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. You’ve got to admire perseverance, especially in pursuit of a […]
Robert Francis – Strangers in the First Place
 Americana? Rock? Alt-Country? Sometimes all the labels get tiresome and you just want to hear some good songwriting. Simple, emotional, powerful. On Robert Francis’ third record, he’s simplified the production, cleaned it up perhaps to a fault. That said, the polish hasn’t dulled the power of Francis’ melodic vocals. His direct vocal delivery and […]
Joanne Shaw Taylor – Almost Always Never
Joanne Shaw Taylor is in the vanguard of a group of driven, talented young European women who have taken on blues music – and taken no prisoners. Taylor, originally from Birmingham, England, has been playing professionally since she was a teenager (she toured with the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart’s group D.U.P. when she was only 16) […]
Chris Knight – Small Victories
Eli, Todd and Chip share their collective insights on the stellar new release from Chris Knight: Eli Peterson Chris Knight is the real deal. Dude is from Slaughters, Kentucky. That’s right. The town is named “Slaughtersâ€. Dude was a mine reclamation inspector for 10 years before he went to Nashville to give songwriting a try. […]
Americana Music Association Annual Awards
The yearly AMA awards kicked off with a bang in the delightful Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last week. Â The house band, Buddy Miller, Don Was, Larry Campbell, Brady Blade and Rami Jaffe, was joined by Booker T. Jones, who later took home the Lifetime Achievement Award for instrumentalist, on organ and Richard Thompson, Darrell Scott, […]
Leeroy Stagger- Radiant Land
Leeroy Stagger is a Twangville artist. What makes an musician a Twangville artist you may ask? In my mind, it’s an artist we here at Twangville think (a) is awesome and (b) should be appreciated by a greater number of people. Stagger is perhaps the epitome of such an artist. A Canadian singer songwriter who […]
Music With a Purpose: Grooving Forward, Vol. 1
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. Grooving Forward, Volume One is the brainchild of Jake Bush […]
Photos that ROCK! Amanda Shires
Amanda Shires The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford CT: April 2012 Post by Suzanne D. McMahon (Suzanne Davis Photography) There aren’t many musicians that I would drive 2 hours each way on a Friday night to see (especially since my alarm goes off at 5:30am every morning!). When I saw that Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell were […]
Dwight Yoakam: A Thousand Miles from Nowhere
Don McLeese’s new book entitled Dwight Yoakam: A Thousand Miles from Nowhere, and released by University of Texas Press, gives an almost academic look at Dwight’s recording career and rise to stardom. While the book isn’t exactly a chapter to chapter account of each release or milestone, it is pretty close, leaning a bit heavier […]
The Trishas – High, Wide and Handsome
More a legend than a band. Â That phrase was first coined a couple of decades ago about a set of 4 guys from West Texas, the Flatlanders. Â But it could apply equally to a group of 4 young women, The Trishas. Â First performing together as a hastily arranged act as part of a tribute to […]