Five years ago a skinny 13-year-old in black high tops took the stage at Old Settler’s Music Fest in Austin and proceeded to leave me, and most of the crowd, slack-jawed at her mandolin skills and innate stage presence. Fast forward to today and Sarah Jarosz has performed with some of the biggest names in […]
The Von Ehrics – Loaded
The marriage of Punk-Rock and Country music has been a fruitful union for years now. The Von Ehrics of Dallas, TX are yet another unapologetic spawn of the DNA that has produced The Supersuckers and Hank III. Loaded (Crustacean Records), which is The Von Ehrics third release, relentlessly displays their willingness to rock. Where certain […]
Win Big: The Low Anthem
It has been one heck of a year for Providence, RI trio the Low Anthem. When we first wrote about the band in January, they had just recently self-released the magnificent Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. Fast forward six months and, as band member and baseball fan Jeff Prystowsky might say, it’s a whole new […]
Advice for Father’s Day
Father’s Day will soon be upon us and with it comes the sophomore release from Nashville’s Daddy. Daddy For a Second Time was reared by Tommy Womack and the mighty Will Kimbrough and is chock full of Southern-tinged acoustic rock, not to mention their trademark wit. Womack’s “Early to Bed, Early to Rise” offers up […]
Listen Up: Session Americana
What began as an informal gathering has blossomed into one of Americana’s most impressive musical collectives. Taking their cues from a traditional Irish Seisiun, the six core members of Session Americana gather around a single table with an ambient mics. The set-up lends itself to a free-form and relaxed feel that lets the group swap […]
Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses – Roadhouse Sun
I often wonder if record labels get stressed when an artist tries to top a great debut. After all sustainability can only be proven over time. Then again such anxiety just comes with the territory. Mescalito established Bingham and had critics crowing about his future. Expectations can be a burden, but Roadhouse Sun reveals a […]
Mayer’s Playlist for May 2009, a Video Companion
We’re back with another fine video playlist of nearly all live performances. We kick things off with John Paul Keith and the One Four Fives performing at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis. Other live showcases include Tim Easton (who rocks a bluesy number on his acoustic), Slaid Cleaves, Tift Merritt, These United States, John […]
Todd Snider/The Excitement Plan
My run in with Todd Snider probably happened around the mid-nineties when his comedy tune “Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” lit up radio stations throughout the country. It was a funny song for the times and I just assumed Todd was some kind of Weird Al parody guy that had scored a cute little radio […]
Reed KD – In Case The Comet Comes
The new album from California’s Reed KD, In Case The Comet Comes is quite the find for those of us who like our our folk to bounce to a peppier tempo than your standard “storytelling folk” likes to typically. The album’s opening tracks, “This is It” and “If the Tide Swings” display some pretty gnarly […]
Jenny Lewis, with The Sadies, Live at the Rio
It’s nice when promoters and managers get together and actually book acts in a venue that’s the right size and atmosphere for the music. Â Such was the case last week when Jenny Lewis played the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz with opening act, The Sadies. Â The Rio is a renovated movie theater where they’ve removed […]