No Depression's Best of March 2024 Playlist
March saw an explosion of roots music from unexpected places. In addition to stellar records from No Depression stalwarts like Sierra Ferrell, Taj Mahal, and Aoife O'Donovan, indie rock and pop stars like Waxahatchee, Kacey Musgraves, and Beyoncé flexed their country muscles too.
No Depression covered them all,
ALBUM REVIEW: On ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Beyoncé Mines Tradition and Carves Out a Canon of Her Own
With her new album, Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé forges an expansive take on the traditional canon, integrating a broad swathe of American music, including country, blues, R&B, rock, and gospel. While 2022’s Renaissance spotlighted her as a global MC throwing the party of the decade, Cowboy Carter, framed
FRESH TRACK: Christian Parker – 'Ballad of Easy Rider'
On Change Is Now: A Tribute to The Byrds, upstate New York artist Christian Parker taps into the sounds that made him fall in love with music: the 12-string-strummed songs of The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn.
Reimagining The Byrds' "Ballad of Easy Rider" on the new record, Parker
ALBUM REVIEW: What to Make of Oliver Anthony’s ‘Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind’
It feels almost like a fever dream. That one weekend last August when a mysterious singer in Virginia launched his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” into the stratosphere. The song went viral immediately, and within a week of its release it had been streamed 17.5 million times and
SPOTLIGHT: Joe Pug on Possibility and Destiny in Chippewa Falls
EDITOR’S NOTE: Joe Pug is No Depression’s Spotlight artist for March 2024. Learn more about him and his new album, Sketch of a Promised Departure, in our interview, and check out a video of him performing “No Place a Good Man Can Hide” for ND readers here.
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BONUS TRACKS: The Philanthropy of Billy Strings and a Farewell to County Sales
Billy Strings has a long tradition of giving back. His String the Halls holiday shows have benefited the Nashville Rescue Mission, and in 2021, he brought a truckload of new guitars to his old elementary school in Michigan to give students a chance at the delight the instrument has brought