It’s been a good year for music so far this year (and the rest of the year is looking quite nice, too). Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite releases from the first half of 2018. HOW TO BE OK ALONE by BRENT COWLES Cowles shares a debut solo full-length that is […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Spring 2018, Part 2
Heartbreak Man, Sam Morrow (from the Forty Below Records release Concrete and Mud) Concrete and Mud is the sound of an artist hitting stride. Sam Morrow’s previous two albums were solid outings but there was a certain restraint, a tentativeness of an artist in the process of finding his voice. One can actually see that […]
Mayer’s Picks – More Favorites from 2016
Here, in no particular order, are a few more favorites from 2016. Midnight MotelJack Ingram Rangers & ValentinesTrapper Schoepp Teens of DenialCar Seat Headrest Burn Something BeautifulAlejandro Escovedo Kicked Out of EdenJavier Escovedo My Way HomeEli ‘Paperboy’ Reed Cold SnapAnthony D’Amato LakesideEric Ambel Eric BachmannEric Bachmann The RevealerJesse Dayton BlindfallerMandolin Orange RockinghamBJ Barham American BandDrive-By […]
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2016 (So Far), the Songs Part 2
This has already been quite a year for songs. Here are just a few of my favorites from the first half of 2016. Shadow in the Window, Michael McDermott (from the Pauper Sky Records release Willow Springs) McDermott reflects on his father’s recent passing, building the song from a tender acoustic opening to an impassioned […]
Mayer’s Picks – the Best of 2016 (So Far), the Albums
It’s been a good year for music so far this year (and the rest of the year is shaping up quite nicely, too). Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite releases from the first half of 2016. WILLOW SPRINGS by MICHAEL MCDERMOTT Michael McDermott channels life’s hardships, both his own and those […]
Mayer’s Playlist for June 2016
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH My Way Home by Eli Paperboy Reed They say that what doesn’t kill us just makes us stronger. While not quite that extreme, Brooklyn by way of Boston singer-songwriter Eli Paperboy Reed emerges from the ashes of a major label deal gone bad with a remarkable new album. The slick production […]
Monday Morning Video – Eli Paperboy Reed Takes On Ray Charles
After stepping in a more modern R&B direction on his last release, soul singer Eli “Paperboy” Reed has returned to his roots (so to speak) with an old school sound. He’s got a new album — My Way Home — due out in early June. Reed previewed some of the songs at his SXSW performances […]
SXSW 2016 – The Sounds, Part 1
We’re gonna start with the faves – these are the artists who delivered my favorite sets of SXSW 2016. JAVIER ESCOVEDO Escovedo didn’t do much talking but, then again, he didn’t have too. He and his crack band demolished the crowd with a two (sometimes three) guitar onslaught and the best set of straight-up rock […]
Kiss Off — A Special Twangville Playlist, Part 6
A few years back I put together a series of special playlists featuring my favorite kiss off songs. Despite what some may think, I’m really not that cynical. Rather, I just appreciate how some songwriters can tackle the topic with humor and bite. It’s kind of like a genre unto itself. Over the past year […]
Mayer’s Picks – More Favorites from 2014
Here, in no particular order, are a few more favorites from 2014. And the War CameShakey Graves The Shipwreck From the ShoreAnthony D’Amato HealStrand of Oaks Parker MillsapParker Millsap All or Nothin’Nikki Lane Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill BroonzyDave Alvin and Phil Alvin Eli Paperboy […]