Chris Griffy

Over the last decade or so, roots music has embraced more Southern and blues rock elements, with artists like Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and American Aquarium making electric instruments fit right into the roots mainstream. But sometimes it's nice to step back and revisit the “roots”

It's the holiday season and, if you're anything like me, you've left your gift buying to the last minute. Never fear. You won't have to mine the gas station on Christmas Day this year. Crowdfunding makes a great gift. In many ways,

Crowdfunding campaigns tend to be pretty similar. In addition to the album, common backer perks tend to be things like T-shirts, stickers, hats, and handwritten lyric sheets. But a perk I'm seeing more often recently is a custom written song. The backer is usually able to give an

One of the things I love about doing this column is introducing new artists releasing their debut albums. But I also enjoy revisiting artists who I've featured before. Some crowdfund their first album out of sheer necessity. Those who come back to the well a second or third

Music is a very small part of the crowdfunding landscape. For example, the high-water mark for funding for a music campaign on Kickstarter (Amanda Palmer) is just over $1 million. Just last year, fantasy author Brandon Sanderson raised $41 million for a series of four novels. Technology, games, television shows,