James McMurtry’s Complicated Game is one of this year’s standout albums. His way with both words and melody is as strong as ever. Here is a clip of McMurtry performing a track from the album in the basement of New York’s Mercury Lounge.
Mayer’s Playlist for March/April 2015, Part 3
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH The Firewatcher‒s Daughter, by Brandi Carlile For some, the process of getting off the major label merry-go-round can be a traumatic experience that results in musical purgatory. Not for Carlile, who shifted to ATO Records and returns with another stand-out release. Her voice is as radiant as ever, beautifully complimented by […]
Mayer’s Playlist for March/April 2015, Part 1
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Windfall, by Joe Pug It has been three years since Joe Pug’s last release, a time that found the singer-songwriter coping with the burn-out that comes from years of continuous touring. Sharing one’s music with audiences around the world may be joyous, but the life can be arduous. In that context, […]
MilkDrive – Places You’ve Not Been
“Sophisticated” and “bluegrass”. Â Not often you see those two words paired. Â On Places You’ve Not Been, the latest album from Austin-based MilkDrive, however, the two adjectives clearly belong together. Â The disc certainly holds its own blasting as background rolling down the highway on a sunny California day. Â But it really rewards you when you take […]
Monday Morning Video – Couch By Couchwest 2015
Coinciding with SXSW is the annual Couch By Couchwest Festival. What’s not to like about a festival with the tagline “where the beer is cheaper and the only hipster is you.”? (Far be it for me to quible, but some of the beer at SXSW is free. Just sayin’.) Here’s how it works. Artists — […]
SXSW 2015 — The Scene
For me, the true harbinger of spring is the arrival of the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas. Or rather, spring begins for me when I arrive in Austin for SXSW. With upwards of 2,200 bands and more than 20,000 attendees from around the world, SXSW is the world’s premiere music conference. Even […]
Monday Morning Video – Austin Lucas “Alone In Memphis”
Nashville-based troubadour Austin Lucas has a new album on the horizon (later this spring). Here’s a favorite from his last release — 2013’s excellent Stay Reckless. Damn those harmonies sound good.
Pharis and Jason Romero – A Wanderer I’ll Stay
A few years ago I saw Gillian Welch in Golden Gate Park. Â When she did I Had A Real Good Mother & Father, her voice was so lonesome and pleading it sucked the warmth out of a sunny summer day in the meadow. Â The temperature hadn’t changed, but people started shivering. Â Pharis Romero took me […]
Session Americana “Pack Up the Circus”
Every once in awhile, there is an artist whose album is so anticipated by the Twangville Posse that a number of us pile on for a team review. Put Session Americana’s Pack Up the Circus in that category. SHAWN’S TAKE Pack Up the Circus, the latest album from Session Americana, seems a nearly perfect name […]
Monday Morning Video – Alejandro Escovedo and Jon Dee Graham
Austin legends Escovedo and Graham revisit their True Believers days with the classic “The Rain Won’t Help You When It’s Over.”