Let’s start the week with a a chilling cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire”, courtesy of LA (by way of South Carolina) singer-songwriter Kail Baxley.
Monday Morning Video – Travis Meadows
It’s always fascinating to get a peek behind the artistic curtain. In this video, Travis Meadows talks about being a professional songwriter in Nashville and working with a co-writer. The story precedes the wonderful “Unfinished Business” from 2013’s Old Ghosts & Unfinished Business. Meadows shares more stories in his recent interview with Twangville.
Stephen Kellogg – Objects in the Mirror
Songwriters as a general rule are better at identifying difficulties and apprehensions than they are pointing out the positive aspects of life. Maybe it is because truly good art exists in the margins of American society and not the mainstream. It could also be the current political climate or possibly even too much Gluten. In […]
Carter Sampson On Touring in a Van Called Jennifer Vaniston and Embracing a Love of Donuts
Singer-songwriter Carter Sampson talks about leading Rock & Roll Camp for Girls OKC and finding success in Europe.
Monday Morning Video – Adam Carroll
There are so many great songwriters criss-crossing the highways of Texas but Adam Carroll is among the elite. With a gentle and reserved style, he tells richly textured stories often filled with colorful characters. The tales are set to simple yet infectious melodies that he picks out on an acoustic guitar. Here are two gems […]
Three EP Gems – Baiman, Lukes & Champagne
Last year I had the fortune to discover Rachel Baiman. Â I noted at the time she had a knack for subtly inserting parables in her snap-your-fingers or turn-around-the-dance-floor bluegrass numbers. Â She’s at it again with Thanksgiving, a just released EP. Â Tent City is an upbeat tune with lots of great banjo and guitar picking. Â It’s […]
Gregory Alan Isakov – Evening Machines
“We took our chances, sure enough / I am brambles / But I am tangled in your love.” Gregory Alan Isakov’s words in his new record speak for themselves and and like a rare stone sparkle either on the page as poetry or as slow burning acoustic ballads that burrow into the listener’s consciousness. These […]
Sweet Caroline – A Special Boston Playlist
By Degrees, Mark Erelli & Friends (from the benefit single By Degrees) Several of Mark Erelli’s longtime friends and collaborators join him for a special song written in response to the tragic gun violence in America. While the artists are an impressive group – Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Lori McKenna, Anais Mitchell, and Josh Ritter […]
Taylor Barton – House Of Light
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”  That could be the motto for the latest album from journeyman singer-songwriter Taylor Barton, entitled House Of Light.  Barton, husband G.E. Smith, her daughter, and producer Tony Shanahan, all had personal tragedy strike while working on the project.  Out of that pyre came a record that manages to balance […]
Monday Morning Video – Jon Dee Graham “Faithless”
This song seems sadly appropriate given the events of the past week – Jon Dee Graham’s “Faithless”. You need a strong heart, you need a true heart You need a heart like that in a world like this So you don’t get faithless