Son Volt — Electro Melodier The new album by Son Volt, Electro Melodier, releasing on Thirty Tigers on July 30, is an easy, laid back offering to the Americana world with the warm familiar vocals of Jay Farrar that significantly more-than-helped launched the entire era of Americana Music (consider the ubiquitousness of “No Depression” to this day). […]
The 23rd annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival was held this past week, July 14th -18th in its rightful location, Woody’s hometown of Okemah, OK. You see, last year’s virtual festival (you can revisit it here: https://americanahighways.org/2020/07/17/show-review-woody-guthrie-festival-2020-virtually-was-a-celebration/ ) was really spectacular. Actually, it was one of the best virtual events I covered. But still, and understandably, […]
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Jesse Lynn Madera — “Revel” Americana Highways brings you this premiere of Jesse Lynn Madera ‘s song “Revel,” written by Madera. The song was produced by George Stanford and Paul Redel, engineered by George Stanford, Paul Redel, and Stevie Blacke; mixed by Ryan Hewitt and mastered by Eric Boulanger. In addition to Jesse Lynn, the […]
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Jackson Browne — Downhill From Everywhere This latest release in six years from Jackson Browne confirms that he is a true master of his art. What his fans and detractors have come to expect from him are on full display with this release. His vocals, musicianship, songwriting, and productions skills, along with his awareness of […]
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Charlie Worsham — Sugarcane With his youthful appearance and an enthusiastic vocal delivery that pops from the speakers with each listening session, Charlie Worsham feels like the new kid on the block, but the seasoned singer-songwriter is already a few laps deep into his impressive musical career. Following on the heels of his 2017 full-length Beginning […]
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Dallas Burrow self-titled In all of the varietals of today’s country music, one characteristic is surprisingly lacking – earnestness. With all of the subtlety and poetry found in Americana and the wordplay and outright bombast on radio-friendly country, not many writers choose to come straight down the center line, eschewing metaphors and archetypes for simple […]
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Clay Melton – Back To Blue I’ve listened several times & keep coming to the same conclusion. Clay Melton is indeed a blues-rock virtuoso on lead guitar – no denying he has talent & skill. I like his sincere raspy voice & wicked guitar approach. His material isn’t poor it’s just — standard, formula blues […]
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Mick Jagger never liked to explicitly tell you what he was singing. Maybe he got the idea from Fats Domino who said you should never sing the lyrics out very clearly. Jagger called it great fun trying to decipher lyrics. In an interview with NME he explained why you never saw the lyrics in a […]
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Americana Highways’ playlist of Americana music, Road Trip to Yesterday, curated by Laura Sikes, is newly updated today! Follow on Spotify to listen to fresh updates. And find the top three winners from our monthly reader poll for favorite new album the month before mixed in with other new Americana and roots rock songs, PLUS classic […]
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Rodney Crowell – Triage While the first cut “Don’t Leave Me Now,” starts off rather slow for an opening it’s a nice surprise to hear the song kick into high melodic gear with its somewhat Celtic/Irish Americana old-world charm connection. This is songwriting with dynamism. The Grammy-Award winner Rodney Crowell still sounds vital, accessible & […]
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