Patty Griffin One listen to a Patty Griffin song and you’ll understand why she has developed an almost cultish following. She is, quite simply, an extraordinary songwriter. New West Records, her new record label, arranged a private showcase at a South Austin mansion called the Castle to celebrate her forthcoming release. It was an event […]
Monday Morning Video: Couch By Couchwest
Some travel to see bands, others let the bands come to them. So while SXSW brought thousands to Austin, the annual Couch Couch By Couchwest brought the music to you. The annual online festival invites artists, most of whom are not attending SXSW, to submit videos of themselves performing songs. Artists have fun with it, […]
Shooter Jennings – The Other Life
The new Shooter Jennings album â€The Other Life†is a conversation starter. Specifically it is a catalyst for two related reflections. The first is family. The second is the current state of the Country Music industry. With Nashville as a hub, these two conversations create a coherent theme. With respect to family, we see Jennings […]
New American Farmers – Brand New Day
Mars, Arizona. Â Wind and sun the primary elements of nature, the tumbleweeds rolling through town, red sand whipped into dust devils with nothing but cactus to impede their motion. Â Like so many small towns in America, the burden of providing for its citizens outweighing a rapidly diminishing tax base until there’s no choice but to […]
Monday Morning Video: Langhorne Slim
Let’s start our week with Langhorne Slim burning through “Fire” from last year’s The Way We Move.
Monday Morning Video: Tim Easton
Talk about stripping your artistry down to the core. Here’s Tim Easton, sans microphone and armed with just his acoustic guitar, delivering an energetic performance of his song “Broke My Heart.” If you like what you hear, New West Records has just released Before the Revolution – The Best Of 1998-2011 an impressive collection that […]
Son Volt – Honky Tonk
Son Volt released their latest album, Honky Tonk, earlier this week.  Eli and I both are liking it, so we’re going to offer you two reviews for the price of one.  First, here are Eli’s thoughts. “There is a world of wisdom inside a fiddle tuneâ€- Jay Farrar, Down the Highway Honky Tonk is a […]
Mayer’s Playlist for February 2013, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH On My Mind, In My Heart, by Jesse Dee Who’d have thought that a kid from Arlington Massachusetts could so brilliantly channel Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Al Green? Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jesse Dee. Over the course of 11 tracks, Dee rocks, rolls, reels and strolls as if he was […]
Monday Morning Video: Kevin Gordon
The word “epic†probably gets bandied about a bit too much. It seems appropriate, however, when discussing Kevin Gordon’s “Colfax/Step in Time.†With a brilliant literary style, Gordon chronicles a young boy in the South during the 1970’s. As the song progresses, he touches on everything from young lust to the dark side of the […]
The Mavericks – In Time
In general I have to say I’m really not one of those people who believe in reincarnation. Â Yet when I listen to Raul Malo out in front of The Mavericks I feel like I”m channeling some lonely young woman socialite in pre-revolutionary Havana. Â Malo’s voice is just so….dreamy. Â And the band’s sound is just so….timeless. […]