THE READING ROOM: The Rise of Chuck Berry and Rock and Roll
Chuck Berry’s straight-ahead bluesy, rhythmic romps “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and “Maybellene” lie deep in the DNA of American popular music. A savvy entrepreneur, Berry cannily cashed in on the shift in musical styles from rhythm and blues to even looser, more spontaneous songs about cars,
What Is Roots Music?
“Roots music” is often used to describe different styles of American music. The mind jumps to the American South, or to the folk lyricism of acoustic artists like John Prine or (the Minnesotan) Bob Dylan. That is not completely wrong, though it is important to first distinguish between roots music
SPOTLIGHT: Pony Bradshaw Explores Region’s Full Range on ‘North Georgia Rounder’
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pony Bradshaw is No Depression’s Spotlight artist for January 2023. Read more about Bradshaw and his new album, North Georgia Rounder, out Jan. 27, all month long.
On Pony Bradshaw’s North Georgia Rounder, the landscape is as much a character as he is.
On the
THROUGH THE LENS: My 2022 in Review - The Best of Everything
With COVID easing somewhat, the year was as close to back to normal as we are likely to get for some time, and many artists returned to the studio to record some stellar music. My favorites are listed below.
On a sad personal note, Roland White passed away this year.
CRITICS POLL: ND Writers’ Favorite Roots Music Albums of 2022
Hot on the heels of our annual Readers Poll, we checked in with No Depression’s staff and contributors to get their takes on the best roots music albums released in 2022.
As usually happens, there’s only a little overlap between the two polls, but the good news is
After 50 Years, ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’ Still Bridges Generations
In 1971, the long-haired rock and rollers of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — Jeff Hanna, John McEuen, Jimmie Fadden, Les Thompson, Jimmy Ibbotson — sat in a circle with legends of country and bluegrass music at Woodland Studio in Nashville and in six days recorded 36 songs. A year later,