Chris Griffy

I have a lot of places that I find new roots music, whether that be press releases, the album review offerings here at No Depression, or as openers for other roots acts I already know. But one of the best places for me to find new roots music is at

Last year, Kickstarter released the option for creators to opt into what they are calling “Late Pledges.” While Kickstarter still retains its “all or nothing” policy for creators (wherein if they don't meet their goals by the funding deadline, they get nothing) Late Pledges gives successful funders a

When you see as many crowdfunding campaigns in a month as I do, you notice trends in the backer perks. In addition to the obvious album pre-orders, you will almost always find merch like t-shirts, hats, and koozies on offer. Handwritten lyric sheets also tend to be a popular offer.

Most months, Crowdfunding Radar has a theme; some subgenre of roots music I want to highlight or a type of campaign or backer perk that makes for a good crowdfunder. This month's batch of three couldn't be more different. From a re-issue by a folk and

Typically, I'm unfamiliar with the artists I cover in this column until I run across a campaign that looks interesting and spend some time on YouTube. Considering many crowdfunders are regionally-known acts who are releasing their first or second album, this isn't surprising. But there are

I recently got the opportunity to see Rhiannon Giddens' Old Time Revue at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. A running joke through the night was the number of ways they could slip plugs for their merch into the banter. But, later in the night, Giddens got a bit more