Also appearing: Joe Ely and Paul Thorn. It was both a fail-safe and slightly puzzling bill: Ruthie Foster, Joe Ely and Paul Thorn, playing solo and in-the-round on a Tuesday. Were they label mates? Pals? Was there an Americana/blues festival […]
Over the Rhine’s double album, Meet Me at the Edge of the World has been on my most-played playlist since it was released in 2013, so I was anticipating that their sold-out show at The Freight & Salvage would be excellent. […]
Also Performing: Jordie Lane Midway through a sweeping tour of the US, The Stray Birds landed in Berkeley on a stormy Friday night to play a spirited set of bluegrass, newgrass, and acoustic folk. Rain and wind weren’t going to stop […]
Artists: Maria Muldaur, Steve James, and More Two highly respected bluesmen who’ve worked tirelessly to support, foster, and master the acoustic blues form and history, Paul Geremia and Juke Joint Johnny Harper have been faced with serious health challenges in […]
Less than a verse into the first song Canadian-born, Nashville-based Linda McRae played at her 2014 FAR-West Showcase performance, my husband and I turned to each other and said ‘oh yeah.’ Playing a banjo and singing in a strong alto, McRae […]
Artists: Misner and Smith, Erin English, Nell Robinson, Larry Hanks, Jim Nunally, Joe Stevens, Duncan Phillips A reverent group of mostly California-based musicians, led by his son Duncan, paid loving tribute to the work of the legendary activist-poet-storyteller and songwriter Utah […]
After more than a decade of touring the globe, California songwriter Corinne West put her guitar down, moved to Austria, and spent more than a year working on visual art. Instead of taking her away from music, the break served […]
East Bay artist Melissa Phillips has steadily attracted new fans since leaving the songwriting gates in 2012 with the release of her debut album Fits & Starts. A song from the collection, “Centralia,” was selected for the KFOG Local Scene 10 compilation (2013), and […]
When I think of artists who exemplify the Bay Area’s creative culture, I think of people like Annie Bacon. Highly original, filled with integrity and continually questing, the SF-dwelling singer/songwriter/composer/bandleader and mother has several EPs and a full-length CD with annie bacon and […]
Oakland musician Michele Kappel-Stone is one of those rare hybrids of cool, talented and nice. The Baltimore native is always playing somewhere and she’s a seemingly tireless advocate of her fellow artists. When she’s not working on her own projects, […]
