The Jayhawks have spent much of their career balancing country songwriting with a rock-band approach, and Sanctuary Park continues that tradition. That makes Buffalo Springfield Again a useful predecessor. The 1967 album mixed country instrumentation, folk-rooted harmonies and electric rock without treating those elements as separate styles. The Jayhawks work from a similar foundation, but with the benefit of decades spent refining their own version of it.
Readers’ Pick: The Jayhawks – Sanctuary Park
You picked The Jayhawks – Sanctuary Park as your favorite new release for the week of August 28, 2026.
Now & Then: The Steel Wheels’ The Steel Wheels and the reach of Tomorrow the Green Grass
Some self-titled albums feel like a debut all over again. Others feel like a band planting a flag after years on the road. The Steel Wheels’ The Steel Wheels lands somewhere in between, sounding like a group confident enough to reintroduce itself without pretending it has become something entirely new. That makes The Jayhawks’ 1995 Tomorrow the Green Grass a useful “Then” match: another record by a roots-minded band that widened its reach without losing its center.
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2021
What’s the Matter, James McMurtry (from the New West Records release The Horses and the Hounds) Even in the shittiest of years – and the past two years have been beauts – new music from James McMurtry is always a bright spot. In fact, given the songwriter’s infrequent album releases – The Horses and the Hounds is […]
Chip’s Best Americana Albums of 2020
There were so many good albums this year I am breaking my list into two posts. I will start with the best Americana albums. In the next couple of weeks I will post my Best Indie/Rock albums list. Though the latter will be less comprehensive than this one. While picking the best albums was an […]
The Jayhawks Talk About Avoiding Rehearsal Space Rush Hour and Missing the Road
Marc Perlman and Gary Louris of the Jayhawks chat about terrible eating habits on the road and recall their first gigs.
Caleb Caudle- Better Hurry Up
Readers’ Pick: The Jayhawks – Back Roads And Abandoned Motels
You picked Back Roads And Abandoned Motels by americana band, The Jayhawks, as your favorite new release for the week of July 13, 2018. 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 Summer & […]
Readers’ Pick: Paging Mr. Proust by The Jayhawks
THE JAYHAWKS, Paging Mr. Proust beats out THE BO-KEYS, Heartaches By The Number as your favorite for the week of April 29, 2016. 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 2016 WILLIE NILE, […]
Mayer’s Playlist for March/April 2016, Part 3
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH The Narrows by Grant-Lee Phillips Grant-Lee Phillips is, quite simply, one of the most distinctive voices in American music. His songs conjure up vivid portraits of the American experience, from the fault lines of California to the rural lands of Tennessee. The imagery in his songs, both lyrical and musical, is […]