Amos Perrine

To paraphrase the Stephen Sondheim-penned lyric from Gypsy, everything’s coming up roots music festivals this spring. If it seems that the Through the Lens column has been featuring an endless stream of them lately, it’s because they are abundant as May flowers. This week features two roots

First held in 1970, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is more than a music festival, it is a celebration of music, crafts, culture and food. It is a spicy stew comprised of many distinct cultures: African American, Cajun, Creole, Latin, French, Cuban, Isleño, Native American, and practically everything

More so than at any other festival I attend every year, something happens at MerleFest that spurs me to thinking about tradition: what it is, what it means, and where it's going. Perhaps it is no coincidence that those thoughts, and the festival, occur during spring, when all

Unlike many festivals, the Cayamo cruise only missed one year due to COVID-19 (it docked in 2020 just before lockdowns hit, and then skipped 2021). This year was not a given due to the close proximity that being on a cruise ship necessarily entails, but as no on-board

The sixth edition of the Outlaw Country Cruise set sail on Feb. 25 out of Miami for a one-week, self-contained roots music fest in the Caribbean. With stops in Costa Maya, Mexico, and Harvest Caye, Belize, Sixthman and Renegade Circus, with Sirius XM Outlaw Country, crushed it with

EDITOR'S NOTE: Find earlier installments of Through the Lens' "Why Vinyl?" series here: Part 1, Part 2 A lot has happened since this column last reported on the vinyl renaissance, about a year ago: Vinyl sales doubled in the first half of 2021 and sales