As a kid growing up I didn’t like Dolly Parton. She and her musical partner, Porter Wagoner, represented everything I hated about country music at the time. They were well-coifed, fancily dressed, polished, with heavily produced records. Absolutely nothing of value to a teenage boy. Fast forward a few years and she’d shed Porter and, […]
Darlin’ Brando Song Premiere – How It Is
As anyone in the industry can attest, building a life as a musician is not for the faint of heart. In the case of itinerant drummer and vocalist Darlin’ Brando, nee Brandon Goldstein, he’s moved across the country more times than I’ve moved my furniture. After a repeat stint in LA he’s back in Nashville […]
Ruby Dice – Take Me Back
Like John Muir’s move to Yosemite Valley or E.B. White’s move to a Maine farm, sometimes a simple next step in life’s journey becomes the focus of a writer’s career. Clearly without the hindsight of those two examples, I wonder if a similar pivot is happening with Gunnison, Colorado-borne, but now resident of Austin, bassist […]
Monday Morning Video – Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons left behind almost no video of his performances so any surviving footage is worth watching on that basis alone. That this clip comes from just seven months before his death only adds to its significance. It’s from a late February 1973 show at Liberty Hall in Houston, with the Fallen Angels — Emmylou […]
Alicia Blue on Tour Salads and Her Painful First Gig
Singer-songwriter Alicia Blue talks about the inspiration behind the first song she ever wrote, the shift from indirectly paying to play to getting paid for it, and the Bob Dylan quote about destiny that shaped how she guards her own focus.
The Twangville 2026 Album Preview-Side B
Here are some albums that we’re looking forward to hearing in the back half of 2026… Material Witness by William Matheny (10 July) William Matheny brings pure rock and roll spirit to Material Witness, leaning heavy on electric guitars and hearty, driving rhythms. His lyrics crackle with authenticity and a wisened view, proving there’s still […]
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2026 (So Far), the Songs
Don’t Let Go, Fantastic Cat (from the Missing Piece Records release Cat Out of Hell) A scream-along-at-the-top-of-your-lungs anthem about holding on to your dreams. Nothing you can buy can save what you soldSo hold on tight to the light in your soulDon’t look down, baby don’t let… Don’t let go Suffer, Boy Golden (from the […]
Mayer’s Picks – the Best of 2026 (So Far), the Albums
Cat Out of Hell by Fantastic Cat Fantastic Cat’s third album is another classic, nothing but pure pop perfection. Four songwriters with distinct styles blend here in a way that shouldn’t work as well as it does — sharp and spirited in both lyric and melody. And credit where it’s due: any album title that […]
The Palomino Club
If the Ryman is the mother church of country music, North Hollywood’s Palomino was its tent revival/medicine show cousin–a lot more raucous, less bound to tradition, but with no less passion about its spiritual foundation. I had the good fortune last week to attend a private screening of the soon-to-be-released documentary, simply called The Palomino, […]
Charlie Marie on Her Favorite Road Snacks and Why Music Is Her Calling
Rhode Island country singer-songwriter Charlie Marie talks about making this the first year she has earned her entire income from music, the first sync placements of her career with songs set for Dutton Ranch and Ransom Canyon, and why she rehearses alone in front of a mirror.