That was a fun week out on the road, it was really great finding new places to play and explore.  We are really thankful to be able to do this.   Stop one, we got into Hudson  New York – playing at a place called “American Glory BBQ” –  Our good friend Sandy McKnight – a great accomplished songwriter stopped by and hung out with us for a while.  

That night was spent at the wonderful Pennsylvania Highway Rest Stop.   Maybelle is our newest member of the Adela & Jude family –…

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Released on Proper American on June 5, album unites American, Irish traditions

LONDON, U.K. — Bap Kennedy’s solo career has been distinguished by fruitful partnerships with the brightest and best. His 1998 solo debut, Domestic Blues, was produced by Steve Earle, who has hailed the Belfast-based artist as “the best songwriter I ever heard.” After Lonely Street (2000), a tribute to two of Kennedy’s childhood musical heroes, Hank Williams and Elvis…

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Collectors’ Edition Box Set, out October 25 in the U.S., features Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Mark Knopfler, Nicky Hopkins, Paul Carrack, Peter Frampton, Georgie Fame and Andy Fairweather-Low.

 

LONDON, U.K. — Back in the 1990s, Bill Wyman did the unthinkable and left the Rolling Stones — the consensus greatest rock ’n’ roll band of all time — and went on to form a group of his own that equaled his previous band in terms of chops, while…

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Summer tour dates to feature special guests Todd Snider, Barry Sless, New Monsoon 

 

LOS ANGLES, Calif. — For Great American Taxi and frontman Vince Herman, who grew up in West Virginia, fighting for social justice in Appalachia and calling for an end to mountaintop removal seems the natural thing to…

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Columbia, South Carolina alt-country rockers American Gun are back with a brand new album that shows off their revamped lineup and some more rock 'n' roll direction in the songwriting. Great cover, too, as you can see above..couldn't resist posting it full size, sorry.

 

 

Check out my feature interview with AG's Todd Mathis at the…

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With the trailer loaded we set off for Mitchell, South Dakota; the first stop on the American Roadhouse tour. Merle and I made a few stops in Sioux Falls on the edge of the state border, 75 miles north of our home base in Sioux City, IA. Headed east on I-90 to the town of Mitchell nearly 70 miles west- home of the world's largest and last Corn Palace which at one time was constructed entirely of corn and has become a large auditorium decorated with corn from head to toe. A sight… Continue

Recorded live and overdub-free, new release captures genre’s fiery energy and jazzy improvisations.



Band to appear at SXSW and on NPR’s Mountain Stage.



AUSTIN, Texas — Bob Wills has always been a core inspiration for the Hot Club of Cowtown’s sound, but it has taken the Texas-based trio a dozen years to fully honor… Continue

Bill Bell's latest CD The Vicar's Son delves into traditional and contemporary Irish, Scottish and American fiddle music...but that's only a small slice of Bell's musical interests. His musical resume includes work with iconic underground pop stars, film, the avant-garde and Rai and Raga music. Bell’s early musical influences were church hymns and Country/Western music. These influences were, according to Bell due to his father being a Southern… Continue

AMERICAN AQUARIUM, BORN TO RUN



What do you do most every review of your music compares you to a Southern Springsteen? Give the people what they want, complete the dock-worker uniform.



The people of New Jersey selected “Born to Run” as their official state song, which really sums up the beauty and the spirit of New Jersey: they picked a song about leaving the state, as their state song. That’s beautiful. Of course some assholes in… Continue

On August 25, Rounder Records released a four-disc box set of rare Woody Guthrie recordings titled My Dusty Road. It's a 54-track collection, including some songs which have never been released before, and the sound quality is impeccable. There's a disc of Woody's work songs, a disc of protest tunes, a disc of his greatest hits, and one with Sonny Terry and Cisco Houston, which comes off like an impromptu jam session among friends. It's a remarkable set of recordings, and is… Continue

Whatever Happened To The Great American Bubble Factory, the new Drivin' N' Cryin' album, is due out at the end of the month. From the MC5 and Stooges-inspired "Detroit City" to the sentimental ode to homesickness, "I See Georgia," (complete with a Deacon Lunchbox reference, cool...) it's the best set of songs Kinney and company have come up with in years, and to hear Kinney talk about being inspired by Bobby Bare Jr and the Drive-By Truckers… Continue

My sister ran home every day after school in the late fifties and until she graduated high school in 1963 to watch American Bandstand. Living in Philadelphia where it originated from, she knew a few of the regulars and would read about the ones she didn't in “16” magazine, which chronicled who was dating whom. I trailed her by a half dozen years, but there was a fascination back then with watching other people dance on our small black and white screen… Continue

By Angela Grant

Tierra Studios



Bryan Harkness’ roots in Texas run really deep.



His family first came to Texas in the 1830s, when Spain still controlled the territory. They had front-row seats on history when war forced Spain to give up Texas to Mexico. At least 30 of Bryan’s ancestors settled in East Texas, specifically the Nacogdoches area, and most worked as farmers. But they didn’t hesitate to take up arms in their local militias when the need arose. They fought in… Continue

Son Volt - American Central Dust (Rounder)



In the Jeff Tweedy v. Jay Farrar allegiance debate, I’ve always tended more toward Tweedy. I just have to get that out of the way. And yet, this time around, I found myself more quick to warm to Son Volt’s American Central Dust than I did to Wilco’s self-titled release of a week ago (which continues to grow on me). As usual, though, Farrar’s melody-deprived monotone on Dust starts so devoid of emotional… Continue

Michael Jackson died today after a heart attack.



This isn't exactly news from the Americana music scene, but it's impossible to claim Michael Jackson's influence on American music has been anything less than extraordinary, far-reaching, and echoic.



For my generation,… Continue

Yee Haw !! The CD "Blood On The Ground" Made #15 on The Euro Americana Charts

for May 2009 Between Bob Dylan and J.J. Cale..

This Is A Wonderful Blessing.



I want to say THANKS to Tom Fahey at AmericanaOK,

The Wonderful folks at Root Radio A great source for great music

Benny Metten at… Continue

Currently listening to the new Son Volt "American Central Dust". Mighty impressed with the opener "Dynamite". Letting the other tracks percolate slowly through me.

OK apologies for the badly dropped Flyinshoes Motel badge..we all make mistakes brethren :-)



I member of about 10 Nings already it gets confusing....:-)

I'm Shaun Belcher..50 years old...some kind of musician and even less of a singer...





I'm a fan of Townes Van Zandt from the day I found his 'My Mother the Mountain' vinyl album on RCA in amongst the Motown and Beatles albums my uncle had left on a radiogram… Continue