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Henry Carrigan

ALBUM REVIEW: On ‘Still Life,’ Carson McHone Paints the Quest for Inner Peace

ALBUM REVIEW: On ‘Still Life,’ Carson McHone Paints the Quest for Inner Peace

Still-life paintings portray stasis, but, in Dallas Frazier’s words: “beneath still waters, there’s a strong undertow.” These paintings owe their entrancing beauty to the ambivalent tensions that crack and bubble just below their staid surface. The title track of Carson McHone’s third album, Still Life, evokes the

ALBUM REVIEW: The Cactus Blossoms Get Comfortable on ‘One Day’

ALBUM REVIEW: The Cactus Blossoms Get Comfortable on ‘One Day’

The sparkling harmonies of the Everly Brothers meet the choogling guitar of Dale Watson on "Hey Baby," the opening track of The Cactus Blossoms’ new album, One Day. A chugging rockabilly tune drives this pickup song that opens the door to the group’s roadster, inviting us to

The Stories (and the Love) Behind Three Tony Rice Tributes

The Stories (and the Love) Behind Three Tony Rice Tributes

Tony Rice was a master of his craft whose guitar licks have been copied by thousands of bluegrass and jazz guitarists. His rich, warm vocal tones also influenced singers in bluegrass and beyond. Most of all, Rice encouraged every musician he ever met, taking time to listen to their work

THE READING ROOM: ‘Listening to Bob Dylan’ Puts Spotlight on the Composition

THE READING ROOM: ‘Listening to Bob Dylan’ Puts Spotlight on the Composition

Will we ever have enough books on Bob Dylan and his music? Every other year, it seems, another thick biography lands on our shelves, filled with exhaustive, and often exhausting, detail. Such books peer under every rock Dylan ever sat upon, turning his song lyrics inside and out, looking to

THE READING ROOM: Interviews Recall Roky Erickson’s Story and Significance

THE READING ROOM: Interviews Recall Roky Erickson’s Story and Significance

Back in January 1966, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” a single by the Austin-based 13th Floor Elevators, roared through our speakers with a pugnacious spirit; the echoing garage rocker turned Buddy Holly’s hits, the Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought the Law,” and Them’s “Gloria” inside out with

THE READING ROOM: New 33 1/3 Book Zooms In on John Prine’s Debut Album

THE READING ROOM: New 33 1/3 Book Zooms In on John Prine’s Debut Album

Bob Dylan once told music critic Bill Flanagan that John Prine’s “stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree.” Almost two years after Prine’s death on April 7, 2020, from complications related to COVID-19, writer Erin Osmon offers her own tribute to the singing mailman

THE READING ROOM: Artists and Insiders Trace the Evolution of Rock Concerts

THE READING ROOM: Artists and Insiders Trace the Evolution of Rock Concerts

One spring night in 1972, six of us piled into a van and headed to the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium to see our first big rock concert. The auditorium even then was creaky and had seen better days. It still featured pro wrestling matches most weekend nights, but the biggest regular