GET TICKETS Mando Saenz (Nashville, TN) Mando Saenz, who grew up in various locales across the US as an Army brat, cut his musical teeth in the Houston alt-country scene of the early aughts, writing in the story-song tradition of Lone Star luminaries like Guy Clark, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Jerry Jeff Walker. His first […]
SXSW 2010: Say What?!
One of my favorite parts of SXSW is the crazy things you see and hear along the way. Here are a few choice selections. My son is 17. He had his heart broken for the first time. Her name was Ivy. He’s now dating a blond-hair, blue-eyed girl from UC Berkeley. Fuck you Ivy. ~ Proud […]
Twangville Town Hall: Heaven is Whenever – The Hold Steady
For the posse here at Twangville, it’s always fun to sit around and shoot the breeze as we discuss our favorite new releases. Some of them, like the recent album from the Drive By Truckers, deserve a bit more attention, sometimes. The Hold Steady (Official / Myspace) is one of our favorite acts ’round these […]
SXSW 2010: The Sounds, Part 2
Jon Dee Graham My SXSW show list is usually built around bands that I’ve never seen. Jon Dee Graham is the rare exception who makes the list every year. His gruff voice fits well with the bit of his lyrics, not to mention his razor-sharp guitar-playing. And his stories and between song banter, rich with […]
Alejandro Escovedo – Street Songs of Love.
Alejandro Escovedo will be releasing Street Songs of Love on June 29th, which is the day after my birthday. I think he planned it that way. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. What better birthday present is there than a new Alejandro release. There are no secrets here. It is pretty obvious […]
Tallest Man on Earth – Live at the Black Cat
What a difference a year makes. When I saw Tallest Man last year at the 9:30 Club in DC, he was opening for John Van Der Slice and the audience seemed a bit confused by the man. Only about a third of them (150 or so) were there when he played and maybe half of […]
SXSW 2010: The Sounds
Buddy Miller I’ve got a simple rule of thumb: don’t miss a solo Buddy Miller show. Miller’s work with artists ranging from Robert Plant to Solomon Burke to Patty Griffin overshadows his own recordings with his wife Julie. It’s a shame, really, as Buddy and Julie are simply brilliant. Whether playing country, blues or a […]
SXSW 2010: The Scene
SXSW 2010 has come and gone. Over the next week I’ll be sharing a few highlights of my experience. All in good fun. Children By the Million Sing for Alex Chilton This year’s SXSW began and ended with the passing of Alex Chilton. The co-founder of Big Star was scheduled to participate in a panel […]
Old Settler's Music Festival – 2010
As the first night of this year”s Old Settler”s Music Festival was just swinging into high gear, the Infamous Stringdusters took the stage.  Andy Falco marched up to the microphone and said, “Wow, feels like we”ve been cooped up all winter”. That pretty well captured the moment. They then launched into a version of the […]
Todd Snider/Live at the Visualite Theatre/Charlotte, NC/April 15, 2010
He’s been driving around this country for 15 years making this shit up as he goes along and playing it for anyone that will listen. Some people say his stuff is a bit opinionated, and while this may be true, he does not sing anything to try to change your mind, but rather to ease […]