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. […]
Chase Gassaway – Certain Circles
Certain Circles, the latest release from Austin musician Chase Gassaway, should be listed as a treatment for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Â Although he writes about typical songwriter topics like love and angst, he manages to put an optimistic sound to them. Â And then add to that a few of his songs are just unabashedly happy […]
The Twangville 2014 Release Preview, Boston Edition
This is shaping up to be a great year of music in Boston. All the albums below will be unleashed to the world in January and February. Here’s hoping the following ten months are just as fruitful. RADIO SWEETHEART by SARAH BORGES If there’s such a thing as a rock star quality then Sarah Borges […]
David Wax Museum at the Sinclair
When one thing ends, another begins. Suz Slezak had her baby 6 weeks ago and suddenly she was back on tour in the limelight. She talked about how relaxing her life as a pregnant woman was compared to hotel rooms and tour buses. I suppose that coming back to Boston (where they started and Wax […]
Tom’s Picks: Best of 2013
Album of the Year: Jason Isbell – Southeastern Jason Isbell is quickly establishing himself as one of the greatest singer/songwriters alive today. He’s cleaned up, remarried, and recording without the 400 Unit (his backing band from the last few years). Southeastern is one of those albums I imagine we’ll look back on some day as […]
Best of 2013 – Chip
Here is my Top Ten for 2013: Feel free to cast stones and insults if you disagree. 1. Patty Griffin American Kid The combination of Griffin’s vocal elegance along with Luther and Cody Dickinson’s backup, made this album stand above all others. The ethereal duet with Robert Plant was also a high impact song. 2. […]
Todd’s Tops of 2013
A little more rockier than most twangers, but here’s what’s been lighting up my ears for the past year. Happy New Year! 1. Jason Isbell – Southeastern – Just damn fine songwriting with minimal production shows a sober, reflecting Isbell at his best. 2. BRMC- Specter at the Feast – This band keeps getting better […]
Favorite Live Sets Of 2013
In addition to all the recorded music that finds its way to me, I was fortunate to hear a lot of really great live music last year. Â Here were some of my favorite sets of 2013. Session Americana featuring Kevin Gordon – Session Americana headlined the first night of our Twangville music festival with earlier […]
Celebrate the Best Shows of 2013
I’ve been pretty active on the concert front this year. From small shows to medium shows, I’ve seen lots of great and underappreciated acts as well as established acts hitting their stride. Some surprisingly good and others expected to be good. Definitely feel lucky to have enjoyed so much quality live and twangy music this […]
The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash – New Old Story
With the increasing popularity of the various genres of music loosely grouped under the label “Americanaâ€, there has been a proportionate increase in the number of Honky-Tonk and traditional Country bands. The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash are best described by the former. Although Honk-Tonk music is on the rise, the true Country bar is […]