For my second experience at the uber-intimate Treehouse literally just steps from the DC/MD border, I had the pleasure of enjoying a bluegrass spiritual. Now I’ve seen Sean Hoots & the boys on a few other occasions but this time it was something special. A living room filled with approximately 30 seats felt just right. […]
The White Buffalo – Prepare for Black & Blue
Wow. Upon seeing the name, The White Buffalo, visions of indie-hipsters attempting achieve some sort of irony for irony’s sake, were dancing through my head. Thankfully, an irony-seeking hipster The White Buffalo isn’t. It was too good to be true that The White Buffalo would be this artist’s given name. According to our friends at […]
Turnpike Troubadours – Diamonds & Gasoline
Busting out of Oklahoma, The Turnpike Troubadours are here to breathe new life into what is too often a stale environment in the world of Red Dirt music. Sure, this quintet does their fair share of rocking out, why wouldn’t they? It’s the added country (shocking!) dimensions of their tunes that lend the album, and […]
Kickstart American Gun’s New Record
Twangville house band and all around bad-asses American Gun are looking for a little help getting their 4th full length off the ground. Recorded in producer Mitch Easter’s (REM, Pavement, Suzanne Vega) North Carolina studio The Fidelitorium, the album promises to find the band moving in new directions. The departure of co-founding singer-songwriter Donald Merckle […]
Michael Quinn & the Bourbon Kings – Whiskey Rebellion
Irreverence can have many forms. There’s the quiet humor in the face of strict authority. The passive-aggressiveness of simply ignoring a direct order from a superior. And then there’s the kind Michael Quinn & the Bourbon Kings sing about in their latest release, Whiskey Rebellion. Having had one more toke for the road, they tell […]
Nicole Atkins Digs Bonnie and the Beard
In October I stumbled upon a righteous crew called Bonnie and the Beard at the Larimer Lounge in Denver. Tip your bartender, because if you’re in Denver and love music, you’ll be here again and again. They do it right. Rising star Bonnie and the Beard opened for risen star Nicole Atkins and the Sea—the […]
6 Day Bender – E’ville Fuzz
If you’ve been reading Twangville for more than a couple of weeks, chances are you have your favorite roots/southern/alt-country rock band. It might be Drive By Truckers, The Hold Steady, Gaslight Anthem, whatever. Regardless of who your favorite is, you’re going to hear some of them in the latest release from 6 Day Bender, E’ville […]
The Restoration/Constance
While listening to the latest release from South Carolina’s The Restoration, one almost wishes there was a novel accompanying the disc. While I’m guessing that one does in fact exist, it may never leave the mind of brainchild Daniel Machado. Not the whole novel, anyway. Many pieces and parts of it are scattered throughout, but […]
Two Cow Garage- Sweet Saint Me
Sweet Saint Me is Two Cow Garage’s fifth record. This is significant. Craig Finn of the Hold Steady recently expounded on the fifth album concept. Upon the release of his band’s latest opus and fifth record, he talked about the significance of a fifth album for a band, noting that most bands-even the successful ones- […]
EP Round-Up (Jill Andrews, Cary Ann Hearst, Hannah Miller, Jon Drake, and Luke Elliot)
Jill Andrews- S/T Jill Andrews was half of the late-great, under-the-radar band The Everybodyfields. With partner in crime Sam Quinn, Andrews created up beat yet haunting folk music. Their three records together were a sublime synthesis of folk, bluegrass, rock, and indie influences. They grew a fairly devoted cult like fan base before calling it […]