Paul Knowles and Nicole Storto first came to my attention a decade plus ago as Mars Arizona, a folk music duo. The pair morphed into New American Farmers, a Northern California Americana/roots band. From there they became New Earth Farmers, leaving most of the twang and acoustic arrangements behind. The first NEF album featured a […]
An Interview With Kevin Gordon
One of the universal truths about the writers at Twangville is that we always look forward to the next Kevin Gordon album. And no visit to Nashville is really complete without hearing him play. So we hit the daily double this year at AmericanaFest because we had multiple opportunities to see him live, and his […]
Guy Davis – The Legend of Sugarbelly
For Guy Davis, keeping the blues alive means keeping it alive even its most stripped-down form. The Legend of Sugarbelly is a throwback to the blues’ purest, simplest acoustic form, so reminiscent of Lead Belly and the earliest masters one almost expects to hear the crackle of an old 78-inch record. Davis is a great […]
Larry & Joe – Manos Panamericanos
One of my highlights at Folk Alliance a couple of years ago was seeing a couple of sets from Larry & Joe. Their subsequent album, Nuevo South Train, was one of my top 5 that year. So when I heard they had a new record coming out, I had a little trepidation about whether their […]
Fruition – How To Make Mistakes
It’s an interesting idea, being a prisoner to your own success. You start out with your dreams, work your tail off, and then find out what got you to where you are is what’s holding you back from your future. Portland, Oregon’s Fruition found themselves with a little bit of that happening when the pandemic […]
Karen Jonas – The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch
Elvis has inspired many a musician over the years, but rarely, if ever, in the way he catalyzed Virginian Karen Jonas. Watching an Elvis biography on the plane home from SXSW she was incited to write 8 songs in 8 days and add a few others pulled off the shelf from a previous writing spurt […]
Monday Morning Video – John Mayall, 1933-2024
John Mayall, OBE, died last week at 90. Often called the “Godfather of British blues,” Mayall was so much more than just a pioneer of British blues. By introducing a generation of rock fans to the blues, he arguably had a hand in saving blues as a viable commercial music form at a time in the […]
Nick Taylor – Not Alone
Over the years I’ve developed a knack for figuring out if I’m going to like a record pretty quickly. If it doesn’t pull me in after 10-15 minutes, another listen or two isn’t going to change my mind. Where I do get tricked occasionally is in the mood or style of the music. Bluegrass is […]
Oliver Wood – Fat Cat Silhouette
Every morning when he isn’t on the road, Oliver Wood starts the day in his designated writing chair with a cup of coffee. Many of the songs from “Fat Cat Silhouette”, Wood’s second solo record, began taking shape in that chair. The contemplative feeling of meditation/prayer and a morning coffee is what sets the mood […]
Jenny Don’t & the Spurs – Broken Hearted Blue
Sound-color synesthesia is when a certain sound causes you to see things in a certain color. I don’t have it, but I experience a related effect when I listen to the latest from Portland, Oregon, based Jenny Don’t & the Spurs. It’s called Broken Hearted Blue and evokes the washed-out, slightly sepia-toned tint of an […]