Perhaps the best way to describe Canadian “Gypsy Blues” duo Blue Moon Marque is to imagine Tom Waits doing Cab Calloway numbers. It’s an unusual style, but it works on Bare Knuckles & Brawn. The duo, which features A.W. Cardinal on vocals and guitar and Jasmine Colette on vocals and upright bass, captures a unique […]
Paul Cauthen – Room 41
On the second song of his new album, “Room 41â€, Paul Cauthen eponymously references his nickname “Big Velvetâ€. There may not be a singer who ever had a more appropriate moniker. With a voice perfectly balancing a tightrope between Waylon Jennings and Roy Orbison, Cauthen delivers a collection that has elements of Country, 70s R&B […]
Photos that ROCK! Newport Folk Festival 2019
My 4th year photographing the Newport Folk Festival did not disappoint. I was once again blown away but the sheer amount of talent and incredible music that was packed into 3 days at good old Fort Adams State Park. Here are some of my favorites from the best weekend of the year (photos of country […]
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters – Beyond the Blue Door
Ronnie Earl has become a dependable source of exceptional music every year or so. A great guitar player with an expressive instrumental voice, Earl and his Broadcasters have, over the years, embraced styles ranging from jazz to soul blues to blues-rock. Now, with Beyond the Blue Door, Earl and company have released an album that […]
Readers’ Pick: Ben Davis Jr. and The Revelry – Suthernahlia
You picked Ben Davis Jr. and The Revelry – Suthernahlia as your favorite new release for the week of August 16, 2019. 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 2019 Ben Davis […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Summer 2019, Part 2
Have You Seen My Girl, Todd May (from the self-released Let’s Go Get Lost) There are certain albums that were meant to be heard on vinyl. While the latest from Todd May isn’t available in that format, one can hear both its inherent warmth and insistent crackle in every song – even when streamed or […]
Video Premiere: Eleni Mandell
Earlier this summer, L.A. folk music fixture Eleni Mandell came out with her 11th album, Wake Up Again. Between some of her songwriting students and collaborations with musicians like Tom Waits, Chuck E. Weiss, and Tony Gilkyson, she’s developed a real knack for telling stories in her songs. Frequently they’re about people and places that […]
Marc Cohn & Blind Boys Of Alabama – Work To Do
Several years later I still remember seeing them do it. The Blind Boys Of Alabama, that night accompanied by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, doing Amazing Grace, set to the tune of House Of the Rising Sun. It was the first 20 years of gospel influence in rock boiled down to its essence in a […]
Quick Hits – Brad Sanzenbacher, Leroy From The North
Like a lazy river winding through the woods on a hot summer day, the new EP, Dying Old Flower, from Santa Cruz Mountains-based Brad Sanzenbacher is as much a feeling as a sight or sound. You can practically smell the riverside rhododendrons on Cacapon, perhaps named after a park in West Virginia with just that […]
Photos that ROCK! The Highwomen at Newport Folk Festival
Unless you slept through the 2019 Newport Folk Festival, you could feel the buzz leading up to The Highwomen’s set at the quad stage on Friday afternoon. Made up of Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby (with special guest Yola), this group of badass ladies have started a band AND a movement. […]