John Hiatt - Clear as Muddy
Even if you've never seen him do the GQ as the suit-and-tied host of PBS' "Sessions At West 54th", you may find it difficult to picture John Hiatt a-sittin' and a-rockin' on his back porch playing his perfectly good acoustic guitar. Yes, he
Emma Gibbs Band - Grandmothers of invention
When Emma Gibbs allowed her grandson and his buddies to practice at her house, she probably had no idea they would decide to thank her by naming their band after her. The material they worked on there eventually became Seven Even, their second self-released album, produced by John Keane (Billy
Dan Tyminski - Team player
In every respect but talent, think of Dan Tyminski as the anti-Jimmy Martin. While Martin, one of bluegrass music's great vocalists, is an eccentric infamous for his abrasive ways, Tyminski is an unabashedly good egg: a self-effacing, small-town man, husband, father of three kids (neatly spaced out at
Martin Zellar & The Hardways - Live: Two Guitars, Bass & Drums
The bulk of the songs on the three albums Martin Zellar has released after the demise of his beloved garagey-tonk outfit the Gear Daddies suggests that his characters' two main hobbies remain despairing and regretting. But although the mood is the same, Zellar takes more risks these days and,
Dan Penn - Blue Nite Lounge
On Blue Nite Lounge, his first studio album since 1994's Do Right Man, Dan Penn serves up a musical smorgasbord that showcases his strengths as a singer and songwriter.
"Funky Folks" and "Down Around Birmingham" are Southern slices of R&B and soul,
Diana Darby - Naked Time
Naked Time, the debut from Texas-bred songstress Diana Darby, is the payment that comes due for buying the lie. Having cut her writing teeth on napkin poems, sitcom scripting and Nashville co-writes, Darby offers up nine original documentary-style narratives scantily dressed in breathy wonder and floaty sonic wash.
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