Meet the new year. Same as the old? Not so much on the music front with a great batch of new music on the horizon. Here are some releases eagerly anticipated by the Twangville posse. Hell on Church Street by Punch Brothers (14 January) The virtuoso string quintet remind us yet again why they are […]
Shawn’s Picks – 2021 Favorite Albums
For the second time in a row we’ve finished a year like no other. On the plus side, all that time at home seems to have upped everyone’s songwriting skills. I can’t remember the last time my first pass at the annual favorites list was so long. The first couple of picks were relatively easy. […]
Sad Daddy Video Premiere – Charlie Pickle
Some bands stay together for years with little or no change to their lineup. Other bands are more amorphous, with different incarnations of lineups performing under different names and band members sitting in on each other’s solo projects. The latter describes Arkansas/Texas quartet, Sad Daddy. Last spring the friends got together at guitarist/vocalist Brian Martin’s […]
Angus Gill – The Scrapbook
We tend to think of country music as a uniquely American style of entertainment. While we’re certainly home for it, there are excellent practitioners of the art all around the world. Such is the case with Angus Gill and his latest album, The Scrapbook. Australian Gill was literally about as far from Nashville as you […]
Old Settler’s Music Festival Preview
One of my personal rites of spring is to head 45 minutes southeast of Austin on the third weekend of April to the Old Settler’s Music Festival. Despite not having the name of an Austin City Limits or Coachella, OSMF has been ranked in the top 10 festivals in the country. There are a number […]
Tony Kamel – Back Down Home
They say you can never go home. Clearly that’s more about the time than the location, but I’ve seen both be possible. Tony Kamel, front man for the Grammy-winning Wood & Wire, seems to be one of those exceptions. At the urging of iconic Texas musician and producer, Bruce Robison, Tony has just released his […]
AJ Lee & Blue Summit – I’ll Come Back
Although not as well known as what’s happening in the Rockies or Appalachians, there’s a strong bluegrass scene in the northern California Bay Area. The most famous product of that community right now is undoubtedly Molly Tuttle. But there are several other emerging talents, notably AJ Lee and her band, Blue Summit. In fact, Lee […]
Joe Troop – Borrowed Time
After being nominated for a Grammy in early 2020 for the debut album of his group, Che Apalache, Joe Troop had plans. When the pandemic hit, though, he pivoted to work alongside the everyday heroes he writes songs about, most notably a migrant assistance program on the border with Mexico. In his spare time he […]
Mayer’s Picks – the Best of 2021 (So Far), the Albums
J.T. by Steve Earle & The Dukes Steve Earle’s moving tribute to his late son Justin Townes Earle is an emotional gut punch. Yet beyond the tragedy of the younger Earle’s passing, the elder Earle’s performances of his son’s songs highlight their shared gift of songwriting and storytelling mastery. Be warned, though, that the closing […]
Soren Staff of Them Coulee Boys on Tortillas, Day Jobs, and a Van Named Clifford
Soren Staff talks about how the band cut their teeth trying to entertain 13-year-olds and how they funded their new record, in part, by holding a hot wing eating contest.