Summer has nearly come to an end and I can’t think of a better way to acknowledge it than with a song by one of the masters. Here are two versions of John Prine’s “Summer’s End”, from 2018’s The Tree of Forgiveness, to close out the season. First is a solo acoustic performance, shot backstage […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Summer 2024
So Glad You Made It, Fantastic Cat (from the Missing Piece Group Records release Now That’s What I Call Fantastic Cat) Fantastic Cat showcase their humor by maintaining a countdown clock until they’re eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, prominently displayed at their shows. Yet, it’s not entirely a joke – if […]
Monday Morning Video – John Prine
The legendary John Prine pays tribute to fellow Chicago songwriter Steve Goodman in this 1997 performance at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music. “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” has a unique history, from Prine’s original insistence that his name not be listed on the credits to the final verse that Goodman […]
Monday Morning Video – Clay Pigeons
Blaze Foley was a songwriter’s songwriter. As John Prine says in his introduction to his cover of the classic “Clay Pigeons”, “I heard him sing this song here and it blew me just right out of my chair, I thought ‘”‘my God, that sounds like I should have stayed awake and wrote that some night.’”
Twangville’s Official Favorite Album of 2020 Is…
Reunions by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit The Twangville pick for Best New Album of 2020 is Reunions by Alabama rock outfit, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit. This list combines best of year picks from our Twangville critics plus the Readers’ Tops which you helped us create. Congrats to all the finalists. Bring […]
Mayer’s Picks – Best Songs of 2020, Part 2
I posted my list of favorite from the first half of 2020 back in July (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this a continuation — the best songs from the second half of the year. I Remember Everything, John Prine I Don’t Want This (Job Interview), Jackson Emmer (from […]
Monday Morning Video – John Prine and Marty Stuart
A little John Prine makes any week better. Here’s Prine, accompanied by Marty Stuart, singing and sharing a story about “Souvenirs” at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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 […]
Monday Morning Video – A John Prine and Steve Goodman Classic
Let’s kick off the week with another John Prine classic. “You Never Even Called Me By My Name†was written by Prine and his good friend Steve Goodman. It later became a hit single for David Allan Coe, no doubt earning Prine and Goodman some fine mailbox money. It is humorously referred to as the […]
Monday Morning Video – A Long Monday Without John Prine
Gonna be a long MondaySittin’ all alone on a mountain by a river that has no endIt’s gonna be a long MondayStuck like the tick of a clock that’s come unwound again and again As we mourn the loss of the wit, wisdom, and humanity of John Prine, here’s a collection of artists paying tribute […]