Dustin Ogdin

I hate to commit one of the most overused cliches of music "criticism," the forced paradox, but it just seems too damn appropriate here. Texas singer-songwriter Ramsay Midwood's music is at once highly idiosyncratic but also as familiar as a bad habit. His bluesy, rootsy romps

After listening to him for years, I was finally able to see Doc Watson live at the Ryman Auditorium in the mid-90s. Even by then, Watson had been a living legend for decades. Perhaps even more than his awe-inspiring guitar playing and pure singing voice, I remember being struck by

It would be awkward to describe John Prine as an elder statesmen of Americana music, American songwriting, or anything else. This is not because Prine lacks the talent, credentials, and history to deserve such a title (or one with more grandeur for that matter); it's because Prine'