Jon Young

For Cass McCombs, it’s the song, not the singer. Over a career spanning more than two decades, this sly California-born troubadour has specialized in catchy tunes that shun easy categories, even as they flirt with familiar folk-pop tropes. Fascinating and exhausting, Interior Live Oak captures McCombs at

Conceived by producer Ralph Sall as a reggae counterpart to The Traveling Wilburys, The Mighty Rootsmen laid down tracks for their self-titled album in 2010, but the sessions went unreleased at the time. It wasn’t for lack of marquee names, though. The lineup features standout vocalists – Toots Hibbert

Murry Hammond likes to whistle. A lot. With his sophomore solo outing, the longtime second banana to Rhett Miller in Old 97’s shows the world he can put his lips together and blow with the best of them on every single song, sometimes dispensing with lyrics altogether. However, unless

Aila and Elisha Wildman are on a voyage of self-discovery and you’re welcome to tag along. The Virginia siblings, who released a callow debut album back in 2017, have hit their stride with the belated follow-up Longtime Friend, an enticing buffet of Americana sounds that feels like

D’Kieran Harrell clearly loves his work. With every exuberant turn of phrase, and each sharp guitar lick, the Louisiana-born showman displays a pure joy in performing that’s hard to resist. Intended for both blues purists and fans of a broader range of roots styles, his stellar sophomore

Given his long run, it would be easy to take Neil Young for granted. Going solo in the late 1960s after Buffalo Springfield’s demise, this restless troubadour has been making wonderfully idiosyncratic music ever since. Lately he’s only raised his profile, continuing to record new albums while ramping