fire mortar shells at insurgents’ positions. So when they come home, how will that help them land a civilian job?”

7. Jakob Trollback rethinks the music video
TED | April 2008
“What would a music video look like if it were directed by the music, purely as an expression of a great song, rather than driven by a filmmaker’s concept?”

8. Sorting out the Agrippinas
By Mary Beard | A Don’s Life | July 24
“One of the problems of the first century AD is that there are simply too many Agrippinas.”

9. A Black Spy in the Confederate White House
By Lois Leveen | Disunion :: The New York Times | June 21
“Journalists, historians, even the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and the C.I.A. have celebrated the extraordinary Mary Bowser, yet most Americans have never heard of her.”

10. Mariel Boatlift from Cuba
Witness :: BBC News | May 25
“In 1980, more than 100,000 Cubans left the island in a boatlift from Mariel harbour.”

******************

TUNES

Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the wonderful Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.

1. Ron Artis Family Band — You Can’t Lie To Grandma
2. Z-Tribe — Defending the Blues
3. Ian Moore — Pay No Mind
4. John Mayall — With You
5. Grace Potter — Stop The Bus
6. Jerry Forney Blues Band — I’ll Play The Blues
7. Preacher Stone — Old Fashion Ass Whoopin
8. The Buddaheads — Howlin’ At The Moon
9. Lost Immigrants — Can’t You See
10. Paul Thorn — Pimps & Preachers
11. Jeff Strahan — Amen To The Blues
12. Stony Larue — Solid Gone
13. Bob Seger — Come To Papa

Videos I Love: Men of steel

I grew up watching Christopher Reeve in three Superman movies (we will all agree to pretend the fourth one never happened).

I’m occasionally sharing some thoughts on a few videos that make me smile, make me think, or preferably do both. Read more from this special series here.

The teaser trailer for the new Superman movie, “Man of Steel,” is playing in front of “The Dark Knight Rises.” It opens in 2013. Watch both versions here. Also, here’s a link to the trailer for 2006’s “Superman Returns,” which had some good moments. Re-integrating Brando’s originally unused dialogue was a thrilling treat.

As expected, the fanboys fight over the variations in the color of Superman’s new belt and cape, the look of his new chest emblem, and the actors portraying him. It reminds me of the fights people used to wage over who was the better James Bond. Whatever, fanboys. They miss the point.

As we all know, each film is a capsule of an age of American culture and concerns. The best superhero films, like the best and most interesting graphic novels, are reflections of a generation’s insecurities, internal strife, aspirations, and shortcomings. That’s why people look to the superhero — to fill the gap between what they need and what they are capable of accomplishing — as the superhero looks back down on them. Just ask one of my favorite pseudo-philosophers, Bill, about superheroes and us.

I grew up watching Christopher Reeve in three Superman movies (we will all agree to pretend the fourth one never happened), and I hope a small theater somewhere will host a screening of “Superman: The Movie” before “Man of Steel” opens. That would be a lot of fun. Check out the old trailer I found for it.

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Why women rule / Your handshake / Ross Perot may be back / ‘Downton Abbey’ returns on Jan. 6 / The ordeal of leaving Cuba

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. An 8-Year-Old Girl’s Awesome List of Why Women Rule
By Katie J.M. Baker | Jezebel | July 20
“‘We have veginas. We get jobs. We are creative. We have stuff that makes us preanet. We have milk in our bobes. We are smart. We have power.'”

2. What Does Your Handshake Say About You?
By CareerBuilder :: AOL Jobs | October 2009
“Handshakes are a sign of trust and help build strong relationships.”

3. Why Ross Perot is made for the 2012 race
By Chris Cillizza | The Fix :: The Washington Post | July 21
“Perot’s laser focus on debt and spending issues — not to mention his outsider persona — is a perfect fit for an American electorate sick of the two major parties and increasingly concerned about the country’s red ink.”

4. The new Ottomans
The Cafe :: Al Jazeera | July 21
“Can Turkey strike a balance between the country’s modern, secular aspirations and its deep-rooted Islamic identity?”

5. Money woes, marriage jitters in store for series three of ‘Downton Abbey’
By Amy Wills | The Telegraph | July 22
“When … Matthew Crawley stooped down on bended knee in the snow last season, his tempestuous love affair with Lady Mary seemed to finally have reached a conclusion.”

6. Remember, Remember, the Fifth of May
By William Moss Wilson | Disunion :: The New York Times | May 4
“On May 5, 1862, Ignacio Zaragoza … led the brave defenders of Puebla in repulsing the elite troops of an invading French Army.”

7. Scott Kim takes apart the art of puzzles
TED | December 2009
“Sampling his career’s work, he introduces a few of the most popular types, and shares the fascinations that inspired some of his best.”

8. To Use and Use Not
By Julie Bosman | The New York Times | July 4
“A new edition of ‘A Farewell to Arms,’ which was originally published in 1929, [includes] all the alternate endings, along with early drafts of other passages in the book.”

9. Leaving Cuba: The difficult task of exiting the island
By Sara Rainsford | BBC News | July 21
“Cubans need permission to leave their island. And if they stay away too long, they can’t come back.”

10. The Landslide Election of 1964
By Walter Cronkite | NPR | November 2004
“The Republican Party fought its last rear-guard battle against FDR’s New Deal of the 1930s, while the Democrats promised a ‘Great Society’ and a new health program to be called Medicare. The national mood was liberal and the outcome was never in doubt.”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN June Carter Cash
2. TOO MANY FISH IN THE SEA The Marvelettes
3. SLIP SLIDIN’ AWAY Paul Simon
4. STARDUST Louis Armstrong
5. BANG BANG Nancy Sinatra
6. ME, MYSELF AND I Billie Holiday
7. JA VIDI Christophe Goze
8. WHEN IT FALLS Zero 7
9. A HUNDRED MILLION SOUNDS Second Sky
10. SING ME A SWING SONG Ella Fitzgerald

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Assad’s next move / Workplace attire / Destroying Istanbul’s treasures / Our obsession with apocalypse / Tech’s most influential women

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Bashar al-Assad: fight or flight?
By Ian Black | The Guardian | July 20
“After high-profile defections and the loss of four key advisers, the Syrian president’s options are shrinking”

2. Counting Afghanistan’s Dead
By Joshua Foust | The Atlantic | July 20
“Addressing the war’s failings means talking about policy, but before we do that, a reminder of why it matters.”

3. What Not to Wear To Work
By Melissa Korn | At Work :: The Wall Street Journal | July 20
“A new survey shows U.S. adults expressing more outrage at scantily-clad co-workers this year than they did last year.”

4. Destroying Istanbul
By Andrew Finkel | Latitude :: The New York Times | July 20
“Now here’s a bit of hyperbole I wish I didn’t have to defend: the damage now being done to Istanbul rivals the damage done to Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade.”

5. The Ten Most Influential Women in Technology
By Marissa Mayer | Time | July 18
“In 2012, it’s hard to believe that only 19 companies out of the Fortune 500 are led by women.”

6. Will the fight against HIV/AIDS ever end?
Inside Story Americas :: Al Jazeera | July 20
“As scientists and campaigners launch a new drive for a cure we ask how much longer we will be fighting the disease.”

7. Jennifer 8. Lee hunts for General Tso
TED | December 2008
“Reporter Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her hunt for the origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes — exploring the hidden spots where these two cultures have (so tastily) combined to form a new cuisine.”

8. America’s apocalypse obsession
By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | Alternet and Salon | July 18
“Why are we so fixated on the end of the world?”

9. Stone Links: The Rise of Café Philosophy
By A.C. Lee | Opinionator :: The New York Times | July 3
“Jules Evans … describes an emerging scene in which people from a diverse range of backgrounds gather at cafés, pubs and pizza parlors to tackle the great philosophical questions.”

10. Gulf of Tonkin’s Phantom Attack
By Walter Cronkite | NPR | August 2004
“Faulty Intelligence Played Role in Decision to Engage Viet Cong”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD U2
2. SUGAR SUGAR The Archies
3. PIANO CONCERTO #22 IN E FLAT, K 482 – 3. ALLEGRO Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4. EVOLUTION REVOLUTION LOVE Tricky
5. A KISS TO BUILD A DREAM ON Louis Armstrong
6. OUR FADED LOVE Patsy Cline
7. SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME The Drifters
8. HERE COMES THE SUN (Live) Paul Simon & George Harrison
9. SONATA FOR CELLO & PIANO IN G MINOR, OP. 65 Frederic Chopin
10. MINOR SWING Django Reinhardt

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Psychology of Batman / Middle East’s future / Wedding depression / What’s Sorkin’s problem? / The HIV wars

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. What Makes Batman Tick?
By Linda Holmes | MonkeySee :: Weekend Edition Sunday | July 15
“When you look at Batman with a coldly analytical eye … a few things stand out as potential red flags: the secrecy, the lair, the attraction to danger, the blithe self-sacrifice, the … cape.”

2. The good, the bad, and the ugly: Three scenarios for the Middle East
By Stephen M. Walt | Foreign Policy | July 20
“Although most commentary tends to obsess about recent events (Will Assad fall? Was Hezbollah for the bombing in Bulgaria? Will there be war with Iran? Is the two-state solution really dead? etc.) today, I want to step back and ask what the larger implications of these various events might be.”

3. The Wedding Effect
By Maggie Shipstead | The New York Times | July 18
“There is something numbing about all this marrying. The thrill of the first friends’ weddings, when everybody was young and lifelong commitment seemed wild and transgressive, has worn off, and a jaded peanut gallery has sprung up …”

4. NASA’s Mars rover may be in for blind landing
By Irene Klotz | Reuters | July 16
“That’s because the satellite that NASA was counting on for real-time coverage of the Mars Science Laboratory’s descent into Gale Crater, located near the planet’s equator, was sidelined last month by a maneuvering system glitch.”

5. Sharks tagged off Scotland monitored online
BBC News | July 20
“The movements of eight basking sharks can now be followed online, after scientists fitted them with satellite tags.”

6. ABC’s Ross takes heat for another blunder
By Dylan Byers | Politico | July 20
“Ross came under attack again Friday when he reported that James Holmes … may have connections to the Tea Party — basing that on a single web page that listed an Aurora-based ‘Jim Holmes’ as a member of the Colorado Tea Party Patriots”

7. Jean-Baptiste Michel: The mathematics of history
TED | May 2012
“From changes to language to the deadliness of wars, he shows how digitized history is just starting to reveal deep underlying patterns.”

8. Aaron Sorkin versus reality
By Alex Pareene | Salon | July 19
“The increasingly unpleasant superiority complex of America’s most prominent liberal screenwriter”

9. Semicolons: A Love Story
By Ben Dolnick | Opinionator :: The New York Times | July 2
“To abjure semicolons was to declare oneself pure of heart, steely-eyed, sadly disillusioned.”

10. The early days of HIV/Aids
Witness :: BBC News | June 3
“It’s 30 years since the HIV virus was first identified by medical experts. In the early days, carriers of the virus were stigmatised and treatment was in its infancy.”

******************

TUNES

Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.

1. The Jeff Strahan Band — Supercool
2. The Jeff Strahan Band — Folsom Prison Blues
3. Anna Popovic — My Man
4. Los Lonely Boys — Road House Blues
5. Bernard Allison — The Other Side
6. Zed Head — Till I Lost You
7. Scott Weis Band — Hurricane
8. Blackberry Smoke — Up In Smoke
9. The Derek Trucks Band — Revolution
10. ZZ Top — Brown Sugar
11. Etta James — Purple Rain
12. Brandon Jenkins — Austin
13. The Red Hot Blues Sisters — Bring It On Home