How was your Record Store Day? Mine was fine, thanks. Our friends at Bloodshot made it all the better with an awesome live release, recorded at their 15th Anniversary celebration in Chicago on September 12th, 2009. Beyond being a great music collection, it’s a great reminder as to why Bloodshot is one of our favorite […]
The Lost Pines – Sweet Honey
Summertime requires some bluegrass on the Most Played list on the iPod of any hard-core Americana fan. Â You just can’t beat the combination of instrumental jams and light-hearted harmonies with some gin-laced lemonade on a sunny weekend afternoon. Â With that in mind, it’s good timing for the release of Austin-based The Lost Pines second album, […]
Mayer's Playlist for Mar/Apr 2011
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: A Day at the Pass, by Jill Sobule and John Doe What happens when you take two distinctive singer-songwriters and put them in the studio for a day with a group of talented musicians. Get your hands on a copy of this stellar release and you’ll have your answer. The collection […]
Old Settler’s Music Festival 2011 Review
Every year at this time, a couple of weeks after all the glitterati have left South By, one of the best music festivals in the country kicks off 20 minutes outside of Austin: the Old Settler’s Music Festival. Â It’s a great mix of old and new talent, with enough people to get a good vibe […]
Readers’ Pick: Lucinda Williams, “Blessedâ€
READERS PICK: MARCH 2011 Twangville readers recently picked Lucinda Williams Blessed as their favorite album of March 2011. It seems like each time Williams releases a new album critics call it the best since Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. I guess that’s the consequence of having a Grammy-winning album. While comparisons will forever be […]
The Band Of Heathens – Top Hat Crown & the Clapmaster’s Son
I’m beginning to think The Band of Heathens are a little bit like Benjamin Button. Â Many well-known bands start with critically acclaimed albums, move to spending more time on the road, then abandon studio releases all together to milk their live performances. Â The Heathens started as a live-only phenomena and now, with their third release, […]
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Here we Rest
I almost didn’t make it past the first song. “Alabama Pines”. Usually that would have bad conotations, but in this case the song was absolutely mesmerizing. It is a song centered around the area of Alabama where I grew up. It is not the first Isbell penned song to have such an impact. “Dress Blues”, […]
SXSW 2011: The Video Companion
I got a bit carried away with the videos, compiling 26 great videos captured live at SXSW. Not surprisingly, we kick things off with the performance that introduced me to Maxim Ludwig & the Santa Fe Seven. From there, a three-fer from Alejandro Escovedo’s special Sunday night gig at the legendary Continental Club. We’ve got […]
SXSW 2011: The Sounds, Part 2
Kasey Anderson & the Honkies Music is often about improvisation. In this case, however, it wasn’t the type of improvisation that one would expect. When the bass drum kept slipping across the cement floor, the band grabbed a keg to hold it in place. When that didn’t work, Anderson took a seat on the keg […]
SXSW 2011: The Sounds, Part 1
Maxim Ludwig & the Santa Fe Seven If I were to highlight only one band from SXSW, this would be this one. To say that Ludwig is high energy simply doesn’t do him justice. He exudes enthusiasm with a confidence and maturity that belies his age. His songs have a familiar quality to them, a […]