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Henry Carrigan

THE READING ROOM: Willie Nelson Celebrates ‘Fabled Friendship’ With Paul English

THE READING ROOM: Willie Nelson Celebrates ‘Fabled Friendship’ With Paul English

In the song “Me and Paul,” Willie Nelson immortalized his beloved friend and long-time drummer Paul English in lines such as “we received our education / In the cities of the nation, me and Paul.” Now, Nelson lets readers in on their lifelong friendship in his humorous, poignant new book Me

ALBUM REVIEW: Appalachian Road Show Puts Joyful Sound Into ‘Jubilation’

ALBUM REVIEW: Appalachian Road Show Puts Joyful Sound Into ‘Jubilation’

Appalachian Road Show’s new album, Jubilation, couldn’t be more aptly named: The 13 tracks on this collection celebrate life, love, and music exuberantly. The band — Darrell Webb on mandolins and banjo, Barry Abernathy on banjo, Zeb Snyder on guitar, Jim VanCleve on fiddles, and Todd Phillips on bass

THE READING ROOM: Margo Price Details Pain and Progress in Memoir ‘Maybe We’ll Make It’

THE READING ROOM: Margo Price Details Pain and Progress in Memoir ‘Maybe We’ll Make It’

Two-thirds of the way through her searing new autobiography, Maybe We’ll Make It (Texas), Margo Price shares the ways that music has transformed her pain — and Price has lived through more than her share of pain, especially losing one of her twin boys to an unsuccessful (actually, a botched)

ALBUM REVIEW: Beth Nielsen Chapman Collects Songs of Sanity for ‘CrazyTown’

ALBUM REVIEW: Beth Nielsen Chapman Collects Songs of Sanity for ‘CrazyTown’

Beth Nielsen Chapman’s new album, CrazyTown, opens with a joyous sing-along, “All Around the World,” a soaring affirmation of the goodness of human nature and the possibilities of community in a world sorely divided by strife. It’s one of those songs whose rhythms and lyrics echo in our

ALBUM REVIEW: ‘Things Happen That Way’ Offers One Last Blast From Dr. John

ALBUM REVIEW: ‘Things Happen That Way’ Offers One Last Blast From Dr. John

Magic happens when the first notes of “Funny How Time Slips Away,” the opening track on Dr. John’s final studio album, glide out of the speakers. Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack Jr.’s velvety, bluesy piano trills provide the swaying musical gait for his smoky vocals. By the second verse,

THE READING ROOM: How Buddy Emmons’ Steel Guitar Changed Country Music

THE READING ROOM: How Buddy Emmons’ Steel Guitar Changed Country Music

Every now and then, the author of a book is a perfect match for the subject, and that’s the case as innovative producer and pedal steel guitarist Steve Fishell provides a biography of and loving tribute to a true pioneer on the instrument, Buddy Emmons, in Buddy Emmons: Steel

ALBUM REVIEW: Martha Spencer Makes Traditional-Tinted Magic on ‘Wonderland’

ALBUM REVIEW: Martha Spencer Makes Traditional-Tinted Magic on ‘Wonderland’

Wonderland, Martha Spencer’s second solo album, is aptly titled; it carries us through a magical musical landscape via old-time Appalachian tunes, Django jazz, bluegrass, country, American songbook-style tunes, and ambling blues. Spencer’s high mountain vocals dip and swerve, providing the thread around which harmonies and instruments wrap themselves.