I won’t even try to compete with Shawn’s excellent tribute to the late Merle Haggard. Instead, today we’ll honor his legacy with a playlist of videos from artists singing classics from the Haggard cannon. Herein you’ll find performances from the Avett Brothers, Dwight Yoakam, Vince Gill and Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson (with Kid Rock and […]
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 […]
Jeff Plankenhorn – SoulSlide
Jeff Plankenhorn is a versatile lap steel guitarist, well established in the Austin, Texas music scene, who delivers a funky, crusty and soulful performance on his unique new solo album, SoulSlide. Plankenhorn, who has collaborated with artists like Joe Ely and Ray Wylie Hubbard, says he found his voice while singing in the church choir growing up in […]
Terri Hendrix – Love You Strong
Teen angst has been a cornerstone of rock ‘n’ roll since Chuck Berry in the 50’s.  Occasionally someone would give a thought to what came next in life–I’m An Adult Now is one of my faves–but generally music’s aesthetic is “I hope I die before I get old…”  Somewhere along the way something funny happened, though, […]
Monday Morning Video – Put Me In, Coach (Happy Opening Day)
The 2016 baseball season has finally arrived! It remains to be seen how my Boston Red Sox will do this year but, hey, as John Fogerty says in this video, “As long as there’s life, there’s hope.” We’re gonna let Fogerty, joined by Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, kick off the […]
SXSW 2016 – Say What?!
One of my favorite things about SXSW (well, after the music) are the crazy comments that you hear along the way. Here are a few choice selections from SXSW 2016. THE SXSW EXPERIENCE I almost had a Marilyn moment there. I’m either sorry or you’re welcome. Whitney Rose when a gust of wind caught her […]
SXSW 2016 – The Sounds, Part 3
And yet more favorites from SXSW 2016… Matthew Logan Vasquez It may have been just past noon, but the Delta Spirit front-man came to rock. Vasquez prowled around the stage while he and What Made Milwaukee Famous guitarist Michael Kingcaid traded some snarling guitar solos. His set leaned heavily on songs from Solicitor Returns, his […]
SXSW 2016 – The Sounds, Part 2
SXSW never lacks for great music, so here are more favorites from 2016. Ryan Adams One of the few relatively big budget corporate events this year was Marriott hosting a couple of nights of music at their downtown Austin location. It was an interesting venue as the ballroom setting made the shows feel sort of […]
SXSW 2016 – The Sounds, Part 1
We’re gonna start with the faves – these are the artists who delivered my favorite sets of SXSW 2016. JAVIER ESCOVEDO Escovedo didn’t do much talking but, then again, he didn’t have too. He and his crack band demolished the crowd with a two (sometimes three) guitar onslaught and the best set of straight-up rock […]
SXSW 2016 – The Scene
For me, the true harbinger of spring is the arrival of the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas. Or rather, spring begins for me when I arrive in Austin for SXSW. With upwards of 2,200 bands and more than 20,000 attendees from around the world, SXSW is the world’s premiere music conference. Even […]