Steve Dawson, whose amazing acoustic guitar picking on Rattlesnake Cage grabbed attention in 2014, has proven once again he is a great and versatile artist by moving in a completely different direction with a blues-based masterpiece, Solid States & Loose Ends. Canadian roots master Dawson, who relocated a few years ago to Nashville, is more than just a gifted musician. He won two […]
Merle Haggard Remembered
The interwebs are, understandably, full of posts with people’s favorite Merle Haggard songs after the legend passed away on Wednesday. Â You could certainly do a lot worse than spending time listening to your favorites all over again, and maybe venturing out into a few you aren’t familiar with. But there’s a lot more we owe […]
Jeff Plankenhorn – SoulSlide
Jeff Plankenhorn is a versatile lap steel guitarist, well established in the Austin, Texas music scene, who delivers a funky, crusty and soulful performance on his unique new solo album, SoulSlide. Plankenhorn, who has collaborated with artists like Joe Ely and Ray Wylie Hubbard, says he found his voice while singing in the church choir growing up in […]
Ducktape Saves Lives- the i don’t cares- Wild Stab
Ducktape Saves Lives demolishes the normal review protocol in favor of cheap jokes, extended digressions, and an occasional interesting thought or two. Inspired by long back and forth emails between myself, fellow Twangviller Todd Mathis, and my twin brother Kyle Petersen, Ductape Saves Lives is intend for ‘big’(ger) records where we (and hopefully most Americana fans) […]
Terri Hendrix – Love You Strong
Teen angst has been a cornerstone of rock ‘n’ roll since Chuck Berry in the 50’s.  Occasionally someone would give a thought to what came next in life–I’m An Adult Now is one of my faves–but generally music’s aesthetic is “I hope I die before I get old…”  Somewhere along the way something funny happened, though, […]
Corin Raymond – Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams
“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.† So said Aldous Huxley in A Brave New World, one of the most vividly descriptive books I’ve read. Words can also elevate a good song into a great one; a song that embeds itself into […]
Photos that ROCK! Jason Isbell at House of Blues Boston
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit House of Blues Boston February 27, 2016 As a photographer, I know that some shoots go well and some don’t. That still doesn’t ease the disappointment of loading all of the photos on the computer and seeing that they just didn’t come out as you hoped. That was the […]
William Wild – Dreamin’ Video Premiere
We here at Twangville are excited to premiere the new video from William Wild for the track “Dreamin’.” The song features lovely lap steel and slide guitar work with a booming pre-chorus and chorus that kicks in nicely. The excellent new EP entitled Steady Now is available via I-Tunes and other outlets.
Old Salt Union – Cut and Run
The moments that surprise us are the ones that stay with us the longest. In my many years of going to see live music the sundry collection of those moments are etched forever in my memory. I encountered an event of that magnitude at the Evening Muse in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago. I […]
Luther Dickinson – Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger’s Songbook Volumes I & II)
When I caught Luther Dickinson’s show last month in Philadelphia, it was in the smaller of the two halls at World Cafe Live. There were maybe 100 or so patrons there, and the tickets were reasonably priced under $20. He and his “Cooperators” couldn’t have walked away with more than $2,000 from the evening. After […]