You picked Lydia Loveless – Daughter as your favorite new release for the week of September 25, 2020. New Releases Did we miss something? If you feel a new release is missing from our current poll, please let us know in the comments. Readers’ Tops Summer & Fall 2020 Peter Himmelman – Press On (134 […]
Thriving Roots 2020 – Shawn’s Highlights
One of the highlights of my year is the annual Americana Music Association conference and awards show in Nashville in September. Needless to say, it didn’t go on this year. The AMA brain trust had enough time, and common sense pragmatism, to realize this was going to happen. So they put on an alternate, virtual […]
Brendan & the Strangest Ways – Are We Sure the Dawn Is Coming?
As documented by everyone from Ken Burns on down, country music came out of the fields of the South and the mountains of Appalachia. Alt-country, on the other hand, has its roots in the urban centers of the Rust Belt, like St. Louis, Chicago, and Pittsburg. Based on the new album from Brendan & the […]
Clay Rose of Gasoline Lollipops on Carpentry, Miracles, and Drive-Through Daiquiri Stands
Clay Rose of Colorado’s Gasoline Lollipops talks about a high voltage electrical shock and recalls when he first got hooked on music.
Heidi Newfield on Twizzlers and Never Having a “Plan B”
Heidi Newfield talks about investing in real estate, her transition from a tour van to a tour bus, and her dog Gustus.
Monday Morning Video – The Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires Rock Show
Damn, I miss live rock and roll. All the more so after watching this video of Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires electrifying an afternoon crowd at SXSW a few years back. And for those who know me, look for my cameos in front of the stage. Because that’s where you’re supposed to stand […]
Readers’ Pick: Garrett Owen – Quiet Lives
You picked Garrett Owen – Quiet Lives as your favorite new release for the week of September 18, 2020. New Releases Did we miss something? If you feel a new release is missing from our current poll, please let us know in the comments. Readers’ Tops Summer & Fall 2020 Peter Himmelman – Press On […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2020, Part 1
Remember It, The Northern Belle (from the Die With Your Boots On Records release We Wither, We Bloom) You’d never know from their music that The Northern Belle hails from Norway. Their brand of Americana is bathed in Southern California sunshine in more ways than one. This is music warm and lavish, not to mention […]
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Preview
Twenty years ago next week a San Francisco musician and financier, Warren Hellman, arranged a birthday concert for his sister, a big bluegrass fan. The next year, as part of a bid to get Emmylou to play, Hellman included a modifier to the concert’s name, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was official. Since then the event […]
Feels like Josh Ritter Gave me a Mansion!
Upbeat Josh Ritter is my favorite Josh Ritter. Give me songs like “Right Moves”, “Snow is Gone”, and “Young Moses” any day. Your head will start bopping and you’ll find yourself smiling without knowing why. His new EP “See Here, I Have Built You a Mansion” is a gift to all of us trying to […]