Sound-color synesthesia is when a certain sound causes you to see things in a certain color. I don’t have it, but I experience a related effect when I listen to the latest from Portland, Oregon, based Jenny Don’t & the Spurs. It’s called Broken Hearted Blue and evokes the washed-out, slightly sepia-toned tint of an […]
Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival Preview
Back in the early 70’s there was something in the air in the music industry. Well, besides that. Multi-band shows were evolving away from several bands crammed into a 3 hour schedule in a ballroom or dance hall. In particular, the acoustic music scene was embracing longer sets and extended solos, no doubt influenced by […]
Grant Langston – aLAbama
There’s an axis on the songwriting philosophy spectrum that ranges from serious and important to fun and lighthearted. Country musician Grant Langston, originally from Alabama, but residing in LA for the last couple of decades, has spanned that entire range. His first couple of records leaned toward serious ballads, but his new one, aLAbama is […]
Monte Warden and the Dangerous Few – Jackpot!
There’s definitely a generational thing that happens with music. You grow up listening to what your parents like until you’re old enough to develop your own style. Frequently that’s the opposite of what you heard through childhood. By early adulthood you start to appreciate the older music, and by midlife it’s part of your playlist […]
The Texas Trio – The Texas Trio
You could probably write a pretty interesting book on how bands were formed. It runs the gamut from high school friends to answering ads in newspapers or from guitar shop bulletin boards. In the case of Texas trio Kyle Park, Jason Roberts, and John Michael Whitby, thoughtfully named The Texas Trio, they’ve been playing one-off […]
Hannah Connolly – Shadowboxing
Making mixtapes for friends was an active hobby for those of us working in college radio back in the day. Turns out hoping to broaden someone else’s musical horizons wasn’t unique to FM DJ’s, and the mixtape, albeit no longer a tape, is still thriving. So it’s kind of heartwarming that even musicians find inspiration […]
Ruby Joyful – The Pie Chart of Love
Bluegrass has always had a large family element to it. From sitting around picking with friends and relatives to packing the clan into the camper for a weekend festival, it’s frequently a multi-generational activity. That’s as true today as it was fifty years ago–witness the story behind Colorado duet/band, Ruby Joyful. Co-founder Dan Rubinoff lived […]
Jake Trevor Song Premiere – Coffee and Wine
I’ve always admired talented buskers. I can’t imagine a harder audience than a bunch of people who just view you as an obstacle to getting where they’re going. And yet, there is almost always a music fan or two who delay their plans to just stop and enjoy the song. Sometimes you see a few […]
Sarah Gayle Meech – Easin’ On
I am not a fan of Nashville’s Lower Broadway. While authentic country music may be the claim, drunken bridesmaids are in much greater abundance and are what’s setting the atmosphere. Every rule has an exception, though, and Robert’s Western World fits the bill here. On a recent trip to Music City, a pitstop at Robert’s […]
Clayton Ryan Song Premiere – Wild Man
Ray Wylie Hubbard once said that good poets didn’t have good childhoods. I’m sure that was a broad commentary on how adversity can be the inspiration an artist of any kind uses to shape their work. A brilliant case in point is the upcoming album from Minneapolis singer/songwriter Clayton Ryan, entitled Ghost Town. He took […]