It’s the season to ask you, our beloved readers, what your favorite album of 2024 was. To help, we’ve created a poll with over 100 nominations.
Ben Chapman on Guy Clark, Chick-fil-A, and the “Wantcha Back Blues”
Nashville singer-songwriter Ben Chapman talks about the time his tour van was almost stolen, the band he performed with at his first gig, and the business of the music.
CJ Lewandowski of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys on Preventative Maintenance and Oatmeal Cream Pies
CJ Lewandowski, mandolinist and bandleader of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, talks about the ebb and flow of music economics, getting their start as the house band at a Tennessee moonshine distillery, and the time that they had to use a broom handle as the key to their tour bus.
Americana 2024, Say What?!
One of my favorite things about attending music conferences and festivals are the crazy comments that you hear along the way. Here are a few choice selections from this year’s Americana Festival. Do people clap at your job when you mess up? Iron & Wine It was a big hit for me in Texas and […]
AmericanaFest 2024 – Shawn’s Favorites
Like a smaller, more focused SXSW, AmericanaFest is part industry conference, part music festival, and part social event. Although it’s a much smaller event, you still have to accept you’re not going to be able to see everyone you want. The official count was about 250 artists, but there were dozens of events that weren’t […]
Americana 2024, Mayer’s Picks (Part 2)
LYDIA LOVELESS Loveless played two shows to celebrate a new album, Something Else, a reimagined version of her 2014 release Somewhere Else. The new release is nearly entirely Loveless solo on piano and was the focus of a stunning Thursday appearance at Todd Snider’s Purple Building. The next afternoon Loveless and John Calvin Abney brought […]
Americana 2024, 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 […]
Todd’s Americanafest 2024
Below is a diary style breakdown of my Americanafest with a playlist (in order of appearance) of the acts I was fortunate enough to catch this year that made an impression on me. This was my third year attending, and 2024 was just as good as the other years. Plus, I’ve learned a few things […]
2024 Americana Music Awards
What originated as a long weekend, AmericanaFest now has official events beginning on Tuesday. However, the apex of the music festival remains the Americana Music Awards on Wednesday evening in the wonderful Ryman Auditorium. After last year’s long event padded with speeches and awards to complementary organizations, this year marked an appreciated return to focus […]
In Memoriam – Kris Kristofferson
“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.” Aside from the national anthem, perhaps no other lyrics are as broadly known as those ten words. That hook paralleled a subtle change in popular songs that no one mastered better than Kris Kristofferson. He certainly wasn’t the first writer to make the protagonist of […]