While I’ve often struggled to find the enduring value of year-end lists of music, I’ve now come to think of such lists as thank-you notes to the artists whose music and lyrics have brightened my days, lifted me out of […]
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Ruthie Foster says she’s not into labels, but tries to describe to me the style of music on her latest album, released in March on Blue Corn Music. “It could be Americana, rhythm and blues, soul or ‘all of the […]
It’s been a smidge more than a week since we announced our new subscription deal and the subscription drive we’re running, and I’m thrilled to say that we’ve passed the 1,500 subscriber mark! (Our ultimate goal is 7,000.) If you […]
The Piedmont plateau region stretches across the Eastern Seaboard from Alabama, through Virginia, and up toward New Jersey. That’s where an old form of blues comes from, and the theme of a new collection from Smithsonian Folkways. As our own Grant […]
If we can go ahead and name the year’s best album, it’s clearly Ruthie Foster’s Joy Comes Back. The album title cuts many ways, of course: she’s glad to be back after some personal struggles over the three years since […]
If you thought my first column this year focusing on upcoming notable roots music releases was packed with good stuff, you will be even more thrilled with what’s in store in the next few weeks. From Rhiannon Giddens’ and Otis […]
These are demoralizing times for most Americans, and it’s at such historical junctures that music is most potent and therapeutic. Ruthie Foster couldn’t have known it as she was recording her deeply satisfying new album, Joy Comes Back, but the […]
The weather is cooling a bit, the stages are going up, the kegs of FreshGrass IPA are being rolled in, and the banjos will soon be tuned. Yes, it’s time again for the FreshGrass Festival. This will be my third […]
Eric Bibb is a wonder. He’s 64 years old and looks two decades younger, as slim, stylish and handsome as ever; he’s been working professionally for going on 50 years and still tours relentlessly and apparently tirelessly; his dynamic but […]
Joe Ely, Ruthie Foster and Paul Thorn toured together as the Southern Troubadours performing at the Edmonds Center of the Arts. Each took turns signing and sharing stories. It was truly an incredible joy to hear these fine musicians.
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