Every spring, a couple of weeks after the madhouse of SXSW, the music festival season kicks off with Old Settler’s Music Festival, about a half hour outside of Austin. Â Started as a bluegrass festival, Old Settler’s now embraces a broad spectrum of Americana. Â Organizer Jean Spivey has a magic touch for consistently mixing old with […]
Southern Soul Assembly at the Saenger Theatre, Mobile, Alabama
So I’m in Mobile, AL this week for my day job. As I’m eating lunch Tuesday I look up and see a poster for the Southern Soul Assembly, featuring JJ Grey, Luther Dickinson, Anders Osborne and Marc Broussard. And it’s that night at the Saenger Theatre about a block from my hotel. I rush out […]
Nick Moss Band – Time Ain’t Free
Nick Moss paid his dues, working as a side man for veteran Chicago bluesmen, including Buddy Scott, Jimmy Dawkins, Jimmy Rogers and former Muddy Waters drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Those blues chops, hard earned, provided the backbone for Moss to lead his own formidable blues outfit for more than a decade. A student of […]
Mass Ave – A Special Boston Playlist
FEATURED ALBUMS Good Luck, by Girls Guns and Glory Girls Guns and Glory have always been a fun live band, mixing up originals with choice covers ranging from Elvis Presley to Hank Williams. They’ve captured that energy – and then some – on their latest release. The Boston quartet traveled to Brooklyn to record the […]
The Twangville 2014 Release Preview, Boston Edition
This is shaping up to be a great year of music in Boston. All the albums below will be unleashed to the world in January and February. Here’s hoping the following ten months are just as fruitful. RADIO SWEETHEART by SARAH BORGES If there’s such a thing as a rock star quality then Sarah Borges […]
The Twangville 2014 Release Preview
If the releases below are any indication, 2014 is shaping up to be a musical embarrassment of riches. What releases, whether on this list or not, are you most excited to hear? HARD WORKING AMERICANS by HARD WORKING AMERICANS(21 January on Melvin Records/Thirty Tigers Records) What happens when a group of musicians — Todd Snider, […]
Mayer’s Picks: More Favorites from 2013
I had a tough time narrowing down my list of favorite albums to just ten. So here, in no particular order, are a few more favorites from 2013. Blunderstone RookeryStephen Kellogg Close to the FloorPatrick Sweany Stay RecklessAustin Lucas StudebakerMando Saenz The MooringsAndrew Duhon Truth Be SoldLeeroy Stagger ElectricRichard Thompson American RideWillie Nile Small Town […]
Mayer’s Picks: Best Albums of 2013, Boston Edition
This has been a great year for music in and around Boston. I hesitate to break these out into a separate regional list as they would all feature prominently on my overall Best of 2013. That said, taken together they make a great statement on the vibrancy of the Boston music scene. KINGSLEY FLOOD, Battles […]
Photos that ROCK! Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds The Sinclair, Cambridge MA: December 2013 My friend Josh Myers started playing bass in a band that I had recently started hearing buzz about and he informed me that they were playing near by. I showed up at The Sinclair in Cambridge on a Friday night not knowing what […]
Macy Blackman & The Mighty Fines – I Didn’t Want To Do It
Macy Blackman’s piano playing is a treat for those who enjoy swampy, down home boogie-woogie. His new album, I Didn’t Want To Do It, takes a page from Dr. John’s playbook, featuring spirited New Orleans style boogie-woogie piano – but without the trippier side of the Dr. John experience. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Blackman did […]