I live in NYC these days but am fortunate to be connected to the music scenes of two cities in which I previously lived – Boston and Dallas. Artists from both metropolitan areas have released some exceptional music this year. Here are a few favorites. Love it local. LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER (BOSTON YOU’RE MY […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best of 2025, the Albums
HONORARY 2025 PICK: No Hard Feeling by Balto Released on December 20, 2024—too late for my 2024 list, but technically not a 2025 album—Balto’s surprise farewell record lives in an in-between space that mirrors the band’s own bittersweet moment. Songs like the epic “Big City” and the blistering “Black Snake, Mojave Blues” build from restraint […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall/Winter 2025, Part 2
Little Red Rider, Kathleen Edwards (from the Dualtone Records release Billionaire) The music world is a better place when Kathleen Edwards is writing and performing. It’s been said before, but Billionaire makes it worth repeating. Edwards has never been one to mince words. Her storytelling carries a truthfulness built on specific details and brutal honesty, […]
Monday Morning Video – Raul Malo
Another tremendous voice in American music has gone silent with the passing of Raul Malo, co-founder and lead singer of The Mavericks. The band rooted itself in country but seamlessly mixed in elements of Cuban son and Tex-Mex, creating a sound entirely their own. From life-of-the-party anthems like “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall/Winter 2025, Part 1
Speechwriter, Joelton Mayfield (from the Bloodshot Records release Crowd Pleaser) Joelton Mayfield’s Crowd Pleaser announces itself with purpose: vivid storytelling wrapped in guitars that know when to whisper and when to scream. The dynamics shift constantly—bobbing, weaving, building tension that reverberates from somewhere in the distance before crashing into the present moment. “Pretty Linda” offers […]
Kiss Off – a Special Twangville Playlist, Part 8
A few times over the years I put together a series of special playlists featuring my favorite kiss off songs. Despite what some may think, I’m really not that cynical. Rather, I just appreciate how some songwriters can tackle the topic with humor and bite. It’s kind of like a genre unto itself. There have […]
Bonus Monday Video – Many Rivers to Cross
Apparently I’m not the only one who considers Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross” one of contemporary music’s great compositions. Here are some exceptional performances of the song by Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt, Annie Lennox, Lissie, Allen Stone & EJ Worland, and Bruce Springsteen.
Bonus Monday Video – The Cranberries
There’s something special about hearing artists strip down and reimagine their songs in an acoustic setting—it offers fresh perspective on both the material and the songwriters behind it. MTV’s Unplugged series provided the perfect platform for these transformative performances, capturing artists at their most vulnerable and inventive. When The Cranberries took the Unplugged stage in […]
Alex Wong on Mixing Records and Teaching Martial Arts
Singer-songwriter Alex Wong talks about rehearsing above a tallow factory (and the odors that permeated the space) and the time that he played fake guitar in a TV commercial.
Monday Morning Video – Toad the Wet Sprocket
The Ryman Auditorium has heard more than its share of songs about the passage of time. Earlier this year, Toad the Wet Sprocket added one of their own to that legacy with an acoustic rendering of “Rings.” Stripped of studio polish, the song’s imagery — rings of rain and summers, dry spells and brushfire — […]