In The Deep End With...Tift Merritt
Tift Merritt has always been one of the most thoughtful songwriters in roots music. After 20 years, the North Carolina-based musician is revisiting her breakthrough, Grammy-nominated LP, Tambourine, remastering it and reissuing it on vinyl for the first time in years. Additionally, Merritt dug up a 10-song collection of previously
Another Side of Woody Guthrie: Recently Discovered Collection Captures the Sounds of ‘Woody At Home’
Woody Guthrie was named after progressive president Woodrow Wilson, who advanced policies on government regulation and social welfare. He was also born on Bastille Day, a turning point of the French Revolution that ended the monarchy. These were two auspicious signs for a folksinger who made a life of fighting
ALBUM REVIEW: With ‘So Long Little Miss Sunshine,’ Molly Tuttle Loses Her Way on the Road to Reinvention
On So Long Little Miss Sunshine, Molly Tuttle leaves her bluegrass bedrock far behind to stake out new musical territory.
It was bound to happen. Since launching a music career barely into her teens and releasing two solo albums, a covers album, and two Grammy-winning albums as bandleader of Golden
NO DEPRESSION SESSIONS at MerleFest: Cristina Vane
No Depression set up the "studio" at the 37th annual MerleFest for a dozen sessions with legends and legends-in-the-making. The festival was founded in 1988 in memory of Doc Watson’s son Merle, and features “traditional plus” music, meaning a broad range of styles from the sweet falsetto
ALBUM REVIEW: Troubadour Cass McCombs Explores a World of Disquiet on ‘Interior Live Oak’
For Cass McCombs, it’s the song, not the singer. Over a career spanning more than two decades, this sly California-born troubadour has specialized in catchy tunes that shun easy categories, even as they flirt with familiar folk-pop tropes. Fascinating and exhausting, Interior Live Oak captures McCombs at full strength,
THROUGH THE LENS: Harley-Davidson Homecoming & Newport Jazz Festivals Demonstrate Roots Music Is Everywhere
On first blush Harley-Davidson and the Newport Jazz Festival would seem an odd pairing. But like Felix Unger and Oscar Madison (of The Odd Couple), they have more in common than meets the eye.
Jazz is not only a unique art form, it is generally accepted as this country’s