Matthew Houck, the frontman for the ambidextrously atmospheric electro-Americana jam band (that’s a genre now, because why not?) Phosphorescent, is not from Mississippi. He’s from Alabama, lives in Nashville now. But he says “honey” a lot when he sings, and […]
Studio mastermind and convicted murderer Phil Spector gets all the ink, but he wasn’t the only terrific—and terrifically flawed—music producer working in the 1960s who came to a sad end. Another was England’s Joe Meek, who wrote and produced a ton […]
He doesn’t make rock god faces nor jump around like he’s being electrocuted when he sings. He just stands still and delivers, pouring out bucketloads of soul on his adoring disciples. In 2016, BBC Radio 2 captured a memorable concert […]
Versatile – the 38th studio album from Van Morrison, which comes only three months after his last release — finds him joining artists like Bob Dylan and Rod Stewart in mining the Great American Songbook. There are two tracks here […]
You probably heard a Bert Berns song today. If you heard “Tell Him,” “Twist and Shout,” “Cry to Me,” “Here Comes the Night,” “Hang on Sloopy” or “Piece of My Heart,” you heard a song he wrote. If you heard […]
Fans of Earl Scruggs frequently hold that when he broke with Lester Flatt, his musical partner of 24 years, to form the Earl Scruggs Revue with his sons, he actually was only caving in to his desire to please his sons, […]
After a week off to attend the Sloss Festival in Birmingham, I’m back with a new batch of crowdfunding campaigns just waiting for your pledges. While summer continues to make the choice of new campaigns lighter, things are beginning to […]
This is the second installment in a continuing series each St. Patrick’s Day, using modern and traditional Irish music to explore Irish history (the first entry, Songs of Hunger, can be found here). Artists featured in this article include Van […]
Here’s a podcast on the recent Americana Music Association UK Awards show in London earlier this month. Included in the podcast are songs by Lewis and Leigh, Sam Outlaw, Jim Lauderdale and Steepways. Please feel free to share your feedback in the comments […]
It may not be in quite the same league as the way young Brits like The Rolling Stones and Cream re-introduced Americans to their own blues heritage back in the Sixties and Seventies, but is the UK now exporting Americana […]
