What a year it has been! Thankfully there’s been some great music to help sustain us. Here are my picks for the best albums of 2020. 11. Consider the Speed by Terra Lightfoot Another rock and roll tour de force from Terra Lightfoot. Consider the Speed is brimming with fervent guitars and musical bravado, not […]
Auyon Mukharji of Darlingside on Reasonable Band Salaries and Enjoying the Small Successes
Auyon Mukharji of folk quartet Darlingside talks about the virtue of renting a tour van and the band’s first gig, where they opened for a puppet parade.
Monday Morning Video – Devil’s Sooty Brother
Dallas musicians Joshua Ray Walker and Nathan Mongol Wells – aka Devil’s Sooty Brother – sure do like to perform. The two originally joined forces as part of Ottoman Turks, a loud and rowdy quartet. When that wasn’t enough, they started a monthly residency as Devil’s Sooty Brother, mixing originals into sets filled with classic […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2020, Part 5
The Contractor, John Calvin Abney (from the Black Mesa Records release Familiar Ground) Familiar Ground, like John Calvin Abney’s previous albums, possesses a beautiful spirituality that is comforting and uplifting. Case in point – he opens this latest release with the heartening “When This Blows Over”, a song that serves as a quiet anthem for the […]
Ben Roberts of Carolina Story on Gifted Guitar Strings and the Long, Hard Road of Music
Ben Roberts of duo Carolina Story talks about performing at his 13th birthday party, working at a private school, and following in Johnny Cash’s footsteps.
Chris Smither on “Real Work” and What Makes Him Happy
Singer-songwriter Chris Smither talks about his cozy and comfy home rehearsal space, early gigs on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and the first song that he wrote (and that he still occasionally plays)
Griffin Sherry (The Ghost of Paul Revere) on “Skyship Mkll” and Learning from the Lean Years
Griffen Sherry, guitarist for The Ghost of Paul Revere, talks about building custom children’s playhouses, rehearsing in public parks, and brief moments of forgiveness
Monday Morning Video – John Prine and Marty Stuart
A little John Prine makes any week better. Here’s Prine, accompanied by Marty Stuart, singing and sharing a story about “Souvenirs” at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Mink’s Miracle Medicine – Thumbs Up Angel
Peanut butter and chocolate. Harley Davidson and leather. Punk and bluegrass. OK, well maybe that last pair doesn’t go together like the first two examples. In the case of West Virginia duo, Mink’s Miracle Medicine, though, it turned out well. Lead guitarist Daniel Zezeski brings his punk and ska roots to the collaboration, while lead […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2020, Part 3
When You’re Gone, Lydia Loveless (from the Honey You’re Gonna Be Late Records release Daughter) Daughter isn’t an easy album. Sure, the album has some strong and engaging melodies, not to mention the wonder that is the singer’s commanding voice. Yet it is also a lyrically and musically dense album, one that finds Loveless continuing […]