Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale at the SXSW

A musician’s musician is someone who every other musician and artists wants to play with, but who isn’t always known to the general audience. Buddy Miller is a musician’s musician, but fortunately he has been acknowledged and gained more popularity during the years. Jim Lauderdale is a great singer songwriter who has written songs for artists like Vince Gill, Patty Loveless and other artists, but who also has got more and more recognition for his own work the later years. Now the two have released a CD together, and they played Antone’s during SXSW.

Many music lovers got their open for Buddy Miller through Spyboy, the backing band for Emmylou Harris’ live shows from when she recorded Wrecking Ball in 1995. The CD, produced by ace producer Daniel Lanois, showed Emmylou from a totally different side than we were used to. One of the most important ingredients in her new live sound with Spyboy, was the guitar work by Buddy Miller.

Since then Buddy has released his own songs, with and without his wife, singer songwriter Julie Miller, and he has collaberatet with Robert Plant, Patty Griffin, Steve Earle, Linda Ronstadt and Lucinda Williams among others. To me Buddy Miller is the best guitar man you can get, both being able to back up others and also to be in front. His guitar work is also special and very personal, he definitely has got his own sound.

Jim Lauderdale has written songs that have been recorded by a diversity of artists, like George Strait and the Dixie Chicks, and he has written songs together with The Grateful Dead’s lyricist Robert Hunter. He has also recorded with Paul Stanley, one of the bluegrass grand old men. His songwriting is strong and personal, with very good storytelling, and he has won many awards for his songwriting.

The CD Buddy & Jim came out in 2012, and it is an album with equal parts Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale. At the Americana Music Association night at Antone’s during SXSW they performed together. With a hand picked band, they did most of the songs from the CD, with – amongst them, Fats Kaplin on violin and steel guitar. To me, that was a concert to remember. Both their playing, their songwriting, and also the great band was a perfect mix.