There’s an old saying about blues musicians who had no formal training and yet could unload a gut-wrenching, soulful composition about life or love or maybe just an old dirt road: “it in him, and it got to get out.” Â There’s a country outlaw version of that in the first full-length album from California native […]
The Sadies – Northern Passages
I appreciate the sentiment behind the saying, “you can’t go home again” and it’s nod to life not standing still. Â Sometimes, when you want to take a step back from all the changes, home is just where you want to go, though. Â Brothers Dallas and Travis Good, and their Sadies bandmates Sean Dean and Mike […]
Blackie & the Rodeo Kings – Kings And Kings
A few years back up-and-coming Canadian roots band Blackie & the Rodeo Kings undertook an ambitious project to record an album of duets with female singers they admired and wished they could work with. They pulled it off and that album, Kings And Queens, started getting them noticed by a much wider audience.  Fast forward to […]
Shawn’s 2016 Favorite Albums
As always, lots of good music that came out last year. Â I have no doubt some really good stuff released and I never heard a song of it. Â Rich world problems. Â Here’s what I listened to and liked a lot this year. The Avett Brothers – True Sadness: I like the Avett’s mix of pop, […]
Silas Lowe – Wandering Father, Forgotten Son
“My poor, poor body; my poor, poor soul. Regret rules my life now that I’m old.”  So goes the beginning of the chorus of About A Dying Father, on the new release from Silas Lowe; Wandering Father, Forgotten Son. In sort of a tribute to Lowe’s father, a 60’s musician who left the family when Silas […]
Courtney Granger – Beneath Still Waters
Outside, the warm Gulf breeze is gently blowing the magnificent oaks to a rhythm guided only by Mother Nature. Â Inside the dance hall, the velvet tones of a skinny kid in a bolo tie are doing much the same thing to the couples two-stepping around the well worn floor. Â The piano has a sound that’s […]
The Sadies – Riverview Fog Premiere
A few years ago I opined The Sadies were the best rock and roll band coming out of Canada.  Like Canadian pathfinders, The Band, they adhere to a storyline that’s about seizing opportunity.  Some days it’s collaborating with stellar musicians like Neko Case, Jon Langford, or John Doe.  Other days it’s about brothers Travis and Dallas Good […]
Dan Layus – Dangerous Things
One of the amazing things about the Great Plains this time of year is the sunrise. Â The flat, or gently rolling, geography lets you see things develop for an hour before the sun actually gets above the horizon. Â The mornings are crisp and you know that the long, cold winter is just around the corner, […]
AmericanaFest 2016 – The AMA Awards
Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the annual Americana Music Awards and continuing through four days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music.  Traditionally, the opening of the annual Americana Music Festival was always […]
In Memoriam – Buckwheat Zydeco
While New Orleans has played a significant role in two of America’s greatest musical forms, jazz and blues, when you say “Louisiana music” to most people they hear the style championed by Stanley Dural, Jr., aka Buckwheat Zydeco. Â Dural passed away this past weekend and it’s worth remembering the man who became the face of […]