Move over Bonnaroo. Step aside Coachella. With crowd estimates hovering around 750,000 this year, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is now the country’s largest music event. And it’s free. Three days, 6 stages, 80 acts with a broad range of appeal, all courtesy of Warren Hellman, a local investment banker and philanthropist. With that many sets of […]
Lucero- 1372 Overton Park, GIVEAWAY!
Critics often throw around the title “best American rock bandâ€, usually in relation to outfits like the Drive-By Truckers, My Morning Jacket, or Wilco.  Who am I to disappoint? So I’ll say it, 1372 Overton Park is Lucero’s entrance into that league. It’s a straight up American rock and roll classic and I dare you […]
The Band Of Heathens – One Foot In The Ether
Wikipedia defines Americana as “artifacts related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States.” By that, the latest effort from The Band Of Heathens is about as close to a definitive musical interpretation of Americana as you can get. One Foot In The Ether has a little something for everyone who’s […]
The Takers – Taker Easy
Being an obnoxious Texan, it’s often easy to assume that the majority of bands who know how to produce some seriously rockin’ country music reside within the boundaries of my great state. That’s as untrue as it is untrue, I admit. There are many guitar slingin’ outlaws that know how to cry in their beer […]
Readers’ Pick: Trailer II by Chris Knight
Twangville readers picked ‘Trailer II’ by Chris Knight as their favorite release for week of September 15, 2009. Recorded back in 1996 in a singlewide trailer parked near his hometown of Slaughters, Kentucky, ‘Trailer II’ is part two of a now legendary set of recordings. Their legend has grown through various bootlegs, leaks, and performances […]
Win Big: Rosanne Cash
It is hard to top the story behind Rosanne Cash‘s latest release entitled The List. Her father, the legendary Johnny Cash, was concerned that a young Rosanne wasn’t connecting with the rich country music heritage. So he made her a list.
Guy Clark- Somedays the Song Writes You
There are songwriters that are so prolific, that they write a song a day. Maybe once a week, they write a good one. The difficulty then comes in figuring which ones are really good. Guy Clark is not that kind of songwriter. He is a true craftsman in every sense of the word. Working on […]
From Texas to Nashville: Seth James & Amanda Shires
A couple of recent releases have provided great examples of records that were made by Texan artists in Music City. People often mistakenly – and lazily – equate any country music made in Nashville to the slick pop style that is featured on Top 40 Country radio. For those paying attention, these two albums should […]
Live Recap – Red Dirt Round-Up (Ft. Worth, TX)
This past Sunday, I had the privilege of attending the 4th annual Red Dirt Round-Up hosted by Cross Canadian Ragweed in the Ft. Worth Stockyards (right next to Billy Bob’s). It was a fantastic time, and as usual, it made for some great people watching. Below are some thoughts: Sorry, I have tried. I just […]
The Belleville Outfit – Live at Yoshi’s
One of the signs I look for in really good musicians is their ability to play to the audience, both the crowd that particular night as well as the nuances of a venue. The Belleville Outfit played Yoshi’s jazz club in San Francisco Monday night and became my poster child for just how to execute […]