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Corbie Hill

‘Shades of Blue’ Reveals Ashley Sofia’s Full Range of Colors

‘Shades of Blue’ Reveals Ashley Sofia’s Full Range of Colors

Ashley Sofia is looking for America. Before her move to Nashville, the folk-country artist was raised in upstate New York. Her upbringing still flavors her imagery, but her imagination follows the highways south and west from her childhood home. The characters, experiences, scenery, and aural signifiers on her second

Tinariwen Makes Music about Place in a Troubled World

Tinariwen Makes Music about Place in a Troubled World

In early 2017, I interviewed Tinariwen’s Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni for No Depression’s summer journal of that year. Donald Trump had just been inaugurated as the president of the United States, and I was asking international bands what kinds of issues they faced in entering and touring the United

SPOTLIGHT: As Tui, Jake Blount and Libby Weitnauer Showcase the Diversity in Stringband Music’s Story

SPOTLIGHT: As Tui, Jake Blount and Libby Weitnauer Showcase the Diversity in Stringband Music’s Story

In July 2013, George Zimmerman was acquitted for the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. It threw Jake Blount into crisis. Blount, like Martin, was a teenager at the time. And Blount, like Martin, is African American. Growing up in the ‘90s and ‘00s, Blount had always figured that

Jake Xerxes Fussell Brings Fresh Spirit to Traditional Songs

Jake Xerxes Fussell Brings Fresh Spirit to Traditional Songs

It's always fulfilling to hear something new in a song that's been recorded time and time again. That's what brings many of us to traditional music. In Jake Xerxes Fussell's take on "Jubilee," it's the ease with which

Mt. Joy Makes Party Music, But Is It a Party You'd Enjoy?

Mt. Joy Makes Party Music, But Is It a Party You'd Enjoy?

My college girlfriend and I had widely divergent tastes in music. She really liked gentle, upbeat folk-rock. I, at the time, was hooked on the cheesiest nu-metal 2001 had to offer. Jesus Christ, it wasn't even good metal – everyone sang like they were throwing up, while

Marc Ribot on Resistance and its Songs

Marc Ribot on Resistance and its Songs

Marc Ribot has been an activist for years. For 2018, though, he's doing something new. He's been a "rank and file" activist with his union, as he puts it. He's attended Occupy rallies. He's never been much for established party

Covers that Reach High but Fall Short

Covers that Reach High but Fall Short

There are some bands and musicians that simply cannot be covered. Sure, I try to keep myself open to exceptions here, but more often than not something integral is lost in translation. Songs by Sigur Rós, the Beastie Boys, St. Vincent, and Tom Waits come to mind, and entropy waits