You could call the structure of this column “songwriters up front, instrumentalists in back,” but in reality the line between them gets blurry. Canadian chanteuse Basia Bulat, Jayhawks mainstay Gary Louris, and rising star Kora Feder all have distinctive […]
Joe Ely has been a prime mover in Americana music since the days before it was called Americana. From the early-’70s origins of the Flatlanders with his childhood Lubbock pals Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, through a run […]
The top two picks in this month’s roundup are a study in contrast, and yet there’s overlap. At 84, Ringo Starr remains one of the most recognizable recording artists on the planet, with all of the Beatles’ catalog plus […]
By Peter Blackstock As we approach the end of the year, there’s no particular rhyme or reason to these six selections — just a bunch of records I’ve been digging lately, and perhaps you might as well. Keep on rockin’ […]
Songwriters reappear (Milo Binder) and reinvent (L.C. Franke) and keep on rollin’ (Johnny Irion). A bluegrass mainstay (Rhonda Vincent) puts her own stamp on classics with some high-profile guests. And a couple of personal favorites from decades past (Continental Drifters, […]
We’ve hit the middle of 2024, and first-rate new albums seem to be coming fast and furious. Here’s a look at five of my favorites released in May and June, all of which may well end up on my […]
More often than not, I use these Founders’ Keepers columns to highlight artists you might not already know. There’s some of that this month, too — but we’ll bolt out of the gate with some star power. Mark Knopfler […]
About a year ago, celebrating Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday at the Hollywood Bowl with an all-star cast of dozens, I was reminded how much Norah Jones and Sheryl Crow have contributed to popular music over the past few decades. […]
Yes, it’s 2024, but I’ll confess: I keep writing 2023 on my music playlists. Which is to say that alongside two January releases in this month’s Founders’ Keepers batch are four records from the latter part of last year […]
Ain’t nothing wrong with celebrating your 90th birthday all year long, especially when you’re Willie Nelson. The party started April 29-30, when dozens of popular music’s biggest names — and some well-chosen lesser-knowns — gathered at the Hollywood Bowl in […]
