When I think of bluegrass, I often first think of quality instrumental work. String picking, fiddle tunes, mandolin runs, and a driving percussive beat. Rarely do I find the technical prowess of bluegrass instrumentalist and songwriters whose connection to composition merge in a musical vision. This marriage of bluegrass quality instrumentation and songwriting composition is […]
Monday Morning Video: Joe Pug and Jason Isbell
I usually try to stick with amateur-recorded videos for our Monday Morning Video, but we’ll make a worthwhile exception this week. Two Twangville favorites — Joe Pug and Jason Isbell — both released new videos this past week. Joe’s video is for “Hymn #76,” a fine track from his most recent album titled Great Despiser. […]
Stray Birds & Three Tall Pines Throwback
While up north certainly has some strong bluegrass players, I found myself at a truly special evening at Club Passim in Cambridge. Before the show, I’d heard both the Three Tall Pines and the Stray Birds and was struck by both. I thought I could easily be somewhere else. The Three Tall Pines are a […]
Music With a Purpose: A Tribute to Springsteen’s Nebraska
Musicians have a long tradition of giving. Sure, they give to all of us with the music that they share. Yet they also have a penchant for supporting meaningful causes. Over the next few weeks we will highlight several releases that demonstrate this giving spirit. Bruce Springsteen has long supported food banks and hunger charities […]
Tom’s Picks: Best of Summer 2012, a Playlist
20 favorites from the Summer of 2012. Enjoy! Money for the Weekend (Pocket Full Of Shame) by Alberta Cross A three year hiatus was worth the wait for the now Brooklyn-based band’s sophomore release. Keep Believing by Bob Mould Touring playing full sets of Sugar’s “Copper Blue” alongside a full set of the new album […]
Monday Morning Video: Kasey Anderson
The VH-1 series “Behind the Music†has long chronicled tales of musical excess and success. Yet, for many musicians, the real story is far less glamorous for many musicians. Music is both an art and a business, and the latter can be daunting. Kasey Anderson knows the story well. For more than five years he […]
Duct Tape Saves Lives: Thoughts and Opinions From 3 Southerners on Dwight Yoakam’s 3 Pears
Ok Twangville readers, this will hopefully be a recurring feature that switches up our normal review protocol. It was inspired by frequent long email chains over the years between myself, fellow Twangviller Todd Mathis, and my twin brother Kyle Petersen. Though to be fair, the conversation below is a bit cleaner and more serious than […]
James McMurtry at Johnny D’s
From the first few notes his 12-string, I could tell that this would be a treat. A seasoned performer with over 20 years on the road, McMurtry had the kind of stage presence that you can’t get after a few years. And he had the kind of storytelling chops that an English Professor mother and […]
Craig Chaquico – Fire Red Moon
Craig Chaquico has made the transition from ethereal to earthy in his first blues album, Fire Red Moon. Chaquico has successfully joined the legion of ex-rockers-turned blues musicians with his latest effort. But he may be the only one whose path to the blues led through new age music after having spent almost two decades churning out […]
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2012
As probably all Twangville readers know by now, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is an Americana music festival held the first weekend in October every year in San Francisco. Â Here’s my review, followed by Chip’s. Shawn: This year there were 88 bands, on 6 stages, for 3 days, all for free, courtesy of the late Warren Hellman. […]