FRESH TRACK: Andrew Sa - "Lavender Cowboy"
“Whether chronicling desire or heartache, [Andrew] Sa serenades like K.D. Lang, pines with the panache of Rufus Wainwright, and trills a falsetto that would make Roy Orbison proud.” — Chicago Magazine
ORDER NOW
THROUGH THE LENS: From Australia to Pennsylvania, Five Festivals Offered a Variety of Ways to Explore Roots Music
This week’s column presents five roots music fests that, for a variety of reasons, slipped through the cracks during past few months. Together, they represent the many different aspects of roots music, from their line-ups to their respective locales.
In chronological order those festivals are: 1) Blue Mountains
ALBUM REVIEW: Aaron Lee Tasjan Celebrates the Outsiders and Also-Rans on 'Get Over It, Underdog'
Aaron Lee Tasjan makes horny, queer cosmic American music that treats The Beatles as a core roots band. His most upbeat songs — like “Lost & Alone” on his new release, Get Over It, Underdog — hit with the soaring sheen of a smarter, more jaded Full Moon Fever-era Tom Petty.
BONUS TRACKS: New Music From Alabama Shakes, Mary Gauthier, Rhiannon Giddens, A Dolly Parton Musical, and More Roots Music News
Bonus Tracks is back with a double dose of roots music news after taking last Friday off for America's 250th birthday. (Through The Lens columnist Amos Perrine's column about roots music in America is required reading on that topic.)
After more than a decade, roots-rock-
ALBUM REVIEW: Tray Wellington Finds Two Types of Flow on 'Heart on the Table'
“Walk Away,” from Tray Wellington’s new Heart on the Table, is a story song with a foot in at least two traditions.
“More focused on fame from an internet flex / versus feeling the pain in our hearts, we deflect / with pictures meant to take us from our lives’ weights,
ALBUM REVIEW: Allison Russell Finds Joy in Community on 'In the Hour of Chaos'
From the intimate, warm harmonies of the opening track, “Rainbows,” to the oceanic swaying of the final track, “Good Omens,” Allison Russell’s new album In the Hour of Chaos testifies to the power of resilience and unity in the face of the political, social, economic, and personal chaos we