THROUGH THE LENS: The Roots Music Lovers Guide to Analog, Part 7

September's releases are dominated by a group of powerful blueswomen. Danielle Nicole skipped by us last month, but her soul-blues August 28 release Fireflies is too good to pass by, as is Steve Cropper's second posthumous release, Watching The Tide, which also slipped through the

This week the the column visits the heart of Appalachia with two roots music festivals: Earl Scruggs Music Festival (September 4-6, 2026, Mill Spring, North Carolina); and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion (September 11-13, 2026, Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee).  The settings, only 90 miles apart as the crow flies,

James Felice (of The Felice Brothers) has announced his sophomore solo album, Homeward Blue, will be released on Nov. 13 via Conor Oberst's Million Stars Records. The follow-up to 2025's The Little Ones was produced by Bright Eyes' Nate Walcott. Felice has dropped the