Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the annual Americana Music Awards and continuing through several days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music. Here are but a few of my favorite performers and performances […]
Americana 2018: Mayer’s Picks (Part 1)
Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the annual Americana Music Awards and continuing through several days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music. Here are but a few of my favorite performers and performances […]
Americana Music Awards – 2018 Edition
As has become tradition in the middle of September, the Americana Music Festival rolled into Nashville earlier this month.  The opening of the festival used to be the Awards show at the fabulous Ryman Auditorium, but over the past couple of years the festival has outgrown its 4 day window and this year you could start […]
Monday Morning Video – the John Moreland Band
Oklahoma singer-songwriter John Moreland typically tours as a solo artist or with accompanist John Calvin Abney, so it’s a special treat to see him fronting a full band. Here’s “I Need You To Tell Me Who I Am,” a favorite from 2013’s In the Throes. How about a full band live album, John? Pretty please?
Monday Morning Video – Pearl Jam with Bill Janovitz
Hey Eddie – this is one of my favorite songs, too. They don’t come much better than Buffalo Tom’s “Taillights Fade.” Here is Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz joining Pearl Jam at a recent Fenway Park show in Boston.
Monday Morning Video – Sam Morrow “Paid By the Mile”
They say write what you know. Sam Morrow has spent most of the year cruising the highways playing shows in support of Concrete and Mud, his latest album. Among the stand-out tracks is “Paid By the Mile,” which could otherwise pass as a musician’s lament. If I had a nickel for every song I tried […]
Grand Old Grizzly – Pure Country Pyrite
Coming out of the storm like the mythical ghost riders, the twin lead guitars of Houston-based Grand Old Grizzly set the outlaw tone of Gundowners.  The opening number of their latest album, Pure Country Pyrite, it’s the fascinating-like-a-train-wreck story of a pair of sociopaths who were made for each other.  With a similar uptempo twangy feel, Rescind All […]
An Album Premiere from Brett Newski
Brett Newski is a glorious enigma. His albums are rooted in pop, bursting with hummable melodies and sing-along choruses. Yet a closer listen finds them spiked with anxiety and the struggle to find one’s way in life. It’s a topic that he approaches it head-on, more often than not offering some pearls of wisdom in […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Summer 2018, Part 2
Immortal Americans, Austin Lucas (from the Cornelius Chapel Records release Immortal Americans) Immortal Americans feels like the album that Austin Lucas was destined to make. The road there certainly wasn’t easy as he overcame a series of challenges, both personal and professional, along the way. It ultimately led him back to his roots in Indiana […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Summer 2018, Part 1
Right On Time, Kevin Gordon (from the Crowville Media release Tilt And Shine) Kevin Gordon has long been one of contemporary music’s most compelling storytellers. He fills his songs with colorful characters and literary tales, all set to music that has more than a few gloriously jagged edges. Tilt And Shine steps beyond the more […]