Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social Jammin’ Java in Vienna, VA: December 2010 Post by Suzanne D. McMahon (Suzanne Davis Photography) Jesse Malin sure knows how to put on a show. The last time I had seen him, he had the entire audience sit on the floor and then came to join us (even […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Oct/Nov 2011, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Long Live All of Us, by Glossary Glossary have always had a reputation as a scrappy rock band from Murfreesboro, TN. While their latest doesn’t abandon the past, the band has injected a healthy dose of southern soul into the mix. And, man, does it sound good. Opener “Trouble Won’t Always […]
Gillian Welch – Back Porch Music Hall
When Gillian Welch & David Rawlings took the stage at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Gill began her first song “I am an orphan on God’s highway,” I had a vision. I thought of A.P. Carter and his hopes for country music. How if he walked in at that very moment, the […]
Shawn Nelson – San Juan Street
The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shawn Nelson. Â What do they have in common? Â Anthems about being a free spirit. Â You undoubtedly know about Ramblin’ Man and Free Bird. Â In the case of Shawn Nelson, it’s Nobody Got A Hold On Me, the first track on his 4th release, San Juan Street. Â Stylistically the song is […]
Artists I’m Thankful For (A Fall Collection)
At this time of year, we all like to sit back, reflect, and look at what we are thankful for. Most people around my neck of the woods cite family, freedom, friends, etc., and while I am very thankful for all of those, I’m also pretty thankful for a few musicians that seem to pop […]
Barr Brothers
The Barr Brothers are causing a buzz in the Indie world. Their self-titled debut release is a mostly acoustic journey into the duality of human emotion. They explore the context of our true feelings, and the complex emotions that make us betray them. The Barr brothers are not new on the scene, they are the […]
John Prine – The Singing Mailman Delivers
Forty years. It has been forty years since John Prine released his first, self-titled album, with such classics as “Paradise,” “Angel From Montgomery,” and “Spanish Pipedream.” That first album was one of the few true folk albums included in Rolling Stone‘s 500 greatest albums (a bogus, arbitrary exercise to boost circulation for sure – but John Prine was on […]
Butch Walker/Drinking With Strangers
Butch Walker’s latest release, Drinking With Strangers, opens with the catchy…wait, this isn’t a record… it’s a book. Sorry, I get into a pattern here. Co-Authored with Matt Diehl, this funny tale of Walker’s love/hate relationship with the music industry is pretty much summed up nicely by Walker when he describes his 20 plus career […]
Sons Of Fathers – Sons Of Fathers
You have to be pre-disposed to like any album that starts out with a paean to Lawnchair Larry. Â Maybe it’s just a song about a couple of fella’s similarly tempted, but Weather Ballon, the opening cut on the debut album from Austin-based Sons Of Fathers, is an apt metaphor for how quickly this record soars […]
Glossary- Long Live All Of Us
Glossary is a band that I have always defined by their (relatively) more mainstream friends. Lucero, Two Cow Garage, The Hold Steady, the Drive-By Truckers, and Conor Oberst have all praised the band effusively. Despite these endorsements, Glossary has never really broken through to the kind of indie rock-stardom that those friends and mentors have […]