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Henry Carrigan

THE READING ROOM: Memoir Celebrates the Songs That Shaped Darius Rucker

THE READING ROOM: Memoir Celebrates the Songs That Shaped Darius Rucker

When he was 6 years old, country singer Darius Rucker discovered his destiny. Rucker was lying on his living room floor listening to Al Green’s then-new album, I’m Still in Love with You, he recalls in his new memoir, Life’s Too Short. His mother, who had passed

ALBUM REVIEW: The Mavericks Reach New Heights on 'Moon & Stars'

ALBUM REVIEW: The Mavericks Reach New Heights on 'Moon & Stars'

The Mavericks just keep getting better. There’s an intimate, organic quality to their music that pulls listeners in immediately, allowing them to dwell in the luscious harmonies, the sumptuous instrumentation, and the ingenious songwriting of the band. Moon & Stars launches these qualities into the sonic stratosphere. The album

THE READING ROOM: Greg Brown on the Power of Care, the Intimacy of Art, and His New Songbook

THE READING ROOM: Greg Brown on the Power of Care, the Intimacy of Art, and His New Songbook

If it hadn’t been for Gerde’s Folk City’s Johny Porco one day in 1969, Greg Brown might have headed home from his adventure in New York City, where he had gone to try to make it as a folk singer. In the opening story of his just-released

THE READING ROOM: Jonathan Cott Explores Two Beatles A-Sides in 'Let Me Take You Down'

THE READING ROOM: Jonathan Cott Explores Two Beatles A-Sides in 'Let Me Take You Down'

There’s seemingly no end to the number of Beatles books out there. Readers can expect to travel endlessly down a long and winding road full of Beatles ephemera for more than eight days a week with recollections of their hangers-on, philosophical musings on the priest in “Eleanor Rigby,” phenomenological

ALBUM REVIEW: Big Guests and Strong Songs Make Darin & Brooke Aldridge’s Latest Worth Talking About

ALBUM REVIEW: Big Guests and Strong Songs Make Darin & Brooke Aldridge’s Latest Worth Talking About

Darin and Brooke Aldridge make beautiful music together. On their new album, Talk of the Town, the first couple of bluegrass — he’s a first-class mandolinist and guitarist, and she’s a four-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year — build on their solid foundations and travel down country roads, adding

ALBUM REVIEW: Lizz Wright Fully Inhabits the Songs of ‘Shadow’

ALBUM REVIEW: Lizz Wright Fully Inhabits the Songs of ‘Shadow’

On her new album, Shadow, Lizz Wright creates a dazzling soundscape with her smooth, sultry vocals as she ranges from jazz and blues to folk and soul. Shadow contains five original songs as well as her interpretations of songs she frequently performs. The propulsive “Your Love,” fueled by Meshell Ndegeocello’

THE READING ROOM: ‘High Bias’ Unfurls the History of Cassette Tapes

THE READING ROOM: ‘High Bias’ Unfurls the History of Cassette Tapes

Somewhere between vinyl records and CDs, music lovers started collecting their favorites on a small, portable product that could hold 60-90 minutes of recorded music: the cassette tape. Although the technology of storing music on cassettes was available in the early 1960s, it took devices such as Sony’s Walkman