I generally tend toward a less-is-more aesthetic to the music I listen to. I’ll take a live studio take on a song before a 64-track production any day. I like to see songs performed on stage without autotune or a dozen recorded background tracks. But every now and then I get a hankering for some […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Spring 2025, Part 2
True Believer, Jason Isbell (from the Southeastern Records release Foxes in the Snow) Foxes in the Snow finds Jason Isbell in a raw, reflective space, drawing from the emotional wreckage of heartbreak and the cautious hope of starting over. These songs live in the aftermath—where pain lingers, memories echo, and new love emerges slowly, shaped […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Spring 2025, Part 1
The Van Pelt Parties, Patterson Hood (from the ATO Records release Exploding Trees and Airplane Screams) Patterson Hood has long been a master of Southern storytelling, and on his latest album, he delivers a collection of tales—some real, some imagined—that reflect the complexities of life in the Deep South, particularly his native Alabama. These aren’t […]
Monday Morning Video – Radney Foster
With Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, it feels like the perfect time to share this song. One of the standout moments from last year’s AmericanaFest was seeing Radney Foster perform it during a songwriter round hosted by Sunny Sweeney. As the event was winding down, Sweeney asked Jack Ingram to close it out. Ingram […]
Jon Muq – A Singer in Motion
Recently I had the opportunity to see Jon Muq in action at NYC’s iconic Joe’s Pub as well as talk to him about his leap from Uganda to living in Austin and the musical journey he is on. Jon’s relative lack of knowledge of Western genres and songs should be a limitation but actually it […]
“When the Dust Has Settled” – a Premiere from Session Americana
Music Business. While artists rightfully focus their attention on the first word, there’s no avoiding the second. Creating the art is hard enough—but getting it out into the world takes a rare kind of perseverance and grit. Since the music industry began its digital transformation, I’ve watched countless artists explore different strategies when releasing new […]
Mike Delevante on Makeshift Mic Stands and Living By His Father’s Advice
Mike Delevante talks about turning a drum cymbal into a flashlight, how he and the Delevantes sought out the most interesting out-of-the-way/authentic/dive restaurant they could find, and his method for avoiding broken guitar strings.
Monday Morning Video – Jill Sobule (1959 – 2025)
Jill Sobule was a musician’s musician, a songwriter’s songwriter, revered by peers and fans alike for her singular blend of folk-pop melodies, sharp wit, and fearless social commentary. Sobule died in a tragic house fire on May 1st, leaving behind a remarkable musical legacy of songs that were as funny as they were unflinching, weaving […]
I’m With Her – Wild And Clear And Blue
Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan met each other when Jarosz was still in her early teens, and the other two barely in their twenties. By 2014 they were singing together in no less a venue than Telluride’s bluegrass festival. In 2018 they released an album, See You Around, and received a collective Grammy […]
Caitlin Cannon on Her Dolly Parton License Plate and Transcendental Rehearsal Space Moments
Nashville’s Caitlin Cannon talks about breaking more fingernails than guitar strings and writing a very angry first song (even though she doesn’t remember what she was so angry about).