Rodrigo Amarante’s ‘Drama’ Sounds Surprisingly Calm
Rio de Janeiro-born singer-songwriter Rodrigo Amarante’s second solo LP, Drama, opens with a brief, instrumental, eponymous track. Sounds of canned laughter, artificial applause, and raindrops hitting a tin roof crackle through stereo speakers, offering a variegated preface to the 11-track record. It’s easy to get lost in the
THROUGH THE LENS: Red Wing Roots Music Festival Celebrates Family, Healing, and Faith
For the second week in a row this column features a music festival, Red Wing Roots Music Festival. I've always wanted to visit this one, if only for the setting. It and FloydFest, which I have attended, have to be the most beautiful fest backdrops in the East,
Singing Takes Center Stage in Bob Dylan’s ‘Shadow Kingdom’
The minute Shadow Kingdom was announced, rumors and speculations began to ripple through the rarified air of Bob Dylan fandom. Would the $25 a ticket streamed special be a filmed version of a live performance, his first since 2019? Or would it be something else entirely? There were few clues
John R. Miller Proves Value in ‘Depreciated’
Don’t be fooled by the folksiness early on in John R. Miller’s Depreciated. The album casually saunters towards a full existential breakdown that’ll leave you gasping for air. A native of the Shenandoah Valley, Miller channels nearly every strain of country, rock, and roots you can think
Anya Hinkle Invites Listeners on a Journey on Solo Debut ‘Eden and Her Borderlands’
What makes a song meaningful? Much can and has been said on such a topic, but perhaps the ability of an artist to create a sort of invitation for the listener is an ideal way to describe the resonance of the work. Does the artist somehow help the listener find
THROUGH THE LENS: Two Oregon Roots Music Festivals Come Out Roaring in a Post-COVID World
The June 8 edition of this column listed 30 festivals coming our way this year. ND photographer Peter Dervin attended two of those festivals, Jackalope and Waterfront Blues Festival "Upriver," both in Oregon, and this week he reports on the first live, in-person festivals of the year to