This album is a testament to perseverance. Originally recorded in 2005, Bleu was dropped by his label mere weeks after he finished recording the album. For most, the story – and album – would have ended there. Bleu, however, kept after the label and finally won the rights to release A Watched Pot on his […]
Mindy Smith – Stupid Love
The best way to understand the present state of Mindy Smith’s career is to put that career in the context of how it really began. Mindy Smith was included in an all-star tribute album to Dolly Parton, Just Because I’m a Woman (Sugar Hill, 2003). However, in 2003 Smith was no All-Star, but there she […]
Ritter and Kweller take North Adams
With its first music festival, you might think that Mass Moca (Museum of Comtemporary Art) would go for something really progressive like Deerhunter or experimental electronica Panda Bear. Something that changes the way we look at music (and thus alienating nearly every member of the audience with the exception of the Pitchfork’s uber-music geeks). But […]
Rocky Mountain Folks Festival – Day Three
As the saying goes, Life Is Good. Especially when the agenda of the day involves sitting outdoors, temps in the 70’s with the occasional cloud, listening to music, with the Rockies as a backdrop and the crystal clear, glacier-fed St. Vrain river steps away if you need to cool off. Such was my plight on […]
Porterdavis – Porterdavis
The new, self-titled disc from Austin’s Porterdavis is a Country-Blues gem. With stomping rhythms, a menacing harmonica weaving it’s way through the melodies, and the dark, smokey and soulful vocals of Dan Barrett, much of the disc seems to be rooted in the mud of Mississippi rather than dusty soil of Texas. If another band […]
Sam Baker – Cotton
Sam Baker appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, in 2004 with his glorious debut Mercy, which in turn was followed my favorite record of 2007 Pretty World. Baker’s late life music career is remarkable considering any variety of factors, but perhaps the most impressive is his near deafness. In 1986 while traveling in Peru, Baker was […]
Readers’ Pick: Acousticueticals by Plain & Simple
Twangville readers picked fan write-in Acousticueticals by Plain & Simple as their favorite release for week of August 11, 2009. Plain & Simple is the work of B.J. Purnell a middle-America father of five who appears to live up to the “plain and simple” moniker. The album contains 11 original songs written by Purnell accompanied […]
The Big Surprise Show – Justin Townes Earle, The Felice Brothers, Dave Rawlings Machine, Old Crow Medicine Show
When four Americana torch-bearers come together to give a show some may call it a festival, some may call it an old-time medicine show, but I just call it a hell of a good night. For a fan of Americana music, the lineup was pretty hard to believe. Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch rarely play […]
Grant Langston – Stand Up Man
When I first looked at the CD and saw a song called “Shiner Bock and Vicodin†I thought it had possibilities. Then I listened to the song, which featured a naked guy in a wedding, and knew that Stand Up Man couldn’t miss. Then I remembered that Grant Langston was the guy who dared to […]
Indie Hour: Brendan Benson
With The Raconteurs, his side-project with friend Jack White, on a hiatus, Brendan Benson returns to his solo roots to unleash a power pop bonanza with My Old, Familiar Friend. Opener “A Whole Lot Better†sets the tone with a rash of electric guitars powered by an urgent beat and walking baseline. “I fell in […]