Nightroamer, the new release from Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, builds on the classic country sounds and outlaw themes of the North Carolina-based quintet’s first two albums. While Shook, who uses they/them pronouns, remains a charismatic presence, their delivery throughout […]
THE CICADAS WERE OUT in full force, buzzing in celebration as the August summer heat had mercifully subsided, at least for a few days. I ordered coffee (black) and took a seat at a tiny round table outside Caffé Driade, […]
If it’s March, the center of the world of roots music is Austin and SXSW. For the third year in a row, this column will feature the photos of Kirk Stauffer. It was his ninth consecutive year, so he knows […]
A bucket-list trip. A whirlwind five days. 30 miles of walking and wandering through the vibrant streets of Austin, Texas. Tacos and barbecue for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And, a 30-mile commute to downtown Austin from Round Rock every day, […]
Listening is inevitably a subjective process. That said, I do my best to practice suspending or expanding my default filters in order to be more receptive to forms of aesthetic excellence that might not be congruent with my preferences. For […]
2017 was a banner year for Americana. Jason Isbell and John Moreland, the genre’s flagbearers, released new albums and many emerging artists produced outstanding debut and sophomore efforts. A look back at 2017 is also laced with sadness upon the […]
Sarah Shook’s rawboned country shudders and shakes with desperation and unquenched longing. Like the face staring back from her Bloodshot debut Sidelong, there’s an unvarnished severity that belies the smoke she’s blowing, face half-hidden in hair. There’s something cagey in […]
There’s been a lot of buzz about Nikki Lane and Margo Price as the next generation of (women’s) outlaw country music but I’ve took a spin through their albums and…I dunno. I just don’t buy it. There’s a certain slavishness […]
In years past, I’m told Sarah Shook could be could be found playing ballads and dirges on an acoustic guitar at City Tap, the bar and restaurant in in the quaint town of Pittsboro, North Carolina outside Chapel Hill. That was […]
