Twangville

A music blog featuring Alt-Country, Americana, Indie, Rock, Folk & Blues. Est. 2005.

Monday Morning Video – Isaac Hoskins

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I saw Denton, TX-based singer-songwriter Isaac Hoskins at a holiday show last week. He previewed several new songs from a work-in-progress album, each filled with vivid details that brought to life the engaging stories that he sung. While we wait on that release, here’s a song that he quietly released online last year.

True North – Open Road, Broken Heart

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Kris Kristofferson famously wrote that “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”  Kristen Grainger, lead singer & songwriter for True North, writes a corollary, “you call it leaving, but she calls it freedom”, on One Way Ticket, the opening track on their latest album.  While Me And Bobby McGee was about the journey […]

Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2017, Part 3

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(This Ain’t) An Original Sin, Will Hoge (from the EDLO Records release Anchors) Nashville-based singer-songwriter Will Hoge possesses the twin powers of lyric and melody, a talent that is finely displayed on Anchors. From a lyrical perspective, the album overflows with yearning, disappointment and self-reflection. “You can try to fight the truth, but time will […]

Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2017, Part 2

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No Heart Left Behind, Hannah Aldridge (from the Rootsy Music release Gold Rush) “I take my heartache with a little bit of ice,” announces Muscle Shoals-raised Hannah Aldridge on “Burning Down Birmingham,” one of several stand-outs from her latest release. Electric guitars lead the charge, sometimes chugging with an insistent stoicism and other times unleashing […]

Monday Morning Video – Justin Currie

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Justin Currie continues to quietly — really too quietly — put out exceptional albums. He could teach a masterclass in how to write a song with blunt honesty and emotional punch. Here is a favorite from This Is My Kingdom Now, released earlier this year.

Monday Morning Video: Todd Thibaud

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I spend so much time listening to new music that it’s easy to forget about the classics and old favorites, so I love it when a casual conversation sends me back into the archives. Boston’s Todd Thibaud has one of the most consistent — and consistently good — catalogs of any in my music collection. […]

Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2017, Part 1

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Don’t Tell Me to Smile, The Mastersons (from the Red House Records release Transient Lullaby) The husband and wife team of Chris Masterson and Bonnie Whitmore continue to refine their sound on the glorious Transient Lullaby. The duo thoughtfully explore the foibles of contemporary relationships with a studied blend of thoughtfulness and realism. The arrangements […]

Mark Olson and Ingunn Ringvold – Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun

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Success, as pretty much everyone has realized, gives one some freedom that can’t otherwise be earned.  Some use that freedom to advance an agenda, whereas others look to self-improvement and creativity as the opportunity.  Mark Olson, founder of pioneering Americana group The Jayhawks, chose the latter path along with his wife and musical partner Ingunn […]