John Hiatt has long been one of the mainstays of Americana music. Throughout his long career, Hiatt has been known for great songwriting and musicianship, but of all his earthy Americana releases, Terms of My Surrender is certainly his grittiest and arguably his most enjoyable work to date. Despite some early success as a songwriter, Hiatt was […]
Woody Guthrie in New York City
Woody Guthrie has a storied place in music history. He is one of those touchstones that continues to inspire both musicians and activists around the world. Heck even the poor souls folks who aren’t familiar with Guthrie have undoubtedly sung a few verses of his seminal “This Land Is Your Land.†Although he is most […]
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2014, So Far (the Albums)
The year is off to a strong start and I expect that it will only get better. Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite releases from the first half of 2014. SOMEWHERE ELSE by LYDIA LOVELESS “Simply bad-ass” is the phrase that overwhelms my thinking every time I give this album a […]
Monday Morning Video: Locals Covering Locals ’round Boston
Our friends at Red Line Roots spearheaded a really cool project this past spring. With support from the Club Passim Iguana Fund, they invited a plethora of local artists to cover one another’s songs. Locals Covering Locals, the resulting collection, is now available for download. Even better, you can get it for free here. I […]
Classic African American Songsters from Smithsonian Folkways
It’s often said that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. Â The implication is this is a bad thing. Â It may be in many settings, but in music it’s more the case that those who know history love to repeat it. Â Shortly after World War II there was a concerted effort to […]
Anna Lynch – Anna Lynch
In the last couple of weeks I’ve written about North Of Nashville and True North. Â Unwittingly, I was leading up to this week’s review–Anna Lynch. Â As residents of Anchorage, Alaska, Anna and her bandmates are waaaay north of Nashville. Â You’d never know that by listening to Anna’s self-titled release, though. Â It has love songs and […]
True North – Elsebound
For the first few decades of bluegrass music, it tended to lean toward the high, lonesome sound invented by Bill Monroe, or an old-timey vibe like the Carter Family or the Osborne Brothers.  Then in the 70’s a few artists emerged that pushed the boundaries of the genre; John Hartford, New Grass Revival, Hot Rize, to name […]
Katie Deter – The Brooklyn Sessions
It isn’t every day that a sixteen year old singer songwriter can captivate a producer through a social media post. In fact, the same would go for a 26 year old songwriter. However, that is exactly what happened in this case. When Brooklyn based producer/musician Brian Murphy saw a video of Katie performing posted on […]
More Than a Feeling: A Special Boston Playlist*
FEATURED ALBUMS Smith & Weeden, by Smith & Weeden It’s always a treat to stumble across a band that, quite simply, sounds like they are having fun. Such is the case with the Providence-based quartet* Smith and Weeden, whose songs run the gamut from harmony-laced country to guitar-fueled rock. In the country category are ambling […]
Mayer’s Playlist for April 2014, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTHS Parker Millsap, by Parker Millsap What is it about Oklahoma? As if the state’s musical credibility weren’t long ago established, there’s been a surge of great young artists emerging from the state. Count Parker Millsap among ’em. Millsap blends gospel, bluegrass and folk to perfection all the while filling his songs […]