Tinsley Ellis came up as a hard-rocking guitar slinger in the mold of Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was always known as a great axe-man, but as the decades passed and his art matured, he also became an accomplished songwriter and interpreter of the many shades of blues. Kanye West might even be a little impressed with […]
Sons of Bill – Live at Bottletree Cafe, January 15th
The Sons of Bill played for an intimate and enthusiastic audience at Bottletree Café in Birmingham, Alabama. Ironically the next day they boarded a plane to England for a European tour, in which one of the stops in the UK will also be Birmingham. That should set the table for an intriguing linguistic study comparing […]
Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King – Fat Man’s Shine Parlor
Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King have been playing together for 25 years, and it shows. The Dallas, Texas native Kubek and Delhi, Louisiana-born King met in the late 1980s, and collaborated with Kubek as the band leader and King a featured player. Over the years, the terms of the partnership have evolved until King became […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January 2015
ALBUM OF THE MONTH Fear and Saturday Night, by Ryan Bingham Bingham sets the tone for his latest album right out of the gate. “I’ve been carrying my troubles in this pack strapped to my shoulder,” he confesses in the opening “Nobody Knows My Trouble.” What follows are twelve songs that are filled with life […]
The Sweet Lowdown – Chasing the Sun
There have been a small handful of times over the last 30 years of seeing perhaps 100 bands/year where the vocals made such a powerful impression on me that I had a visceral reaction, stopping me in my tracks or sending a shiver down my spine. Â One of those was the first time seeing The […]
Todd’s Best of 2014
I make lots of lists. Mostly lists of things I have to get done. It calms me to do this and makes anything seem possible if I put it on a list. It’s even more satisfying when I get to scratch something off the list.  In keeping with that, here’s my Best of 2014 list, […]
Mayer’s Playlist for December 2014
THE PLAYLIST I Can’t Do Crazy (Anymore), Willie Nile (from the River House Records release If I Was a River) Nile has been letting his guitar do the talking for the past several years, throwing down rock records that should be the envy of musicians a fraction of his age. This one is a little […]
Photos that ROCK! Best of 2014!
Photos that ROCK! Best of 2014! It’s been another year of having the amazing opportunity to combine two of my favorite things: concerts and photography. My favorite shots from 2013 can be found here and now it’s time to narrow down all of the ones from this year! Thank you to everyone who reads Twangville […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best Songs of 2014
I posted a best songs list for the first half of 2014 back in July (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this the continuation — the best songs from the second half of the year. An Anthem for the Broken and A Song to Learn and Sing (Until Kingdom […]
Shawn’s Picks – Best Albums Of 2014
 1. Parker Millsap – Parker Millsap This album wasn’t Millsap’s first, but nonetheless it was twenty-some years in the making.  Full of stories tied to his roots in Oklahoma, his self-titled second album is a microcosm of Americana.  2. Old Crow Medicine Show – Remedy Although it’s hard for me to put my finger on […]