Folk singer Elizabeth Mitchell is arguably the flagship artist for revered record label Smithsonian Folkways (along with Ella Jenkins). Her ability to breathe new life into old traditions, and her thoughtful, subtle music-craft make her not only one of the […]
I’ve often said that if I don’t like an album there’s no reason to review it. Too many releases and too little time to spend squawking about what I don’t like rather than what I do like. And realistically, who […]
I went for a hike the other day. Got up early in the morning when the sun was cresting the horizon. Hiked up and up. Up and up an old mountain. To my right as I ascended, lay this mountain’s […]
I jumped out of bed last night with an incredible thought! What if I wrote a blog – try to follow me now – that listed what I thought to be the best Americana albums of 2013? That would change […]
Brian Wright’s latest album Rattle Their Chains, is a lush and velvety triumph of analogue roots rock and roll. I don’t say “roots” so much as a euphemism for a band with a banjo and period costumes with suspenders and […]
It’s that time of the year when you reflect on what you have seen, what made ya tick and what really … could have been improved! So for what it is worth … here is my two penneth worth …! […]
Once, when I interviewed “Peaceful, Easy Feeling” songwriter, Jack Tempchin, he said the writer’s greatest tool is a deadline. While I see the wisdom in his statement, I am a walking contradiction of the concept. I get a deadline, I […]
There are two ways of looking at this collection of folk music in the raw: either it is terminally amateur, only ever approximately in the area of anything you might call musical accomplishment; or, it taps into something deeper and […]
Here we go with the 6th annual FTB Holiday Spectacular with old chestnuts and a few new favorites from Nick Lowe, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Stan Martin and more. Here’s the direct link to listen now! BTW, the photo at […]
Now that the leaves that were green have turned brown and we‘re nestled in our deep and dark December, I thought it might be time to take a more nuanced look at the end of this duo’s recording career. I […]
