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Chris Griffy

ALBUM REVIEW: Jill Andrews Writes Songs Across Time for ‘Modern Age’

ALBUM REVIEW: Jill Andrews Writes Songs Across Time for ‘Modern Age’

The sound of a cassette tape slipping into a boombox and the click of the record button begins Modern Age, the newest release by Jill Andrews. That throwback sets the tone for an album full of nostalgia for the simpler days of childhood, but also a rumination on the effects

CROWDFUNDING RADAR: Campaigns from Wild Ponies, Rod Picott, and Kyshona

CROWDFUNDING RADAR: Campaigns from Wild Ponies, Rod Picott, and Kyshona

When I featured three smaller campaigns in last month's column, I hadn't intended to counterpoint it this month with three higher-profile (and higher-dollar) campaigns. It just happened that three artists who are well-known in the roots music scene, especially to attendees of AmericanaFest,

ALBUM REVIEW: Molly Tuttle Keeps Moving on 'City of Gold'

ALBUM REVIEW: Molly Tuttle Keeps Moving on 'City of Gold'

On City of Gold, the second album from Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway, wanderlust is a central theme, as are its consequences, both positive and negative. Tuttle’s stellar band, Golden Highway (comprised of fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, mandolinist Dominick Leslie, banjoist Kyle Tuttle, and bassist Shelby Means), backs her

CROWDFUNDING RADAR: 3 Small But Mighty Campaigns for Summer

CROWDFUNDING RADAR: 3 Small But Mighty Campaigns for Summer

Summer is the slow season for crowdfunding campaigns. With artists touring the festival circuit or just playing outdoor shows, most aren't thinking about an album until fall or winter. But in some ways, summer is my favorite time for crowdfunding campaigns because it lets some of the smaller

ALBUM REVIEW: Ben Harper Wanders Wonderfully on ‘Wide Open Light’

ALBUM REVIEW: Ben Harper Wanders Wonderfully on ‘Wide Open Light’

The Wikipedia entry for Ben Harper lists eight genres he's associated with. A stylistic nomad, Harper roams freely on his new album, Wide Open Light, finding a genre to fit the needs of the song rather than writing a song to fit a genre. Wide Open Light was

ALBUM REVIEW: Ben Folds Packs Stories and Characters into Songs of ‘What Matters Most’

ALBUM REVIEW: Ben Folds Packs Stories and Characters into Songs of ‘What Matters Most’

Some musicians are poets, exploring the human condition in rhyme. Others are storytellers, writing 3 ½-minute short fiction with fully fleshed-out characters and the kind of fine details expected of a novelist. On What Matters Most, Ben Folds proves himself an able manipulator of the story song, with a

CROWDFUNDING RADAR: Projects That Stem From Fertile Musical Ground

CROWDFUNDING RADAR: Projects That Stem From Fertile Musical Ground

I've done several columns highlighting bands from outside the musical hubs of America. One of the nice things about online crowdfunding is that it's no longer necessary to pack up and move to the Music City or any “music city” so long as you're