With just three months 0f 2013 in the history books, it's shaping up to be a quality year for Americana records. Here are my picks for the Top 10 Records of the Year (So Far).

10. Bobby Bare - Darker Than Light

Bare's first album in seven years is a collection of 16 songs drawn from a list he's kept for the better part of his 50 year career. There are murder ballads, songs of the sea, interpretations of rare classics and readings from the rock and roll songbook. The…

I'll Be Here In The Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt by Brian T. Atkinson digs deep into the art of one of music's best and most influential songwriters. Mr. Atkinson retraces the artist's creative steps, as well as shares a wealth of interviews with some of Townes' biggest fans- who also happen to be some of today's best songwriters. He also chats up an impressive selection of some of the countless artists who have been and continue to be inspired by the…

PC & The Angels of Death are an alt. country rock group from California headed by singer/songwriter Patrick Coleman. Their influences are on their sleave, sort of speak; The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, Rolling Stones, and Son Volt, although they do cover songs by Chris Hillman and Gene Clark, respectively.

Their first CD coming out (after their Codeine EP) is called "Jaded Starlings In A Gilded Cage" and is produced by Eagles manager Josh Leo and even features…

JOSH GRAVES - “Bluegrass Bluesman, Josh Graves, A Memoir,”

In my humble opinion, the 1960’s was the most pivotal decade in the post WWII era. Yes, that was fifty plus years ago, but, those times had a profound affect on the United States, on me and the way I’ve lived my life since. The ‘60’s still bring…

Long removed from the promise of the truly stirring Long Black Train, Josh Turner's new album, Punching Bag, proves that Music Row, Nashville has elevated cliche to art.

This album is about as involving as a slice of store brand cheese product.But you know, there's always some sort of low reached every time a slice of product is presented from God's point of view, such as this album's I Was There.…

This episode marks the 4 year anniversary of The Americana Rock Mix. But we’re not really doing anything special about it. We’ll do that next year. Instead, we’re carrying on as usual, bringing you the best new music you haven’t heard yet!

Download this episode HERE

Music in this episode:

- One-Eye’d Barber AND Party by The…

This week the Tompkins Square label is releasing Oh Michael, Look What You've Done: Friends Play Michael Chapman. The collection features an impressive lineup of artists, all paying tribute to the music of Mr. Chapman, while adding their own unique stylistic sensibilities to the source material. Contributors to the project include Meg Baird, Black Twig Pickers, Lucinda Williams, Thurston Moore, Hiss Golden…

Ryan Adams

iTunes Session

(iTunes)

 He may not be releasing new albums at the fast and furious pace he did just a few years ago, but that doesn’t allay the suspicion that Ryan Adams may be the most prolific artist of this generation bar none. So instead of getting a new LP every six months, our man Adams has resorted to other mediums to get his music out, among them iTunes, which released this gem of a collection as an exclusive offering a short time back. Those that…

Josh Tillman is a songwriter, guitarist, drummer, author, artist, and all encompassing renaissance man who, by boldly embracing his impulses, and bravely following his artistic visions, has crafted one of my favorite records of 2012. He has left his role as drummer for the Fleet Foxes, shed his singer-songwriter solo-moniker, J Tillman, and is now calling himself Father John Misty.

This week, Sub Pop delivers Mr. Tillman's first album as Father John Misty, called Fear…

This week on Songwriter's Showcase, we have Katie Powderly, who, in the last year, has sold all of her belongings and is moving into an RV to embark on a 50-state tour in support of her new album, Slips of the Tongue. 

Slips of the Tongue was recorded primarily at Smart Studios in Madison, WI. Owned by Butch Vig of Garbage,…

Reprinted from ModernAcoustic.com

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A recent story in the Washington Post brought to light that Bruce Springsteen was using a teleprompter on stage during his recent tour as well as his last one (read it HERE.) While the article didn’t flat-out deride him for using it, it did lament…

By Josh Diamond

For nearly two decades, Tim Barry fronted Avail, a hardcore punk band whose catchy, aggressive music coupled with Tim's smart, straightforward lyrics gained the band a massive following.

The band, however, released its last album…

Christopher King is the executive producer of the recently released, 2-CD set, Aimer Et Perdre, which is available now via the Tompkins Squarelabel. Mr. King has an impressive history of both collecting 78s, as well as assembling some remarkably beautiful, and thoughtfully assembled box sets and collections of very rare recordings.

In addition to his latest collection, Aimer Et Perdre, which features artwork by…

Interview w/ Nathan, bassist of THE PEAR TRAPS

1.0 – How did the band come together? 

Bryant had written a number of songs before moving to Chicago and went to craigslist to find some bandmates. Within two months we were regularly playing in Billy’s basement, drinking, booking shows and recording.

I reckon this'll be the third album for Wisconsin native Josh Harty. Coming from an intensely musical background, he seems to have been playing and performing most of his 30-odd years and his fluency on the acoustic guitar is testament to all those years of playing. As a songwriter, I would say he's striving to be as honest, as true to an emotion, as he can possibly get, and I guess he has a perfectionist streak that prevents him being more…