It’s always a treat when a favorite artist surprises you with new music. All the better if it’s for a good cause, but more on that in a bit. Goodnight, Texas, the group anchored by songwriters Avi Vinocur and Patrick Dyer Wolf, follow up the July release of The Senseless Age with a rollicking new […]
Monday Morning Video – John Calvin Abney “Maybe Happy”
Singer-songwriter John Calvin Abney recently stopped Breathing Rhythm Studios in Norman, OK to perform “Maybe Happy”, the moving closing song from his recently released Safe Passage. Abney, along with Brent Cowles and The Reverent Few, is appearing at The Twangville Sunday Social in Dallas, TX this coming Sunday (11/3). Come join, won’t you? Details here.
Monday Morning Video – A Dallas House Show Preview
Twangville continues our Sunday Social concert series in Dallas on November 3rd (details HERE) with three incredible artists: John Calvin Abney, Brent Cowles and The Reverent Few. As we eagerly await an afternoon of songs and stories, here is a video playlist to whet our appetites. John Calvin Abney – “Cowboys and Canyon Queens”, the […]
Dallas After Midnight – A Special Twangville Playlist
Glass Bottles, Ottoman Turks (from the State Fair Records release Ottoman Turks) Ottoman Turks, the album, is a debut release that was 10 years in the making. The band’s back story is simultaneously typical and refreshing – four long-time friends who bonded over a love of music. That shared enthusiasm and exaltation resonates across the […]
A Special Premiere: Get Lucky with Dinty Child
Ringo Starr famously sang “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Well, Ringo ain’t got nothing on Dinty Child. I’ve gotten to know Child as a longtime member of Session Americana, where he has been known to shift effortlessly from the party anthem “Beertown†to the poignant melancholy of “One Good Rainâ€. […]
Bring Back the Boston Rag – A Special Boston Playlist
Pockets Full of Sighs, Lisa Bastoni (from the self-released How We Want to Live) Some of the best albums take both artist and listener on a journey. One need look no farther than the title of Lisa Bastoni’s latest release to appreciate that this is her musical intent. How We Want to Live may speak […]
Monday Morning Video – Ariana Gillis Covers Randy Newman
Back in 1970, Harry Nilsson helped introduce the world to Randy Newman by recording an entire album of Newman compositions, the appropriately titled Nilsson Sings Newman. In the nearly 50 years that have followed, Newman has become one of our greatest songwriters. Set aside the film scores that have garnered him 20 Academy Award nominations, […]
Americana 2019: Say What?!
One of my favorite things about attending music conferences and festivals are the crazy comments that you hear along the way. Here are a few choice selections from this year’s Americana Festival. I’m a fugitive from the law of averages. Delbert McClinton assessing his career I figure I got out of this week without a […]
Monday Morning Video – Those Pretty Wrongs
Those Pretty Wrongs – aka Jody Stephens and Luther Russell – just returned with Zed for Zulu, their long-awaited sophomore album. Like their self-titled debut, it is full of wistful power pop. While the album arrangements elegantly surround Russell’s acoustic guitar with standard guitar/bass/drum accompaniment – not to mention the occasional strings, keyboards and even […]
Americana 2019: Mayer’s Picks (Part 2)
Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the Americana Music Awards and continuing through several days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music. Here are but a few of my favorite performers and performances from […]