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A music blog featuring Alt-Country, Americana, Indie, Rock, Folk & Blues. Est. 2005.

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Rod Abernethy – Normal Isn’t Normal Anymore

Thursday, January 21, 2021 By Shawn Underwood Leave a Comment

Sometimes songs capture in a snapshot what ends up being a universal truth. John Prine certainly had a knack for it, and a lot of Woody Guthrie’s material is relevant 60 or 70 years later. Rod Abernethy bottled a bit of that with the title track from his latest record, Normal Isn’t Normal Anymore. Written […]

Filed Under: Acoustic, Americana, Folk, Reviews Tagged With: Rod Abernethy

Shawn’s 2020 Album Favorites

Thursday, December 31, 2020 By Shawn Underwood Leave a Comment

I’ve never made it a secret how much of an influence John Hartford’s music had on me. Yet I surprised even myself when I realized On the Road: A Tribute To John Hartford was my favorite album of 2020. I suppose in this year of chaos the combination of new versions of songs I’ve loved […]

Filed Under: Best of Year, Reviews

Old Californio – Songs From the Sea Of Cortez

Thursday, December 17, 2020 By Shawn Underwood Leave a Comment

There’s a very California sound you get by taking the twangy guitar and rock solid rhythm line associated with Bakersfield and overlaying it with the acoustic guitar and multi-part harmonies that sprang from the hills and canyons northwest of LA in the 60’s. You could probably argue Graham Parsons first touched that nerve with Sweetheart […]

Filed Under: Americana, Folk, Indie, Reviews Tagged With: Old Californio

Band Premiere – The Great Outdoors

Wednesday, December 09, 2020 By Shawn Underwood

The pandemic has been hard on bands. How’s that for an understatement? With touring shut down, and even gathering in the studio a challenge, many musicians have had to focus on more essential elements of life. In no way, though, has that diminished the passion that made them eschew a normal day job in the […]

Filed Under: Americana, Country, Reviews Tagged With: The Great Outdoors

Song Premiere – Brian Callihan

Wednesday, November 25, 2020 By Shawn Underwood

Back in the 60’s and 70’s it wasn’t uncommon for a musician to take a job in Nashville writing songs for other people while they polished their performance skills. A couple of guys you might have heard of, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, started their careers that way. As the industry evolved, the pendulum swung […]

Filed Under: Country, Reviews Tagged With: Brian Callihan

Video Premiere – Drew Aron

Wednesday, November 18, 2020 By Shawn Underwood

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Drew Aron’s debut release, Familiar Faces. It’s a mostly auto-biographical story about a musician finding himself in a city flooded with artists finding themselves. There are some lighter moments to be sure, but there is a lot of material to fuel a lot of songs (which is […]

Filed Under: Americana, Folk, Reviews Tagged With: Drew Aron

Mink’s Miracle Medicine – Thumbs Up Angel

Thursday, November 12, 2020 By Shawn Underwood

Peanut butter and chocolate. Harley Davidson and leather. Punk and bluegrass. OK, well maybe that last pair doesn’t go together like the first two examples. In the case of West Virginia duo, Mink’s Miracle Medicine, though, it turned out well. Lead guitarist Daniel Zezeski brings his punk and ska roots to the collaboration, while lead […]

Filed Under: Acoustic, Americana, Indie, Reviews Tagged With: Mink's Miracle Medicine

Two EP Gems – The Ghosts Of Liberty & Drew Aron

Thursday, November 05, 2020 By Shawn Underwood

First up is the debut record from North Carolina couple Emma & Tyler Millard, who go under the band name The Ghosts Of Liberty. My favorite song on the 3-tune EP is Roanoke River. It’s a tension-filled, country-pop story about society’s biases and love’s ability to overcome them. With Tyler’s rootsy edge on guitar providing […]

Filed Under: Acoustic, Americana, Country, Folk, Reviews Tagged With: Drew Aron, The Ghosts Of Liberty

Alright Alright – Crucible

Thursday, October 29, 2020 By Shawn Underwood

Several years ago I voted for Jason Isbell’s Southeastern as #1 in our annual album poll. I kind of surprised myself at the time, because as awesome as the record was, the subject matter of many of the songs was dark. I found myself having to steel up a little before I hit play. I […]

Filed Under: Folk, Pop, Reviews Tagged With: Alright Alright

The Bodarks – Side Effects

Thursday, October 22, 2020 By Shawn Underwood

The English language has some very captivating words. A friend of mine likes “shenanigans”. I’ve always been partial to “gobsmacked”. Then there’s “hootenanny”. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s sort of like open mic night at the square dance. Think string bands and dancing; raw, fast-paced, and open to anyone. That’s the spirit […]

Filed Under: Americana, Avant Garde, Bluegrass, Reviews Tagged With: The Bodarks

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