Sort of like a medium who can channel different spirits from the beyond, a good producer can channel the different spirits of a band. Â The new “album” from San Francisco Bay Area-based Hot Buttered Rum gives you the chance to experience that in a comfortably confined space. Â I put the quotes around the word album […]
Jason Wilber – Echoes
If you know the name Jason Wilber it’s probably because he’s been John Prine’s guitar player for 20 years. Â However, he’s been exploring his own creative side for a long time and on Echoes, his 9th album, he’s taking aim at cover songs. As he states, he focused on vocal interpretations rather than his finely […]
Front Country Debut – Three Of A Perfect Pair
It’s been two years since progressive string band Front Country parlayed their Best Band wins at Telluride and Rockygrass into their first album, the critically-acclaimed Sake Of The Sound. Â Since then they’ve been touring practically non-stop, playing everywhere from a cave in Tennessee to the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco. While that hasn’t given them […]
Old Settler’s Music Festival – 2016
Spring has officially arrived mid-April when I make my way to Camp Ben McCulloch and the Salt Lick Pavillon outside of Austin for the Old Settler’s Music Festival.  Although from now through early October there’s a big music festival every weekend somewhere in the country, the combination of being the right size, boasting a stellar line-up with […]
Merle Haggard Remembered
The interwebs are, understandably, full of posts with people’s favorite Merle Haggard songs after the legend passed away on Wednesday. Â You could certainly do a lot worse than spending time listening to your favorites all over again, and maybe venturing out into a few you aren’t familiar with. But there’s a lot more we owe […]
Terri Hendrix – Love You Strong
Teen angst has been a cornerstone of rock ‘n’ roll since Chuck Berry in the 50’s.  Occasionally someone would give a thought to what came next in life–I’m An Adult Now is one of my faves–but generally music’s aesthetic is “I hope I die before I get old…”  Somewhere along the way something funny happened, though, […]
Corin Raymond – Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams
“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.† So said Aldous Huxley in A Brave New World, one of the most vividly descriptive books I’ve read. Words can also elevate a good song into a great one; a song that embeds itself into […]
Frank Solivan – Family, Friends & Heroes
For the record, I’d like to state I wish I was related to Frank Solivan.  The Solivan family reunions must be the ultimate bluegrass festival/jam session you could ever imagine.  Along with that family, and some additional friends, Solivan is recreating the spirit of that figurative event on his latest record, Family, Friends & Heroes.  The […]
Dead Winter Carpenters – Washoe
For most travelers, the next stop out of Bakersfield is either the high desert and Las Vegas, or the sprawl of Los Angeles. Â Musically, Bakersfield leads to the honky tonk of rural California, or the alternative rock and roll sprouting out of the Mojave. Â There’s a third path, though, north to the mountains and the […]
Shawn’s 2016 Folk Alliance Favorites
For what I’m certain won’t be the last time, I headed to Kansas City for the Folk Alliance International conference (and musical extravaganza). Â With nearly half of the 2500 attendees being musicians, you could barely round a corner in any public area and not find impromptu jams. As you might expect, there were a number […]