Last fall I wrote about the new album from Hank Erwin, Copper. Generally speaking, the record is full of Southern rock ballads and outlaw country tales, many of them at least partially autobiographical. If you’re going to just sample a couple of songs, you can’t go wrong with Altana or Hell Or Harlan, both with […]
Greensky Bluegrass – Stress Dreams
Greensky Bluegrass will be releasing their new album “Stress Dreams” Friday January 21. It is a vibrant high charged album that almost ignores the fact that we have been in a pandemic. Not that they are in denial, and in fact some lyrics address separation and loneliness. However, the arrangements emanate positive vibes as is […]
Eliza Gilkyson on Recovering the “Football” and Shopping at the “Death Star”
Folk singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson talks about why survival is an art form on the road and why success is relative.
Monday Morning Video – Ronnie Spector
With the passing of Ronnie Spector, another rock and roll legend has been taken from us. Spector leaves behind a tremendous musical legacy, one that led to the Ronettes being inducted into the Hall of Fame (with an induction speech by Keith Richards). Below is that night’s performances of the group’s signature “Be My Baby”. […]
Jamestown Revival – Young Man
You can just picture Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance, also known as Jamestown Revival, sitting in rockers on the porch of a ranch in the blistering midday sun of southeast Texas. They’re strumming acoustic guitars, working on some songs and complaining about “them damn kids nowadays.” At the end of the day they have a […]
The Twangville Early 2022 Release Preview
Meet the new year. Same as the old? Not so much on the music front with a great batch of new music on the horizon. Here are some releases eagerly anticipated by the Twangville posse. Hell on Church Street by Punch Brothers (14 January) The virtuoso string quintet remind us yet again why they are […]
Charles Wesley Godwin on Good Old Fashioned Songwriting and Avoiding Sweets
Singer-songwriter Charles Wesley Godwin talks about life as a middle class artists recalls his first gig – playing a fashion show in Estonia.
Monday Morning Video – Hayes Carll
While preparing year-in-review posts, it’s fun to reconnect with songs that were somewhat over-looked or have faded from memory. Hayes Carll’s wonderful ballad “If It Was Up to Me” is a prime example for me. The wistful song mixes regret for mistakes made with an idealistic hopefulness. If it was up to meMy mistakes would […]
David Jameson Video Premiere – Gone Like the Wind
From placing second in a Mandarin language singing contest, to doing engineering consulting work across Southeast Asia, to getting inspired at Houston Rodeo. Aside from the latter, that’s not really the life arc of a typical country music singer. It worked its magic for David Jameson, however. His debut album, Tall Dark Pines, is due […]
Ward Hayden & the Outliers Have “Nothing To Do” – a Twangville Premiere
Though the title lends itself to our Covid lives, certainly these days as Omicron wreaks havoc around the world, “Nothing To Do (For Real This Time)” is about something entirely different. The song, from Ward Hayden & the Outliers‘ outstanding 2021 release Free Country, considers the experience of returning to one’s hometown after time spent […]