We book-end this month’s video playlist with Dan Auerbach (of the Black Keys), opening with a rocking take on “My Last Mistake” and closing with a special acoustic performance of “Trouble Weighs a Ton.” In between we’ve got live performances from Alex Dezen (The Damnwells), Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Justin Townes Earle, Sam […]
Mayer’s Playlist for February 2009, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit There’s something satisfying about watching a performer mature before your eyes. Though Jason Isbell has long been a Twangville favorite, his latest showcases his tremendous growth as a songwriter and performer. Exhibit A is “Soldiers Get Strange,” the […]
Brett Dennen — Hope For The Hopeless
Everyone should be so lucky as to live in a place that inspires the kind of love song to a city as "San Francisco", the opening track in Brett Dennen’s latest album, "Hope For The Hopeless". Dennen grew up in Oakdale, CA, a couple of hours from the city by the Bay, but it seems […]
Joe Purdy’s Tribute to Danny Federici
Longtime E Street Band organist Danny Federici passed in 2008 after a battle with cancer. Before he died, Federici and his family established the Danny Fund to educate people on the dangers of sun exposure and melanoma. The organization is also raising funds to support research in search of a cure. Los Angeles musician Joe […]
The Whipsaws- 60 Watt Avenue
The Whipsaws are a bar band…. a glorious, alt. country ass kicking bar band. Just listen to the tossed off rock and roll of their sophomore effort, 60 Watt Avenue. Though Neil Young is the easiest influence to infer as the band moves from Crazy Horse style rockers to Harvest-era ballads with ease, the Whipsaws […]
Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew
Angelic voices and classical music are like two peas in a pod. Rock, pop, and country, on the other hand, seem a bit more interested in the broken and damaged. Rock voices usually lack the purity of the biblical cherubs. There’s something about a perfect vocal that’s just the antithesis of rock. Now I didn’t […]
Fred Eaglesmith, Live at the Little Fox
One of the reasons I like live shows so much is you get a true sense of the artist. You hear the real musician, not what an engineer or producer decides you should hear. You also get to see their real talent. Take Emmylou Harris, for example. Unbelievably, that crystal clear, mesmerizing, audible perfection of […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, a Video Companion
What’s a playlist without a video companion? We kick things off with Otis Gibbs and Miranda Lee Richards, our featured artists this month. From there we’ve got live clips from the Gourds, Gary Louris & Mark Olson, Joe Ely and A.C. Newman, plus videos from Frank Turner and Bruce Springsteen. We close out this month […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Light of X, by Miranda Lee Richards LA-based Richards is a testament to persistence. Eight years have passed since The Herethereafter, her 2001 debut release. Yet in 2009 Richards picks up right where she last left us. Light of X is steeped in the Gram Parsons Laurel Canyon-sound, layered with a […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, Part 1
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Grandpa Walked a Picketline, by Otis Gibbs Otis Gibbs is an American original, a gruff musical journeyman who is unafraid to tell it like he see’s it. With a matter of fact lyrical style, he spins tales of the back roads and the folks that wander them. “Caroline,” for example, tells […]