How the FreshGrass Foundation Grows Roots Music
The FreshGrass Foundation, No Depression’s parent nonprofit organization, is dedicated to providing roots music artists with opportunities to create new work and to take artistic risks outside the pressures of the commercial music space. It does this through several FreshGrass commissioning programs, primarily the Composition Commission.
The 2023 recipients
No Depression’s Best of May 2023 Playlist
May felt like it had a lot of twang, as evidenced by new music from bluegrassers like Alison Brown, Béla Fleck, Special Consensus, Marty Stuart, and more. But roots music fans who lean more toward other styles have nothing to fear: Last month also brought folk punk from Dropkick Murphys
BONUS TRACKS: Changes to the Punch Brothers Family and Willie on the Big Screen
The Punch Brothers announced Thursday that fiddle player Gabe Witcher is exiting the band. Witcher, a founding member who’s been part of the group’s lineup for its entire 18-year history, “has decided it’s time for the next step in his musical journey,” according to a post
SPOTLIGHT: Rufus Wainwright Brings Folk Legacy Forward on 'Folkocracy'
EDITOR’S NOTE: Rufus Wainwright is No Depression’s Spotlight artist for June 2023. Look for more from Wainwright and his new album, Folkocracy, out June 2 on BMG, all month long.
One of Rufus Wainwright’s earliest memories is of sitting alone among the thousands of seats in Carnegie
ALBUM REVIEW: Ben Harper Wanders Wonderfully on ‘Wide Open Light’
The
Wikipedia entry
for Ben Harper lists eight genres he's associated with. A stylistic nomad, Harper roams freely on his new album, Wide Open Light, finding a genre to fit the needs of the song rather than writing a song to fit a genre.
Wide Open Light was
THE READING ROOM: ‘Why Tammy Wynette Matters’ Considers Her Life Hand-in-Hand With Her Work
Tammy Wynette sang some of the saddest songs in country music: “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” “Apartment No. 9,” “I Don’t Wanna Play House.” Wynette’s vocals waver on the edge of breaking as they wring deep emotions from listeners. When Wynette modulates her vocal in the