There are a lot of female folk trios out there and most of them are worth their salt (or at least a good long listen). Red Molly was/is one of those bands. I liked their self-titled EP, the live CD Never Been to Vegas, and especially their 2008 effort Love and Other Tragedies. The trio […]

Fort Adams State Park becomes the land of milk and honey once again this year. George Wein’s Newport Folk Fesitval will return on July 30th through August 1st. Gracing the main stage will be Levon Helm’s Ramble on the Road, John Prine, Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket, and Doc Watson & David Holt along […]

Alex Chilton passed away this evening (yesterday) in New Orleans.  The former Big Star and Box Tops frontman was 59. The Boxtops had a hit in 1967 with the Top 40 classic “The Letter”.  Big Star never came close to commercial success during their brief tenure with Stax Records in the early to mid-70’s.  Plagued […]

We caught up with Joe Pug on the eve of the release of his debut LP Messenger, the follow up to the widely heralded Nation of Heat EP. Last time we talked you were still talking to various labels and considering putting out Messenger by yourself, how did the deal with Lightning Rod Records happen? We were […]

You’ll be hard pressed to find a review of the Deadstring Brothers album that doesn’t reference the Rolling Stones.  Fortunately, they are almost always referencing the Rolling Stones 1968-72 era, aka Beggars Banquet to Exile on Main Street.  Personally, I consider that four record run to be the best by any band.  Ever. So yea, […]

Joe Pug has been heralded by bloggers, magazine editors, and other genre ‘insiders’, all before the release of his first proper LP.  And here it is. A ten song album featuring some of Pug’s best songs yet, Messenger lives up to rather large expectations.  Pug has been busy touring with likes of Josh Ritter, Steve […]

Glossary’s latest LP Feral Fire was released February 2nd on Lucero’s Liberty and Lament label. Glossary has toured with the Drive-By Truckers, Lucero, Two Cow Garage, Slobberbone, Drag the River, and Centro-Matic. And each of those bands has fawned over them. Micah Schnabel of Two Cow Garage sang about Glossary on their latest record, “Humble […]

Nowhere Nights is one of those records for me.  It came out of the blue, out of that nether world of independent music (aka the life blood of rock and roll).  I was searching for information on the new Chip Robinson record and learned that he had been signed to Red River Records, a label […]

I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed a movie before and this certainly isn’t a ‘movie’ site, but Crazy Heart warrants exception.  For those who haven’t heard about Crazy Heart, it stars Jeff Bridges as an aging Texas songwriter plagued by alcohol problems and a flagging career (plenty of inspiration there).  I’ll do my best not […]