If Alan Williams’ life-to-date was a Hollywood movie, it would be one of those where it starts at the end. In this case, it’s his combination retirement/record release party later this month. The album is his third solo release, Floating On the Dreamline. The retirement is from being a professor of music at the University […]
Cody Diekhoff of Chicago Farmer on Upcycling Used Guitar Strings and Touring in “Barbara Streisvan”
Chicago Farmer singer-songwriter Cody Diekhoff talks about earning – and spending – reward points while on tour, the inspiration for the first song that he wrote, and why it’s important to support local artists and venues.
Monday Morning Video – Stephen Kellogg
3000 shows. That’s a hell of a lot of shows — playing a show every night for more than eight years. Impressive enough on its own. But when you factor in the volume and caliber of music Stephen Kellogg has delivered over the course of his career, it becomes something else entirely. He passed through […]
Sequins, Scripture, and Grit: Leah Blevins Finds Her Power on All Dressed Up
Before she was making records in Nashville studios, before she stepped into the booth with producer Dan Auerbach, before the songs on All Dressed Up took shape, Leah Blevins was a little girl in Sandy Hook, Kentucky, pushing pause and play on a boom box and trying to understand how words fit together. “I think […]
Tim Easton – fIREHORSE
I’m a sucker for a good story. Sure, there are plenty of great songs that aren’t much beyond a chant and a chord progression. But the ones that germinate in your mind to become a part of your worldview; they’re relatable in a way that goes all the way back Aesop. Someone who’s a master […]
Cat Clyde on Working at a Horse Farm and Learning As You Go
Cat Clyde talks about breaking down in rural Quebec, seeking out protein and carbs while touring, and her various rehearsal spaces.
Listening for the Vanishing Words: James McMurtry at Full Measure
James McMurtry does not talk much, and he does not volunteer myth. He answers questions carefully, sometimes obliquely, often economically, as if every word costs something. That reserve has become part of his public character, as recognizable as the stark clarity of his songs. McMurtry is a listener first, a keen observer of language and […]
Folk Alliance Int’l 2026 – Shawn’s Favorites
Folk Alliance International isn’t your typical music conference. Held this year in New Orleans, days include industry panels, seminars, and public showcases in hotel ballrooms, but the real magic happens late at night when up to 100 hotel rooms transform into intimate “private showcases”—artists who normally fill 500-seat theaters performing for 20 people at a […]
Folk Alliance Int’l 2026 – Mayer’s Picks, Part 2
Folk Alliance International isn’t your typical music conference. Held this year in New Orleans, days include industry panels, seminars, and public showcases in hotel ballrooms, but the real magic happens late at night when up to 100 hotel rooms transform into intimate “private showcases”—artists who normally fill 500-seat theaters performing for 20 people at a […]
Folk Alliance Int’l 2026 – Mayer’s Picks, Part 1
Folk Alliance International isn’t your typical music conference. Held this year in New Orleans, days include industry panels, seminars, and public showcases in hotel ballrooms, but the real magic happens late at night when up to 100 hotel rooms transform into intimate “private showcases”—artists who normally fill 500-seat theaters performing for 20 people at a […]