The Holmes Brothers have spread their special brand of joy for years. Brothers Sherman and Wendell, along with drummer Popsy Dixon, have established a special kind of soul-blues that is part gospel, part soul. Although the Holmes Brothers had performed together throughout the 1980s, it wasn’t until the 1990s that they started getting widespread recognition […]
Mikey Junior – Traveling South
Philadelphia, known more for its rhytm & blues than traditional blues, is nevertheless the home to some outstanding blues musicians including harmonica virtuoso Steve Guyger, the sultry young singer Gina Sicilia, and the up-and-coming, hardworking blues harp standout Mikey Junior. Mikey Junior, who often homesteads at the Twisted Tail in Philly’s South Street area, has embraced a musical style […]
Old Settler’s Music Fest – 2014 Edition
Every spring, a couple of weeks after the madhouse of SXSW, the music festival season kicks off with Old Settler’s Music Festival, about a half hour outside of Austin. Â Started as a bluegrass festival, Old Settler’s now embraces a broad spectrum of Americana. Â Organizer Jean Spivey has a magic touch for consistently mixing old with […]
DBT Slays Boston
50 years old. At that age, you’d think that most people would be settling into their career. Yet Patterson Hood still seems like he’s got lots new to say. He and Mike Cooley may be a little bit older, but they’ve definitely still got a hard-edged guitar attack and a heck of a lot of […]
SXSW 2014 — The Sounds, Part 1
THE HOLD STEADY While I may not be as crazy as my friend who chased the band around Austin for the band’s 7 planned shows, I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to see the Brooklyn rockers celebrate their first album in 4 years. I accompanied said friend to the front of the stage […]
Southern Soul Assembly at the Saenger Theatre, Mobile, Alabama
So I’m in Mobile, AL this week for my day job. As I’m eating lunch Tuesday I look up and see a poster for the Southern Soul Assembly, featuring JJ Grey, Luther Dickinson, Anders Osborne and Marc Broussard. And it’s that night at the Saenger Theatre about a block from my hotel. I rush out […]
Nickel Creek – A Dotted Line
Nine year itch? Well nine years can’t come fast enough. Nickel Creek albums have instrumental brilliance throughout, folky, experimental, bluegrass, and true band dynamics. The albums can be uneven at times, but such sheer brilliance shines through each album. So I thought that a reunion album would be the diet coke of Nickel Creek. Strangely, […]
The Annie Ford Band
The PR blurb that came with the release talks about how Annie Ford was reared in the “sparse, rustic darkness of rural America.” Â One of the notes from my first listen to the release was, “what David Lynch would have used if he chose bluegrass for Twin Peaks.” Â From those two comments I think you […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Feb/Mar 2014, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTHS English Oceans, by Drive-By Truckers I suppose that this review could be titled “Cooley Steps Out.” The band co-founder, who has historically contributed only a couple of songs per release, is credited with six songs on English Oceans. Ever better, they are some of his strongest songs in years. The opening […]
Nick Moss Band – Time Ain’t Free
Nick Moss paid his dues, working as a side man for veteran Chicago bluesmen, including Buddy Scott, Jimmy Dawkins, Jimmy Rogers and former Muddy Waters drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Those blues chops, hard earned, provided the backbone for Moss to lead his own formidable blues outfit for more than a decade. A student of […]