The Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, isn’t all about the headlining acts such as Kings of Leon and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The pride of Gainesville, Florida, Petty had sort of the home-field advantage Saturday night on the Hangout Stage, playing just one state over and practically a direct Interstate-10 shot from Heartbreakers…

Just For Today

Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters

It's Ronnie Earl's band, but he doesn't dominate it. Recorded live at a couple of venues in his home state of Massachusetts,the Stony Plains release is a seamless blend of jazz, soul and r&b by a band of seasoned vets comfortable enough with one another to have an intense musical conversation without stepping on each others' toes.

On“ Vernice's Boogie,” it's all Dave Limina on keys, rippling through a…

COLD SATELLITE (with JEFFREY FOUCAULT)

Cavalcade (Signature Sounds)

2013 sophomore album from this band centered on the collaboration between songwriter Jeffrey Foucault and poet Lisa Olstein. Cavalcade both refines and concentrates the band's signature amalgam of Rock, Blues, and Country. Described by legendary music…

Although Hans Theessink has made a name for himself with his acoustic blues guitar proficiency, he's the closest thing to Ry Cooder other than Cooder himself. On his last outing on Blue Groove, Theessink collaborated with long time Cooder vocalist Terry Evans for 2012's Delta Time, a soulful, gospel drenched electric blues excursion. This time out its all Theesink, acoustic and…

Country artist's fine return to his bluegrass roots

Clinton Gregory had a run of Top-100 country hits in the early '90s, but both his releases and commercial success became scarce by mid-decade. He returned last year with Too Much Ain't Enough, his first album in…

On episode 140 of the Americana Music Show, Beth Lee talks about Lucinda Williams' and Wanda Jackson's influence on Beth Lee and the Breakups and the pros and cons of working in Austin.

Plus roots rock from The Del Lords, rockabilly from Wayne Hancock, stringband music from Steel Wheels, folk-rap from Alex Culbreth and the Dead Country Stars, southern rock from Deadstring Brothers, soul music from the…

On my guitar blog New.Old.Stock., I have a semi-regular column called "These are a Few of My Favorite Tones," highlighting my favorite recorded guitar sounds. Back in March I dedicated an edition of "My Favorite Tones" to acoustic Americana music. Time for the electric…

With a career as diverse as the emerging genre we call ‘Americana,’ Jim Lauderdale continues on the same track toward collaboration, generosity and an imagination fused with the influence of Country and Bluegrass traditions. His December, 2012 release with musical cohort, Buddy Miller, is a collection of songs, some covers and some originals, that focuses on the tight harmony vocal approach eschewing style over the feel and soul of the song. It’s a…

Irma Thomas' lost early-70s soul sides

After relocating from New Orleans to Los Angeles, soul queen Irma Thomas largely disappeared from public view for a few years. But a series of singles produced by Jerry Williams (a.k.a. Swamp Dogg) on the indie Canyon, Roker and Fungus labels led to this eight-track release in 1973. Williams had proven himself…

What can I tell you? I’ve been a fan of Emmylou Harris since I first saw The Last Waltz at the cinema in 1979 and Rodney Crowell ever since a friend gave me a copy of Diamonds and Dirt on cassette as a birthday present. So, finally seeing not only one of them in concert, but both together had made me nervously excited for weeks in advance.

If you don’t know it, the Sage Music Centre on the Gateshead side of the banks of the River Tyne is an amazing building that…