Amos Perrine

New Orleans, Louisiana, is not just a city. Its name alone conjures up a scintillating and singular representation of the confluence of French, African, and American cultures. From buskers on what seems to be every street corner in the French Quarter to the parades and street parties of Mardi Gras,

The Stagecoach Festival bills itself as “California’s Country Music Festival,” but features acts from far beyond the Golden State's borders. Held April 26-28 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Stagecoach covered a lot of ground in its lineup, including headliners from the country mainstream (or, as

Could two festivals, Moon Crush Pink Moon at Miramar Beach, Florida, and High Water in Charleston, South Carolina, be models for future fests? As this column reported last year, the former bills itself as a “connected music vacation” next to the Gulf of Mexico. The music does not begin until

MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson, Doc Watson’s son who died in a tractor accident. Doc himself called the festival a celebration of “traditional plus” music: roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, that has more recently expanded to include

Ninety-seven artists are scheduled to perform across 12 stages at this year's MerleFest, held April 25-28 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The 17 artists highlighted below are, with a couple notable exceptions, ones that regular MerleFest-goers may not be that familiar with.

This week's column features two fests, the Treefort Music Fest (March 20-24) and the Suwannee Spring Reunion (March 21-24) held at opposite ends of the country: Treefort in Boise, Idaho, and Suwannee in Live Oak, Florida. Longtime Lens contributor Peter Dervin reports on Treefort via photos and words,