Let’s start the week with “The Story”, one of a growing list of Brandi Carlile classics. The switch from acoustic to electric guitar, the voice, the song – it doesn’t get much better.
Sarah Jarosz – Polaroid Lovers
Back in 2005 I had the pleasure of seeing a then-13-year-old Sarah Jarosz in cut-offs and black high-tops shredding her mandolin on a couple of bluegrass numbers in the spot she’d earned by winning the previous year’s youth talent contest at Old Settler’s Music Festival. Several of the other acts that year invited her up […]
The Twangville Early 2024 Preview
Halfsies by Lizzie No (19 Jan) Brooklyn’s Lizzie No showcases the breadth of her talent on her forthcoming album. From folk to rock to pop – there’s a little bit of everything, all with an engaging indie vibe. Letting the Lions In by Dinty Child (19 Jan) Dinty Child is a mainstay of the Boston […]
“Over the Radio Waves” – A Premiere from Paisley Fields
Songs are about the music, yes, but they are also about the storytelling. Great songs capture characters, both real and imagined, as they navigate life’s trials and tribulations. They paint a picture with an eye for detail, emotion, and meaning. The best ones uncover the core significance of the story to make them broadly relatable. […]
Mayer’s Picks – More Favorites from 2023
Here, in no particular order, are more favorites from 2023.
Mayer’s Picks – Best Songs of 2023, Part 2
I posted my list of favorite from the first half of 2023 back in June (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this a continuation — the best songs from the second half of the year. Whatever Helps You Sleep, Abby Hamilton (from the Blue Gown Records release #1 Zookeeper (of the San […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best of 2023, the Albums
11. Somebody’s Child by Somebody’s Child Not the typical Twangville fare but I can’t get enough of the infectious and electrifying rock anthems from the debut album by Somebody’s Child, the Ireland/UK group founded and led by Cian Godfrey. (More coverage) 10. End of the World by Wild Child End of the World is an […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall/Winter 2023, Part 2
Stranger’s Voice, William Matheny (from the Hickman Holler/Thirty Tigers release That Grand, Old Feeling) If you’ve ever read any of our artist interviews, you’ve read many of them talk about touring life being 23 hours spent traveling, dealing with the business side of music, or just sitting around venues for the hour or two of […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall/Winter 2023, Part 1
Toothache, Lydia Loveless (from the Bloodshot Records release Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again) Relationships are messy and few songwriters capture that fact better than Lydia Loveless. One need look no further than “Song About You”, the confessional ballad that opens their latest album. Against the backdrop that is mostly a lone electric guitar, […]
When It’s Twilight in Boston – a Special Twangville Playlist
Bulletproof Man, The Bluest Sky (from the self-released The Bluest Sky) Chuck Melchin first appeared on our radar a number of years ago as the Bean Picker’s Union. Essentially a solo artist surrounding himself with a loose collective of acoustic players, he wrote songs that oozed melancholy and were tied to quiet and captivating melodies. […]