For the 22nd time, fans, musicians, and industry personnel gathered in Nashville on the 3rd weekend in September for the AmericanaFest. Part music festival, part industry conference, the event now stretches across most of the week. Regardless of when individual organized meetings and events start, the real premiere is the Americana Music Awards show at […]
Josh Ritter – Golden Boy Has Grown Up
When Josh Ritter came out on stage in gold painted shoes and a gold-flecked suit (and newly gray-curly hair), I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But from the first note, Josh Ritter and the band brought the energy. In contrast to Josh’s rather subdued and contemplative new album, Spectral Lines, the live show was […]
Popa Chubby and the Beast Band – Live at G. Bluey’s Juke Joint NYC
Popa Chubby isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for a guitar slinger to liven up your night, he just might be the guy. Born Ted Horowitz in the Bronx during the final days of the Eisenhower administration, Popa Chubby devoured the rock music that surrounded him in the late 60s and early 70s, Chubby […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2023
Alameda, Anna Rose (from the White Pony/Electric Child Music release Last Girl of the Rodeo) Anna Rose doesn’t pull any punches – lyrically or musically – on Last Girl of the Rodeo. The LP cycles through the collapse of a relationship, bleeding raw emotion as it does. The deeply brooding “Whatever Gets You Through the […]
Steep Canyon Rangers – Morning Shift
The sun was in my eyes. Or maybe more appropriately, the banjo was in my ear. Like many people I’m sure, my first exposure to North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers was the first record they did with Steve Martin. It established them in my mind as a bluegrass band, and then they proceeded to build […]
Photos that ROCK! Senora May @ Newport Folk
One of my favorite artists to shoot at Newport Folk this year was Senora May. I had not heard her songs before, but she looked and sounded absolutely beautiful. Please enjoy some of my favorite photos from her set! Photos by Suzanne Davis McMahon
Floating Away – a Video Premiere from Shadwick Wilde
Fall is nigh upon us. And with it, grey skies and chilling temperatures. Why is that relevant? It’s a atmosphere that permeates Forever Home, the forthcoming album from Shadwick Wilde. “Floating Away”, the video of which Twangville is premiering today, is one of the album’s standouts. The song finds Wilde dissecting a relationship, unsure of […]
Birds of Play – Birdsongs of the American West
There are plenty of examples where a musician’s geographical home bears no resemblance to the music they’ve made their own. City boys playing outstanding country music or kids from Minnesota inhabiting the sounds of musica Norteña from Mexico, for example. In the case of western Colorado-based, string band Birds of Play, the relationship seems to […]
Newport Folk 2023 – Sunday
Every year I am lucky enough to attend Newport Folk Festival, and I have attended six, there’s a moment where the music takes on a full sensory experience. Time stops. When Gregory Alan Isakov took the Quad Stage, that moment occurred. Gregory Alan Isakov and his band including banjo, fiddle, keys, and percussion. Isakov’s new […]
Newport Folk 2023 – Saturday
In its 64th year, the 2023 Newport Folk Festival boasts the longest and most distinguished history of any currently running music festival dating back to 1959. With all that history, the festival has stayed relevant with its place as one of the most trusted venues for Americana, folk, rock, singer/songwriter, and everything in between. With […]