I’m not half what I hoped that I’d become There’s still a long way to go — Kasey Chambers, “Don’t Talk Back” Kasey Chambers has traveled a long way in her 23 years. The open road, its heartbreaks and diversions, […]
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You’ve been commissioned to organize Willie Nelson’s annual Texas picnic. What’s the first thing you do? You get the beer. But somewhere in the chain of command, that license was forgotten, and Willie’s 27th picnic — which was to return […]
If nothing else, one must admire the conception of this tour: Four artists of varying degrees of invisibility, sharing backing musicians, playing a month’s worth of free shows, with a local opening act in each city. Naturally, it’s underwritten by […]
On paper, the pairing was a perfect package: Two troubadours who’ve followed equally vagabond muses down similar sidetracks. But Peter Case and Chuck Prophet weren’t touring together; this double bill was a one-night-only result of right-place/right-time good fortune. Prophet took […]
The annual Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival is steeped in tradition; for its climactic Friday and Saturday shows at this year’s outing, it was also soaked in precipitation. The downpours let loose off and on, and suddenly, but the […]
The stage was a little more crowded than the last time Stacey Earle pulled into Wakefield, just north of Ottawa. As usual, guitarist and husband Mark Stuart was present. Earle’s youngest son, Kyle, played drums; Michael Webb handled bass and […]
On a short bio sheet in the Blue Mountain press kit, author Larry Brown talks about visiting the house of fellow Mississippians Laurie Stirratt and Cary Hudson and listening to them play in the kitchen. “A man might say it […]
Snapshots from the annual Fourth of July celebration of the United States of Roots Rock: As hundreds of sweaty fans pack this rustic roadhouse in the unlikely suburb of Berwyn, Illinois (with at least a hundred more waiting in line […]
Twenty years too late, at least, Nadine Cohodas has written a business history of Chicago’s legendary blues label. It has to have been a daunting and conflicting task, for Phil and Leonard Chess (nee Czyz, like the boxer) were entrepreneurs, […]
Since his gig as a member of Todd Snider’s Nervous Wrecks ended in 1998, Will Kimbrough has been a pretty busy guy. Besides playing on Snider’s latest, Kimbrough also has recorded and/or toured with Tommy Womack, Kim Richey, Josh Rouse, […]
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