ALBUM REVIEW: Martha Spencer Makes Traditional-Tinted Magic on ‘Wonderland’
Wonderland, Martha Spencer’s second solo album, is aptly titled; it carries us through a magical musical landscape via old-time Appalachian tunes, Django jazz, bluegrass, country, American songbook-style tunes, and ambling blues. Spencer’s high mountain vocals dip and swerve, providing the thread around which harmonies and instruments
After Founding Member Steps Away, Steep Canyon Rangers Navigate a New Road
During the pandemic, Woody Platt was in one place for the longest time since he was in high school. For a lot of musicians, that stillness chafed. But when his modern bluegrass and roots band Steep Canyon Rangers got back on the road, Platt found himself reluctant to leave.
Platt
New 12-Hour Documentary Series Goes Deep Into Outlaw Country's Origins
AmericanaFest, which takes place Sept. 13-17, 2022, always features hundreds of incredible live music performances, not to mention countless parties, industry networking, and other opportunities to schmooze in Music City. This year it’ll also including a screening of part of They Called Us Outlaws — Cosmic Cowboys, Honky Tonk
THROUGH THE LENS: Change in the Air at 60th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival
If it’s late August, it means it’s time for one of the oldest folk festivals going, the Philadelphia Folk Festival. It has a special place in my heart as it was the first festival I ever attended. My most indelible memory is lying on my back looking up
JOURNAL EXCERPT: Fort Worth Nonprofit and Festival Celebrate Community and Aim to Decolonize Roots Music
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is an excerpt from a story in our Summer 2022 journal, “Movers & Shakers.” You can read the whole story, and much more, in that issue — learn more about it here. And please consider supporting No Depression with a subscription for more roots music journalism, in
CROWDFUNDING RADAR: Campaigns from Kevin Max, Richard X. Heyman, and More
Most weeks, this column has a theme. It isn't always meant to. It just happens that I look at the dozen or so albums I've got bookmarked for consideration and similarities come out. Not this week. So I'm taking a cue from Monty Python,