When you question successful artists in almost any field, one of the common themes that emerges is a belief that what you resist the urge to add to a composition is every bit as important, if not more so, as what does end up in the final mix. Â Eliza Gilkyson and her son, Cisco Ryder, […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Feb/Mar 2014, Part 1
I suppose that Lydia Loveless could have gone in two directions after 2011’s outstanding Indestructible Machine…
Levi Lowrey – Levi Lowrey
My favorite album of last year was Jason Isbell’s Southeastern. Â It was an exploration of a man’s demons, some of them intense enough to sometimes weigh in on my decision whether to hit play or go for something a little lighter on the mind. Â Levi Lowrey, with his second, self-titled, album, has also chosen to […]
Mass Ave – A Special Boston Playlist
FEATURED ALBUMS Good Luck, by Girls Guns and Glory Girls Guns and Glory have always been a fun live band, mixing up originals with choice covers ranging from Elvis Presley to Hank Williams. They’ve captured that energy – and then some – on their latest release. The Boston quartet traveled to Brooklyn to record the […]
Clay McClinton – Bitin’ At the Bit
“I started out the night with good intentions, but ended up getting sideways drinking wine…”  Clay McClinton does a cover of his dad’s most famous song, Victim Of Life’s Circumstances, about halfway through his latest release, Bitin’ At the Bit.  It’s not only a welcome bit of deja vu, it also serves as a convenient […]
Happy Valentine’s Day: Radio Sweetheart from Sarah Borges
Every once in awhile, there is an artist whose album is so anticipated by everyone in the Twangville Posse that a few of us pile on for a team review. Put Sarah Borges’ “Radio Sweetheart” into that category. SUZANNE’S TAKE There’s one word to describe Sarah Borges: BADASS. When I was growing up, I always […]
Steve Dawson – Rattlesnake Cage
Canadian roots music master Steve Dawson’s Rattlesnake Cage showcases Dawson’s astonishing guitar skills as they should be – intimate and acoustic. Dawson, whose passion for roots music prompted him to found the Black Hen Music label in 1995, has been a force in the Canadian music scene and now, having relocated to Nashville, his star […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January 2014, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Alexandria, by Chris Mills “I have wandered in the wild places,” sings Mills in the opening track of his latest release. It is a fitting line for a musician whose music continues to evolve in exquisite fashion. Mills has always impressed on many levels. His songwriting has always had a romantic […]
Kathryn Caine And The Small Band
From the opening chords of the first song on Kathryn Caine’s latest album, Kathryn Caine And The Small Band, there’s a definite throwback feeling. Â That song, Beacon, has a rock feeling that’s rooted in the style of soaring vocals set to guitar ala the Wilson sisters in Heart or LInda Ronstadt when she was topping […]
Mark T. Small – Smokin’ Blues
New Englander Mark T. Small’s lightning fast guitar picking skills are on display on the all-acoustic Smokin’ Blues. Small, whose background includes a stint in the 1980s with the Indiana-based “newgrass” band called The Brown County Band and a dozen years as leader of Chicago-style electric blues band The Lonesome Strangers, has managed to fuse the extraordinary dexterity required […]