SOPHIE GAULT Sophie Gault kept busy at AmericanaFest this year. I managed to catch her three times—solo, with the SiriusXM house band, and with her own crew—each performance more electrifying than the previous. There’s something about an artist finally making music on her own terms, and the new songs she previewed suggest her 2026 album […]
AmericanaFest 2025 – Shawn’s Favorites
I saw one estimate that in addition to the 150-ish musical acts with official showcases at this year’s AmericanaFest, there were another 150 you could only see at an unofficial event. If rumors of the dramatic slashing of music at SXSW are true, that may make AmericanaFest the largest event of the year, at least […]
AmericanaFest 2025, Mayer’s Picks (Part 1)
kirby baby Two sets from Brooklyn’s kirby baby meant double the proof that his razor-edged indie rock songs are built for live performance. Whether solo or with his full band—I saw both—the material from his new album crackled with the same intensity. JADE BIRD Bird’s magnetic presence commanded Third Man Records’ legendary Blue Room as […]
2025 Americana Music Awards
In what now clocks in at a full 7 days of festivities, if you count the first unofficial showcase until the last, AmericanaFest landed in Nashville the week of September 8th this year. And although the organization itself has started scheduling showcases opposite the annual awards event, there’s no doubt the extravaganza at the ever-fabulous […]
West Texas Exiles – 8000 Days
If you laid the resumes of Marco Gutierrez, Trinidad Leal, Daniel Davis, Eric Harrison, and Colin Gilmore side by side you’d pretty quickly figure they were going to play together in a band, if not in this timeline in another. Turns out it is in this one, and the west Texas native sons have just […]
Twangville Sunday Social: October 19th in Dallas
We haven’t said much about it, but Twangville is turning 20! For two decades, we’ve been shining a light on the musical artists who inspire us – from up-and-comers to familiar favorites. Along the way, we’ve built a tradition of presenting live shows in backyards and music venues that bring that same passion to life. […]
Shawn Camp on Staying in the Moment and Touring in His Customized Mercedes Sprinter
Country and bluegrass virtuoso Shawn Camp talks about leading tours at the Country Music Hall of Fame, the type of guitar strings that he currently uses, and his approach to rehearsals (hint: he doesn’t).
Tift Merritt – Time & Patience
Some 21 years after Tift Merritt’s breakthrough album Tambourine, she returns with “Time & Patience: Tambourine Kitchen Recordings.” The original Tambourine highlighted both Tift Merritt’s voice and a classic blue-eyed soul sound. The demos have stripped back the embellishments and allowed the songs to stand on their own. It turns out that they have taken […]
“See For Yourself” – a Premiere from The Far West
Some records take longer than others to make. While not in the Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy category (or budget), The Far West’s latest album Everything We Thought We Wanted took the long road to fruition. Delays were both planned and unplanned – COVID, for example, was an interruption that turned into an opportunity to […]
KP Hawthorn on Having a Great Guitar Tech and the Value of a Mentor
Nashville singer-songwriter KP Hawthorn talks about the documentary she’s producing about the history of California country music and what happened before she played her first gig.