Hear Nikki Lane and Buddy Miller Cover Dolly and Porter
There’s nothing at all unusual about a hoedown in a honky-tonk, but one aboard a 2,300-person cruise ship doesn’t exactly scream traditional. It’s an idea about as left of center as the results: for the past two journeys of Cayamo, a roots-oriented music festival at sea, artists like Buddy Miller, Nikki Lane, Kacey Musgraves and the Lone Bellow have not only played portside sets for passengers, they’ve holed up in Miller’s makeshift recording studio onboard to capture some special collaborations.
On January 29th, New West will release the sessions as Buddy Miller and Friends’ Cayamo Sessions at Sea. His duet with Lane, a take on Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner’s “Just Someone I Used to Know,” premieres exclusively on Rolling Stone Country below.
“Collaborations on Cayamo have always been unforced and beautiful,” Miller tells Rolling Stone Country, “and I’ve regretted not capturing them before. This album is just some of the many special moments that happen when so many great musicians get to spend a week together at sea.”
First popularized by Wagoner and Parton’s weepy, horn-laced version from their 1970 duets record Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca, Lane and Miller’s “Just Someone I Used to Know” is warm and just a touch more devilish, thanks to their raspy tones and a slightly kicked-up melody, with fiddle stepping in for the original’s brass section.
Lane makes no secret of her devotion to the Americana icon (and executive music producer of ABC’s Nashville) — she even designed a striped “Buddy Fuckin’ Miller” crop-top to wear onboard Cayamo – and their relationship dates back to when she was scouting ideas for her debut LP, Walk of Shame.
“I first heard of Buddy Miller when [producer] Dave Cobb suggested we cover his and [wife] Julie’s ‘Gasoline & Matches’ on my first record and he’s been part of the timeline ever since,” Lane tells Rolling Stone Country. “After all, it was him that first asked my label New West to sign me for my last record, and I suspect he had something to do with me being on the list of lucky musicians that get to play Cayamo. But getting to sing alongside his band for performances like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the Americana Awards ceremony, and the recordings on Cayamo have been highlights of my career. An incredibly talented and humble man who is always pushing others into that bit of limelight.”