Peter Karp and Sue Foley have developed a unique sound that seems to be a cross between country and blues – bluntry – but with a healthy dose of R&B thrown in.  Both veteran blues-roots musicians, Karp and Foley joined forces for a second combined effort, Beyond the Crossroads, reprising the teamwork that made 2010′s [...] more »

by Bill Wilcox

Ever since Little Village’s one disappointing album in 1992, I am prepared to be underwhelmed by any new group promotors tout as a “supergroup.”  There have been, of course, huge successes when music superstars were mixed and matched into new units (e.g., Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – comprised of members from Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds and [...] more »

by Bill Wilcox

Delta Moon features unique dueling slide guitar leads that give the band’s music the swampy, gritty sound that has made it one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets.  Black Cat Oil, the seventh album to feature the lap-steek guitar-work of singer-songwriter Tom Gray and bottleneck slide guitar of Mark Johnson, is a solid offering.      Delta Moon, which until 2007′s Clear [...] more »

by Bill Wilcox

Dr. John is an institution.  With his characteristic mystical groovy-gumbo-voodoo schtick and funky keyboard playing, he has been a force in American music since his groundbreaking Gris-Gris in 1968.  His early 1970s work, including Dr. John’s Gumbo and In the Right Place were instant classics.   A gifted piano (and occasional guitar) player, Mac Rebennack, or Dr. John, [...] more »

by Bill Wilcox

I’ve been fortunate enough to have attended quite a number of multi-day music festivals over the years, from the Veiled Prophet Fair to the Monterey Jazz Festival and Telluride to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.  For my money, though, it’s really hard to beat the Old Settler’s Music Festival.  Held 20 miles or so outside of Austin [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose informal folksy jug band approach belies a talent pool that is seemingly bottomless, have added another gem to their already stellar catalogue with Leaving Eden.  The Drops, who in their live shows recreate the look and feel of a turn-of-the 20th century string band but with the anachronistic addition of human “beatbox” vocal percussionist [...] more »

by Bill Wilcox

Otis Taylor and Corey Harris may be the most creative blues musicians active today. And with Harris spending much of his time exploring other musical avenues, that leaves Taylor pretty much in a class by himself as an avant-garde bluesman.  His moody, atmospheric yet beautiful recordings are a welcome change from the many younger musicians trying [...] more »

by Bill Wilcox

#1. JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT, Here We Rest (Lightning Rod) I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t hoping for a full-on rock assault from Isbell and crew. What I got was something better — a nuanced musical tour of his home state of Alabama. From the back porch acoustic sway of [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Too Drunk to Truck, by Roy Sludge This album was tailor-made for Twangville. Old school in all the best ways, it might as well be a collection of lost classics from the Sun Studios archive. The title track kicks off the album with a strong indication of what will follow. Yup, [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shawn Nelson.  What do they have in common?  Anthems about being a free spirit.  You undoubtedly know about Ramblin’ Man and Free Bird.  In the case of Shawn Nelson, it’s Nobody Got A Hold On Me, the first track on his 4th release, San Juan Street.  Stylistically the song is [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood

MUSCLE SHOALS TRIBUTE SHOW Detroit may have by Motown and the Funk Brothers, but Alabama had Muscle Shoals. Side-stepping which was the better musical factory, it is impossible to ignore the impact that Muscle Shoals has had on American music. This performance provided irrefutable evidence to the greatness of this legacy. The set was loose [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

The release of new albums by two masters of roots music this summer flew pretty much under the radar. Both David Bromberg and Ry Cooder have churned out album after album of Americana spanning folk to R&B since the early 1970s. Bromberg’s career has been the oddest, with long periods of withdrawal from public performance [...] more »

by Bill Wilcox

This past weekend was a big one for music in Boston with both Peter Wolf and Butch Walker teaching clinics in how to deliver a high energy show. Don’t believe me? See below for the evidence. Wolf serves up a version of “Love Stinks” tailor made for Twangville while Walker and his band the Black [...] more »

by Mayer Danzig

Finally, Halloween is getting its musical due.  OK, OK, technically the latest album from Southern Culture On the Skids, Zombified, is a tribute to all the awesome grade B horror movies that used to come to the drive-ins and dollar theaters when I was mis-spending my youth.  But a tribute album is generally music that [...] more »

by Shawn Underwood

Listening to Mark W. Lennon’s new release Home of the Wheel, I felt as if I was transported back to depression era America without leaving 2011. At times it is the music that takes you there, and other times it is the lyrics. Lennon draws the parallels between the Modern and the past with a [...] more »

by Chip Frazier