If Alan Williams’ life-to-date was a Hollywood movie, it would be one of those where it starts at the end. In this case, it’s his combination retirement/record release party later this month. The album is his third solo release, Floating On the Dreamline. The retirement is from being a professor of music at the University […]
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.
Monday Morning Video – Stephen Kellogg
3000 shows. That’s a hell of a lot of shows — playing a show every night for more than eight years. Impressive enough on its own. But when you factor in the volume and caliber of music Stephen Kellogg has delivered over the course of his career, it becomes something else entirely. He passed through […]
Now & Then: The Band of Heathens’ Country Sides and the reach of Golden Smog’s Down by the Old Mainstream
Some bands age like cast iron: the scratches add flavor, and somehow the thing gets more useful the longer you keep it around. The Band of Heathens have always played like they were born in a room where somebody left the Wurlitzer on, the amps warm, and the door cracked for whoever has a harmony part.
Readers’ Pick: The Band of Heathens – Country Sides
You picked The Band of Heathens – Country Sides as your favorite new release for the week of February 20, 2026.
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 […]
Tim Easton – fIREHORSE
I’m a sucker for a good story. Sure, there are plenty of great songs that aren’t much beyond a chant and a chord progression. But the ones that germinate in your mind to become a part of your worldview; they’re relatable in a way that goes all the way back Aesop. Someone who’s a master […]
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.
Monday Morning Video – Erik Vincent Huey
Last week Erik Vincent Huey took over Lucinda’s in NYC’s East Village to celebrate the release of Fort Defiance, his latest album — and by “took over,” we mean he owned every inch of it. Backed by Baltimore rock band Starbelly and album producer Eric Ambel, the night turned into a glorious, screaming rock show. […]
Now & Then: Clay Street Unit’s Sin & Squalor and the reach of The Devil Makes Three
There’s a certain kind of roots record that doesn’t want to be reviewed so much as spilled. You know the type: beer-ring on the lyric sheet, boot-scuff on the melody, a chorus built to survive a room full of people talking over it until they suddenly aren’t.