For more than four decades, John Gorka has occupied a distinctive place in American folk music: a songwriter whose work unfolds quietly but lingers deeply. His songs favor careful observation over spectacle, humor alongside gravity, and melodies that invite listeners closer rather than overwhelm them. It is a career built less on flash than on […]
The Montvales on Rehearsal Space Interlopers and How They Financed Their 2nd Album
Cincinnati-based duo the Montvales talk about touring survival mechanisms, investing in one’s relationship with creativity, and the time that they were billed as a French-Appalachian folk group.
Tim Easton Finds Light on “fIREHORSE”
At nearly 60, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tim Easton is still chasing songs the way he did as a restless young troubadour roaming Europe with a guitar case open on cobblestones. His 14th studio album, fIREHORSE, feels both hard-earned and freshly struck — a record that balances revolution and romance, one-chord blues and desert highways, personal reckoning […]
John Hollier on Band Dinners and Sorrow, The Band’s Spiritual Guide
Nashville’s John Hollier explains why he changes guitar strings after every show and why he disgrees with a mentor’s advice.
Joseph Settine of The Brook and The Bluff on Stolen Guitar Strings and an Overweight Tour Trailer
Joseph Settine of Nashville-based The Brook and The Bluff talks about the bar tab at the band’s first gig and why he takes a blender on tour.
From Busker to Believer: The Hard-Earned Songs of Slaid Cleaves
Slaid Cleaves lives in Wimberley now, tucked into the folds of the Texas Hill Country, playing closer to home, keeping the circle small. The road that once stretched from Maine to Cork to Austin has narrowed. The songs, though, are still wide open. There was a time when he measured success in dollars and survival. […]
Cody Diekhoff of Chicago Farmer on Upcycling Used Guitar Strings and Touring in “Barbara Streisvan”
Chicago Farmer singer-songwriter Cody Diekhoff talks about earning – and spending – reward points while on tour, the inspiration for the first song that he wrote, and why it’s important to support local artists and venues.
Sequins, Scripture, and Grit: Leah Blevins Finds Her Power on All Dressed Up
Before she was making records in Nashville studios, before she stepped into the booth with producer Dan Auerbach, before the songs on All Dressed Up took shape, Leah Blevins was a little girl in Sandy Hook, Kentucky, pushing pause and play on a boom box and trying to understand how words fit together. “I think […]
Cat Clyde on Working at a Horse Farm and Learning As You Go
Cat Clyde talks about breaking down in rural Quebec, seeking out protein and carbs while touring, and her various rehearsal spaces.
Craig Fort of Lightning Stills on Utilization Cooking and the Aftermath of Band Rehearsals
Craig Fort of Omaha, Nebraska’s Lightning Stills talks about his start in a hardcore punk band, being in the “investment” phase of his musical career, and the type of seats he has in his tour vehicle.