While many of us blogger-types are trying to figure out what our favorite releases of 2009 are, I have been enjoying what would’ve been one of my favorite records from 2008. Mac Leaphart’s (Official / Myspace) 2008 release, Line, Rope, Etc… is an excellent album, consisting of some country-flavored folk that mixes in dashes of […]
Yesterday’s Ring – Diamonds in the Ditch
Belting it out from the great white north, Yesterday’s Ring (Myspace) is giving their Canadian friends a clinic in good ol’ American Cow-Punk. Their recent release, Diamonds In the Ditch (Suburban Home), is a solid collection of heartbreak, life on the road, abuse and love gone wrong. I wont suggest that there is anything terribly […]
Curtis Harvey – Box of Stones
Many great artists produce music that is inspiring without being technically gifted vocalists. Kris Kristofferson and Ryan Bingham have produced two of the year’s best albums while displaying vocals that few would term “smooth”. The largely acoustic solo debut from Curtis Harvey (Myspace), Box of Stones (FatCat), successfully showcsaes the same ability to move the […]
Robert Francis – Before Nightfall
E pluribus unum. It’s on our dollar bill. From the many, one. Robert Francis, at the age of 22, has seemingly melded many disparate facets of American rock/folk/country into a tasty music stew. Pedal steel, piano, guitar, and vocals (to name a few) come together in classic fashion. Francis’ hooks are like that delicious secret […]
Slipping Through the Cracks 2009 (Round Up and Downloads)
All these records came out this year and have been piling up on my digital nightstand. They’re all good too. Enjoy the downloads, graciously provided by the artists/labels involved. Zach Seibert & the Red Wagon An Americana dream of atmospheric folk and country inspired rock and roll, Learning to Drown is Zach Seibert’s first real […]
Peter Bradley Adams – Traces
If you recognize the name, you probably think you’ve heard this one before. Heartbreaking melodies and a girl who left you blah blah blah. The same sad tone seems prevalent from the first notes of adult alternative single “You Dance†(Adams’ collaboration with Kat Maslich) to the lead single “For You†and throughout Adams’ work. But you […]
Readers’ Pick: 1372 Overton Park by Lucero
Twangville readers picked ‘1372 Overton Park’ by Lucero as their favorite release for week of October 7, 2009. There’s one thing that makes ‘1372 Overton Park’, the latest from Memphis-based Lucero, a little more special than their previous 5 studio albums. Horns… horns are what take this their major label debut to new heights. Not […]
Jason Eady – When the Money’s All Gone
Often, when people think of “Texas Music” or “Texas Country”, they tend to think of the country-tinged rock of Reckless Kelly, the honky-tonk floor-stomping of Aaron Watson or the rock-flavored country of Randy Rogers. I will warn those folks to not overlook the gospel and delta flavored blues of Jason Eady (Official / Myspace). Eady’s […]
Readers’ Pick: I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers
Twangville readers picked ‘I and Love and You’ by The Avett Brothers as their favorite release for week of September 29, 2009. After five full-length albums and two EPs on Ramseur Records the Avett Brothers have decided to go BIG with their latest release ‘I and Love and You’. What do you do when you […]
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2009
Move over Bonnaroo. Step aside Coachella. With crowd estimates hovering around 750,000 this year, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is now the country’s largest music event. And it’s free. Three days, 6 stages, 80 acts with a broad range of appeal, all courtesy of Warren Hellman, a local investment banker and philanthropist. With that many sets of […]