Last Thursday night, the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA was once again hopping; this time it was to the music and storytelling of career musician/guitarists Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, backed by the Guilty Ones: Lisa Pankrantz on drums, Brad Fordham on bass and Chris Miller on guitar. Opening duo Dead Rock West freatured Cindy […]
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The Mallett Brothers’ “Vive L’Acadie!” is a sort of poutine gumbo that’s spicy enough to melt your turntable.
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And the band lit into more of the same groundbreaking intertwining layers they’ve been mesmerizing the room with all night.
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Toronto-based bluegrass quartet The Slocan Ramblers’ new release Queen City Jubilee (Slo Music) is a welcome addition to the bluegrass catalogue. Lead vocals by Frank Evans provide the traditional sounding, syncopated counterpart to his banjo playing; and with Adrian Gross on mandolin, Alastair Whitehead on bass and Darryl Poulson’s steady rhythm guitar to anchor the […]
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Sometimes it feels like Gene Clark never really left us. The discovery and periodic releases of the former Byrd’s solo recordings have graced us over the past few decades. As time has passed, his inestimable multi-generational influence becomes more apparent spanning folk and country rock, rock stalwarts like Tom Petty and R.E.M., and a new […]
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Jesse Dayton’s latest album in his ridiculously varied career, The Outsider (Blue Elan), engineered by Vance Powell (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell), mixes rockabilly, red-dirt twang and kick-ass guitar work to give us one of 2018’s most potent releases.
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I first heard Sam Llanas’ voice on BoDeans second album, Outside Looking In, and I was immediately struck by the sincerity and underlying weariness it conveyed. Nearly thirty years later, with the release of Return of the Goya – Part 1, I am reminded why he is one of the strongest voices in American music. […]
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Joachim Cooder played an uncanny fanciful show at the Birchmere on Monday night. He took the stage silently with Sam Gendel on saxophone, Cooder playing an Array Mbira— an evolved lemellophone. The opener was a cool groove number with Joachim plucking strings with left hand, keeping rhythm with his right. Gendel was in his stocking […]
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These tracks are more than Americana, bigger than modern country, and too powerful to be categorized as country rock.
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In full disclosure, I wasn’t completely sure what to expect Monday night at the Tower Theater in Oklahoma City. After all, it had been several years since I last saw Justin Townes Earle. And though I had a basic familiarity with Lydia Loveless material, seeing her live would be my true introduction. So, although I […]
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