Battle Born, Matthew Ryan (from the self-released Hustle Up Starling) I tend to judge the quality of a year in part based on the caliber of new music unleashed within them. In that light, any year that we get a new album from Matthew Ryan is well on its way to being a good one. […]
Yonder Mountain String Band – Love. Ain’t Love
Lazy, sunny days in a natural amphitheater in the mountains. Â A warm night with the sounds of crickets and cicadas. Â A bluegrass band with its joyful mandolin and happy banjo. Â These are all elements of summer in my experience, and require some of that bluegrass in my playlist. Â One of the best things I heard […]
The Steel Wheels – Wild As We Came Here
A really good stew is hard to describe. Â I mean, on the surface, it’s easy. Â Some meat, some vegetables, in a broth, cooked for a while. Â But it is so much more than that. Â Think of the difference between a Louisiana gumbo, a California cioppino, and a New England chowder. Â They all have seafood, and […]
Jayme Stone – Folklife
Of all the musicians I’ve assumed are safe in their positions of number one in the world at what they do, Bela Fleck is perhaps the one I thought was the most secure.  Until now, there has been little competition in the eclectic, versatile, jazz but also world, folk and bluegrass banjo virtuoso category. But Canadian […]
Front Country – Other Love Songs
Joe Strummer once said, “Rock and roll ain’t about playing all the right notes.” Â I’m pretty sure he was referring to the passion that elevates something good to be something great. Â I happen to think you can be both passionate and really good at what you do. Â Because I’m also pretty sure the Edge never […]
Quiles & Cloud – Shake Me Now
Quiles and Cloud originally formed as a duo. Maria Quiles (Vocals and Guitar) and Rory Cloud (Vocals and Guitar) began playing together in the Bay Area in 2011. Since then they have added Upright Bass player Oscar Westesson. Their new album “Shake Me Now†is being released this week and will hopefully be the launching […]
John Craigie – No Rain, No Rose
There will never be another John Prine. Â But like the jam bands that came after the Grateful Dead, if you’re open to the sprouts that come up in the field they plowed, you can experience some delicious flavors that may not be the original, but they’re tasty nonetheless. Â John Craigie is one such Prine varietal. […]
Taarka – Fading Mystery
About an hour north of Denver sits Lyons, Colorado, on the banks of the St. Vrain river. Â It’s the home of the Planet Bluegrass organization, Rockygrass, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, and other smaller festivals and events. Â Â Which is to say it’s one of the epicenters of Americana music. Â The Enion Pelta-Tiller and David Tiller […]
Rhiannon Giddens – Freedom Highway
Freedom Highway may be the album that followers of the Carolina Chocolate Drops have been waiting for in the fledgling solo career of Rhiannon Giddens. The second of Giddens’ solo efforts, Freedom Highway showcases her songwriting talents in a tour de force demonstrating her ability to move nimbly between roots genres from the primitive, folky jug-band and […]
The Twangville 2017 Release Preview
If the albums scheduled for release over the next few months are any indication, we’re in for a fine year of music. Here are just a few forthcoming long-players that we’re highly anticipating. MOUNT RENRAW by OTIS GIBBS (13 January on Wanamaker Recording Company) Otis Gibbs is one of the most thoughtful songwriters in Americana, […]