On ‘Gypsy,’ Eilen Jewell Balances Roaming and Roots
Eilen Jewell’s new album, Gypsy, opens with “Crawl,” a bluesy/honky-tonk tune bolstered by Jerry Miller’s chorus-y guitar part and Katrina Nicolayeff’s wending fiddle. “I want solitude, don’t want to be alone,” Jewell sings, “want to put down roots, want to be a rolling stone,” capturing
50 STATES OF FOLK: How Hawaii Created the Modern Country Sound
Turn your radio to a country music station, and you’re likely to hear the lilting sounds of a pedal steel. It’s a sound iconic to the genre, so ubiquitous that it’s probably permeated your idea of what country music is without a second thought.
But what you
"Running for So Long (House a Home)" from The Peanut Butter Falcon Soundtrack
“Running for So Long (House a Home)” is featured in The Peanut Butter Falcon, the folk/Americana soundtrack of the year. Performed by Parker Ainsworth, Butch Walker, Paris Jackson of The Soundflowers, and Jessie Payo, the song captures the importance of human connections. The album also features Sara Watkins, Gregory
EASY ED’S BROADSIDE: The Fraught Journey of ‘México-Americano’
In the American border town of Eagle Pass in the Rio Grande Valley, Rumel Fuentes was born in 1943. Attending the University of Texas in Austin in the ’60s, he was one of the Chicano movement's brightest singer-songwriters, using his music to speak out against injustice to his
Remembering David Berman, Who Memorialized Suffering Through Song
Wondering about the well-being of writers who put their darkness out there in the light, and share it with an audience, is a mystery with no sound resolution. David Berman, the late poet and songwriter of Silver Jews’ artful American music, touched many with his surreal words on love, loss,
THROUGH THE LENS: The Newport Folk Festival – The Highwomen, Dolly Parton, Our Native Daughters, and More
This week is a first for the Through the Lens column: the Newport Folk Festival. From Pete Seeger to Bob Dylan to Brandi Carlile, the festival has always been not just a showcase of the music that binds us, but also a platform for social change.
Women made big statements