Australian singer-songwriter Marcus Blacke is currently on his first tour of the United States. He’s checking in with us from the road to share some of his adventures on the American road. Read on for the latest update, plus a featured song from his new self-titled album. July 24th (Ithaca, NY/Brooklyn, NY) Jared rejoins the […]
Hittin’ the Road with Marcus Blacke, Update 5
Australian singer-songwriter Marcus Blacke is currently on his first tour of the United States. He’s checking in with us from the road to share some of his adventures on the American road. Read on for the latest update, plus a featured song from his new self-titled album. July 9th-13th Quite unhappily I say farewell to […]
Monday Morning Video – Revisiting Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”
Inspired, or more rather provoked, as a populist response to Irving Berlin’s “America the Beautiful,” Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” has become an American institution in its own right. In celebration of Independence Day, here is a video playlist that includes some engaging covers of the Guthrie classic from the likes of the […]
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2016 (So Far), the Songs Part 1
This has already been quite a year for songs. Here are just a few of my favorites from the first half of 2016. Unbroken Hearts and Call the Doctor, Austin Lucas (from the Last Chance Records release Between the Moon and the Midwest) Lucas tells his tale of life in the music business, set to […]
Ralph Stanley Remembered
There’s a quote frequently used to describe how old blues musicians managed to get the sound they did despite having no formal training, “it’s in him, and it got to get out.” Â That came to mind last weekend as I heard of the passing of Dr. Ralph Stanley. Â Anyone who heard Stanley perform O Death, […]
Elizabeth Wills – Every Little Star
Somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost an important component of American music. Â In the 70’s, as solo artists, Joni Mitchell and Carol King defined popular music every bit as much as Zeppelin or the Stones. Â Fast forward a couple of decades and Sarah McLachlan and Jewel were the flag-bearers. Â Nowadays, Shawn Colvin […]
Mayer’s Picks – the Best of 2016 (So Far), the Albums
It’s been a good year for music so far this year (and the rest of the year is shaping up quite nicely, too). Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite releases from the first half of 2016. WILLOW SPRINGS by MICHAEL MCDERMOTT Michael McDermott channels life’s hardships, both his own and those […]
Monday Morning Video – Matt the Electrician Covers Rick Springfield
We’re going to keep with the covers theme this week. The video quality is a bit iffy on this one, but Matt the Electrician’s humor and personality shine on his cover of this Rick Springfield classic. “In a very real way, as well as a metaphysical way, I think Rick is inside each and every […]
Mayer’s Playlist for June 2016
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH My Way Home by Eli Paperboy Reed They say that what doesn’t kill us just makes us stronger. While not quite that extreme, Brooklyn by way of Boston singer-songwriter Eli Paperboy Reed emerges from the ashes of a major label deal gone bad with a remarkable new album. The slick production […]
Monday Morning Video – Dave Alvin Covers The Beach Boys
Here’s a fun cover to kick off your week. This is Dave Alvin recasting fellow Californians The Beach Boys classic “Surfer Girl” as a tender acoustic ballad.