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Henry Carrigan

THE READING ROOM: Lucinda Williams’ Memoir Lets Us in on Her Secrets

THE READING ROOM: Lucinda Williams’ Memoir Lets Us in on Her Secrets

Musicians’ memoirs fall into one of two categories. One type descends into an inferno of drug-fueled episodes of sex with a new partner every night, with very little attention to the music that consumed the artist’s life and work — Gregg Allman’s My Cross to Bear is a prime

ALBUM REVIEW: William Bell Keeps Soul Chops Sharp on ‘One Day Closer to Home’

ALBUM REVIEW: William Bell Keeps Soul Chops Sharp on ‘One Day Closer to Home’

The review of this album could be very short: William Bell is a master of soul music who can tear out your heart with one vocal phrase and soothe and comfort with the next, and One Day Closer to Home reveals a master at work. Bell’s signature 1961 song

ALBUM REVIEW: Robert Earl Keen Follows a Laidback Trail on ‘Western Chill’

ALBUM REVIEW: Robert Earl Keen Follows a Laidback Trail on ‘Western Chill’

While Robert Earl Keen may be officially retired from touring, Western Chill makes it quite clear he’s not retired from writing songs and making music. Western Chill tracks the travels of a troubadour who’s not heading off into the sunset but who’s heading to the cool climes

THE READING ROOM: Finally, A Book About Leon Russell — But Only For Devoted Fans

THE READING ROOM: Finally, A Book About Leon Russell — But Only For Devoted Fans

Leon Russell appeared Zelig-like in almost every scene in American popular music from his earliest days of performing in his native Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the late 1950s to his performances at the 2015 Mad Dogs & Englishmen reunion engineered by the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Lockn’ Festival in Virginia.

ALBUM REVIEW: Ally Venable Rocks the Blues on ‘Real Gone’

ALBUM REVIEW: Ally Venable Rocks the Blues on ‘Real Gone’

On her smokin’ new album, Real Gone, blues guitarist Ally Venable tears up the joint with her scorching leads and gritty vocals. Her straight-to-the-bone playing and songwriting show why Guitar World named her as one of the Top 15 Young Guns Making the Gibson Les Paul Cool Again in 2022.

ALBUM REVIEW: Serious Song Power Propels The War and Treaty’s ‘Lover’s Game’

ALBUM REVIEW: Serious Song Power Propels The War and Treaty’s ‘Lover’s Game’

Every single song on The War and Treaty’s Lover’s Game is alone worth the price of the album. Husband-and-wife duo Michael and Tanya Trotter follow up last year’s Blank Page EP with a stunning collection of songs that explore the vulnerability and incandescent passion of love. The

THE READING ROOM: Critic Stanley Crouch’s Essays Think Deeply About Music and Culture

THE READING ROOM: Critic Stanley Crouch’s Essays Think Deeply About Music and Culture

Toward the end of James Baldwin’s story “Sonny’s Blues,” the narrator, Sonny’s brother, visits the jazz club where Sonny is playing. Through much of the story, the narrator struggles with his brother Sonny’s deep passion for jazz and has difficulty understanding Sonny’s love of and