SPOTLIGHT: Jake Blount on Traditional Music’s Built-In Science Fiction
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jake Blount is No Depression’s Spotlight artist for September. Read more about Blount and his new album, The New Faith, in our interview, and get more of the story behind the album in this mini-documentary.
Most people don’t look to banjo players like me
BONUS TRACKS: John Prine’s Favorite Books + More Roots Music News and Notes
More details are emerging about the weeklong John Prine tribute coming to Nashville next month, “You Got Gold: Celebrating the Life & Songs of John Prine.” The six concerts on the evenings of Oct. 7-12 are sold out, but the Oct. 10 show at the Ryman Auditorium will be
ALBUM REVIEW: Beth Nielsen Chapman Collects Songs of Sanity for ‘CrazyTown’
Beth Nielsen Chapman’s new album, CrazyTown, opens with a joyous sing-along, “All Around the World,” a soaring affirmation of the goodness of human nature and the possibilities of community in a world sorely divided by strife. It’s one of those songs whose rhythms and lyrics echo in
ALBUM REVIEW: Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin Team Up for Tribute to Malian Legend Ali Farka Touré
Ali Farka Touré is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. The Malian singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist is credited with helping create what’s now (somewhat controversially) referred to as the “desert blues” sound — a guitar-based style that is at once propulsive and meandering, local and global, and
ALBUM REVIEW: ‘Things Happen That Way’ Offers One Last Blast From Dr. John
Magic happens when the first notes of “Funny How Time Slips Away,” the opening track on Dr. John’s final studio album, glide out of the speakers. Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack Jr.’s velvety, bluesy piano trills provide the swaying musical gait for his smoky vocals. By the second verse,
ALBUM REVIEW: Nikki Lane Returns With Hard-Won ‘Denim & Diamonds’
Nikki Lane needed a break. The grind of a road warrior like Lane is not for the faint of heart, and after the release of her third album, 2017’s Highway Queen, she wasn’t sure another go-round was in the cards. Still, she kept busy, continuing to play