If you were to waltz into a Girls, Guns, and Glory show in Boston, you might think you were dreaming. Ward Hayden on stage seems like he walked out of a honky tonk. He wears the hat, has the mannerisms, hell he even smiles like a classic country singer. Small town Franklin MA and their […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Feb/Mar 2014, Part 1
I suppose that Lydia Loveless could have gone in two directions after 2011’s outstanding Indestructible Machine…
Damien Jurado/Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son
I once made my fiancé a mix CD of Damien Jurardo songs that she refused to listen to because of the songs of his I’d played for her before. She liked a lot of them, but stated they were “so sad.†A few months later I was having a discussion with her dad about Jason […]
Happy Valentine’s Day: Radio Sweetheart from Sarah Borges
Every once in awhile, there is an artist whose album is so anticipated by everyone in the Twangville Posse that a few of us pile on for a team review. Put Sarah Borges’ “Radio Sweetheart” into that category. SUZANNE’S TAKE There’s one word to describe Sarah Borges: BADASS. When I was growing up, I always […]
Steve Dawson – Rattlesnake Cage
Canadian roots music master Steve Dawson’s Rattlesnake Cage showcases Dawson’s astonishing guitar skills as they should be – intimate and acoustic. Dawson, whose passion for roots music prompted him to found the Black Hen Music label in 1995, has been a force in the Canadian music scene and now, having relocated to Nashville, his star […]
Readers’ Pick: PARKER MILLSAP, Parker Millsap
You picked Parker Millsap’s self-titled album as your favorite for the week of February 4, 2014. Readers’ Top 10 (last 4 weeks) ROSANNE CASH, The River & The Thread (17) BLACKIE & THE RODEO KINGS, South (12) DAMIEN JURADO, Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son (11) PARKER MILLSAP, Parker Millsap (9) DAVID CROSBY, Croz […]
Mark T. Small – Smokin’ Blues
New Englander Mark T. Small’s lightning fast guitar picking skills are on display on the all-acoustic Smokin’ Blues. Small, whose background includes a stint in the 1980s with the Indiana-based “newgrass” band called The Brown County Band and a dozen years as leader of Chicago-style electric blues band The Lonesome Strangers, has managed to fuse the extraordinary dexterity required […]
Damon Fowler – Sounds of Home
Damon Fowler’s music captures his Southern roots as well as any up-and-coming artist today. A native of Brandon, Florida, Fowler’s sound encompasses swampy soul, blues, country and a measure of rockabilly. For his sixth and latest solo album, Sounds of Home, Fowler enlisted prominent Louisiana blues-rocker Tab Benoit to help produce a tasty helping of […]
Readers’ Pick: DAMIEN JURADO, Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son
You picked Seattle-based Damien Jurado’s “Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son†as your favorite album for the week of January 21, 2014. Readers’ Top 10 (last 4 weeks) ROSANNE CASH, The River & The Thread (17) BLACKIE & THE RODEO KINGS, South (12) DAMIEN JURADO, Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son (11) BRUCE […]
Eli’s Favorite Records of 2013
2013 was a pretty crazy year for me. Personally, professionally, and music listening habit-wise, it was all over the map. At different points during the year, I obsessed over the back catalogs of The Clash, Emmylou Harris (again), Tom Waits, Kevin Gordon, Superchunk (again), Kanye West (weirdly), Paul Westerberg solo records (again), and finally The Bottle Rockets. […]