''Hempsteader'' is a live album by the

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

band the

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred to ...

. It was recorded on June 25, 1976, at the

Calderone Concert Hall Calderone Concert Hall was a 2,500-seat music venue located at 145 N Franklin St. in Hempstead, New York, which was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It was one of the theaters founded by Salvatore Calderone. Many notable bands performed at the venue ...

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census. It occupies the s ...

. It was released as a CD on April 19, 2024. It was released as a two-disc LP on October 4, 2024. ''Hempsteader'' features the New Riders' 1976 to 1977 lineup of John Dawson on guitar and vocals, David Nelson on guitar and vocals,

Buddy Cage Buddy Cage (February 18, 1946 – February 5, 2020) was an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage.

on pedal steel guitar, Stephen Love on bass and vocals, and

Spencer Dryden Spencer Charles Dryden (April 7, 1938 – January 11, 2005) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Jefferson Airplane and New Riders of the Purple Sage. He also played with Dinosaurs, and the Ashes (later known as the Peanut Butt ...

on drums. At the time of the Hempstead concert, the band was touring behind their album '' New Riders'', which had been released about two months earlier.

Critical reception

In ''

Goldmine Goldmine may refer to: * A location where gold mining takes place * ''Goldmine'' (magazine), a music collectibles magazine * ''Goldmine'' (album), by Gabby Barrett, 2020 * "Goldmine" (George Fox song), 1989 * "Goldmine" (Kimbra song), 2015 * ...

'', Ray Chelstowski wrote, " he albumcaptures an act performing at their musical peak. Always known for their remarkable musicianship across every chair in the band, this record presents their abilities with remarkable clarity and sonic depth.... This is a group in top form, playing a room at its rock height, to an audience that clearly got more than they bargained for..." In ''Americana Highways'', Jeff Burger said, "The 18-song, nearly 80-minute set includes energized readings of a few of the group’s best-known early numbers, such as "Glendale Train", "Henry", "Portland Woman", and "Panama Red". You’ll also find a motley assortment of party-ready covers drawn from the group's then-recent studio albums..." Also in ''Americana Highways'', John Apice wrote, "The sound for a live recording from 1976 is quite good & gets better as it progresses. It’s especially fine since the performance is always energetic & that comes through.... The band does manage to mix up the repertoire with a balanced set of tunes, some pure country, country-rock, folky elements, bluegrass & an excellent 12-minute plus jam "Portland Woman"." In ''Glide Magazine'' Doug Collette said, "Circa America's centennial, this NRPS fivesome remained tightly knit as a performing unit. As such, they were well able to proffer a broad range of material over these eighty-some minutes, which is ''Hempsteader''.... NRPS thus exhibited an array of virtues by which they elicited rightful acclamation from a rowdy crowd."

Track listing

#"Panama Red" (

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. He plays guitar, fiddle, dobro, banjo, bass, piano and mandolin. He has a wide vocal range and yodels. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall o ...

) #"Little Old Lady" (Richard Wilbur) #"Honky Tonkin' (I Guess I Done Me Some)" (

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, h ...

) #"Fifteen Days Under the Hood" (

Jack Tempchin Jack Tempchin is an American musician and singer-songwriter who wrote the Eagles song " Peaceful Easy Feeling" and co-wrote " Already Gone", "The Girl from Yesterday", "Somebody" and "It's Your World Now". Career During the Eagles' breakup per ...

) #"Annie May" (Vick Thomas) #"Henry" ( John Dawson) #"Don't Put Her Down" (

Hazel Dickens Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist, guitarist and banjo player. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provoca ...

) #"Ashes of Love" (Jim Anglin,

Jack Anglin Jack Anglin (May 13, 1916 – March 8, 1963) was an American country music singer best known as a member of the Anglin Brothers, and later Johnnie & Jack with Johnnie Wright. Younger Years Anglin was born on a farm in Franklin, Tennessee to ...

Johnnie Wright Johnnie Robert Wright Jr. (May 13, 1914 – September 27, 2011) was an American country music singer-songwriter, who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of country music ...

) #"Portland Woman" (Dawson) #"Whiskey" (Dawson) #"She's Looking Better Every Beer" (John Shine) #"Teardrops in My Eyes" (

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been described by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armst ...

, Tommy Sutton) #"I Heard You've Been Layin' My Old Lady" (

Rusty Wier Russell Allen "Rusty" Wier (May 3, 1944 – October 9, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas. Wier's career dates back to the 1960s and covers multiple music genres. Wier was the drummer in the Austin garage rock band The Wi ...

) #"The Swimming Song" (

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

) #" You Never Can Tell" (

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

) #" Hard to Handle" ( Allen Jones,

Alvertis Isbell Al Bell (born Alvertis Isbell; March 15, 1940) is an American record producer, songwriter, and record executive. He is best known as having been an executive and co-owner of Stax Records with Jim Stewart based in Memphis, Tennessee, during the l ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

) #"Glendale Train" (Dawson) #" Dead Flowers" (

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

)

Personnel

New Riders of the Purple Sage * John Dawson – guitar, vocals * David Nelson – guitar, vocals *

Buddy Cage Buddy Cage (February 18, 1946 – February 5, 2020) was an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage.

– pedal steel guitar * Stephen Love – bass, vocals *

– drums Production *Produced for release by Rob Bleetstein *Mastering: David Glasser *Art direction, design: Greg Allen *Photos, liner notes: Rob Bleetstein

References

{{New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage live albums 2024 live albums