There’s a certain kind of self-awareness that arises when you’ve worked in the same career for 30 years. For some, it may consist of near-perfect understanding of their particular vocation. For others, it may produce a deeper love for something […]
Blues and soul singer Janiva Magness has won many awards for music and her songwriting. She’s been named B.B. King Entertainer of the Year — the only woman besides Koko Taylor to win the award — and every year, Magness […]
Thomas Goldsmith opens his biographical portrait of Earl Scruggs and his greatest artistic achievement, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” by setting the scene in both Scruggs’ early childhood home of Flint Hill, North Carolina, and the Herzog recording studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, […]
A few years ago, I interviewed John Oates prior to an appearance at Bonnaroo. Eventually, the conversation turned to how the business of music had changed for artists since he entered the scene. Oates acknowledged that the rise of streaming […]
This morning I came across a BuzzFeed list of “21 Signs You’re Officially An Old Person,” and not surprisingly I connected with about half of them. Indeed, I had to hand crank the windows of my old cars, carried around […]
“It was still dark outside and they were gone just like that.” On Aug. 12, 1986, Allison Moorer’s father shot and killed her mother and then killed himself at the family’s home in Mobile, Alabama. The 14-year-old Moorer is awakened […]
Recently, I had some journalists ask me if I ever thought I was being too vulnerable, too revealing, or “too real” in my songwriting. My answer to them is always “no.” You see, I believe in order to write about […]
Turn on some Motown music and you’ll be showered in dazzling orchestral arrangements and powerful vocals. You’ll find songs of love, God, sex, and resistance. It’s soul music designed for a pop audience, or maybe it’s pop music with an […]
The year 2019 is going out with a bang. Here’s my last listing of releases I am excited about, including three “tribute” albums, each of a different sort. I also wanted to spotlight recent or upcoming projects from the legendary […]
This gallery is a slice of my week at AmericanaFest in Nashville. As a new mom with a new record (and a husband who teaches middle school and can’t take time off to babysit while I run around town), I’m […]
