QUEER COUNTRY: The Lavender Cowboys Carrying Patrick Haggerty’s Legacy
Patrick Haggerty loved to describe himself as, “a screaming Marxist bitch.” More popularly known as the artist Lavender Country, Haggerty recorded the first known queer country album in 1973 – no parodies, no homophobia, and no veiled references. That album, Lavender Country, set the template for future generations: Put it all
THROUGH THE LENS: Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday Is Also a Celebration of Roots Music
![SPOTLIGHT: River Shook on 'The Superpower We Share' [ESSAY]](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/d0/18d08e58-3b1b-4720-ae25-a31b44e69d4b/content/images/size/w720/2026/06/Spotlight-Template-3.png)
SPOTLIGHT: River Shook on 'The Superpower We Share' [ESSAY]
Editor's Note: River Shook, whose new, self-titled LP arrived June 26 via Blackberry River, is No Depression's Spotlight Artist for June 2026. Read more about the debut solo venture from the Sarah Shook and The Disarmers frontperson here and check out an exclusive, acoustic performance
BEST OF BLUES: June 2026
June showcases a collection of past glories as well as a new offering from Swamp Dogg, and one that slipped by us from pianist Joe Krown last month. Additionally, Smithsonian Folkways has assembled an impressive blues collection that features well-known blues artists performing material that may be unfamiliar to
Tift Merritt Is Back to Sing Love Into the World
Tift Merritt was on tour in Europe with Jason Isbell in 2017 when her career — successful by any standard — stopped making sense.
Her daughter, Jean, then nearly 2 years old, was with her and having a blast. But “she needed roots,” Merritt recalls, and life on the road couldn’t
BONUS TRACKS: Updates from the FreshGrass Foundation, New Release From Shooter Jennings, Tribute to Buddy Guy, and More Roots Music News
Sierra Hull, awarded Mandolin Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association seven times, has shared a live video of a work commissioned by the FreshGrass Foundation (No Depression's nonprofit publisher) in 2022, recorded at Studio 9, and released as an EP this April. She and