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Henry Carrigan

ALBUM REVIEW: Irene Kelley’s ‘Snow White Memories’ Adds Warmth to Winter

ALBUM REVIEW: Irene Kelley’s ‘Snow White Memories’ Adds Warmth to Winter

Irene Kelley’s crystalline vocals warmly envelop listeners on her new album, Snow White Memories, wrapping them in a soothing blanket of sound. The eminent bluegrass singer and songwriter delivers these 11 songs with a piercing intimacy that reverberates in the heart, coursing over the emotional landscape of loneliness, loss,

ALBUM REVIEW: Margo Price Hits New Peaks on ‘Strays’

ALBUM REVIEW: Margo Price Hits New Peaks on ‘Strays’

“Light Me Up,” the second track on Margo Price’s new album, Strays, opens sparsely with Price’s vocals shimmering over verdant acoustic guitar chords. After the second verse, double shuffling drums propel the song into a frenetic, swirling rocker for two verses before shifting into yet another alternative rhythmic

THE READING ROOM: The Rise of Chuck Berry and Rock and Roll

THE READING ROOM: The Rise of Chuck Berry and Rock and Roll

Chuck Berry’s straight-ahead bluesy, rhythmic romps “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and “Maybellene” lie deep in the DNA of American popular music. A savvy entrepreneur, Berry cannily cashed in on the shift in musical styles from rhythm and blues to even looser, more spontaneous songs about cars, women,

After 50 Years, ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’ Still Bridges Generations

After 50 Years, ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’ Still Bridges Generations

In 1971, the long-haired rock and rollers of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — Jeff Hanna, John McEuen, Jimmie Fadden, Les Thompson, Jimmy Ibbotson — sat in a circle with legends of country and bluegrass music at Woodland Studio in Nashville and in six days recorded 36 songs. A year later, those

THE READING ROOM: ‘Black Country Music’ Centers Stories of Fans and Artists of Color

THE READING ROOM: ‘Black Country Music’ Centers Stories of Fans and Artists of Color

Many country songs evoke the persistent longing for place, for community, for belonging, but in many of those songs inclusion comes only through the exclusion of others. Although there are exceptions, country music has long excluded women, queers, and Black and Brown artists from the country mainstream in order to

THE READING ROOM: 2022’s Most Memorable Music Books

THE READING ROOM: 2022’s Most Memorable Music Books

This has been a challenging year in book publishing. Book sales continue a slow downward spiral, in part because Amazon — most publishers’ biggest customer, and their biggest competitor — has cut back on their orders and in part because of supply chain and print and production issues earlier in the year.

THE READING ROOM: The Stories Behind 55 Iconic Songs

THE READING ROOM: The Stories Behind 55 Iconic Songs

We can all recall where we were and what we were doing when we heard a certain song. Songs often take us back to our younger days when we had fewer cares, but some can embed themselves in our hearts and souls if we hear them during certain pivotal events