Joanne Shaw Taylor is in the vanguard of a group of driven, talented young European women who have taken on blues music – and taken no prisoners. Taylor, originally from Birmingham, England, has been playing professionally since she was a teenager (she toured with the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart’s group D.U.P. when she was only 16) […]
Monday Morning Video: Jeff Tweedy and the Bottle Rockets
Here’s a cool one from the archives. In 1994 Brian Henneman of the Bottle Rockets, formerly the guitar tech for Uncle Tupelo, played lead guitar on Wilco’s debut, A.M. Twelve years later the two reunited when Tweedy joined the Bottle Rockets for a few songs at a Chicago club. Said Henneman, “I don’t know if […]
Chris Knight – Small Victories
Eli, Todd and Chip share their collective insights on the stellar new release from Chris Knight: Eli Peterson Chris Knight is the real deal. Dude is from Slaughters, Kentucky. That’s right. The town is named “Slaughtersâ€. Dude was a mine reclamation inspector for 10 years before he went to Nashville to give songwriting a try. […]
Americana Music Association Annual Awards
The yearly AMA awards kicked off with a bang in the delightful Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last week. Â The house band, Buddy Miller, Don Was, Larry Campbell, Brady Blade and Rami Jaffe, was joined by Booker T. Jones, who later took home the Lifetime Achievement Award for instrumentalist, on organ and Richard Thompson, Darrell Scott, […]
Monday Morning Video: Paul Westerberg
We’re gonna go a bit old school this week. Here is Paul Westerberg performing two gems from the Replacements’ catalog: “Achin’ to Be” and “Skyway.” As Westerberg says in his introduction, “I’m gonna play some tunes for you that I know pretty good and some old ones that I’ve forgotten completely.”
Monday Morning Video: Frank Turner
Frank Turner passed through Boston last week, playing three shows in 24 hours. Turner was spectacular, an artist clearly getting stronger in both his songwriting and live performances. Here are two clips from show #2, a private mid-day acoustic affair at a small Boston club: “Peggy Sang the Blues” and, one of my favorites, “I […]
Music With a Purpose: Grooving Forward, Vol. 1
Musicians have a long tradition of giving. Sure, they give to all of us with the music that they share. Yet they also have a penchant for supporting meaningful causes. Over the next few weeks we will highlight several releases that demonstrate this giving spirit. Grooving Forward, Volume One is the brainchild of Jake Bush […]
Monday Morning Video: Jimmy Ryan’s “John Brown”
This song has quietly become a staple of the Boston music scene. It is no surprise, really, with the song’s achingly beautiful melody and emotionally charged lyrics. Judge for yourself by watching a performance by Ryan and friends from a few years back.
The Trishas – High, Wide and Handsome
More a legend than a band. Â That phrase was first coined a couple of decades ago about a set of 4 guys from West Texas, the Flatlanders. Â But it could apply equally to a group of 4 young women, The Trishas. Â First performing together as a hastily arranged act as part of a tribute to […]
Whispering Pines
It is a digital world, mp3s are our music, the internet provides our news, and we can read on multiple devices. Oh and by the way we are connected wherever we go. Digital communication is the best …. Or is it? Along comes Whispering Pines. They take us to their world of analog recording. The […]