North Mississippi Allstars has been tearing it up for 17 years. From their studio recordings, with their unique blend of traditional roots and edgy rock, to their thundering live performances, featuring drumlines and bizarre instrumentation from electric washboards to cigar box guitars and a stringed instrument made from a coffee can on a stick, the […]
David Bromberg – Only Slightly Mad
Music enthusiasts at the 2013 Philadelphia Folk Festival got to see some great moments. They got to see Fairport Convention folker Richard Thompson rock out as if making a statement that he can shred with the most aggressive electric guitar slingers in the land. They also got to see a young ukelele virtuoso from Hawaii, Jake […]
Little G Weevil – Moving
Little G Weevil is likely the greatest – and possibly the only – Hungarian blues musician of all time. Born and raised in Budapest as the the former “Eastern Block” nation became more open to outside cultural influences, Weevil became enamored of American blues music. He grew up playing drums but took up the guitar at 17 to […]
Donna the Buffalo – Tonight, Tomorrow, and Yesterday
We’ve all had this experience.  You’re in a park or at a music festival, with song in the air.  You look around and there’s some giant of  a man dancing with a tiny child.  All their cares in the world being twirled away into the sunshine.  You just grin, whether at the silliness of the […]
Marshall Chapman – Blaze Of Glory
Love In the Wind, the opening cut from Marshall Chapman’s latest release, Blaze Of Glory, might be one of the best rock and roll songs ever written. Â I know, that’s pretty extreme hyperbole. Â Maybe I’m just under the influence of a sunny, summer afternoon. Â But damn, it’s got great garage surf rock guitar licks. Â It’s […]
Twangville Festival Artist – Joe Fletcher
As announced yesterday, Twangville’s posse is gathering in Boston on the 28th and 29th of June to celebrate the fact we all still get along, and to listen to some awesome live music. Â Think of it sort of like a family reunion, except there’s more fun than dysfunction. Â We’re taking over the Lizard Lounge for […]
Eastbound Jesus – Northern Rock
Click, whirrr. Â Click, whirrr. Â Like some aural Polaroid the recently released third album from upstate New York band Eastbound Jesus spits out snapshots of life in northern rural America that quickly take on the patina of nostalgia even when they’re new. Â Northern Rock is as much about stories set to music as it is songwriting. […]
Old Settler’s Music Festival 2013
In the middle of April, a few weeks after the madness of SXSW, one of the more under appreciated events on the Austin music scene happens about 30 miles southwest of town; The Old Settler’s Music Festival. Â Here are some of the highlights from this year’s festivities. Who Was That Band? Festivals like this always […]
Caitlin Rose- The Stand-In
Writing this review is difficult for me, and not because my feelings about the album are ambiguous. I almost uniformly adore the record. The difficulty arises in attempting to write about the record. Because, despite my adoration of The Stand-In, I can’t really put my finger on the reason why. Every thought comes across as […]
Lisa Biales – Singing In My Soul
Lisa Biales (pronounced “Be-Alice”) has a uniquely clear voice reminiscent of Patsy Cline, whom she once portrayed in a community theater musical production. That clear, soothing voice of hers is a fresh change from the scorching vocals of many country and blues singers today. The Oxford, Ohio based Biales has independently released seven previous albums […]