Twangville

A music blog featuring Alt-Country, Americana, Indie, Rock, Folk & Blues. Est. 2005.

Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2009, Part 2

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I’ve got some catching up to do. A heavy travel schedule has kept me from my monthly playlist duties. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had the pleasure to visit some impressive places. Even better, I’ve had plenty of great new music to keep me company along the way. Well, it’s time to make up for […]

Curtis Harvey – Box of Stones

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Many great artists produce music that is inspiring without being technically gifted vocalists. Kris Kristofferson and Ryan Bingham have produced two of the year’s best albums while displaying vocals that few would term “smooth”. The largely acoustic solo debut from Curtis Harvey (Myspace), Box of Stones (FatCat), successfully showcsaes the same ability to move the […]

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2009

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Move over Bonnaroo.  Step aside Coachella.  With crowd estimates hovering around 750,000 this year, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is now the country’s largest music event.  And it’s free.  Three days, 6 stages, 80 acts with a broad range of appeal, all courtesy of Warren Hellman, a local investment banker and philanthropist.  With that many sets of […]

Michael Ford Jr. & The Apache Relay

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The record by relatively new act, Michael Ford Jr. & The Apache Relay, 1988, is a really focused and well performed set of tunes for a band that hasn’t been together for very long. The bio of the band really enhances the overall experience of listening to 1988. When you find that Michael Ford Jr. […]

Twangville Best So Far ’09: The Songs

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Sometimes it is the song that really matters, as illustrated by these Twangville pick songs so far in 2009. Mayer’s Pick: “Good” by Jason Isbell (from the Lightning Rod Records release Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit) It’s hard to escape the onslaught of guitars in this furious rocker. They are the musical equivalent of […]

Sarah Jarosz – Song Up In Her Head

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Five years ago a skinny 13-year-old in black high tops took the stage at Old Settler’s Music Fest in Austin and proceeded to leave me, and most of the crowd, slack-jawed at her mandolin skills and innate stage presence.  Fast forward to today and Sarah Jarosz has performed with some of the biggest names in […]

Red Stick Ramblers – My suitcase is Always Packed

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The Red Stick Ramblers derive their name from where their hometown, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Their music is also derived from the cultural influences of their native region. Baton Rouge is located along a corridor that runs from New Orleans to Houston. Consequently the Red Stick Ramblers deliver an eclectic mix of Zydeco, Country, Bluegrass and […]

Win Big: Sara Watkins

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“I just say that I grew up in a bluegrass band that became something else,” says Sara Watkins to describe her time spent with Nickel Creek. Watkins stretches out on her self-titled newly released solo outing. Recorded in Nashville and LA with producer John Paul Jones (he of Led Zeppelin fame), the album features tracks […]

Old Settler’s Music Festival Highlights

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While my colleagues have regaled you with tales and reviews of the annual over-indulgence in Austin known as South by Southwest, I’ve found myself over the past few years gravitating to the far, far less heralded (and far, far less crowded) Old Settler’s Music Festival a couple of weeks later in the month.  Beating out […]