![SPOTLIGHT: Miko Marks on Learning to Sing Before Finding Her Voice [ESSAY]](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/d0/18d08e58-3b1b-4720-ae25-a31b44e69d4b/content/images/size/w720/2026/10/Spotlight-Template-4.png)
THE READING ROOM: Jim Newberry’s ‘Chicago Music, Seen: 100 Portraits’
Once upon a time, the photos and artwork on albums told as much of a story as the music itself. Recall, for example, the entranced gaze of the young William Miller in Almost Famous as he traces his finger over the glossy, kaleidoscopic covers of albums by Bob Dylan, Joni
Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt’s 'Trio' Remains Timeless, Continuing to Inspire Supergroups Today
Editor's Note: Annie Zaleski has been awarded one of two No Depression Criticism Fellowships to write in-depth album reviews on roots music's most important albums. Read her previous review of Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator) here, and stay tuned for more from both
ALBUM REVIEW: Kaitlin Butts Welcomes Us to the Party on 'Hello, Honky Tonk'
Welcome, welcome to the show that never ends: Kaitlin Butts’ glittering, dolorous, kaleidoscopic dance hall and bar where she sits behind the piano all night observing the denizens of bar stools and sawdust floors as they fight, love, curse, lie, and drink. In the songs on her fourth album Hello,
Jeffrey Silverstein's Top 5 Songs Right Now
Despite his malleability as an artist, Silverstein's songs are steeped in American roots. And if anyone doubts this, check out the giant cowboy boots sculpture that graces the cover of 'Doggone' like a statement of purpose.
QUEER COUNTRY: In and Out: Reconsidering ‘Queer’ Country
QUEER COUNTRY: In And Out: Reconsidering ‘Queer’ Country
“The word ‘gay’ doesn’t belong in front of country,” she said.
I gasped. And I’m still thinking about it two years later.
This wasn’t a microaggression from some clueless Music Row exec – it was a statement by out and
![SPOTLIGHT: Miko Marks - "Hell or High Water" [VIDEO]](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/d0/18d08e58-3b1b-4720-ae25-a31b44e69d4b/content/images/size/w720/2026/10/Spotlight-Template-2.png)
SPOTLIGHT: Miko Marks - "Hell or High Water" [VIDEO]
When Miko Marks sings the title track of her new record, 'Hell or High Water,' she does so with purpose.