THE LONG HAUL: Unsung Heroes of the Folk Scene
I just spent a beautiful 24 hours in Shetland, an experience I don’t take for granted. I love getting to go to tucked-away places while on tour, and for a fiddle player, Shetland is one of those legendary places. I’m glad to have finally made it up there.
BONUS TRACKS: The Drive-by Truckers Take a Do-Over on ‘The Dirty South'
Sometimes, the album a band has in mind and the album a label wants to put out aren’t exactly the same thing. Compromises are made, and the label usually wins in the end, being that it holds the purse strings. After that, everyone mostly moves along, but, as in
ALBUM REVIEW: William Bell Keeps Soul Chops Sharp on ‘One Day Closer to Home’
The review of this album could be very short: William Bell is a master of soul music who can tear out your heart with one vocal phrase and soothe and comfort with the next, and One Day Closer to Home reveals a master at work.
Bell’s signature 1961 song
ALBUM REVIEW: Fruit Bats Mark the Power of Place on ‘A River Running to Your Heart’
“We all want a home / metaphorical or real / some place to make us feel whole,” Eric D. Johnson sings on the latest record — his tenth — under his Fruit Bats moniker, A River Running to Your Heart. As has always been the case in his more than 20-year career, Johnson is
ALBUM REVIEW: The Wood Brothers’ ‘Heart Is the Hero’ Puts Compassion in Charge
Through their songwriting, roots music vanguards The Wood Brothers exemplify what we gain when we heed our senses: We learn, we grow, and at the baseline, we live. But the title of their eighth studio record — Heart Is the Hero — encourages us upfront to ponder the role the heart, not
ALBUM REVIEW: Robert Earl Keen Follows a Laidback Trail on ‘Western Chill’
While Robert Earl Keen may be officially retired from touring, Western Chill makes it quite clear he’s not retired from writing songs and making music.
Western Chill tracks the travels of a troubadour who’s not heading off into the sunset but who’s heading to the cool climes