Someone once said, maybe it was Ray Wylie Hubbard, that, “good poets didn’t have good childhoods.” I don’t know about her childhood, but Cashavelly Morrison has had her share of traumatic experiences and the emotional journey of acceptance is reflected in her new album, Metamorphosis. Morrison started her professional career as a dancer, but after […]
Jacob Groopman – Through the Gates
I love it when musicians do musical side projects. It usually means they’re passionate enough about something they’ve made time for it despite all the other demands for their attention, and the result generally reflects that passion. Such is the case with the album from Front Country multi-instrumentalist guitar player Jacob Groopman, entitled Through the […]
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2021 (So Far), the Songs
Breaking a Heart/The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow, Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, and Jon Randall (from the Sony Music Nashville release The Marfa Tapes) If you thought their song “Tin Man” was achingly beautiful, they’ve got a few more from their time in Marfa that just might make your eyes a little misty. I couldn’t decide […]
Mayer’s Picks – the Best of 2021 (So Far), the Albums
J.T. by Steve Earle & The Dukes Steve Earle’s moving tribute to his late son Justin Townes Earle is an emotional gut punch. Yet beyond the tragedy of the younger Earle’s passing, the elder Earle’s performances of his son’s songs highlight their shared gift of songwriting and storytelling mastery. Be warned, though, that the closing […]
John R. Miller – Depreciated
“Lookin’ over my shoulder, hopin’ nobody told her, I’m back in town.” So goes the chorus on the opening track of John R. Miller’s new album, Depreciated. It’s a good introduction to a loose theme that you can’t go home. And even if you could, maybe you shouldn’t. He wraps those observations up in a […]
Michigan Rattlers – That Kind of Life
Ok I admit it. I am late to this party. However, I would rather be late than never to have partied at all. I have just discovered The Michigan Rattlers and their Jangly Midwest by way of LA Rock and Roll brilliance. There newest release is “That Kind of Lifeâ€, and it is comprised of […]
Todd Snider on Busking, Ruminating, and Dip Shit Open Mic Talk
Singer-songwriter Todd Snider talks about the lower middle of the folk circuit, a tour bus fire, and Hayes Carll.
Mayer’s Playlist for Spring 2021, Part 2
The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, and Jack Ingram (from the Vanner Records/RCA Nashville release The Marfa Tapes) Lambert, Randall, and Ingram. Kind of sounds like a law firm, doesn’t it? In this case it’s a trio of songwriters who have just released some intimate recordings from their writing retreats in Marfa, […]
Monday Morning Video – Goodnight, Texas “Dearest Sarah”
Back in 2014, Goodnight, Texas released the album Uncle John Farquhar, a series of stories set in the Civil War era. Among them was a song based on a letter that soldier Sullivan Ballou wrote to his wife Sarah shortly before his death at the Battle of Bull Run in 1861. Sarah my love for […]
Korby Lenker – Man In the Maroon
Many, many years ago I was gifted a high-end chocolate sampler that ranged from toothachingly sweet, milk chocolate to a bitter, floral 90% sample. It opened my eyes to how wide an experience chocolate could deliver. I had that same observation with Korby Lenker’s new album, Man In the Maroon. Yes, it’s all roots, folkie […]