Ken Burns documentaries typically rely on scholars as narrators. Obviously, Burns’ crew couldn’t talk to a member of the 1908 Chicago Cubs, making the game’s historians the best sources for the 1994 series Baseball. Likewise, for a modern topic like […]
Early in the morning my sister and I drove south for about 90 minutes, picking up I-95 in New Jersey and eventually turning west. We pulled off the freeway and onto the surface streets of the Philadelphia neighborhood once touted […]
When Newport Folk Festival’s executive director Jay Sweet addressed the fans gathered at the Quad Stage at 5:35 p.m. on July 26, he said, “You’re the first people anywhere to ever hear these words: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome The […]
Now in its 20th year, AmericanaFest is celebrating in style. The first thing I noticed is, even more so than in previous years, the Americana Music Association taking its role as curator extremely seriously. They’ve done a superb job of […]
When Dylan Goldberger draws Merle Haggard as a guitar-strumming squirrel or Dolly Parton as a collie in a truck bed, rest assured it’s an act of tribute. For his new book of illustrations, Four Legs, Wings, and Six Strings, the […]
On Sept. 15, filmmaker Ken Burns’ series Country Music debuts on PBS stations around the country. The director, who has devoted his considerable attention to telling the stories of the national parks, the Civil War, baseball, and jazz in similar […]
It’s pretty standard practice in the magazine industry to do a “food and drink” issue, on top of the many entire publications devoted to the topic, such as Food & Wine, Saveur, and Bon Appétit, just to name a few. […]
Every six weeks or so, you may have noticed, I share my excitement about some new releases. This time the excitement even bigger than usual as four of the artists have showcases during next week’s AmericanaFest: Kelsey Waldon, Michaela Anne, […]
Carl Jung coined the term “synchronicity” to describe “meaningful coincidences,” such as thinking of someone and then seeing them the same day. While I’m not sure I subscribe to the concept of synchronicity, except as a really good album by […]
