Fate can be an interesting topic. You can accept it as the reason things happen, or question whether you can change it. In the case of lifelong friends Molly Rochelson and Sally Buice, both viewpoints feature in their sophomore album, Born Strangers. The pre-ordained side comes to bear as the Knoxville-raised women went their separate […]
Chip’s Best of 2023
I had the same problem with my year end rankings as always. There were at least 35 albums worthy of the top 25. As you can see that math only works for congressmen and poker hustlers. I focused the top 25 on Americana and Roots music. To have included Indie and Alternative would have been […]
Kristen Grainger & True North – Fear of Falling Stars
One of the benefits of this writing gig is I get exposed to musicians who have loads of talent, but aren’t well known outside their corner of the world. A great example of that is Oregon-based Kristen Grainger & True North. They just released their latest album, Fear of Falling Stars. Weaving between folk and […]
East Nash Grass Video Premiere
New Video from East Nash Grass
Phoebe Hunt on Rental Car Headaches and Transforming Screen Time to String Time
Singer, songwriter, and fiddle player Phoebe Hunt talks about why she became a vegetarian, life running two businesses, and why different types of gigs each have their own place.
Steep Canyon Rangers – Morning Shift
The sun was in my eyes. Or maybe more appropriately, the banjo was in my ear. Like many people I’m sure, my first exposure to North Carolina’s Steep Canyon Rangers was the first record they did with Steve Martin. It established them in my mind as a bluegrass band, and then they proceeded to build […]
Crowes Pasture – Don’t Blink
I love a good origin story. In the case of Massachusetts’ duo Crowes Pasture, they met in their careers as corporate attorneys. Guitarist Andy Rogovin and banjoist Monique Byrne, by now married, didn’t really discover their vocal harmony talent until they started singing to their young kids. They describe their music as a “banjo-guitar romance”, […]
Birds of Play – Birdsongs of the American West
There are plenty of examples where a musician’s geographical home bears no resemblance to the music they’ve made their own. City boys playing outstanding country music or kids from Minnesota inhabiting the sounds of musica Norteña from Mexico, for example. In the case of western Colorado-based, string band Birds of Play, the relationship seems to […]
Brewflies Premiere – Fortunate Son
Take four musical friends who played together and separately for thirty-plus years, most of it on the road and supporting everyone from The Pogues to Del McCoury, then pull the rug out from under them, keep them separated and at home, and what do you get. By now, that pandemic story has become the impetus […]
The Scooches – Lift You Up
Not everyone embraces the use of the word Americana to describe the genre(s) of music that make up the typical Twangvillian playlist, especially when it includes certain strains of country music. But when a record touches on gospel, bluegrass, Dixieland, R&B, and jazz…what else are you going to call it? That’s exactly the case with […]