A New Zealand music reviewer said Tami Neilson is “a red-hot honky-tonker somewhere between Patsy Cline and Wanda Jackson with perhaps just a little bit of Peggy Lee sophistication.” That’s quite a heap of praise for the Canadian singer-songwriter […]
The best music takes on a life of its own, but it’s important for fans to ensure it doesn’t become a shut-in. Consider rock and roll’s recent slide in popularity (to some extent at the hands of the banjo). Rock may […]
Sixty-five years into her recording career, Mavis Staples’ incomparable voice and infectious spirit are truly wonders to behold. Born in 1939 to Oceola and Roebuck “Pops” Staples, Mavis got her start early, singing in church and at home in Chicago. […]
Longtime ND photographer Steve Ford recently attended the Bluesfest Byron Bay, Australia’s premiere blues and roots festival that features many American artists. This year’s lineup included Patti Smith, Mavis Staples, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Rhiannon Giddens, Kasey Chambers, Hubby Jenkins, Andrew Bird, […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally appeared in the Summer 2016/Homegrown edition of No Depression‘s quarterly journal, which is now sold out. Subscribe to No Depression today and never miss another issue. Rambling at midnight goes back many centuries and […]
Years ago at a music conference in Memphis, I met Nancy Apple and asked her about Al Green’s church in town. She kindly brought me there that Sunday on my way to the airport. Seeing the legendary singer on the […]
The tavern floor is littered with the detritus of year-end lists, torn up in disgust or frustration or mild disagreement. What’s next? What comes to take the place of the short-lived glory of the books that sit on shelves unopened […]
When you think about the music culture of Asheville, North Carolina, the image in your head probably isn’t a fro-hawked, nose-pierced black woman who can rip on the electric guitar and who, along with her band, pulls together a sound […]
I’ve gotten to know Tim Lynch from seeing him at festivals and emcee-ing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. I immediately liked him for his passion for music, and I quickly learned he brought that same enthusiasm and dedication to all his endeavors. […]
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, […]
