Under Swing Set’s influences section on their webpage, Teenage Fanclub and George Jones are listed side by side. Just the kind of spirit that has driven the southern rock and roll movement of the last decade or so, a spirit that owes just as much to R.E.M. as Lynrd Skynrd. Swing Set is the solo […]
Griffin House: Flying Upside Down
In this day and age, Singer-Songwriters are often compared to other similar artists from both past and present. For Nashville-based performer Griffin House (offical / myspace), the chief comparison seems to be Josh Ritter or Ryan Adams. Griffin’s latest offering, Flying Upside Down (April 29 – Nettwerk) opens with the track “Better Than Love†and […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Saturday Afternoon Highlight: Kate Nash and Billy Bragg
Saturday afternoon began for me with a touch of deja vu, as I once again started my day at Cedar Street Courtyard for the kickoff of day three of the Filter throwdown there. I didn’t know it at the time, but I’d be bookending my day parties with Filter on this day. Kicking things off […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Wednesday Afternoon Highlight: Matthew Ryan
With apologies for the tardiness of the appearance of this, the beginning of my 2008 SXSW highlights reel, we’re off to the races now. This post is the first in a nine- (possibly ten-) part series which will be coming your way regularly over the coming days, so please don’t be shy about chiming in […]
Hayes Carll + More, Releases 4/8/08
HAYES CARLL, Trouble In Mind (Lost Highway) Official Site | MySpace | Preview Known for his dry sense of humor, tell-it-like-it-is songwriting and the first self-released record to reach #1 on the Americana Music Chart (‘Little Rock’), Hayes Carll brings us a new album on Lost Highway Records he calls ‘Trouble In Mind’. He’s been […]
Justin Townes Earle + More, Releases 3/25/08
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, The Good Life (Bloodshot) Official Site | MySpace | MP3* [audio:http://www.chimehosting.com/bsr/justintownesearle/private/file_xfer/TheGoodLife/hardlivin.mp3] At times Justin Townes Earle sounds like he’s broadcasting songs from a time long gone. At others he couldn’t be more here and now. As you might already know, he’s the son of legendary singer/songwriter Steve Earle and wears the mark […]
Kathleen Edwards + More, Releases 3/4/08
You could be doing any number of things this week. For instance, you could be playing superdelegate ping pong in your mind while you watch the latest news coming out of Ohio and Texas regarding who’s hot right now, be it Barack or Hillary (or John). You might also be joining us in mourning the […]
Tift Merritt + More, Releases 2/26/08
TIFT MERRITT, Another Country (Fantasy) Official Site | MySpace | Stream | MP3 While we all sit back and sigh a brief moment of relief to know that Jamie Lynn passed her GED this week. Its good to know that there’s a bunch of new music we can send her as a graduation gift. After […]
Ray Davies + More, Releases 2/19/08
RAY DAVIES, Working Man’s Cafe (Ammal/New West) Official Site | MySpace With his second solo album, former Kink and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer Ray Davies brings us ‘Working Man’s Cafe’. The album features 12 new songs penned by Davies who co-produced the album with Grammy Award winning producer Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve […]
Mando Saenz + More, Releases 2/5/08
MANDO SAENZ, Bucket (Carnival) Official Site | MySpace | Stream His first radio single “Pocket of Red” off of new album, ‘Bucket’, is co-written with Kim Richey and offers a flipside point of view of the lead off song “Wrong Guy” about a person admittedly difficult to be in a relationship with. From Texas to […]