Five years ago, Minnesota native Mike Nicolai jumped on an Amtrak train departing Minneapolis in search of something new. With only 200 bucks and a ten-song demo tape in his pocket, the former member of Minneapolis rock band the Draghounds […]
“I call my music country music,” says Greta Lee. It’s a simple statement that could seem a tad ironic or patently obvious, depending on your point of view. For Lee, it’s more like a hard-won fact of life. Listening to […]
The last thing I heard, first thing this morning, was the sound of Mark Olson and Victoria Williams singing together, on their latest self-released Creek Dippers album, Pacific Coast Rambler. These final weekends are always a struggle, and a pleasure. […]
When Paul Burch was growing up, the single record that made the most impact on him wasn’t what is thought of as roots music. It wasn’t an archival folk recording smelling of dust and shellac, though as a kid Burch […]
Sometimes traditions were meant to be broken. The Cigar Store Indians found this out by way of a happy accident that ended up having a lot to do with what they became. Formed seven years ago by singer/guitarist Ben Friedman, […]
Even though it’s the middle of the afternoon, the Romweber household west of Chapel Hill is dark. The blinds are drawn, all the lights off. In fact, the only source of artificial light anywhere in the house is the television […]
You won’t find E-Town on a map. No Colorado road signs direct tourists to Boulder’s environmental opry. In fact, E-Town doesn’t even have to be in Boulder. Nick and Helen Forster happen to live in town and record most of […]
In pondering the uniqueness of Robert Earl Keen, let’s compare him with his fellow Texan Lyle Lovett. College buddies and fellow Aggies, the two co-wrote “The Front Porch Song”, which each recorded early in their careers. They shared a circle […]
It’s a perfect crowd for Mose McCormack — old friends, fellow pickers, crusty bikers hoisting Buds beside their hogs, hippie cowboys and earth mothers, elderly Hispanic neighbors, gaggles of kids running around. There’s several plastic coolers full of beer, a […]
Down On The Farm has for many years been the most important event in Norway for music spanning the borders between rock and country. Now in its eleventh year, the festival has grown from little more than a party for […]
