Instrumental Flourishes and Fun Distinguish Twisted Pine’s ‘Right Now’
With navigating the current world becoming more challenging every day, Twisted Pine delivers the kind of album that makes it feel like everything is going to be okay. Instrumental virtuosity — the band’s calling card — abounds on their latest album, Right Now, but so too do moments of sheer pop
Emma Swift Brings New Spirit to Dylan Songs on ‘Blonde on the Tracks’
Can a record of cover songs ever be new? Oh yes. Bob Dylan lends himself to this pursuit on both sides, having released many albums on which he performs the songs of others for nearly 60 years — most notably Good As I Been To You (1992), and three albums of
Gangstagrass Makes a Timely Statement on ‘No Time for Enemies’
The most striking moment on No Time for Enemies, the fifth studio album from bluegrass/hip-hop trailblazers Gangstagrass, comes toward the end, during a reimagining of the Stephen Foster standard “Hard Times Come Again No More.” After a faithful first verse and chorus sung masterfully by Grenadian-Canadian soul-
THROUGH THE LENS: Memories of the Philadelphia Folk Festival
This Philadelphia Folk Festival has a special place in my heart as it was the first festival I ever attended, in 1969, just as I was beginning college. I got to see so many folks I had just heard on records, along with some new ones. Festivals are not only
Kathleen Edwards on Quitting, Unquitting, and the Power of Both
Barely 10 minutes into talking with Kathleen Edwards, I tell her that I’m at a crossroads in my writing career. “I don’t know what to do,” I admit, the COVID-exacerbated anxiety bubbling over. “Do I need to open a coffee shop?” I ask, and together we laugh.
Golden Shoals Brings Old-Time into Modern Day with Lively Reintroduction
Think old-time songs are old-fashioned? In this age of political malaise, systemic injustice, a health catastrophe, and economic uncertainty, old-time’s sounds and themes can feel alarmingly relevant, especially when brought up to date in the able hands of Golden Shoals.
The duo of musical partners Amy