BONUS TRACKS: News on AI Policy, The Chicks on Broadway, Ketch Secor, and More
We're back this week after taking off to travel to, and report from, the FreshGrass Festival in Bentonville, Arkansas. As a result, we've got a double-dose of new roots music news.
Contemporary politics and technology intersect again in a way that impacts the roots music world.
ALBUM REVIEW: Taj Mahal and Keb Mo's 'Room On The Porch' is Food for the Soul
Taj Mahal redefines the description of mellow. Not that he doesn't try, but no matter what he tackles, his soulful, but well-broken-in leathery vocals put a unique stamp on the material, making it sound world weary even when upbeat. His collaborations with Keb Mo, whose picture could be
![SPOTLIGHT: The Magic of Our Little Blue Earth [ESSAY]](/content/images/size/w720/2025/05/Kristina-Murray-Spotlight-5.jpg)
SPOTLIGHT: The Magic of Our Little Blue Earth [ESSAY]
Editor's Note: Kristina Murray is No Depression's Spotlight Artist for May 2025. Learn more about her life and new album, Little Blue, which was released May 9, in this feature, and keep an eye out for more all month long.
Coming on now 15 years ago,
THE READING ROOM: The Best Music Books of 2025 So Far
We’ve made it almost halfway through 2025, and it’s been a hell of a ride so far. We live in a world marred by fear, division, hate, deceit, inequity, loss, death; the litanies of woe and hopelessness very often drown out the voices of hope. Where can we
NO DEPRESSION SESSIONS at MerleFest: Woody Platt & The Bluegrass Gentlemen
No Depression set up the "studio" at the 37th annual MerleFest for a dozen sessions with legends and legends-in-the-making. The festival was founded in 1988 in memory of Doc Watson’s son Merle, and features “traditional plus” music, meaning a broad range of styles from the sweet falsetto
FOUNDERS KEEPERS: Amble basks in Reverie, and old faves deliver the goods
Most of the time I focus these columns on recent releases by artists I’ve written about for years, sometimes decades. There’s plenty of that this month as well, but out front we have the auspicious debut album from a brand new Irish trio called Amble. Beyond that are