Folk Alliance International isn’t your typical music conference. Held this year in New Orleans, days include industry panels, seminars, and public showcases in hotel ballrooms, but the real magic happens late at night when up to 100 hotel rooms transform into intimate “private showcases”—artists who normally fill 500-seat theaters performing for 20 people at a […]
Mayer’s Picks: The Best of 2015 (So Far), the Songs Part 1
For me, at least, this year has been more about songs than albums. Here are just a few of my favorites from the first half of 2015. If Still It Can’t Be Found, Joe Pug (from the Lightning Rod Records release Windfall) A melancholy ode to perseverance and pursuing one’s dreams. Simply magical. Don’t Let […]
Mayer’s Playlist for March/April 2015, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Down To Believing, by Allison Moorer Real life is often the best inspiration for art, notably when it is created in response to heartache and sorrow. Such is the case for Allison Moorer, who channels her emotions into a collection of songs that is by turns sad, angry, regretful and defiant. […]
Lyal Strickland on Eating Healthy on the Road and Why You Can’t Ride on Talent Alone
Lyal Strickland talks about life as a single dude driving a minivan, what happens when friends drive by his farm while he is rehearsing and why he changes his guitar strings before every show.