Coming just a week after DelFest, the 9th Annual Nelsonville Music Festival is set for May 30-June 2, 2013  in the beautiful rolling hills of Southeastern Ohio, and just a few miles up the road from Ohio…

Twangy, downcast Canadian country

Nick Ferrio's been performing on Canada's indie country scene for several years, and released his self-titled full-length debut last year. He's back with a new 45 (and yes, that is a 7" disc of vinyl that spins at forty-five…

Covering a classic song is risky business. Fans of the original often find the cover version lacking passion and find that the artist or band fails to understand the meaning of the lyrics and this new musical interpretation thus misses the mark completely. Fans of the cover version, and the artist or band giving the song a new hearing for a new audience, feel strongly that the cover gives fresh meaning to the original, elevating the music to a new level and infusing it with new life.…

We're back again with our annual guide to the hugely humongous Northwest Folklife Festival, this Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-27, 2013. This is the largest community music festival in the nation, with (last I checked) 800+ bands, 25+ stages, and so much music and dance that it's physically impossible to see even a small fraction of the things you'd like to see. Now, some people like to wander around the festival, a…

Enchanting Folk music for the masses

When I was a lad there was Pop Music, Country & Western, The Blues, Jazz and Folk as it was a much simpler time. Last week I was in a conversation with a guy who described his band as Math-Punk. I’ll go to my grave not knowing what they sound like.

This brings me to singer-songwriter Jenny Ritter who will probably be pigeon-holed in the Folk bracket, but much like Nanci Griffith she is much,…

My mind’s a jumble. I close my eyes and six million scattered thoughts pass through, pictures of people walking away from my life and others coming in, images of someone I probably just pissed off and song titles and lyrics and crossing over verses and sweeping up the patio and cleaning out my closet plans. Yesterday, I boiled an egg for 30 minutes. I put it on, went to the other room and searched through ten years of journals, then thought, ‘what’s that sound?’ and went back to the kitchen…

Stevie Wonder (right) was the main attraction, and deservedly so, while delivering a feel-good message along with solid gold hits by himself, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and the Beatles on Sunday (May 19), the final night of the 2013 Hangout Festival.

At age 63, Wonder’s “Little Stevie” days may be long behind him, but that soothing, moving voice remains crystal clear as he broke out with…

Another unexpected surprise greeted me one morning -- who would ever have thought a band from Denmark would have Americana blood coursing through their veins and those veins were strung down the neck of a Danish guitar? Not me. But the opening track of this fine double CD has a blast of melodic harmonica to mark this powerful and catchy, clever exploration into a formidable roots music performance and later, a dash of their more pop melodic Traveling…

Funky soul from 1973, with two bonus tracks

After his innovative 1970 debut, Total Destruction to Your Mind, Swamp Dogg (born Jerry Williams, Jr.) continued to cut fine soul albums, despite a lack of big label distribution, chart action or major sales. His deep…

Americana music, the brilliant singer songwriters, singers and musicians who bring it to life are a passion for this music enthusiast. There is a wonderful eclectic mix of artists who are part of the Americana music scene. Sometimes referred to as roots music and including shades of truly countrified country and great music in the folk tradition this genre has a penchant for telling our story. It speaks to and for our hearts.

The truth in Americana music sets it apart from all other…

There is a subtle difference in the nominating categories for the Americana Honors & Award Nominations from the rest of the awards in the music industry. Most give a ranking, which usually begins with ‘best.’  No where in the nominations…

I’ve always been attracted to album covers; it’s always been an important part of the package, but recently it’s become something of an obsession; mostly because of the amount of half-hearted and amateurish designs that I come across. Even in this download age; most music fans will still scan websites looking for new music; so the album cover is just as important as ever; which brings me to the artwork for Greta Gaines’s LIGHTHOUSE &…

SHININ’ LIVE is the DVD and the ass-kickin', hip-grinding and smile making soundtrack CD of the concert at Bootleggers Bar in Kendal, England is included as a free Extra.

I can remember the night, as if it was yesterday, when I was standing in front of a packed crowd who had come from all over the UK to see this special gig in a Bar that appeared to have been tele-ported direct from Nashville.

The album opens with Bar Owner Jonty…

In the spring of 2012, two years since his move to Nashville from Detroit, Kurt Marschke connected with another Motor City transplant, JD Mack (formerly of Whitey Morgan & the 78s). After searching for new musical blood to make a new record with, Kurt and JD partnered up with Brad Pemberton (Ryan Adams & The Cardinals), Mike Webb (Poco), Pete Finney (Dixie Chicks, Hank Jr.), Kim Collins (Smoking…

As you can imagine, I am getting very excited for Wakarusa. I would like to say thank you again to No Depression for making this adventure possible. I cannot wait to share my experiences with all of you.

As the final countdown begins, I am hard at work researching and preparing so I can bring you the best coverage of the event. Through this process, I have stumbled upon several bands and musicians that have impressed…

Cinematic and atmospheric Alt-Country

After nearly 50 years as a music fan and 15 as a reviewer I still get excited about discovering new bands and having my breath taken away by songs and tunes that I’ve not heard before.

I was aware of I See Hawks in L.A. but only owned 3 tracks on VA compilations when this album arrived, so was only mildly interested at the prospect of listening to it.

Well; it only took 15 seconds of a…

As a west coast Canadian, bluegrass has always seemed like an exotic musical form.  When I hear it, I think of mountains, forests, rivers, and a rural lifestyle that has long past and gone.  Artists like Ralph Stanley and the Monroe Brothers loom like Biblical characters in my imagination, leathery, rugged and indisputably American. In the same way that I always think that reggae bands from Jamaica are better than ones from England or Canada, I’ve…

Good new for those awaiting the release of more old Leonard Cohen from the days when he was still depressed and very much on the edge. In 2009, a CD/DVD package was released on Columbia of a concert that took place on The Isle Of Wight for the English version of Woodstock in 1970.

Both the CD & DVD are complete with many charming Leonard songs from his storied & timeless past like: "So Long Marianne" right after "Bird On A Wire." But this is not just another greatest hits…

We/Or/Me is Bahhaj Taherzadeh, a Chicago-based, Irish-born artist whose music has quietly and gradually been attracting the attention of critics over recent years. Jon Martin calls it “the soundtrack to your most quiet moments”, Sean Michaels says, it's a salve and a peace, and Robin Hilton at NPR has been a consistent advocate of the “wise and slightly weary voice, strolling through delicate melodies and heartbreaking narratives.”…