Session Americana @ The Lizard Lounge, Cambridge MA Damn, these boys know how to throw a party! I’ve only seen Session Americana in action twice, but both times I was dancing and learning what to shout out to participate as an audience member (“Beertown! Doreen!”). Whether Dinty Child was standing on a chair, Ry Cavanagh […]
Slaid Cleaves – Still Fightin’ the War
After 12 years of war, it feels like we’re all “Still Fightin’ the War.” I used to think that political albums and their agendas are a hindrance, that the best music should be about the music. But Cleaves uses the war as a cohesive vehicle to tell the story of America. The lost jobs, the […]
Bonus Monday Video: Session Americana and Friends
One never knows what will happen when guests drop by to sit in with Session Americana. Here’s a clip from 2011 when none other than Peter Wolf stopped by for a visit. Wolf brought a couple bottles of champagne and stories about Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard for an free-wheeling night of music. See what […]
Monday Morning Video: Twangville Festival Friday Night Preview
Here’s a collection of videos featuring artists who will be appearing at the Twangville Music Festival on Friday night, June 28th at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA. Session Americana — performing “Raking Through the Ashes” from 2012’s Love and Dirt and “The Coal Burner” from 2009’s Diving For Gold Kevin Gordon — playing “Don’t […]
Rory Block – Avalon
Rory Block’s acoustic blues guitar picking has reserved her a special page in blues history.  Since the 1960s, the Manhattan-raised prodigy has pursued delta blues styles with the passion of a pilgrim.  Since the mid-1970s she has built a body of work that demonstrates her deep understanding and mastery of acoustic blues. Avalon, the fourth in Block’s “Mentor Series,” pays […]
Kevin Gordon on the way to Gloryland
After ten years in the business, Kevin Gordon has had time to hone his craft. Each of his four records shows his attention to detail and background in writing. He graduated from the elite Iowa Writer’s Workshop in poetry. His songs are highly literature and story centered. At times they devolve into straight up stories. […]
Twangville Presents …. Sarah Borges
On her last record with longtime backing band the Broken Singles, Sarah Borges recorded covers ranging from X to Smokey Robinson to the Lemonheads. As incongruous as it may look written down, Borges has made it sound damn near perfect over the first decade of her music career. Wowing audiences across the country and recording […]
Hem – Up Close & Personal
\ To listen to Hem, the label “countrypolitan” or “classical country” makes a lot of sense. The band consists of folk country elements and classical strings in the studio. But in person, Dan Messe’s piano and Sally Ellison’s vocals make this band stand out. They sound classical in every sense of the word. The keystrokes, […]
Monday Morning Video: Jason Isbell’s “Elephant”
In last week’s Twangville team review of Jason Isbell’s Southeastern, several of us wrote about “Elephant.” The emotional song describes a man watching a friend die from cancer. Here’s Isbell, with his new wife Amanda Shires, performing the song a few weeks ago in New York City. The song will undoubtedly leave you slack-jawed and […]
Marshall Chapman – Blaze Of Glory
Love In the Wind, the opening cut from Marshall Chapman’s latest release, Blaze Of Glory, might be one of the best rock and roll songs ever written. Â I know, that’s pretty extreme hyperbole. Â Maybe I’m just under the influence of a sunny, summer afternoon. Â But damn, it’s got great garage surf rock guitar licks. Â It’s […]