STEVE MARTIN & EDIE BRICKELL

Love Has Come For You (Rounder)

Steve Martin is currently in the fifth decade of a varied and accomplished career as a comedian, actor, author, playwright, banjoist and songwriter. His fellow Texas native Edie Brickell has carved out an iconoclastic solo career that's solidified…

Performing Songwriter got it right. They called Patty Larkin a “drop dead brilliant guitar player, a richly textural singer, a commanding, poetic songwriter, a hilarious and personable entertainer.”  Yes, all combined into one fantastic performer.  Patty never fails to amaze me.  Her fingers fly up and down the fretboard, her lyrics exude honesty, her style is beyond classy.  In this little interview, Patty tells us a bit about her latest CD, gives us a mini-lesson about looping…

Confession One: I had never hear of either Tommy Emmanuel or Martin Taylor before being sent this CD for review. This despite the fact that the former, an Australian,  was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in a Guitar Player  readers' poll. Confession Two: I am no a great fan of Django Reinhardt -style jazz guitar. I appreciate it, but a little goes a long way.

Having said that, I have found myself listening rather avidly to this "The Colonel & The Governor"…

Janis Martin's set of 11 rockabilly tunes, "The Blanco Sessions," finds itself in the record bins due largely to the tireless work of singer Rosie Flores. It was Flores who met Martin in 1994, enlisted her to sing on her "Rockabilly Filly" album the following year and inspired Martin to record this set over 2 days in 2007 at Dennis Challman's Rancho Relaxo studio in Blanco, Texas.

It's also Flores who's responsible for the album's release, having taken…

On one level it sounds like dogged persistence paid off.  Billy Martin is in San Fransisco doing a drum clinic, the young organist Wil Blades whose built a name for himself at the Boom Boom Room thinks he can swing a duo money gig together, presses the manager, and apparently he passes the muster. "We just got up there and played, there was no preparation we didn't really have time for any of that with Billy coming in to do these clinics there just wasn't any time.  So we basically…

When it comes to playing the cello and composing music, Ben Sollee is a force that cannot be stopped. In addition to his solo albums, Learning to Bend and Inclusions, he has performed and recorded with such artists as My Morning Jacket's Jim James and Daniel Martin Moore, Cheyenne Marie Mize, Casey Driessen,…

Just bought my copy! well done Michael Weston King, can't wait to hear what "The View from Shit Creek" is like from Jackie Leven (still can't believe we won't see Jackie again) great list of folk including our friends Kit Clark, Southern Tenant Folk Union, Eddi Reader, Martin G Stephenson, Peter Bruntnell, Reg Meuross, Andy White, Christine Collisterall venting their spleens for us, thank you well done!

At least in this project we…

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…

The beginning of May marks a special and busy time for Sara Watkins. On May 3, Sara and her brother Sean orchestrated another of their Watkins Family Hour shows that was part of the L.A. Bluegrass Situation at Los Angeles’s Largo at the Coronet. This uniquely eccentric event, now in its third year, brings together adventurous acoustic musicians and music-loving performers, like Steve Martin and fest organizer Ed Helms. The fest returns to Largo at the…

This week, The Steep Canyon Rangers released their new album, Nobody Knows You, via Rounder Records. New listeners may recognize the band's name as Steve Martin's touring bluegrass band, who also recorded with him on his latest album, Rare Bird Alert.

I would guess that there are many hardcore bluegrass fans who have been listening to the band's records over the years, as well new listeners who may be looking to explore the…

Thank God Earl Scruggs was remembered at the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards extravaganza on April 1, televised from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why the ACM has the major emphasis on young performers. And even if we want to be all snotty about profits and charts and radio play, it's important for us country fans to remember that time marches on. Just look at the portraits of the various "decades" of country performers…

I’ll never look at the Waffle House the same way. The one out by the Assault & Battery Lane exit, 65 South out of Nashville, called Harding Place before the name change.

It’s actually on Sidco Drive, a parallel runner that’s lower industrial strip malls. There’s a Cracker Barrel for the more traditional Christian-types. Then there’s our Waffle House, like an Island of Broken Toys for college kids trying, sobering up from benders, gay kids after whippets and dancing, old Nashville…

FTB podcast #153 features the new album by MARTIN ZELLAR called Roosters Crow. Also new music from OTIS GIBBS, DAVID RODRIGUEZ & SUSAN GREENBAUM. Here's the iTunes link to subscribe to the FTB podcasts. Here's the…

This week, the Nashville-based ensemble Lambchop returns with their 11th studio album, Mr. M (via Merge Records).

Kurt Wagner, the primary songwriter and leader of the group, was gracious enough to take some time out his busy schedule to briefly discuss the creation of the new Lambchop record, as well as provide some insights as to where his own creative identities, as both a visual artist and a…

Last December,  Devon at Hearth Music published a feature on No Depression called Kentucky Rising: Three Artists Remake Their Roots, which focused on three Kentucky-based artists: Ben Sollee, Daniel Martin Moore, and Matt Bauer (who now resides in Brooklyn). Already being a fan of DMM and Mr. Sollee, I figured that the third…

I first discovered the Matt Flinner Trio, through their 2009 album, "Music du Jour." At the time, I had been studying the mandolin for about a year and was largely listening to bluegrass as the guiding force in my studies. I often credit "Music Du Jour" as one of the first albums I was lucky enough to discover that fulfilled my desire to study mandolin beyond bluegrass.

Being new to the instrument at the time, I wasn't really sure where to look for new…

I first discovered Cheyenne Marie Mize through her six-song collaboration with Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham) called Among The Gold.  I enjoyed it so much that I began digging around online and realized that in addition to working with Mr. Oldham, Ms. Mize has also been prolifically teaming up with the likes of Ben Sollee, Daniel Martin Moore, and her partners in her band, Maiden Radio.

Last year Maiden Radio released their second album, Lullabies, via…

You’ll never find me complaining about the about the amount of worthy new releases that arrive on my doorstep on a weekly basis. No way! But I do have to admit that it often gets overwhelming trying to keep up and give attention to all the efforts that are so deserving. Consequently, this particular edition of Lee’s Listening Stack is probably best referred to as Lee’s Listening MOUNTAIN – and a mountain that seems to take forever to scale. But with the imminent arrival of the holidays, I…

Don't laugh at Harry Belafonte, the incomparable American/world roots folk musician and popularizer, for being caught on tv asleep or meditating last week. Laugh with him during his appearance with Steven Colbert  which he amazingly turns…

The Columbus, Ohio-based band, The Black Swans' have recently released their stellar new album, Don't Blame The Stars (Misra Records). I recently had the opportunity to catch up with singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jerry DeCicca, to ask him about the band's history, his production work, and the band's new album. 

This interview is one of those special features that I have had the opportunity to work on that was born with the primary intention of…