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 […]
2023 Americana Music Awards
For the 22nd time, fans, musicians, and industry personnel gathered in Nashville on the 3rd weekend in September for the AmericanaFest. Part music festival, part industry conference, the event now stretches across most of the week. Regardless of when individual organized meetings and events start, the real premiere is the Americana Music Awards show at […]
Arielle Silver Video Premiere – Rickie Lee
One of the pleasant surprises I had at this year’s Folk Alliance conference was lucking into a performance from LA transplant Arielle Silver. After several sets of protest and grievance-laden anthems, her mix of sophisticated, reflective songs were a welcome respite. Talking with her afterwards, it was nice to hear a musician just enjoying her […]
Steep Canyon Rangers – Morning Shift
The sun was in my eyes. Or maybe more appropriately, the banjo was in my ear. Like many people I’m sure, my first exposure to North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers was the first record they did with Steve Martin. It established them in my mind as a bluegrass band, and then they proceeded to build […]
Crowes Pasture – Don’t Blink
I love a good origin story. In the case of Massachusetts’ duo Crowes Pasture, they met in their careers as corporate attorneys. Guitarist Andy Rogovin and banjoist Monique Byrne, by now married, didn’t really discover their vocal harmony talent until they started singing to their young kids. They describe their music as a “banjo-guitar romance”, […]
In Memoriam – Jimmy Buffett
Long before artists like Reba and Garth took their music and turned it into a brand, there was Jimmy Buffett. If the erstwhile Nashvillian had launched his career in the last couple of decades, his combination of laid back rhythms and tales of industrious avoidance of adult responsibility would have no doubt landed him in […]
The Mike Jacoby Electric Trio – The Long Haul
I think most people would agree music is a visceral experience. It’s more than that, though. Sometimes the music moves you, and other times it makes you move. Los Angeles’ Mike Jacoby mostly writes and records in the latter style, and sticks to those strengths in his new album, The Long Haul. His previous three […]
Birds of Play – Birdsongs of the American West
There are plenty of examples where a musician’s geographical home bears no resemblance to the music they’ve made their own. City boys playing outstanding country music or kids from Minnesota inhabiting the sounds of musica Norteña from Mexico, for example. In the case of western Colorado-based, string band Birds of Play, the relationship seems to […]
The Waymores – Greener Pastures
Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, many of the top country artists were female/male duos. You know them all; Dolly and Porter, Tammy and George, Loretta and Conway, June and Johnny. The typical recording process at the time was the producer would assemble a team of crack instrumentalists in the studio, and then […]