Amos Perrine

With every music writer busy at work compiling lists for year-end reviews, on this last Tuesday in November before that deluge begins next month, three ND photographers — Boom Baker, Mark J. Smith and Carol Graham — and I have chosen seven neglected roots albums that just did not get the attention,

“What I love the most are sad songs. My heart was broken and, I dunno, I guess when my heart breaks, pedal steel comes out.” So said Karen Pittelman (Karen & the Sorrows) in a 2017 Bluegrass Situation article exploring the assumptions behind who owns country music and who’s

There has been a quiet revolution going on. It’s one that music fans have been aware of for some time, but the gatekeepers not so much. As evidenced by a recent Instagram tag, some have called it "The Highwomen Movement." Perhaps finally, in the wave started by

“Jason Isbell told me, ‘One thing you have to understand about about Amanda [Shires], she’s a butterfly from outer space.’” — Brandi Carlile at the Americana Music Honors & Awards Show  While Amanda Shires was certainly the object of much admiration, she was not the only butterfly in Nashville last

This week is a first for the Through the Lens column: the Newport Folk Festival. From Pete Seeger to Bob Dylan to Brandi Carlile, the festival has always been not just a showcase of the music that binds us, but also a platform for social change. Women made big statements

"This is the beginning and end of our world tour." — Buddy Miller  Julie Miller had not performed in public for 15-plus years before this show — a show that sold out within hours of being announced. Rolling Stone said it was the pair's first public performance since