Stand Back! Here Comes Charlie Musselwhite … again! At 78, Musselwhite shows with Mississippi Son that he is still in peak form and not ready for retirement any time soon. In fact, this simple, unvarnished effort may rival his best releases ever. The grand master of living blues harp players, Musselwhite’s first album, Stand Back! […]
Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder have a history going back nearly 60 years, which officially makes Get On Board a long-awaited reunion – and something to cherish. With the profound contributions and pedigrees of Mahal and Cooder, we expect brilliance, and the album more than meets those expectations. In the mid-1960s, when Ry Cooder was […]
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters – Mercy Me
There are a few people whose artistry separates them from the many excellent artists plying their trade and lifts them to a level of their own. With every brush stroke, word written or note played, their mastery shines through. Ronnie Earl is such an artist. The son of two Holocaust survivors, Earl was born Ronald […]
SXSW 2022 – The Sounds, Part 2
ALLISON RUSSELL Seeing Allison Russell was a transcendental experience. Her songs and performance were glorious in their intensity and emotion. While she brought out the clarinet and banjo for a few songs, she mostly relied on the talented trio of musicians to support her on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and cello. Simply magical. BER One […]
Willie D & the Hip Pockets – Rock, Rhythm & Jazz
For the last decade Willie D, aka William Martin Daniel, Jr., has been injecting his jazz-influenced, soulful saxophone sound into a variety of Austin musical venues and styles. He apparently came by at least some of his artistry via heritage–his dad played sax in several 40’s and 50’s style jazzy dance bands. The culmination of […]
Natalia M. King – Woman Mind Of My Own
Brooklyn-born, Paris-resident Natalia M. King has taken a somewhat circuitous route in developing her musical style. Originally thinking she did not want to play jazz or blues, King started delving into what influenced the music of her youth. She also embarked in a physical, geographic journey to discover herself. It all came together when she […]
Tinsley Ellis on Songwriting and His 6th Grade Talent Show
Blues guitarist Tinsley Ellis talks about working in a medical library and why it’s a good time to be a music listener.
The Twangville Early 2022 Release Preview
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 […]
Bill’s (Belated) Blues-based Best of 2021
Well, here it is again … my inexpert, incomplete review of the best blues albums of 2021. Better late than never. 1. Selwyn Birchwood – Living in a Burning House. A mature masterwork of a young(ish) musician carrying the torch for the next generation of blues greats. 2. Eric Bibb – Dear America. Bibb takes […]
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. […]