At one point early in his set Ray Wylie Hubbard borrowed a line form one of his songs and said, “Any day my gratitude is above my expectations is a good day. Today has been a good dayâ€. It was indeed a good night. The event took place at Songbirds in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Songbirds is […]
The Berkshires Seemed Dreamlike – A Special Boston Playlist (Part 1)
All Be Gone, Buffalo Tom (from the Schoolkids Records release Quiet and Peace) One of rock and roll’s great debates is whether to burn out or fade away. There’s a third option, though. Buffalo Tom make the point that it is possible for rock and roll to mature gracefully while still maintaining an edge. In […]
Mark Otis Selby – Naked Sessions
I’m a sucker for a really good cover song. Â The best ones take the same chord progressions and lyrics and convey an entirely different experience. Â Think Jimi Hendrix All Along the Watchtower compared to the original Dylan version. Â Now turn that around, where you’ve heard the second version, and now you get the original, lightly […]
Monday Morning Video – Brother Dege
Late Saturday night at this year’s SXSW, I was making my way back to the hotel after the official showcases had wound down. Or so I thought. Walking by Antone’s I heard the unmistakable sound of a slide guitar. It would have been wrong to not step in and check it out, right? Inside I […]
SXSW 2018 – The Sounds, Part 3
TERRA LIGHTFOOT If there was one artist on my “do not miss” list this year it was Terra Lightfoot. I first saw her at SXSW a few years back and she just keeps getting better and better. The combination of her voice, songs and guitar playing makes for a potent rock and roll cocktail. JAIMEE […]
Paul Thorn – Don’t Let the Devil Ride
As many before me have observed, there’s a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.  Particularly  when applied to many congregations in the American South, that observation pertains as much to the music as it does the time of day.  Many hymns originated in the late 19th century as verses created or borrowed from Christian […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Winter 2018, Part 1
Time Will Be the Healer, Glen Hansard (from the Anti- Records release Between Two Shores) Songwriting is arguably a numbers game. For many artists, the quantity of songs released is a fraction of those that are written. It’s a shame, really, as some quality songs can get left on the shelf gathering dust. For his […]
Looking Back at the 2018 UK Americana Music Awards
Hackney Empire is one of those gorgeous spaces that hides in a city. Its exterior – completely deceiving, just another big, boxy building on a street of big, boxy buildings, but its interior – completely transporting. It’s one of those spectacular theaters that just seems to go up and up and up – shallow but […]
Monday Morning Video – Folk Alliance 2018 Video Companion
We’ll wrap up our Folk Alliance International coverage with a collection of videos from this year’s conference. Most of these performances are from the official performances that took place in hotel ballrooms but you’ll see a few from the late night hotel room showcases. This video playlist includes Colter Wall, John Gorka, Jaimee Harris, John […]
Folk Alliance 2018 – Mayer’s Picks, Part 2
Ruby BootsNashville by way of Australia singer-songwriter Ruby Boots was celebrating the release of her just released Bloodshot Records debut. She brought together an infectious enthusiasm with stellar songs, mostly about relationships, that matched catchy melodies with lyrical fervor. Una and Bob WalkenhorstThere aren’t many father-daughter duos in music. Then again, there aren’t many songwriters […]