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 […]
Tony Kamel – Live at The Bunker
Over the years, releasing a live album has been a bit of a double-edged sword. Back in the day it gave bands who excelled in front of an audience a chance to show that off. Unfortunately, the sound quality coming off the sound boards back then was suspect, and sometimes just plain bad. Technology has […]
David G. Smith Song Premiere – Green Fire
There’s a long history of social activism by folk musicians dating back at least 100 years and most probably a lot longer than that. In many cases the participation is in events organized by others. With Iowan David G. Smith, however, he puts the active in activism. He schedules about 20% of his gigs in […]
Nathan Evans Fox – Heirloom
Songwriter icon Harlan Howard came to love country music as a kid listening to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio. When he came up with the phrase, “three chords and the truth”, the truth he was referring to was that life in rural America was hard. World War II was over, but prosperity was […]
Justin Osborne from Susto on Tour Van Preferences and Keeping an Open Mind
Singer-songwriter Justin Osborne, from Susto and Susto Stringband, talks about the greatest source of joy in him musical journey and what happened at his first gig.
Hank Alrich – Broken River
It’s well known that the Armadillo World Headquarters was at ground-zero for the Austin music scene in the early 70’s. Gary P. Nunn once noted, “It’s been said that our music was the catalyst that brought the shit-kickers and the hippies together at the Armadillo.” Presumably one of those hippies was Hank Alrich, a California […]
Ben Musser Song Premiere – Sentimental Fever
Like all things artistic, it’s hard to predict where one’s musical muse is going to be. A lot of musicians find a move into some beautiful surroundings provides the necessary inspiration–there’s nothing like Mother Nature to open your mind to the wonders of life. Wyoming resident Ben Musser found the opposite. After spending years in […]
Sam Lewis – Everything’s Fine
Is everything OK? Everything’s fine. Uh-oh. Your interpretive skills are just about to be put to the test. That kind of verbal misdirection became an anchor point for Nashville’s Sam Lewis’ 7th studio album, Everything’s Fine. It can be equally true and false at the same time, like when you’re having a bad day but […]
John Gorka: Quiet Songs, Lasting Echoes
For more than four decades, John Gorka has occupied a distinctive place in American folk music: a songwriter whose work unfolds quietly but lingers deeply. His songs favor careful observation over spectacle, humor alongside gravity, and melodies that invite listeners closer rather than overwhelm them. It is a career built less on flash than on […]