Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the annual Americana Music Awards and continuing through four days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music. LUCINDA WILLIAMS The Americana Conference instituted a new tradition this year: […]
Americana 2013: The Sounds, Part 1
Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the annual Americana Music Awards and continuing through four days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music. PATRICK SWEANY Sweany delivered what was, hands down, my favorite showcase […]
Samantha Fish – Black Wind Howlin’
Samantha Fish is a precocious young guitarist and singer with the wind – the howlin’ black wind – at her back. At 24, the Kansas City native already has a Blues Music Award under her belt for Best New Artist Debut for her 2011 album Runaway. Along with British blues-rocker Dani Wilde and Otis Taylor’s […]
Shawn Holt and the Teardrops – Daddy Told Me
Keeping it in the family, Shawn Holt, son of the late blues icon Magic Slim, is the latest of a number of sons of famous fathers to try to break into the music industry. Holt took over as front man for his father’s band earlier this year when Magic Slim was hospitalized hours before opening […]
MonkeyJunk – All Frequencies
In those odd moments when you’re craving funk, I mean, the lost art of funk seventies style, with the rhythm and beat that make you want to groove, MonkeyJunk can fill that prescription. The Ottawa, Canada-based trio of Steve Marriner, Tony D and Matt Sobb are called blues rockers, but their latest release, All Frequencies, […]
North Mississippi Allstars – World Boogie Is Coming
North Mississippi Allstars has been tearing it up for 17 years. From their studio recordings, with their unique blend of traditional roots and edgy rock, to their thundering live performances, featuring drumlines and bizarre instrumentation from electric washboards to cigar box guitars and a stringed instrument made from a coffee can on a stick, the […]
The Muscle Shoals Music Guide, Part 1
Twangville has teamed up with Muscle Shoals musician Jimbo Hart, known to many for his work with Jason Isbell and others, to highlight the many great artists that call Muscle Shoals home. DOC DAILEY AND MAGNOLIA DEVILTwangville Says: If you haven’t heard Doc Dailey and Magnolia Devil, you might think they were recording in the […]
David Bromberg – Only Slightly Mad
Music enthusiasts at the 2013 Philadelphia Folk Festival got to see some great moments. They got to see Fairport Convention folker Richard Thompson rock out as if making a statement that he can shred with the most aggressive electric guitar slingers in the land. They also got to see a young ukelele virtuoso from Hawaii, Jake […]
Monday Morning Video: Shakey Graves
Austin’s Shakey Graves is a one-man band extraordinaire, crafting a sound that is raw yet refined. Here’s the evidence.
Mayer’s Playlist for July and August 2013, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Close to the Floor, by Patrick Sweany They say that great art is often the result of pain and adversity. It is a blessing and a curse. A blessing that we get to share in the work that results, a curse that the artist’s suffering lies at the root of the […]