DOLLY PARTON What can be said about seeing Dolly Parton for the first time? The hits, the stories, the people weeping with joy around me – it was spectacular. And playing “9 to 5” twice – the second time so the audience could sing it – was tremendous. LEE BAINS III & THE GLORY FIRES […]
Terry Klein on Touring, Working as a Lawyer, and Being Jinxed by Twangville
Austin singer-songwriter Terry Klein talks about finding produce while touring, his heavy metal past, and playing instrumentals at his first gig.
Mayer’s Playlist for Feb/Mar 2022, Part 2
Not Ready Yet, Jamie McDell (from the ABC Music release Jamie McDell) I’ve been not so patiently awaiting the latest release from New Zealand’s Jamie McDell. Her 2019 EP was a tremendous introduction to her songwriting talent, especially the pull no punches “Botox” and the raw emotion of “Worst Crime”. Both songs are featured, alongside […]
Monday Morning Video – The Load-Out with Jackson Browne
Let’s start the week with a classic – Jackson Browne’s “The Load-Out” with a segue into Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs’ wonderful 1960 chart-topper “Stay”. People you’ve got the power over what we doYou can sit there and waitOr you can pull us throughCome along, sing the song
Suz Slezak on Family Tours, Sardines, and Building a Barn
Suz Slezak of David Wax Museum celebrates her debut solo album by talking with us about about family campout in the band’s tour van, road salads (and a memorable incident at a Kentucky rest stop when they were making one), and why her life is unbelievably rich.
Mickelson’s “A Murder of Crows – A Twangville Premiere
I first connected with Bay Area artist and producer Mickelson in 2019 when he produced Blanket the Homeless, a wonderful benefit album to support programs for the homeless in San Francisco. He followed that project with a solo album Drowning in an Inflatable Pool, a one of my favorite releases of that year. And now […]
Monday Morning Video – Keepsake House “From Story to Song”
A chance encounter at the Americana Conference in Nashville last September led to me to the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center in NYC in October. The occasion was an event called “From Story to Song“, produced by NYC-based Keepsake House. The premise of the event was to pair a storyteller with a musical artist and […]
Monday Morning Video – Mando Saenz
Here are acoustic versions of two songs from All My Shame, one of my top ten favorite 2021 releases, courtesy of Nashville by way of Texas songwriter Mando Saenz.
Mayer’s Playlist for Feb/Mar 2022, Part 1
The Ballad of Sissy & Porter, The Whitmore Sisters (from the Red House Records release Ghost Stories) There’s a throwback quality to the Whitmore Sisters’ Ghost Stories. Sure, sisters Eleanor and Bonnie have magical familial harmonies that recall The Everly Brothers. It’s the songs and arrangements, however, that hearken back to a bygone era when […]
Jackie Bristow on Honda Civics and Her SongCatcher Program for Kids
Singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow talks about the price of guitar strings in New Zealand and writing songs as a love-struck teenager.