Amos Perrine

“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

It was billed as "Cash & Cooder on Cash: The Songs of Johnny Cash." A short five-city tour, two now, the other three in this fall. I caught the first one at Ryman Auditorium, and fellow ND writer Henry Carrigan went two nights later in Chicago. (See the

One of the reasons I began this musical journey many years ago, many publications ago, is to highlight some music that might otherwise get overlooked, lost in the shuffle. Save for the monster of an album that leads off this column, the others, some released last month and the remainder

This week I cover an underserved branch of roots music: rockabilly. Specifically, Nashville Boogie, a festival held in Nashville every Memorial Day weekend. As if the music is not enough, it identifies itself as "a celebration of midcentury American music, culture and style." It includes a car show,