Blues singer and guitarist Larry McCray talks about touring in “Nellie Bell”, the time the police drove him to a gig, and the importance of having a trusted legal advisor.
Ally Venable on A Day Spent Waitressing and Now Living Out Her Dreams
Blues-rock artist Ally Venable talks about early gigs at coffee shops, grocery stores, crawfish stands, and flatbed trailers and the importance of not taking the music business personally.
Alexis P. Suter Band – Just Stay High
Alexis P. Suter is a living embodiment of the Blues. She is a powerful voiced force, and her new album, Just Stay High, shows why she is among the leading vocalists on the Blues scene today – an heiress, along with Mavis Staples, Shemekia Copeland, Nora Jean Wallace and a select few others, to the […]
Carolyn Wonderland – Truth Is
As some of you are already aware (based on your selection last week as Reader’s Pick), Carolyn Wonderland can play a wicked steel guitar. And on her newest release, Truth Is, she plays with attitude. Hailing originally from Houston, Wonderland didn’t have it easy. A high school dropout, she moved to Austin to pursue her […]
Tierinii Jackson of Southern Avenue on Living Online and Why the Band Rarely Practices
Singer Tierinii Jackson of Memphis blues and soul band Southern Avenue talks about why saying no is just as powerful as saying yes and the importance of drinking water.
Southern Avenue – Family
If you’re looking for a prescription to help get by in these darkish times, perhaps some unbridled optimism to offset the rancor that is so prevalent today, then Southern Avenue’s new Family might be just what the doctor ordered. When blues guitarist Ori Naftaly left his native Israel to compete in the International Blues Challenge […]
SXSW 2025: The Sounds, Part 1
JOHN FOGERTY “I just got my songs back and I’m gonna play every one of them,” said Fogerty at the start of his show, celebrating the return of his song publishing rights. He wasn’t kidding. He and his band cranked through hit after hit, culminating with a bruising “Fortunate Son”. The icing on the cake? […]
American Aquarium’s Road Trip to Raleigh 2025
Every year the first weekend of February B. J. Barham hosts American Aquarium’s Road Trip to Raleigh. In fact, this year was the Tenth anniversary of Road Trip. As usual it was held at Lincoln Theater in downtown Raleigh. It was the second time I attended, with last year being my first. One thing for […]
Cristina Vane – Hear My Call
It’s not that unusual for roots artists (blues, rock, bluegrass, country) to develop their sound and hone their chops in America before finding a strong audience in Europe. What’s much rarer is for a musician to find their musical calling in Europe before coming to the US to build their career. That’s just what Cristina […]
The Twangville Early 2025 Preview
Astrovan: The Love Song Vignettes by Humbird (10 Jan) Humbird’s slow trickling of singles over the past couple months has us primed for their newest full length. Landing somewhere musically between Bjork and Neil Young, these short tunes showcase Siri Undlin’s sweet vocals. (Todd Mathis) Bloom by Larkin Poe (24 Jan) Megan and Rebecca Lovell […]