All that time with no gigs to play has resulted in some really good music being written. The latest example of that comes from Joshua Rilko, founding member of Lindsey Lou and the Flatbellies, and mandolin-about-town for the likes of Sierra Ferrell, Billy Strings, and others. He came up with 11 new songs, about half […]
Sarah Borges – Together Alone
The human psyche is programmed to take comfort from things that are familiar. That plays out in the new record from Sarah Borges, Together Alone. She, and long-time collaborator Eric (Roscoe) Ambel, took the chaos of the pandemic, stitched together an impossible-to-repeat remote recording routine, and produced a record that’s just the Sarah Borges music […]
Lord Nelson – Transmission
It’s an oft-attempted, but less often achieved, feat to capture the live sound of a band on a studio album. It’s a shame, because there are many groups that consistently kick it up a notch when they’re in front of a crowd. One of those is Charlottesville, VA-based Lord Nelson. They thought they had the […]
Hank Erwin Video Premiere – Sally
Last fall I wrote about the new album from Hank Erwin, Copper. Generally speaking, the record is full of Southern rock ballads and outlaw country tales, many of them at least partially autobiographical. If you’re going to just sample a couple of songs, you can’t go wrong with Altana or Hell Or Harlan, both with […]
Shawn’s Picks – 2021 Favorite Albums
For the second time in a row we’ve finished a year like no other. On the plus side, all that time at home seems to have upped everyone’s songwriting skills. I can’t remember the last time my first pass at the annual favorites list was so long. The first couple of picks were relatively easy. […]
Calista Garcia – A Beautiful World
Like many of us over the last couple of years, Calista Garcia found herself consumed by the negative events in the world. As an antidote, she decided to focus on all the good things she saw around her. She transcribed that awareness into a collection of songs that became her new EP, A Beautiful World. […]
Video Premiere: Mike Donello & the New Essentials – Southside
One of the things I like about live music towns is how a group of musicians will just sort of start playing local gigs and end up becoming a well-known part of the music scene. They can make a living, or at least have a healthy side hustle, performing frequently without ever having to sleep […]
Corey Harris – Insurrection Blues
Corey Harris long ago established himself as one of the most important and innovative bluesmen of his generation. He is an amazing musician. With Insurrection Blues, his first album in over three years, Harris has added yet another to a long line of fine albums. As a musical adventurer, Harris can be compared with Taj Mahal […]
This Lonesome Paradise – Electric Dreams
Sugar-loaded Christmas ballads aside, if there was ever a holiday that lends itself to a soundtrack, it’s Halloween. Pacific Northwesterner E. Ray Bechard was thinking a parallel thought, though more of a soundtrack to a movie in his own head. He pulled together some musician friends, now known as This Lonesome Paradise, and they headed […]
Hank Erwin – The Copper Album
“Having cancer and recovering from surgery was great. It was a distraction from the severe depression.” Taken from Hank Erwin’s website bio, that was my first hint that the inspiration for Erwin’s new album, The Copper Album, was captured from his own, less-than-fluffy, life experiences. Indeed, that bio serves as commentary on several of the […]