Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the Americana Music Awards and continuing through several days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music. Here are but a few of my favorite performers and performances from […]
Americana 2023, Mayer’s Picks (Part 1)
Every fall, The Americana Music Association gathers members, artists and music fans together in Nashville for its annual conference. Starting with the Americana Music Awards and continuing through several days of showcases and panel discussions, it is a tremendous celebration of Americana music. Here are but a few of my favorite performers and performances from […]
Heather Lynne Horton on Kitchen Counter Rehearsals and Songs Inspired by a Tour Debacle
Singer-songwriter Heather Lynne Horton talks about snack packing and stashing, why her band mates refer to her as “Charlie Daniels”, and a year spent performing at a children’s clothing boutique.
Phoebe Hunt on Rental Car Headaches and Transforming Screen Time to String Time
Singer, songwriter, and fiddle player Phoebe Hunt talks about why she became a vegetarian, life running two businesses, and why different types of gigs each have their own place.
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2023
Alameda, Anna Rose (from the White Pony/Electric Child Music release Last Girl of the Rodeo) Anna Rose doesn’t pull any punches – lyrically or musically – on Last Girl of the Rodeo. The LP cycles through the collapse of a relationship, bleeding raw emotion as it does. The deeply brooding “Whatever Gets You Through the […]
Dana Cooper on Duct Tape Car Repairs and Time Spent Driving a Cab in LA
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Dana Cooper talks about the view from his rehearsal space and becoming the lead singer of his high school band (and what happened after he did).
Monday Morning Video – Jimmy Buffett
We lost another legend this weekend with the passing of Jimmy Buffett. Buffett’s legacy stretches beyond music that is revered by countless fans. He also helped shape the business of music, creating an empire that made him a cultural icon. It’s hard to pick just one classic from a catalog that is filled with them. […]
Floating Away – a Video Premiere from Shadwick Wilde
Fall is nigh upon us. And with it, grey skies and chilling temperatures. Why is that relevant? It’s a atmosphere that permeates Forever Home, the forthcoming album from Shadwick Wilde. “Floating Away”, the video of which Twangville is premiering today, is one of the album’s standouts. The song finds Wilde dissecting a relationship, unsure of […]
Monday Morning Video – Clay Pigeons
Blaze Foley was a songwriter’s songwriter. As John Prine says in his introduction to his cover of the classic “Clay Pigeons”, “I heard him sing this song here and it blew me just right out of my chair, I thought ‘”‘my God, that sounds like I should have stayed awake and wrote that some night.’”
Ashton Nyte on Yoga, Miscellaneous Poltergeist Activities, and Performing at Walgreens
Ashton Nyte talks about his old war on sleep, technical difficulties at his first gig, and instrument strings that die of natural causes.