No Depression's Best of August 2023 Playlist
Music, like the people who make it, is always evolving. One of the most exciting elements of covering a niche collection of genres like roots music is that the sounds and styles can always change. August was a great month for exploring who makes roots music and what roots music
THE READING ROOM: Memoirs and Music Books Coming This Fall
Every fall brings another crop of big music memoirs and biographies, and I mean that both literally and metaphorically; Michael Azerrad’s "annotated" version of his 1993 Nirvana bio, The Amplified Come as You Are, totes up almost 700 pages, for example.
While these books grow a little
Chris Pierce’s Long Road to Touring with Neil Young and ‘Let All Who Will’
The sun beat down relentlessly as the crowd filtered in late through the gates of the amphitheater in Ridgefield, Washington, where Neil Young was scheduled to play one of a handful of shows he’d booked in out-of-the-way venues for his first tour since the pandemic. Expectations and temperatures were
ALBUM REVIEW: Zach Bryan Builds on Earnest, Catchy Songwriting
It’s hard to separate the cultural position and commercial success of Zach Bryan from the music he makes, so let’s cover it briefly. Bryan is a Navy veteran who found success posting video recordings of his songs on YouTube. He presents as both brawny and earnest, with a
THROUGH THE LENS: Hoxeyville Music Festival and Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival
The summer roots music festival scene has become so popular that this week's column is another two-fer: Washington state's Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival (July 21-23, 2023) and Michigan's Hoxeyville Music Festival (Aug. 17-20, 2023). The former was covered by frequent contributor Peter Dervin,
ALBUM REVIEW: The Paper Kites Make Music in Community on ‘At The Roadhouse’
Last year, Melbourne, Australia-based band The Paper Kites came upon a building in the rural outpost of Campbells Creek that once was a shop serving local gold miners. The band decided to give it a new life as a music space, dubbing it “The Roadhouse” and taking inspiration from “all