This column, and a lot of roots music writing in general, could be accused of having a geographical bias. For most writers, certainly for me, it isn’t an intentional one. It’s just that certain areas, Nashville, Austin, Denver, Asheville, have […]
A sense of place is vitally important to any good story, and the best places tend to retain the essence of their past incarnations. The Red Clay Music Foundry is a shining example of this. Once a church – one of […]
Well, after operating this column for months, I figure it’s about time I take a look in the mirror and answer my own questions about radio and being a DJ. This week’s subject is me. What else can I say? I […]
This week, we’re turning the spotlight on a handful of singer-songwriters who are delivering some truly stirring work. First up is John Paul White, who hails from the fertile musical landscape of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Probably best known (until now) […]
This was a year of firsts for the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado. Most notably (and noticeably, for that matter) was the debut of Mavis Staples, the 77-year-old gospel-R&B-soul singer who still performs with an evangelist’s fervor. “Well, […]
“Broke musician needs money to finish album with big shot producer and hot band. God Bless. Mikey Sweet” Western Massachusetts singer songwriter Mikey Sweet needed a kickstart towards the next step in his fledgling career. According to Mikey,”those words were […]
Some days my bones feel weary. It especially hurts when I get down on my knees, slowly bend over, and flip through dusty shelves of old, used books. Years ago it was record stores, but I can barely recall the last […]
Music memoirs fall generally into three categories. Some, like Gregg Allman’s My Cross to Bear (William Morrow), tiresomely catalog an artist’s immersion in sex, drugs, and rock and roll, providing very little insight into the artist’s music or the value […]
We’ve seen the Del McCoury Band at two midsized bluegrass festivals this summer. At age 77 — and having been inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 2011 — you’d think that McCoury has earned himself a […]
It was a busy August weekend to say the least. Almost a year after it was recorded, Lydia Loveless’ fourth album Real was finally released. The next morning she appeared on CBS This Morning playing two new tracks from Real […]
