Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the annual Americana Music Awards and continuing through four days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music. Here are but a few of my favorite performers and performances […]
Steve Earle – So You Wannabe An Outlaw
Steve Earle is back. He may have never really left, but “So You Wannabe An Outlaw” stands beside his best albums (and there are many). It sounds like his classic period from the 80s up through his classic Transcendental Blues in 2000 (without the early 90s records during his descent into drug addiction). Earle has […]
A J Hobbs – Too Much Is Never Enough
There’s an old saying about blues musicians who had no formal training and yet could unload a gut-wrenching, soulful composition about life or love or maybe just an old dirt road: “it in him, and it got to get out.” Â There’s a country outlaw version of that in the first full-length album from California native […]
Blackie & the Rodeo Kings – Kings And Kings
A few years back up-and-coming Canadian roots band Blackie & the Rodeo Kings undertook an ambitious project to record an album of duets with female singers they admired and wished they could work with. They pulled it off and that album, Kings And Queens, started getting them noticed by a much wider audience.  Fast forward to […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best Songs of 2016
I posted my list of favorite from the first half of 2016 back in June (here and here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this a continuation — the best songs from the second half of the year. Stay Gold, Butch Walker (from the Dangerbird Records release Stay Gold) My […]
Win Big – Steve Earle’s “Guitar Town” (with a bonus live album)!
Here’s your chance to win a copy of the Steve Earle Guitar Town 30th Anniversary Collection. Read on for details! There are few artists whose careers can be described as a musical journey. Steve Earle is one of them. Over his more than 30 year – and nearly 20 album – career he has taken […]
Reckless Kelly – Sunset Motel
Reckless Kelly is releasing their ninth album, “Sunset Motelâ€, on September 23rd. Even more significant, they are doing so as they log their 20th year as a band. It is a rare achievement for any band to make it this far. For Reckless Kelly it is even more significant given the transition of the industry […]
Boo Ray – Sea Of Lights
After listening for the first time to Boo Ray’s latest record, Sea Of Lights, I went to his web site. Â He compared his approach to making a record to like being on a dirt track race team. Â Damn. Â To anyone who’s ever done that, it says all that needs to be said about a work […]
The Twangville 2016 Release Preview, Back Half Edition
We’ve already been treated to a number of great new albums in 2016. Read on for some releases expected in the back half of the year. What albums, whether on this list or not, are you most excited to hear? REAL by LYDIA LOVELESS(19 August on Bloodshot Records) It’s hard to believe that it has […]
Merle Haggard Remembered
The interwebs are, understandably, full of posts with people’s favorite Merle Haggard songs after the legend passed away on Wednesday. Â You could certainly do a lot worse than spending time listening to your favorites all over again, and maybe venturing out into a few you aren’t familiar with. But there’s a lot more we owe […]