As Mick sings, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you might find, you get what you need.” Â Turns out what I needed was Brother Nothing. Â I’ve been listening to a lot of bluegrass, old-timey, acoustic music lately. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the release from Austin-based Brother Nothing […]
Professor Louie & the Crowmatrix – Music From Hurley Mountain
Americana music encompasses many different strains of homegrown sounds. Professor Louie and the Crowmatrix have tapped into a number of those sounds on their compelling new album, Music From Hurley Mountain. Denizens of Woodstock, NY, the Crowmatrix, featuring Aaron Hurwitz – “Professor Louie” – and his songwriting partner “Miss Marie” Spinosa, grew together in the […]
Mayer’s Picks – More Favorites from 2015
Here, in no particular order, are a few more favorites from 2015. All A Man Should DoLucero Maudlin DaysOcean Carolina Adventures in Real TimeDylan Gardner The Firewatcher’s DaughterBrandi Carlile Positive Songs For Negative PeopleFrank Turner The Spirit MovesLanghorne Slim and the Law Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night SweatsNathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats High On […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best Albums of 2015, Boston Edition
This has been a great year for music in Boston and throughout New England. Here, in no particular order, are some favorites 2015 releases from area artists. SESSION AMERICANA, Pack Up the Circus What started as an informal gathering of friends playing primarily cover songs has blossomed into a remarkable musical collective. The group’s latest […]
Three Additional Gems
Sometimes I get records I really enjoy, but I can’t quite seem to get a full length review out of them, or there are just too many things in my queue.  Frequently that happens with some really good EP’s, but also sometimes with full length releases.  With releases slowing down this time of hear, I thought […]
Eric Bibb & JJ Milteau – Lead Belly’s Gold
Huddie Ledbetter, aka “Lead Belly,” wrote some of the most familiar folk and blues songs of our musical heritage. Discovered by father and son folklorists John and Alan Lomax in 1933 while an inmate in Louisiana’s infamous Angola prison farm,  Lead Belly’s music was a critical link in popularizing folk and blues and, eventually, lead to […]
Mayer’s Playlist for November 2015, Part 2
Life’s a Bell, Langhorne Slim (from the Dualtone Records release The Spirit Moves) The pride (at least I think) of Langhorne, PA is back with his best album yet. He still has one foot planted in the Americana realm – a banjo plays subtly yet persistently across many of songs here – yet his sound […]
Charlie Musselwhite – I Ain’t Lyin’ …
Charlie Musselwhite is one of those guys who has been around so long it’s difficult to picture a blues scene without him. Once among the first American white musicians to embrace the blues, Musselwhite now stands among the top living blues musicians of any color, and, along with James Cotton, one of the most accomplished blues harp […]
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
The best songs transport you instantly to another time or place.  Sometimes it’s because it was that tune that triggers a memory.  Other times, the music just so perfectly sets the ambience in your mind. That’s what happened to me on the self-titled release from Denver-based Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.  I just see friends gathered […]
Colin Linden – Rich In Love
Canadian roots rocker Colin Linden is one of those musicians’ musicians who has seemingly played with everyone during his long career, including Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Cockburn and several members of The Band. His latest album, Rich In Love, demonstrates why he is in demand as a guest musician in his adopted home of Nashville. […]