It occurred to me that we haven’t written much, at least lately, about John Prine. Well, I went searching for a good song to share and stumbled across this incredible video. It features Kris Kristofferson and Joan Baez singing alongside Prine on the his classic “Hello In There.” ‘Ya gotta love Baez’s comment as she [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

It is only May and it has already been an amazing year for Boston music. Below are some of the highlights from some of the impressive releases making for a mighty fine musical spring in Beantown. FEATURED ALBUMS Waterfall, by Todd Thibaud Thibaud’s latest album is a bit of a paradox. For all it’s upbeat [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

This week’s video finds Twangville faves Barnstar! in the studio recording their bluegrass cover of the Traveling Wilbury’s “Handle With Care.” The song appeared on their spirited 2011 release C’mon!. As a special bonus, here’s Barnstar! taking on the Dawes gem “When My Time Comes.” An enchanting performance of a magical song. more »

by Mayer Danzig

Country music lost a giant late week. George Jones, you’ll be greatly missed. Here’s a collection of four videos — two recorded in his early years and two from his later years — that feature some of his biggest hits. more »

by Mayer Danzig

It’s been an emotional and frightening week for the greater Boston area. Neil Diamond lent his voice to support the community by flying to Boston for Saturday’s Red Sox game, the first home game since last Monday’s tragedy. Diamond apparently showed up at Fenway unannounced just prior to game time and said “I’m here.” Fenway [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

ALBUMS OF THE MONTH The Other Life, by Shooter Jennings I’ll admit that I haven’t spent much time with Shooter’s previous releases. No real explanation, his music just never made it into my rotation. My bad. His latest is one of the most refreshing country records that I’ve heard in quite some time. Shooter and [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

Here is part two of our Reader’s Pick series, the up-and-coming artists that you told us about as part of our Joe Pug give-away. This week’s video playlist includes: Communist Daughter Rayland Baxter Ryan Bonner Drew Holcomb Cat Beach Gaslight Anthem more »

by Mayer Danzig

ALBUMS OF THE MONTH The Beast In Its Tracks, by Josh Ritter It’s easy to be angry after a break-up. You want to grab a bottle of whisky and crank some classic angry Bob Mould songs (Black Sheets of Rain, anyone?). I suppose that Josh Ritter had a few of those moments when his marriage [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

Last month we asked you to tell us about your favorite up-and-coming artists. Well, you didn’t disappoint, sharing an impressive array of artists. For the next two weeks, we will highlight the bands that you told us were the ones that we should be watching, er, listening to, in the years to come. This week’s [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

We wrap up our SXSW 2013 coverage with a final set of videos. This collection features several up-and-comers that we’ll be hearing great things from in the years to come. Dawes performing their brilliant song “When My Time Comes” You Won’t playing a song whose title I don’t know (can someone help me and Shazam [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

We continue our celebration of SXSW 2013 with a special Tuesday edition of our Morning Video series. We’ll call this the SXSW classic rock and country showcase, led off by a three-fer featuring Alejandro Escovedo. The True Believers let their guitars do the talking on “She’s Got” and “All Mixed Up” Bobby Bare Sr., joined [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

This week and next week I’ll be featuring some videos from SXSW. We’ll start with a mostly acoustic set, featuring: Steve Earle performing “Someday” The Waterboys performing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” Billy Bragg performing “Handyman Blues” Chuck Ragan and friends performing “Revival Road” Frank Turner covering Blink 182′s “Dammit” Josh Ritter and Emmylou Harris [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

One of my favorite parts of SXSW is the crazy things you see and hear along the way. Here are a few choice selections. ON ARTISTS You laugh, but finding a good band name is still the hardest fucking part, I hope you know that. I mean, Foo Fighters is the stupidest fucking name in [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

The True Believers Austin’s The True Believers were high on, if not at the top of, my list of bands to see at SXSW. Nearly thirty years ago they established a reputation as a powerhouse rock and roll band. Given that I wasn’t attending many rock shows thirty years ago so I was downright giddy [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

Patty Griffin One listen to a Patty Griffin song and you’ll understand why she has developed an almost cultish following. She is, quite simply, an extraordinary songwriter. New West Records, her new record label, arranged a private showcase at a South Austin mansion called the Castle to celebrate her forthcoming release. It was an event [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig