BONUS TRACKS: Roots Music News from Lucinda Williams, Marcia Ball, Kaitlin Butts, and More
Country-rock legend Lucinda Williams announced her first new music in three years, World’s Gone Wrong due out January 23, 2026 via Highway 20 Records. The nine-track record includes a cover of Bob Marley’s “So Much Trouble In The World” featuring Mavis Staples and guest vocalists Norah Jones and
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
QUEER COUNTRY: Music is Political
Music is political. I don’t mean the content – though this historical moment is certainly inspiring its share of protest music. I’m referring instead to the act of creating and making it – commodified by our entertainment industry, and only possible to create and distribute if an artist’s material
THE READING ROOM: Six Fall and Holiday Music Books To Read
Fall is the big season for book publishers when they release books in large print with aspirations for low returns and blockbuster sales. Publishers also have the holidays in mind, and they’re hopeful that buyers will purchase a big biography or tell-it-all autobiography or gripping thriller for the friend
ALBUM REVIEW: With Mammoth, Lydia Luce Embraces Silence, Finds Peace
With her fourth LP, Mammoth, Lydia Luce navigates lushly produced tracks, offering crystalline vocals and lyrics that laud the positives of life: nurturing love and awe in the face of beauty. Dreamier than Luce’s previous work, the set captures the singer-songwriter as she revels in stillness, invoking an expansive
ALBUM REVIEW: Nick Shoulders’ ‘Refugia Blues’ Is a Hymnal for the Here and Now
A refugium is a haven when conditions are unfavorable. In biology, it’s a space where at-risk organisms can survive against the odds. In anthropology, it’s a hideaway for human life, a place where existence can stare down the yawning maw of catastrophe and still glimpse hope. Simply put,