If you’ve lived in the Midwestern United States you’re undoubtedly familiar with the trope about the highest elevation point being the nearby interstate highway overpass. Fruit Bats’ front man Eric D. Johnson realized that near larger towns and cities, those structures were surpassed by another manmade edifice of sorts, the landfill. Standing on these mountains […]
American Aquarium – New Ways to Lose
With their 11th studio album New Ways to Lose, American Aquarium and front man BJ Barham continue to prove why they remain one of the most vital voices in Americana and roots rock. Produced once again by Shooter Jennings and tracked live over a 10-day session in Los Angeles, the record captures the band at […]
Charlie Marie on Her Favorite Road Snacks and Why Music Is Her Calling
Rhode Island country singer-songwriter Charlie Marie talks about making this the first year she has earned her entire income from music, the first sync placements of her career with songs set for Dutton Ranch and Ransom Canyon, and why she rehearses alone in front of a mirror.
Two July Nights in NYC
Kitchen-table harmonies, a banjo thesis on Bach, a voice made for a raucous Saturday night, and the guy who was playing Americana before it had a name. Two bills at Groove in NYC’s West Village this July, the 9th and the 19th, both at 7pm. July 9 — Golden Everything + Danny Golden 7pm at […]
Monday Morning Video – Charlie Marie, Ward Hayden and Greg Hall
Charlie Marie and Ward Hayden & the Outliers, anchored by Ward Hayden and Greg Hall, are two acts carving their own paths through country music — and both dropped new music this month. Charlie’s new album landed June 5th. Ward and Greg’s duo EP dropped last week. We’re thrilled to celebrate both releases with them […]
Clay DuBose – Father Time & Mother Nature
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I’m pretty sure the original intent of that comment was directed to relationships. I’ve observed it to be true about almost anything someone is passionate about, though. Step away from it for a while, and when you come back you rediscover what attracted you in the first place along […]
Futurebirds’ Thomas Johnson on Breaking 2.73 Strings a Show and Nurturing Income Streams
Thomas Johnson of Athens, GA’s Futurebirds talks about retiring the band’s old van “Paco” on the side of a Georgia road, rehearsing in a space that exists only in his imagination, and the TV-repair gig he took without ever being qualified for it.
Eilen Jewell Steps Off the Road, But Not Out of the Song
Photo credit: Damu Malik After two decades of nearly continuous touring, folk-Americana singer-songwriter Eilen Jewell is stepping away from the road—not as an ending, she insists, but as a recalibration. Her “indefinite hiatus” from touring marks a deliberate pause in a life shaped by motion, performance, and the steady accumulation of miles across continents. Yet […]
Monday Morning Video – Bottle Rockets
What better way to start a Monday than with a band that wrote the definitive song about it? This week’s video runs 40 minutes of the Bottle Rockets live, and yes, “Monday (Everytime I Turn Around)” is in there — along with “Dog,” “XOYOU,” “I Don’t Wanna Know,” “Ship It On the Frisco,” “Shape of […]
David G. Smith Song Premiere – Green Fire
There’s a long history of social activism by folk musicians dating back at least 100 years and most probably a lot longer than that. In many cases the participation is in events organized by others. With Iowan David G. Smith, however, he puts the active in activism. He schedules about 20% of his gigs in […]