You picked Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time as your favorite new release for the week of April 29, 2022. Poll Results New Releases Readers’ Tops Winter & Spring 2022 Pete Mancini – Killing the Old Ways (101 votes) David Gideon – Lonesome Desert Strum (75) Tody Castillo – Old Rodriguez (49) Sarah Borges – […]
Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder have a history going back nearly 60 years, which officially makes Get On Board a long-awaited reunion – and something to cherish. With the profound contributions and pedigrees of Mahal and Cooder, we expect brilliance, and the album more than meets those expectations. In the mid-1960s, when Ry Cooder was […]
Old Settler’s Music Festival – 2022 Edition
Just outside Lockhart, the BBQ capital of Texas, lays a 150 acre spread that’s home to Old Settler’s Music Festival, which wrapped up this past Sunday. I had the pleasure of being there for almost all of the four-day event (five, if you count the open mic event on Wednesday night in the campground). They […]
Aaron Skiles – Wreckage from the Fire
It is always nice to unearth a hidden gem from an under the radar artist. Aaron Skiles is a Bay area musician and former front man of Bourbon Therapy. His new solo album, “Wreckage from the Fire”, was co-produced and co-written by Matt Patton, bass player for the Drive-By Truckers. For the project, Patton assembled […]
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters – Mercy Me
There are a few people whose artistry separates them from the many excellent artists plying their trade and lifts them to a level of their own. With every brush stroke, word written or note played, their mastery shines through. Ronnie Earl is such an artist. The son of two Holocaust survivors, Earl was born Ronald […]
Opal Canyon – Tomorrow To the Sea
There are certain musical styles and sounds that evoke thoughts of a particular part of the country. The brassy jazz of New Orleans, the polka-laced country of the Texas Hill Country, the thoughtful folk-rock of Southern California. The latter was invoked by a duo based across the country, Massachusetts’ Opal Canyon. Their latest record, Tomorrow […]
Readers’ Pick: Pete Mancini – Killing the Old Ways
You picked Pete Mancini – Killing the Old Ways as your favorite new release for the week of April 8, 2022. Poll Results New Releases Readers’ Tops Winter & Spring 2022 Pete Mancini – Killing the Old Ways (101 votes) David Gideon – Lonesome Desert Strum (75) Tody Castillo – Old Rodriguez (49) Sarah Borges […]
Old Settler’s Music Festival – Preview
Every year about now I make a pilgrimage to Austin for a few days of listening to music. It’s not for SXSW. Instead I head out to Tilmon, about an hour southeast of town, for Old Settler’s Music Festival. It’s just the right size to where it’s easy to navigate, but there’s still enough of […]
Derek Vanderhorst – Wildflower
Come for the headline, stay for the story. That old saying couldn’t be truer as it relates to the new album from Derek Vanderhorst. The headline is that the go-to sound designer and mixer for hundreds of films, including The Eyes of Tammy Faye and No Country For Old Men, was diagnosed with stage 4 […]
Drew Cooper Song Premiere – Whiskey And Smoke
There’s a transparency that comes with growing up in a town in the Midwest. First of all, everyone knows you. Or your mama. Second, you have to have a certain amount of self-awareness and honesty about yourself. When a simple trip to the mailbox in winter can be death-defying, miscalculations can carry a heavy price. […]