We’re taking Twangville on the road this fall — and you’re invited! We’re thrilled to unveil our Fall Showcase Series: seven distinct nights of live music across three states. We’ve put together an exceptional lineup of songwriters, roots revivalists, and road-tested troubadours, from folk to rock ’n’ roll and plenty in between. From a cozy […]
Clayton Nile Young on Working at the Mayo Clinic and Learning to Talk While Tuning
Singer-songwriter Clayton Nile Young talks about his tour meal strategy — since he doesn’t hit the road often, he treats touring like a vacation and eats accordingly. He recalls the 2023 house show in Jacksonville that became his first gig, which left him instantly hooked. Young also shares the story behind his first song, “Heart vs Mind,” written while he was in radiation therapy school.
Monday Morning Video – The Northern Belle
It’s been two years since Oslo’s The Northern Belle put out an album — 2024’s Bats in the Attic — and the follow-up, Even Cowgirls Get Sad, arrives August 21. For this latest release, Andreassen brought together some talented friends from across the Norwegian Americana community. The music is easy-going, anchored by the crystalline voice […]
Afton Wolfe & the Snake Hunters Video Premiere – Cyclone
I think everyone knows someone who, when they enter the room, starts to add color to the discussion. Not the primary color, Jackson Pollack splat of conspiracy or disproven theory, but the rich tint that binds various hues together into a well-formed montage. Nashvillian, by way of several points in the Deep South, Afton Wolfe […]
Admiral Radio on a Crab Bake-Inspired First Song and the Value of Cover Gigs
Admiral Radio’s Coty Hoover and Becca Smith, a husband-and-wife Americana duo from South Carolina, share their trick for eating well on tour, recall a scare that nearly totaled the band’s touring van outside St. Louis, and talk about the philosophy that’s guided their career since day one.
Ruby Dice – Take Me Back
Like John Muir’s move to Yosemite Valley or E.B. White’s move to a Maine farm, sometimes a simple next step in life’s journey becomes the focus of a writer’s career. Clearly without the hindsight of those two examples, I wonder if a similar pivot is happening with Gunnison, Colorado-borne, but now resident of Austin, bassist […]
Lisa Bouchelle on a Big Tour Mistake and Exercising Her ‘Poetic License’
Singer-songwriter Lisa Bouchelle recalls winning a talent contest at just four years old, dressed as an American flag at a family campground — a moment that showed music could bring people together. She shares how a friendship with Blues Traveler’s John Popper began, when he worried about her driving solo while opening for the band on her first tour. Bouchelle also talks about why it’s good to set a goal that’s just beyond the horizon.
Monday Morning Video – Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons left behind almost no video of his performances so any surviving footage is worth watching on that basis alone. That this clip comes from just seven months before his death only adds to its significance. It’s from a late February 1973 show at Liberty Hall in Houston, with the Fallen Angels — Emmylou […]
Bronwyn – Rattlin’ Bones
It seems like there are two trajectories young bluegrass musicians follow when they break into awareness by the broader Americana audience. One arc is to toil away for years perfecting your entire craft before bursting onto the scene with arena shows. I’m looking at you Billy and Molly. The other, more linear path, is exemplified […]
Monday Morning Video – Maggie Rose & Old Crow Medicine Show
What happens when you pair Maggie Rose’s voice with Old Crow Medicine Show’s string-band muscle and turn them loose on John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery.” Give a listen and find out.