Tom Hanks may have kicked things off with a hearty “Hail Hail Rock and Roll,†but it was the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis (HoF inaugural class of 1986) who got the party started. The 74-year old was clearly showing his age yet still showed his spark as he knocked out a healthy version of “Whole […]
Curtis Harvey – Box of Stones
Many great artists produce music that is inspiring without being technically gifted vocalists. Kris Kristofferson and Ryan Bingham have produced two of the year’s best albums while displaying vocals that few would term “smooth”. The largely acoustic solo debut from Curtis Harvey (Myspace), Box of Stones (FatCat), successfully showcsaes the same ability to move the […]
Slipping Through the Cracks 2009 (Round Up and Downloads)
All these records came out this year and have been piling up on my digital nightstand. They’re all good too. Enjoy the downloads, graciously provided by the artists/labels involved. Zach Seibert & the Red Wagon An Americana dream of atmospheric folk and country inspired rock and roll, Learning to Drown is Zach Seibert’s first real […]
Peter Bradley Adams – Traces
If you recognize the name, you probably think you’ve heard this one before. Heartbreaking melodies and a girl who left you blah blah blah. The same sad tone seems prevalent from the first notes of adult alternative single “You Dance†(Adams’ collaboration with Kat Maslich) to the lead single “For You†and throughout Adams’ work. But you […]
Listen Up: Walkenhorst and Porter
“All I want to do is sing a few songs of ache and love and a fast one for the youngsters that I know,” Bob Walkenhorst aptly sings on “Broken Radio” from the recently released No Abandon. Despite these humble intentions, however, Walkenhorst and collaborator Jeff Porter have crafted an album rich in grace and […]
Blind Pilot – 3 Rounds and a Sound
Man, there have been a ton of great records released this year that can be placed into the relatively ambiguous class of “modern folk” or “acoustic pop”, or whatever. We have seen the records from The Low Anthem, Langhorne Slim, The Swell Season and A.A. Bondy, among others, already considered to be among many peoples […]
The Swell Season – Strict Joy
I have always been beyond hesitant to call any of my posts “reviews”. For one, I’m not much of a writer, for two, I am basically just trying to tell you about a record that I really like, so I don’t feel the need to dress it up as anything more journalistic and formal than […]
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2009
Move over Bonnaroo. Step aside Coachella. With crowd estimates hovering around 750,000 this year, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is now the country’s largest music event. And it’s free. Three days, 6 stages, 80 acts with a broad range of appeal, all courtesy of Warren Hellman, a local investment banker and philanthropist. With that many sets of […]
Michael Ford Jr. & The Apache Relay
The record by relatively new act, Michael Ford Jr. & The Apache Relay, 1988, is a really focused and well performed set of tunes for a band that hasn’t been together for very long. The bio of the band really enhances the overall experience of listening to 1988. When you find that Michael Ford Jr. […]
Readers’ Pick: Trailer II by Chris Knight
Twangville readers picked ‘Trailer II’ by Chris Knight as their favorite release for week of September 15, 2009. Recorded back in 1996 in a singlewide trailer parked near his hometown of Slaughters, Kentucky, ‘Trailer II’ is part two of a now legendary set of recordings. Their legend has grown through various bootlegs, leaks, and performances […]