I, like many fans of roots music, have made plenty of jokes about the wildly divergent styles of music that all seem to still be “Americana.” But I also admit I’ve taken advantage of it. When you’re looking for […]
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A recent death in my family has led me to that oddest of traditions, catching up with family and friends who you only ever see at funerals, or, as I call it, Methodist Family Reunion. When the inevitable “So, […]
I blame Jason Isbell for planting a question in my head that I’ve been pondering for a while. What is the “Nashville Sound?” Certainly, if you look at the name’s origin, it’s easy enough to define: an attempt by […]
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about duality. Some of that has to do with the news, reflections on how seemingly ordinary people can become those who bomb buildings or attempt to overthrow the government. But it’s also because […]
It’s the time when journalists of all stripes look back at the year that was. You can find lists of best albums, best concerts, best television shows, best movies, and best celebrity hairstyle if you are so inclined. I […]
In my last column, I looked at three artists who were using very different methods of crowdfunding during the pandemic. As I researched one of those, the pay-per-view “tour” by Over the Rhine, I found a number of other artists […]
The old, and unsourced, saying goes “necessity is the mother of invention” (as opposed to Frank Zappa, who is definitively sourced as inventor of the Mothers of Invention). That’s certainly been the case this year as artists scramble to […]
The Carter Family. The Louvin Brothers. Bill Monroe. Those are among the artists you hear most mentioned when you talk about “roots music.” But as newer generations of artists come along, the definition, and the breadth, of roots music has […]
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. In a normal year, that wouldn’t be so remarkable, but in 2020, “interesting” is a high bar to clear. For several days after Election Day last week, America had no idea who its […]
Growing up when every true music nerd read the liner notes of an album top to bottom, I noticed that the number of people who were listed as having played on the album was always a lot larger than […]
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