To the right, to the left, to the front, to the back — everywhere you looked in the giant field at the foot of the Watson Stage, there were endless throngs of people, eagerly awaiting the Merlefest debut of Dolly […]
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“Harry Smith’s shining down on us,” exclaimed a stately Marianne Faithfull early into a five-hour tribute to the legendary music archivist and Beat Generation Renaissance man. While Smith’s monumental 1952 Anthology Of American Folk Music frequently has been credited with […]
Sometimes, tributes that sound like a bad idea wind up surprising you. The initial hesitation when you scan a suspect list of guests evaporates once the event begins. As accolade follows accolade, the event is turning out better than expected. […]
The atmosphere was something like a homecoming as Willie Nelson kicked off the first show of a rare two-night Austin club engagement. Aging hippies rubbed elbows with latter-day punk rockers, frat boys gathered with geezers. Like precious few recording artists […]
The genius of Cowboy Jack Clement has been revealed mostly through others’ voices. Clement was the first to record Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison at Sun Records, and he produced historically significant sessions for Johnny Cash, Sonny Burgess, Charlie […]
With an ease and confidence most likely born during his busker days, an unplugged Peter Case dove into “Travellin’ Light” and fed off the rapt attention of the 75 people crowded into the living room at Pine Hill Farm. Four […]
Set up without much publicity as a public trial-run before a mini-reunion stand at several European alt-country festivals, this show (followed by another in their native Philadelphia the next night) was the first public appearance by Go To Blazes in […]
When the Morells took the stage shortly before midnight, the crowd could have fit into about three Pontiacs. Wrapping up a short East Coast tour, the band could have gone through the motions. Instead, the Springfield, Missouri, quartet delivered an […]
Kelly Hogan was perfection singing Richard Buckner’s “Blue And Wonder”, accompanied only by Andy Hopkins’ sensitive guitar and the melancholy keening of Jon Rauhaus’ almost human pedal steel. Perfection was the signature of this show, an evening of all but […]
Paul Burch’s music has a distinct old-school country feel, his voice reminiscent of Nashville Skyline-era Dylan. If his presence onstage is understated, it’s because the songs are the stars, with able backing by Fats Kaplin on fiddle and lap steel. […]
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