Personal lives in the music business can take a back seat to the music itself, so there tends to be plenty of material for the classic country music break-up song. Running against the current of that are husband and wife Donna and Kerry Herrick, known collectively as the band Herrick. Theirs is a story of […]
Newport Folk Festival – Monday
For the first day of the “Folk On” portion of the second three days, the lineup told Suzanne and I one thing: we had to be there. Hiss Golden Messenger (lead by M.C. Taylor) was playing an acoustic solo set. The first act of the day however was Courtney Marie Andrews. She released “Old Flowers” […]
Newport Folk Festival – Sunday
For our second day at Newport, Suzanne and I knew we had to get to see the Dimmer Twins. If you don’t know them by their acoustic duo name, you may know them as core members of the Drive-By Truckers Mike Cooley and Patterson hood. The name is a nod to the “Glimmer Twins” which […]
Newport Folk Festival – Saturday
In the era of Covid, the seemingly eternal Newport Folk Festival must rise again. Splitting the festival in half (half the people and the acts) and adding a second trio of days was a novel idea. It satisfied the board of health and the desperate fans. It sold out quickly (long before artists were announced) […]
Readers’ Pick: Them Coulee Boys – Namesake
You picked Them Coulee Boys – Namesake as your favorite new release for the week of August 6, 2020. New Releases Did we miss something? If you feel a new release is missing from our current poll, please let us know in the comments. Readers’ Tops Summer & Fall 2021 Shannon Clark & The Sugar […]
I See Hawks In L.A. – On Our Way
There’s an otherworldliness that inhabits the deserts of California. It’s not just the inhospitable environment, it’s also a sense of realness that comes to the improbable. From the conspiracy theorists outside China Lake to the mystics in Joshua Tree, some of the inhabitants embrace that difference in life. With their roots in the high desert […]
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram on embracing the Blues
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram plays a mean guitar for a guy barely old enough to drink in most states. And he has a reverence for the Blues that is uncommon in an artist so young. I reached out to Ingram recently as he was preparing to go out on tour, finally, in support of his new […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Summer 2021
Foregone Conclusion, Zach Schmidt (from the Boss Dawg Records release Raise a Banner) Zach Schmidt has been waiting awhile for the release of his sophomore full length album. Not Chinese Democracy long, but long enough. Schmidt recorded the album, backed by producer Sadler Vadan and the 400 Unit (yes, that one), then saw the album […]
Tylor and the Train Robbers -Non-Typical Find
Tylor and the Train Robbers are a family band that has toured relentlessly and been their own producers over two previous studio albums. Then, faster than you can say “pandemicâ€, things changed. Suddenly they were off the road and had a chance rethink their approach in their native Boise, Idaho. First hey jumped head first […]
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2021 (So Far), the Songs
Breaking a Heart/The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow, Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, and Jon Randall (from the Sony Music Nashville release The Marfa Tapes) If you thought their song “Tin Man” was achingly beautiful, they’ve got a few more from their time in Marfa that just might make your eyes a little misty. I couldn’t decide […]