Folk Alliance International isn’t your typical music conference. Held this year in New Orleans, days include industry panels, seminars, and public showcases in hotel ballrooms, but the real magic happens late at night when up to 100 hotel rooms transform into intimate “private showcases”—artists who normally fill 500-seat theaters performing for 20 people at a […]
2026 Folk Alliance International Conference
From gold-plated toilets in the White House to $5000 burgers, society’s pendulum is clearly swinging well into the conspicuous consumption range. For a respite from all that money can buy, I heartily recommend the annual Folk Alliance International conference. Held a couple of weeks ago in the downtown Sheraton in New Orleans, it’s a haven […]
It’s Cold Outside – a Premiere From Cold Chocolate
There are guitar-drum duos who sound like guitar-drum duos. And there are those that do something special. Cold Chocolate are firmly in the latter category. The Boston duo blend folk, rock, funk and bluegrass into something that honors tradition while kicking up a ruckus with scruffy guitar and driving rhythms. They don’t limit themselves to […]
Now & Then: Sophie Gault’s UNHINGED and the shadow of Miranda Lambert’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
There’s a specific kind of record that sounds like it was cut with the venue’s back door still propped open. You can hear traffic. You can smell the bourbon. Somebody’s laughing a little too loud and nobody’s apologizing for it.
The Naked Sun – Mirror In the Hallway
One of the vivid memories I have as a child is the annual county fair and carnival where I experienced my first hall of mirrors. As a kid it’s a wonderment: you see yourself fat, skinny, multiple eyes, all kinds of variations of what you know is you. Philadelphia’s The Naked Sun took a very […]
Matt Charette Shares One for a Friend and One for the Fight
There’s a certain style of DIY rock and roll that thrives in cities and towns across the country—gruff, edgy, and deeply heartfelt. No pretense in the songs, no bullshit in the attitude. And often, some of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. Two artists who embody that spirit – and represent its geographic reach – […]
Now & Then: Zach Bryan’s With Heaven On Top and the shadow of Heartbreaker
There’s a funny thing happening in 2026: Zach Bryan can drop a 25-track album and people still talk about it like it was passed hand-to-hand on a porch.
Sophie Gault – Unhinged
Somewhere in the exurbs of farming country sits the rural version of a night club. It’s a big, corrugated tin building with a puddle-filled gravel lot, nearly indistinguishable from the welding shop next door. Live music on the weekends is courtesy of a local band playing honky-tonk rock, the thematic choice for drinkin’, flirtin’, fightin’, […]
Now & Then: The Deslondes’ Holy Cross Blues and the shadow of Music From Big Pink
Some albums arrive like a fresh coat of paint. Others show up like somebody finding an old Polaroid in a jacket pocket and realizing: oh right, this is who we were. Holy Cross Blues is that second kind. It doesn’t feel “new” in the trendy sense. It feels newly revealed.
Todd’s Tops of 2025
At the end of each year the contributors here at Twangville vote on our favorite 25 releases and tally up the results on a magic spreadsheet. Everyone’s vote counts the same, although Mayer’s should probably count double since he consumes more music than anyone I know. On the other hand, my taste is better. I […]