When I hear the word “Texas”, I immediately think of “big” or “oil”, or “Longhorns” or “Lone star”, or “rich”. When I hear “Texas fiddle”, Texas dance music or “Swing” comes to mind, like the twin and triple fiddles of the Texas Playboys with Bob Wills calling out behind the vocals of Tommy Duncan singing “San Antonio Rose”, something like that. Well when I received The Old Texas Fiddle by Austin based fiddler/artist, Howard Rains, I sort of expected to hear some of the bouncy…

When I first heard Norman Blake, about thirty or so years ago, I was blown away by the notion that there was actually a picker who could hit the hot licks, but chose, rather, to explore the sounds from another day combined with the sounds floating around in his head. I admired Norman Blake for making that choice, or taking that stand. Since then, I’ve immersed myself in all types of roots music, acoustic mostly, North American, mostly. Today’s world is crammed full of songwriters,…

Old Time Tin Pan Soul  from the Hills

Traditional music has gained quite a following here in the Midwest. Traditional being a very loose term these days. Just about every old punk, hipster and indie rocker is going folk. Goatees turn to handle bar moustaches and civil war era beards, mohawked rebels turn die-hard dapper-Dans complete with vintage vests and clip on bow-ties. People are trading their amplifiers for mandolins,…

For his third solo album, "Heat Lightning Rumbles In The Distance," singer, songwriter and Drive By Trucker Patterson Hood continues to create his own brand of American mythology, writing four minute elegies to a generation that's lost its way, one that's slowly slicing away at itself with a hard-edged blade of insecurity, confusion and loneliness.

Taken on the surface, it's not a pretty picture at all. 12:01 is a creeping, crawling dirge about a clandestine trip across the…

There are two kinds of people in this world: true believers who know Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb to be the country/pop equivalent of Lennon & McCartney and non-believers who've yet to see the light. For the latter, the brilliance of Campbell's voice and the dynamism of Webb's compositions presented in this tastefully produced session should be enough to convert even the most stubborn of the realm. For the former, "Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb In Session..." serves as…

"Make something out of nothing, Temporary restoration, An original creation, A deadringer for the real thing."

So go the first lines of Mother Of Invention, the opening cut from The Trishas' debut, "High, Wide & Lonesome." Packed with sublime lyrical references to love and the simple life (and bearing no small musical resemblance to the famed Harris/Ronstadt/Parton triumvirate of the 1980's), Mother Of Invention wastes no time defining what The Trishas bring to the musical table:…

The Corduroy Road's fans sounded alarm bells when the band left their life on the road for a long hiatus, but after nearly an eight-month break, the core of the band emerged with some new players in the lineup, refreshed and ready for the next phase of the band. The Corduroy Road musically balances between Americana and bluegrass in the dance-able area we refer to as "upbeat string band." Their songs make you…

Cahalen Morrison and Eli West recently released their second album Our Lady Of The Tall Trees. As a big fan of their first album, The Holy Coming Of The Storm, I jumped at the opportunity to interview the duo about their musical history together, including the making of their two albums and the…

Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott are surely considered two of the best songwriters and musicians working today. They each have appeared on numerous recordings, performed with some of the true legends of the bluegrass and string band genres, and have their own impressive discographies. In addition to their own individual careers, Darrell and Tim have joined forces again following up their intimate, masterful, and casual recording, 2005's Real Time, with a new live album called…

Where I muse about Old Sledge, the band Chance McCoy was in prior to joining Old Crow Medicine Show. Originally posted at http://atruersound.com/?p=2728

Old Sledge was a band I discovered last year after they had already split up. Now that may not seem so bad, but the cruel irony is that for a time they were based just over the ridge from me and played many frequent shows at local fine dining and fine…

A definite highlight of many people’s Calgary Folk Music Festival, Pokey himself seemed an honest gentleman, through and through. His commute on Prince’s Island Park would be stymied by fans who easily spotted his iconic 30s attire – I can honestly say that his willingness to engage conversations of any kind is rare like hens teeth.…

Let me say something upfront:  Matter of Time, from Santa Cruz songwriter and guitarist Steven Graves (http://www.stevengravesmusic.com), is not what I expected.  It's something much better: a very pleasant shock.

The truth is, every time I hear about a new band from certain parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, I have to bite back a groan: oh damn, is this going to be yet another Grateful Dead wannabe…

Dar Williams is back at it again.

The much-loved contemporary folk musician is using her songs to bring awareness to social injustice. In this case, it's the War on Women. Williams has set her song "Cool as I Am" against a montage of images of legendary feminists, musicians, and others to draw awareness to this social injustice.

"Every state and every party, both men and women, have found creative, resilient ways to say YES to a society that values its women…

Metaphysical Cowboy, Dusty Wright, has released a video single inspired by Woody Guthrie’s …

The Two Man Gentlemen Band is songwriter and tenor guitarist Andy Bean and his partner, upright bass player Fuller Condon. With only the two instruments between them, the boys deliver irresistibly catchy tunes rooted in Pre-War American jazz and western swing.

The two are respectfully and unmistakably influenced by the duo traditions of such legendary acts as Slim & Slam, but make no mistake: The Two Man Gentlemen Band are no…

 "It’s like something you’d dream up. It doesn’t seem real, but it is. And there’s a chandelier to boot.”

 These were the words from a dazzled and dazzling Sarah Jarosz as she took a pause from her music last Saturday afternoon, looking around the Volcano Room and shared her feelings with a highly attuned audience. I saw my first Bluegrass Underground on a postcard autumn day in 2008 when my pals The Infamous Stringdusters played the show. I’ve grown to know the producers and…

Tara Nevins, On the Road (Photo: John D. Kurc)

Tara Nevins is best known for fronting Donna The Buffalo, the enduring (20 plus years) rock/jam/festival band based in Trumansburg, New York. Years pass, band members come and go, but Tara (and co-founder Jeb Puryear)  keep Donna hoppin’ and constantly touring.

But in her heart of hearts, Tara Nevins is an old-time fiddler. Her most vivid musical experiences are tied to the traditional music of the North Carolina hills,…

She’s a PK, and so it seems fitting that Amy Black was invited to the Me & Thee Coffeehouse series in Marblehead last weekend.  The preacher’s kid was raised in the Missouri heartland and among the good folks of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, moving to New England at sixteen when her father accepted a new church assignment.  For Amy, the warm wood pews and pipe organ of fellowship hall must have offered a familiar welcome on Friday evening.  So did the church kitchen.  There were…

Mark Linn is a man on a mission. He runs Delmore Recordings, which is a record label that is philosophically dedicated to unearthing and reissuing some remarkable recordings that would, in all likelihood, not being seeing the light of day if Mr. Linn wasn't on the job. The label has co-collaborated and worked with another one of my favorite labels, Light In The Attic.

Delmore…

This year I have vowed to start attending more jam sessions.  I live near Richmond, VA and fortunately there are many such hootenannies and meetups supported by a close-knit and very encouraging traditional music community.  Here are a few of the gatherings that take place on a regular basis.

 …