New Zealand singer-songwriter Jamie McDell talks about choosing the lesser evil while on tour and playing a stadium at the start of her career.
Mayer’s Playlist for Feb/Mar 2022, Part 1
The Ballad of Sissy & Porter, The Whitmore Sisters (from the Red House Records release Ghost Stories) There’s a throwback quality to the Whitmore Sisters’ Ghost Stories. Sure, sisters Eleanor and Bonnie have magical familial harmonies that recall The Everly Brothers. It’s the songs and arrangements, however, that hearken back to a bygone era when […]
Good Morning Bedlam – Lulu
Rochester, Minnesota-based Good Morning Bedlam says, “we want to surprise our audience.” Ostensibly a folk music trio, they accomplish that feat admirably on their latest album, Lulu. The record careens between indie folk and speed-grass, with side trips to Balkan jazz, klezmer, and Roaring 20’s pop music. One thing that does remain constant is the […]
Mason Jennings on Ford Econoline Vans, Thai Food, and “Moving Blues”
Mason Jennings talks about not trying to fit in and the wildlife that roams around his rehearsal space.
Monday Morning Video – Trey Johnson
Dallas lost one of the cornerstones of its music scene last week with the passing of Trey Johnson. Sorta, the band Johnson co-founded in 2000, quickly established themselves as local favorites and achieved some national recognition before disbanding in 2008. Johnson went on to co-found State Fair Records, the Dallas label that launched the careers […]
Jimmer Podrasky of The Rave-Ups on Finding BBQ on the Road and Taking a 24 Year Hiatus From Music
Jimmer Podrasky of The Rave-Ups celebrates the band’s first new album in more than 20 years by reflecting on secret rehearsals in the basement of A&M Records and the band’s early gigs in Pittsburgh.
Monday Morning Video – Bendigo Fletcher
In search of one last morsel of music late one night at last fall’s Americana Conference, I stumbled across Louisville, Kentucky’s Bendigo Fletcher. Although I only caught a couple of songs, the band’s melodic (and harmonic) charm and lyrical intensity stuck with me. I finally got to see a full and proper set on the […]
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”. […]
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 […]
Todd’s Tops of 2021
1. James McMurtry/The Horses and theHounds2. Jose Gonzalez/Local Valley 3. Isla, Josh Rouse/The Mediterranean Gardner4. The War on Drugs/I Don’t Live Here Anymore5. Charley Crockett/10 For Slim6. Todd Snider/First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder7. The Hold Steady/Open Door Policy 8. Neil Young and Crazy Horse/Barn9. The Felice Brothers/From Dreams to Dust10. Nell Smith, The […]