One of the benefits of this writing gig is I get exposed to musicians who have loads of talent, but aren’t well known outside their corner of the world. A great example of that is Oregon-based Kristen Grainger & True North. They just released their latest album, Fear of Falling Stars. Weaving between folk and […]
Honey Island Swamp Band – Custom Deluxe
Back in the 60’s Stax Records famously plowed the fertile ground of the overlap between early rock & roll and rhythm & blues. That sound became identified with Memphis, but like the stone thrown in still water, its effects spread across the south from Muscle Shoals all the way to the Atlantic seaboard. Along the […]
Old Californio – Metaterranea
Everywhere has a home team band. Between long-time fans, songs that reference local places, or just the stamina to play anywhere that will have them, they start to become identified with a local style of music as much as the local style gets defined by them. When it comes to roots and Americana music, we […]
Robert Rex Waller, Jr. – See the Big Man Cry
I have to profess, a vocalist’s range is not something where I tend to pay enough attention. But it came up front and center on Robert Rex Waller, Junior’s latest album, See the Big Man Cry. Like hearing Roy Orbison or Raul Malo for the first time, you suddenly realize there’s a whole other axis […]
Tom Heyman – 24th Street Blues
It’s fashionable these days to predict the demise of San Francisco. Its problems are vast; no one wants to live there; it’s too expensive. Long-time Philadelphia and San Francisco resident Tom Heyman has been around cities enough to know that’s cyclical, not an end destination. He documents his own love/hate relationship with the City by […]
Josh Travis – Few of Days & Full of Trouble
Many religions, Christianity among them, have a common thread that life is hard, and short, and the reason to suffer through it is the afterlife. A lucky few learn to find and cherish the moments that offer a respite from the daily turmoil. Even those times are earned; they’re not a birthright. That kind of […]
The Furious Seasons – Every Morning At Five
There are a few things in life that, even though you’ve experienced them before, they still manage to surprise you at how good they are. True love is on that list. The trust of a good friend. A BLT with freshly baked bread, and lettuce and tomato picked minutes ago from your own garden. On […]
Jacob Furr – Turning
Many albums are about a point in time, like any number of the records made during the pandemic. Others are really more about the journey. That’s the case for the latest from Fort Worth’s Jacob Furr. The release is called Turning, and in many ways it’s the third in a set about the pathways that […]
Keturah Allgood – Shine
I’ve heard it said multiple times that a musician’s professional and personal lives become more and more intertwined over the years. I suppose that just makes sense when your job is touching people’s inner feelings. In the case of North Caroline born-and-raised Keturah Allgood, professional and personal merge in a relentless drive for compassion and […]
AmericanaFest 2023 – Shawn’s Favorites
AmericanaFest is part music festival, part industry conference, and part social meet-up. You can hear intimate interviews with some of the biggest names in the business, learn how to better run your business as an artist, or get tips on how to be a better performer. Not surprisingly, it all revolves around musical showcases, both […]