One of my personal rites of spring is to head 45 minutes southeast of Austin on the third weekend of April to the Old Settler’s Music Festival. Despite not having the name of an Austin City Limits or Coachella, OSMF has been ranked in the top 10 festivals in the country. There are a number […]
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram on embracing the Blues
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram plays a mean guitar for a guy barely old enough to drink in most states. And he has a reverence for the Blues that is uncommon in an artist so young. I reached out to Ingram recently as he was preparing to go out on tour, finally, in support of his new […]
Tylor and the Train Robbers -Non-Typical Find
Tylor and the Train Robbers are a family band that has toured relentlessly and been their own producers over two previous studio albums. Then, faster than you can say “pandemicâ€, things changed. Suddenly they were off the road and had a chance rethink their approach in their native Boise, Idaho. First hey jumped head first […]
Guy Davis – Be Ready When I Call You
Nobody can accuse Guy Davis of being wishy washy. He says and sings what he thinks no matter the consequences. Yes, Be Ready When I Call You may be Guy Davis’ most political album yet. On it, he sings about the Tulsa race massacre of 1921 (“God’s Gonna Make Things Over”), Flint Michigan’s drinking water […]
Jeremy James Meyer – Alive & OK
Listening to the new album from Jeremy James Meyer, Alive & OK, I realized that not only have I missed live music, but I’ve missed the sound of an entire band in a studio. During the pandemic, when bands recorded material, everyone did their own piece and then software assembled it all together. It sounds […]
Ben Reddell Band – ¡LA Baby!
After coming to LA almost 20 years ago, having been raised in Texas, Ben Reddell has become a common sight in the LA country and roots community. Whether playing in another band, running sound, or just pitching in, he’s always around. So it’s a little surprising that’s he’s just released his first EP since 2012. […]
Michigan Rattlers – That Kind of Life
Ok I admit it. I am late to this party. However, I would rather be late than never to have partied at all. I have just discovered The Michigan Rattlers and their Jangly Midwest by way of LA Rock and Roll brilliance. There newest release is “That Kind of Lifeâ€, and it is comprised of […]
Pine Hill Haints – The Song Companion of a Lonestar Cowboy
When you have been traversing your region of the country as a band of troubadours for over twenty years you can’t be called an overnight success. However, they have been successful none the less. Now finally the band as delivered an album that should be their breakout to a wider audience. On the new album […]
Stoney LaRue – Double Live 25
Virtually all the new records that have crossed my speakers in the last year were studio albums. They were material that was semi-finished and just needed some polish, or were new songs inspired by elements of the pandemic. Leave it up to Stoney LaRue to find a third path. LaRue is a road warrior, typically […]
Maria Muldaur (with Tuba Skinny) – Let’s Get Happy Together
Like Elvin Bishop and John Oates, Maria Muldaur is a musician who who had enormous popular success decades ago that allow her to explore musical expression on exactly her own terms. And, also like Bishop and Oates, she has established herself as an important figure in the blues and roots music scene. Both a blessing […]