Dave Landreth of Canadian roots-rock duo The Bros. Landreth talks about crossing the 500k miles threshold in their tour van “Chevy Chase” and the value of having a friend who helps musician buddies when they’re “between gigs”.
Mayer’s Picks – Best Albums of 2025, Boston/Dallas Edition
I live in NYC these days but am fortunate to be connected to the music scenes of two cities in which I previously lived – Boston and Dallas. Artists from both metropolitan areas have released some exceptional music this year. Here are a few favorites. Love it local. LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER (BOSTON YOU’RE MY […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best of 2025, the Albums
HONORARY 2025 PICK: No Hard Feeling by Balto Released on December 20, 2024—too late for my 2024 list, but technically not a 2025 album—Balto’s surprise farewell record lives in an in-between space that mirrors the band’s own bittersweet moment. Songs like the epic “Big City” and the blistering “Black Snake, Mojave Blues” build from restraint […]
Monday Morning Video – Charlie Robison “It’s New Years Day”
We don’t flip the calendar to another year until Thursday but let’s get ready to launch into 2026 with this gem from the late Charlie Robison. It’s New Year’s Day here on the border, and it’s always been this wayI never do the things I oughta, think I’ll stay, it’s New Year’s Day
Rod Picott Has Left the Road—but Not the Work
For a quarter century, Rod Picott lived the life his songs describe. He drove the long miles, played the rooms that smelled of beer and dust, and wrote from the inside of working days that left their marks on the body. Now 61, Picott has stepped away from touring—not from music, and certainly not from […]
Tommy Womack – Live a Little
Tommy Womack has never been interested in polish for its own sake. Across decades of records, he’s built a reputation on candor, dry humor, and a songwriter’s instinct for finding grace in the wreckage of ordinary life. Live a Little, his new album, feels like a distilled version of that ethos. At its core, it […]
Monday Morning Video – Joe Ely
It’s hard to overstate Joe Ely’s influence. When your admirers range from Bruce Springsteen to the Clash, it says everything about both your reach and your range. Ely helped lay the groundwork for what became alt-country/Americana—starting with the Flatlanders—and then spent the rest of his career embodying Texas music in its fullest sense: folk storytelling, […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall/Winter 2025, Part 2
Little Red Rider, Kathleen Edwards (from the Dualtone Records release Billionaire) The music world is a better place when Kathleen Edwards is writing and performing. It’s been said before, but Billionaire makes it worth repeating. Edwards has never been one to mince words. Her storytelling carries a truthfulness built on specific details and brutal honesty, […]
Avery Ballotta of Damn Tall Buildings on Outdoor Rehearsals and Why Time Is Your Friend
Avery Ballotta, violinist and vocalist in trio Damn Tall Buildings, talks about working as a Cultural Ambassador with the U.S. State Dept. and the “Create, Craft, Release, Repeat” approach.
Monday Morning Video – Raul Malo
Another tremendous voice in American music has gone silent with the passing of Raul Malo, co-founder and lead singer of The Mavericks. The band rooted itself in country but seamlessly mixed in elements of Cuban son and Tex-Mex, creating a sound entirely their own. From life-of-the-party anthems like “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me […]