Taj Mahal just keeps doing great music. This master, at 83, continues to show that he, like his namesake building, is a wonder of the world. To say that Taj Mahal has been around for a long time is an understatement. He was raised in Massachusetts in a musical household and gained an appreciation not […]
Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart & Guy Davis – Fight On! True Blues Vol.2
A niece once pronounced to me that all the great blues musicians are dead. Alvin Youngblood Hart, Guy Davis and Corey Harris show that’s not true, as they are among the best blues masters of my own generation. With Fight On! True Blues Vol. 2, these masters have created an acoustic blues timepiece that is […]
Rick Vito – Slidemaster
If you’re like me, and you love some slide guitar, commsummate musician and sideman Rick Vito has an offering for you. Vito, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1987 until 1991, and who toured or sat in on recordings with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall, John Fogerty, Bob Seger (Vito played […]
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Future Soul
If you’re reading this, it’s a safe bet you know about the Tedeschi Trucks Band: a couple of hotshot solo artists who merged their bands and their lives and have proven the idiom that one plus one can equal three. They have a new studio album out next week, Future Soul. There’s an important piece […]
The Twangville Early 2026 Preview
The Dreamin’ Kind by Langhorne Slim (16 Jan) Langhorne Slim cranks up the electric guitars on his newest release. Yet while the sound may be different, the songs remain the same – brilliant sing-along anthems that don’t shy away from the darker side of humanity. From start to finish, he wears his heart on his […]
Mayer’s Picks, More 2025 Favorites
Here, in no particular order, are more favorites from 2025.
GA-20 – Orphans
About 12 years ago I caught a Charlie Musselwhite show at Blues Alley, DC’s great jazz club (that occasionally features blues artists lately). Musselwhite of course was great, but the young lead guitarist, Matthew Stubbs, piqued my intrest so much I sought out his early solo albums – Soul Bender and Medford & Main. What […]
Chestnut Vibes on a Saturday Night – A Boston Playlist
Promised Land, Ward Hayden and the Outliers (from the Faster Horses Recordings release Little By Little) On Little By Little, Ward Hayden and the Outliers take on Bruce Springsteen’s songs with both respect and imagination, reshaping them in their distinctive country style. Hayden’s expressive vocals and the band’s warm, rootsy sound give these classics new […]
AmericanaFest 2025, Mayer’s Picks (Part 1)
kirby baby Two sets from Brooklyn’s kirby baby meant double the proof that his razor-edged indie rock songs are built for live performance. Whether solo or with his full band—I saw both—the material from his new album crackled with the same intensity. JADE BIRD Bird’s magnetic presence commanded Third Man Records’ legendary Blue Room as […]
Ryan Lee Crosby on His Practice Regime and Working a Musician’s Hours
Blues artist Ryan Lee Crosby talks about why not rehearsing can be a good thing and why he tries to stay connected to an overall sense of wellness and abundance.