It has been seven years since we heard from Romantica. Of course we have heard from front man Ben Kyle in the meantime. He has done two acclaimed albums. One was a duet with Carrie Rodriguez and the other was a solo project. The wait for new material from Romantica was well worth it. The […]
Music With a Purpose – Revived and Revitalized
Several years back I did a series about music released with an eye towards social impact or change. Called Music With a Purpose, it was one of the more enjoyable series that I’ve written. The starting point was some great music, made all the more significant given the underlying meaning. Well, the time has come […]
The Traveling Ones – Meet Me There
Peanut butter and jelly, Luxardo cherries and good rye whiskey, banjos and mandolins. Â Some things go well together, like Justin Ahmanson and Emily Villareal, a duo that goes by the name The Traveling Ones. Â Their debut album is called Meet Me There and offers plenty of proof that this couple belongs together musically. Philosophically the […]
A J Hobbs – Too Much Is Never Enough
There’s an old saying about blues musicians who had no formal training and yet could unload a gut-wrenching, soulful composition about life or love or maybe just an old dirt road: “it in him, and it got to get out.” Â There’s a country outlaw version of that in the first full-length album from California native […]
John Mayall – Talk About That
In the 1970s, John Mayall, O.B.E., was, along with Bob Dylan, John Prine, David Bromberg, Loudon Wainwright III, Shawn Phillips and Jerry Jeff Walker, one of my musical heroes.  Now at 83 and still touring and recording albums, Mayall is an inspiration. Mayall, often called the “Godfather of British Blues,†is so much more than […]
The Twangville 2017 Release Preview
If the albums scheduled for release over the next few months are any indication, we’re in for a fine year of music. Here are just a few forthcoming long-players that we’re highly anticipating. MOUNT RENRAW by OTIS GIBBS (13 January on Wanamaker Recording Company) Otis Gibbs is one of the most thoughtful songwriters in Americana, […]
Blackie & the Rodeo Kings – Kings And Kings
A few years back up-and-coming Canadian roots band Blackie & the Rodeo Kings undertook an ambitious project to record an album of duets with female singers they admired and wished they could work with. They pulled it off and that album, Kings And Queens, started getting them noticed by a much wider audience.  Fast forward to […]
Todd’s Picks; Best of 2016 The Albums
The new year is upon us, which means it’s time for my best of list which is always heavy on middle-aged white men…  Happy 2017 folks. Pete Yorn/Arranging Time – I probably listened to this album more than any other in 2016 and that’s why it would get my vote for #1. As long as Pete […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best Songs of 2016
I posted my list of favorite from the first half of 2016 back in June (here and here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this a continuation — the best songs from the second half of the year. Stay Gold, Butch Walker (from the Dangerbird Records release Stay Gold) My […]
Shawn’s 2016 Favorite Albums
As always, lots of good music that came out last year. Â I have no doubt some really good stuff released and I never heard a song of it. Â Rich world problems. Â Here’s what I listened to and liked a lot this year. The Avett Brothers – True Sadness: I like the Avett’s mix of pop, […]