In small rural towns across America Friday night is high school sports night. Â Everyone collects at the field/gymnasium about 6:30 and watches the local kids take on the town-down-the-road kids. Â In autumn it’s football, winter means basketball, and spring is for track & field. Â Because the school is so small, all the kids play all […]
The Mavericks – Mono
As I noted before, The Mavericks have a kind of timeless sound to them.  Their previous album, In Time, evoked a particular moment in history when you listened to the whole thing.  Their latest release, Mono, doesn’t seem to have  quite the same thematic focus, but all the elements that make the band so ageless are […]
Parker McCollum – The Limestone Kid
One of the things I like about debut albums from singer-songwriters is they frequently have a much richer collection of stories than happens once the pressure mounts to get new material out to fans to keep things fresh. Â That’s the case with the first album from Texas artist Parker McCollum. Â Entitled The Limestone Kid it’s […]
Screen Door Porch – Modern Settler
When I first listened to Modern Settler, the latest release from Wyoming band Screen Door Porch, I assumed the band’s core duo of Seader Rose and Aaron Davis had gotten some wanderlust and spent time traveling through the rural South. Â Turns out the inspiration was closer to home, and came from a cassette Davis discovered […]
Wood & Wire – The Coast
A few years ago some members of a couple of different Austin-based bluegrass bands got together for some late night jamming and out of it came one of my favorite bluegrass albums of 2013, the self-titled Wood & Wire. Â The boys are now releasing their follow-up album, The Coast. There’s an occasionally recurring theme that […]
The Sweet Lowdown – Chasing the Sun
There have been a small handful of times over the last 30 years of seeing perhaps 100 bands/year where the vocals made such a powerful impression on me that I had a visceral reaction, stopping me in my tracks or sending a shiver down my spine. Â One of those was the first time seeing The […]
Shawn’s Picks – Best Albums Of 2014
 1. Parker Millsap – Parker Millsap This album wasn’t Millsap’s first, but nonetheless it was twenty-some years in the making.  Full of stories tied to his roots in Oklahoma, his self-titled second album is a microcosm of Americana.  2. Old Crow Medicine Show – Remedy Although it’s hard for me to put my finger on […]
Shawn’s Top 10 Live Sets Of 2014
I’m fortunate enough to live in an area with a tradition of supporting live music. Â It’s not Austin or Nashville, but Santa Cruz holds its own when it comes to getting some great Americana tour stops. Â I’m also lucky enough to be able to travel to some music festivals every year. Â So while I don’t […]
While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years Of Bloodshot Records
Insurgent country. Â Twenty years ago, when Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock founded Bloodshot Records in a spare bedroom to promote the copulation of country and punk music, they chose that name over alternative country or Americana. Â While their choice of nomenclature didn’t have the lasting impact of the other two, it’s a microcosm […]
Jonathan Fox Band – 20 Something Runaway
The subtitle for the new Jonathan Fox Band record, 20 Something Runaway, could easily be “A Young Man And His Guitar”. Â Although he’s recorded solo efforts before and made a choice to put more emphasis on the band this time, the songs are really about Fox and his guitar. Fortunately Fox got a lot of […]