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Devon Leger

With Cherokee Country Songs Agalisiga 'Chuj' Mackey is Reviving Language and Culture

With Cherokee Country Songs Agalisiga 'Chuj' Mackey is Reviving Language and Culture

EDITOR’S NOTE: Agalisiga’s Nasgino Inage Nidayulenvi (It Started in the Woods) was released on Oct. 18 on Horton Records. We’re featuring it now as part of a year-end round up of some of the best albums we missed along the way this year. Singer/songwriter Agalisiga Mackey,

Musicians Duet With Nightingales to Amplify a Message

Musicians Duet With Nightingales to Amplify a Message

Across the US and the globe, the effects of climate change have become shatteringly clear this year. The historic town of Lahaina on Maui torched by wildfires, flooded homes in Vermont, Southern California visited by a hurricane. These images of climate catastrophes have become a regular occurrence and show a

Remembering Gay Country Pioneer Patrick Haggerty

Remembering Gay Country Pioneer Patrick Haggerty

Pioneering country artist Patrick Haggerty, known for releasing the first gay country album in 1973, passed away Monday at home in Bremerton, Washington, from complications following a stroke. He was 78 years old. Lavender Country was intended by Haggerty to be a viral message, long before the internet. Recorded in

Roots Music Becomes a Major Player in Video Games

Roots Music Becomes a Major Player in Video Games

Red Dead Redemption 2, the hit Western-inspired video game from Rockstar Games, is easily the most beautiful video game I’ve ever played. I stop to look at vast mountain vistas, then ride off to explore them on horseback. I ford storming rivers, worrying that I might lose my horse,

Where ‘Old Town Road’ Is Leading Country Music

Where ‘Old Town Road’ Is Leading Country Music

Last weekend at the Pop Music Conference in Seattle, music journalists, writers, and academics gathered to share papers and trade conversation about the frontlines of music today. Perhaps not surprisingly, Lil Nas X and the recent controversy over his meme-ified country trap song “Old Town Road” kept popping up in

Joan Shelley's "Over and Even"

Joan Shelley's "Over and Even"

It was a cold November afternoon when I called Kentucky songwriter Joan Shelley, and she was out walking her dog. I could practically hear the crisp winter air around her, and she was slightly breathless from the cold. I was tasked with telling “her story,” but in the first few

The Lovely Songcraft of Annalisa Tornfelt

The Lovely Songcraft of Annalisa Tornfelt

I'd probably embarass myself if I put down here how many times I've listened to the new solo album, The Number 8, from Portland roots songwriter Annalisa Tornfelt. It's become my go-to album for times of stress at work. I flip it on and