ALBUMS OF THE MONTH American Kid, by Patty Griffin It’s hard, if not impossible, to avoid being mesmerized by Patty Griffin’s new release. Long revered for both her passionate songwriting and enchanting voice, both are in exceptional form on American Kid. Just one listen to album opener “Go Wherever You Want to Go” and you […]
Monday Morning Video: New Years, Slaid Cleaves Style
Slaid Cleaves – Addendum
Several days ago I wrote a partial review of the new Slaid Cleaves live double album, Sorrow & Smoke: Live At the Horseshoe Lounge. Â Since then the album has come out, I’ve overcome the technical issue with getting both discs, and I got a chance to see Slaid live at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in […]
Slaid Cleaves – Sorrow & Smoke: Live At the Horseshoe Lounge
I’m going to do something that I don’t think anyone at Twangville has done before. Â I’m going to review half a record. Â I was excited to get a pre-release file of Slaid Cleaves’ new live album, Sorrow & Smoke: Live At the Horseshoe Lounge. Â I gave it several listens, wrote up most of a review, […]
Mayer’s Playlist for August 2011, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: The Duke & The King, by The Duke & The King I’ll admit to not knowing much about the Duke and the King. I was aware that Simon Felice had moved on from the Felice Brothers and had formed this new outfit, but little more. Let’s just say that I’ve corrected […]
SXSW 2011: The Scene, Part 1
For me, the true harbinger of spring is the arrival of the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas. Or rather, spring begins for me when I arrive in Austin for SXSW. With upwards of 2,000 bands and 13,000 attendees, SXSW is the world’s premiere music conference. Even better, it is one heck of […]
Mayer’s Best of 2009 (the songs), Part 1
Give Me Tomorrow, Willie Nile (from the River House Records release House of a Thousand Guitars) Nile’s eternal optimism reigns supreme, most notably on this spirited testament to change and opportunity. “I’ve seen poison in the waters, heard the crying of the sea, I have heard your sons and daughters say what’s to become of […]
Best Albums of 2009, Official Twangville Editors’ Picks
Another great year in music comes to a close! Over the next several days the editors of Twangville will be releasing their top picks from the year. To kick that off, here’s the aggregated Top 25 Twangville Editors’ Picks of 2009. It was a close match for number one between Lucero and Justin Townes Earle […]
Mayer’s Playlist from July 2009, a Video Companion
So my quest for a Bottle Rockets video from the new release turned up empty. That won’t, however, stop us from watching the boys rock out with David Bowie’s “Suffragette City.” From there we run through a string of great live performances from Daddy (Will Kimbrough & Tommy Womack), Jones Street Station, Those Darlins, Ketch […]
Mayer’s Playlist from July 2009
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Lean Forward, by The Bottle Rockets Now that summer has finally arrived, it’s a good time to pick out the summer albums. It starts with the latest from the pride of Festus, Missouri, The Bottle Rockets. Lead songwriter Brian Henneman is a pop songwriter masquerading as an alt-country musician. And summer […]