Folk music has, I think, always had a DIY aesthetic. You strum your guitar, sing into the microphone (if available), and there you have it. Simple enough that more than a few artists have chosen to tour by bicycle. Oregon-based couple Kristen Grainger and Dan Wetzel have raised that quite a few notches on their […]
Mason Via – Mason Via
They say you can’t go home again, but that’s really about the mistaken idea nothing will have changed. What I do think is true, especially as you get older, is there’s something comforting and centering about returning to your roots for a visit. After a stint with Old Crow Medicine Show and recording with the […]
Graham Sharp – How Did We Do It
Wishes do come true. Four years ago I wrote about the debut solo album from Steep Canyon Rangers’ banjoist and frequent lead singer, Graham Sharp. I finished the post expressing a hope that, as much as I like the Rangers, the record wouldn’t be his last solo effort. Well, just out is another release from […]
Marina Rocks – S.O.S. Texas
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Or in the case of Houstonian Marina Rocks; when in Texas, be a Texan. The Austin-born guitarist/singer/songwriter has long embraced the musical styles she heard around her, and in the process developed a unique sound that nonetheless ties her to the Lone Star State. So it was […]
Grey DeLisle – The Grey Album
Back in the 60’s Nashville country music was feeling the pressure from honky-tonk hits coming out of Bakersfield, and from the blues-rock edge the Brits were putting on pop. So the A-list producers decided to replace the fiddle and steel guitar with orchestra strings and the nasally vocals with polished choruses. The resultant sound became […]
Tony Kamel – We’re All Gonna Live
You’ve all heard the saying about death and taxes. Many a songwriter has written a story about someone’s journey to make the most of life given the inevitable end. Grammy-nominated Austin musician (and former front man for Wood & Wire) Tony Kamel took that a few steps further and centered his new album, We’re All […]
Ashleigh Flynn & the Riveters – Good Morning, Sunshine
Organizing an album around a theme is, of course, nothing new. It’s easy to cite examples from as far back as the 60’s, and I have no doubt the historically astute can point to even earlier projects. What’s far less common is organizing a band with a theme. That’s just what Portland, Oregon’s, Ashley Flynn […]
Pug Johnson – El Cabron
As a rule I believe you don’t have to grow up with a style of music in order to write it and play it well. I’ve heard great Americana music out of Scandinavia; some authentic country music from people who lived their whole life in Los Angeles; Bela Fleck grew up in that hotbed of […]
Dustin Brown – Dustin Brown
I’ve heard many musicians, from Todd Snider to Warren Haynes to Kris Kristofferson, advise aspiring songwriters to write about what they know. I have no idea if Texan Dustin Brown heard someone tell him that firsthand, but somewhere along the way he picked up the skill. He grew up the kid where both parents had […]
Sierra Hull – A Tip Toe High Wire
Most people are familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s axiom that it takes 10,000 hours to be really good at something. You have to have some talent to start, but in the end you still have to put in the hard work. How then to explain Sierra Hull? She got her Rounder Records deal at 13. If […]