Ok, so it’s February. Kind of late for a year-in-review special. But, I was traveling for my day job, the one I get paid for, so that’s why I’m late. So, I’ve been doing these blues-based years in review for a few years now, and I’m not sure I ever explained the methodology I use, […]
New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers – Vol. 1
There are jam sessions, and then there are JAM SESSIONs. When you get blues masters Charlie Musselwhite and Alvin Youngblood Hart together with former Squirrel Nut Zipper Jimbo Mathus, North Mississippi Allstars brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson and their father Jim, you’re gonna have a JAM SESSION. That’s what happened in the fall of 2007, […]
Readers’ Pick: Prayer for Peace by North Mississippi Allstars
You picked Prayer for Peace from Mississippi-based blues-rock band, North Mississippi Allstars, as your favorite new release for the week of June 2, 2017. Poll Results New Releases Did we miss something? If you feel a new release is missing from our current poll, please let us know in the comments. Readers’ Tops Spring 2017 COLTER […]
Luther Dickinson – Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger’s Songbook Volumes I & II)
When I caught Luther Dickinson’s show last month in Philadelphia, it was in the smaller of the two halls at World Cafe Live. There were maybe 100 or so patrons there, and the tickets were reasonably priced under $20. He and his “Cooperators” couldn’t have walked away with more than $2,000 from the evening. After […]
Peace, Love and Twang at the Philadelphia Folk Festival
The Philadelphia Folk Festival, which has been around for 54 years, isn’t your grandfather’s folk festival. While there is still a smattering of venerable acoustic solo folksingers on its program like Arlo Guthrie, Bruce Cockburn and Tom Paxton, the festival has become a great platform for Americana artists of all flavors as well as for […]
North Mississippi Allstars – World Boogie Is Coming
North Mississippi Allstars has been tearing it up for 17 years. From their studio recordings, with their unique blend of traditional roots and edgy rock, to their thundering live performances, featuring drumlines and bizarre instrumentation from electric washboards to cigar box guitars and a stringed instrument made from a coffee can on a stick, the […]
Best of Winter 2008, Tom’s Mixtape
Another winter passes without disappointment. There were some expected solid records like those from Tift Merritt, Gary Louris, Kathleen Edwards and the Drive-by Truckers. Some breaking artists like Liam Finn, The Whigs, Mando Saenz and Justin Townes Earle. Some surprises from Counting Crows, The Black Crowes and Seven Mary Three. And some that simply made […]