As I get the film ready for what looks like an August 1 release, I’m going to start sharing some of the great musical performances that didn’t make the final cut of the film. These are strictly for friends and fans, and in most cases I’m not allowing downloads of the original clips.

Here’s Slaid Cleaves singing a song by the legendary Texas songwriter, the late Don Walser. Walser, the “Pavarotti of the Plains,” passed away a few years back after a career spanning many decades. The song, “Texas Top Hand,” is reputed to be one of the hardest in Walser’s repertoire.

Slaid was recorded at Concerts in the Park in Greensburg, PA, in summer 2004. With Jeff Plankenhorn, dobro; Ivan Brown, bass; and Rick Richards, drums.

Just finished editing this two-minute trailer for Troubadour Blues. Let me know what you think.

As I prepare to head off to the giant Folk Alliance conference and love-fest in Memphis, Tennessee, a quick update on what’s been going on in the world of Troubadour Blues.

It’s customary as December rolls around for the music industry to shower awards on the singers, players, producers, albums and individual songs that are judged the “best of” the preceding year.

This being America, the only standard we know by which to judge art is the almighty dollar. So, in practical terms, award season means that we honor those who already made ridiculous amounts of money selling bazillions of albums, singles and concert tickets.

Here at Troubadour Blues, we’re starting a different tradition this year: The Troubie Awards.

This is the first in a series of posts with bonus features from the documentary. This scene features footage from festivals in Edinboro and Cambridge Springs, PA; Aylmer, Ontario, Canada; and the great big Folk Alliance conference in Memphis. It was deleted because of length fairly early in the editing process, but gives a sense of the style of the overall film.

“Troubadour Blues” Deleted Scene from Tom Weber on Vimeo.

Feel free to post comments, but I’ve disabled downloading of the original clip because I haven’t formally cleared rights for the songs in this section. Enjoy!