Teen angst has been a cornerstone of rock ‘n’ roll since Chuck Berry in the 50’s.  Occasionally someone would give a thought to what came next in life–I’m An Adult Now is one of my faves–but generally music’s aesthetic is “I hope I die before I get old…”  Somewhere along the way something funny happened, though, […]
Monday Morning Video – Townes Van Zandt “If I Needed You”
It’s been awhile since we’ve posted some Townes Van Zandt. Seems about time to do it again, right?
Monday Morning Video – Chris Knight was “Framed”
I like to put the ol’ iPod on shuffle and let it surprise me. It came through in spades this past weekend, kicking of a killer playlist with this Chris Knight classic. I don’t know if this qualifies as a murder ballad, but it makes for one damn entertaining story.
Photos that ROCK! Josh Brings his Joy to Boston!
Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band House of Blues, Boston MA February 19, 2016 On a cold night in February, I walked out of the sweaty House of Blues feeling like I had just been to some sort of a therapy session (and I am a therapist as my day job!) and my spirits […]
Monday Morning Video – Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg is one of those exceptional songwriters who can move you to tears with a heartbreaking ballad one minute and fire you up with some blistering social and political commentary the next minute. Proof in point, here are “Must I Paint You a Picture” and “Waiting for the Great Leap Forward” from his 1988 […]
Folk Alliance 2016 – The Video Companion
Actual videos of our fave Folk Alliance performances are hard to come by, well at least good quality ones. So we decided to go with the next best thing – videos of these performers captured in other, sometimes unique, locations. Featured in this video playlist are: The Show Ponies, Parsonsfield, Aoife O’Donovan, Session Americana, Bob […]
Shawn’s 2016 Folk Alliance Favorites
For what I’m certain won’t be the last time, I headed to Kansas City for the Folk Alliance International conference (and musical extravaganza). Â With nearly half of the 2500 attendees being musicians, you could barely round a corner in any public area and not find impromptu jams. As you might expect, there were a number […]
Folk Alliance Conference 2016 – The Scene and the Sounds
Twangville returned to Kansas City two weeks ago for the annual Folk Alliance Conference. As we wrote last year, Folk Alliance is a different than your typical music conference or festival. For starters, the attendees are overwhelming musicians (save party crashers like us). This translates into an all music, all the time philosophy. This comes […]
Monday Morning Video – Reed Foehl’s “Strange Days”
Former Acoustic Junction singer-songwriter Reed Foehl shines on this solo acoustic version of a song that he originally recorded with his old compadres.
Robert Earl Keen is Coming Home
Texas hill country singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen has a tendency to mix humor, sometimes dark humor, into his songs. He plays it straight-up, however, on this tender love song “I’m Coming Home.” “Ain’t nothin’ better than your own backyard, I’m comin’ home to you.” Here is an early performance of the song taken from a […]