Sign in Become a member

Meredith Lawrence

“That’s What Hope is For” —Steve Earle, Songwriting, and Music that Changes the World

“That’s What Hope is For” —Steve Earle, Songwriting, and Music that Changes the World

Sometimes, Steve Earle worries people think he’s stopped writing songs. At 71, Earle’s one of the most prolific writers alive today — best known for songs like his first hit, “Guitar Town,” his generational bootlegging outlaw ballad, “Copperhead Road,” and the traditional Irish music influenced “Galway Girl.” But Earle’

SPOTLIGHT: John R. Miller’s ‘The Great Unknowing’ Is a Thoughtful Education on The World’s Crumbling

SPOTLIGHT: John R. Miller’s ‘The Great Unknowing’ Is a Thoughtful Education on The World’s Crumbling

Editor's Note: John R. Miller, whose new LP titled The Great Unknowing came out today via Rounder Records, is No Depression's Spotlight Artist for July 2026. Read more about Miller's fifth album and stay tuned for more from him all month long. As the

In The Deep End With Rodney Crowell

In The Deep End With Rodney Crowell

Rodney Crowell’s been around the block, literally and figuratively. As a sometimes secondary character in alternative country music’s schism from establishment norms in the 1970s, he formed fast friendships and collaborations with stalwarts like Guy Clark and Emmylou Harris (with whom he played in her Hot Band and

In The Deep End With Taj Mahal

In The Deep End With Taj Mahal

When Taj Mahal started making music more than 60 years ago, no one else sounded like him. From the get-go, Mahal incorporated Caribbean and African stylings into the blues, connecting it more deeply to its origins. Now, more than six decades, and some 60 records into his career, Mahal’

ALBUM REVIEW: Andy Hedges Sings Cowboy Songs for Now on ‘The Westerner’

ALBUM REVIEW: Andy Hedges Sings Cowboy Songs for Now on ‘The Westerner’

Cowboys and their escapades and tall tales have been staples of American pop culture for generations. But few living cowboy songsters do a better job capturing those legends alongside heart-felt stories of the working cowboys and their traditions and culture than Andy Hedges. With his latest album, The Westerner,

Joy and Uplift Star on Alison Brown and Steve Martin Collaboration, ‘Safe, Sensible and Sane’

Joy and Uplift Star on Alison Brown and Steve Martin Collaboration, ‘Safe, Sensible and Sane’

“Two banjos can be a cry for help,” says bluegrass musician and banjo player Alison Brown, with a laugh. Indeed, even one banjo in American music is frequently written as a showoff or brash counterpart; and in the rare instance that two appear, they’re often pitted against each other

In the Deep End with Brennen Leigh

In the Deep End with Brennen Leigh

“Everything’s bigger in Texas / that includes heartache, too,” country singer/songwriter Brennen Leigh sings on “Alone In The Lone Star,” off her latest album. Leigh, who’s a meticulous explorer of country music subgenre ought to know, after all. Her hefty catalogue and trove of personal knowledge encompass not