Liz Cooper: Show Review and Interview by Brian DeSpain In the year and one-half from recording the tracks for the September 3 release of Hot Sass, Liz Cooper has grown to know herself, adjust to a pre-pandemic move from Nashville to New York City, and has found little inspiration for songwriting. Cooper focused on painting […]
Many Mountains — interview and show review by Brian DeSpain Longs Peak Pub & Taphouse, Longmont CO 11/6 Boulder County establishments have played an important role in the Front Range music scene. Some are still determining when to reopen. Those back in operation haven’t immediately resumed their pre-pandemic live music formats. On November 6, Longs […]
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Carsie Blanton — Interview The soul swaying and soothing social justice number “Be Good” introduces Carsie Blanton’s nineteen song set, followed by the defiant “Down in the Streets” written as an explanation to her mother about the 2020 protests. With “Harbor” from Buck Up (2019), Blanton draws a comparison between how people have felt during […]
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Joel King and the Wild Feathers — Interview and Show Review by Brian DeSpain Coming off their first stage performance at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado, opening for Blackberry Smoke on the Spirit of the South tour, The Wild Feathers made their final stretch to St. Louis to close out a three and one-half week […]
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Beth Bombara interview by Brian DeSpain Americana Highways spoke with Beth Bombara at Off Broadway in St Louis on 10/29. This was Bombara’s second of two shows involved with a Space Junk IPA launch with Logboat Brewing Company based in Columbia, Missouri. On this night the beer made it’s debut in St Louis. For setlist […]
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William Elliott Whitmore interview by Brian DeSpain William Elliot Whitmore brought his banjo and guitar picking and porch stomping.to Off Broadway in St. Louis, Missouri on Oct 25. Below is a summary of the set followed by the interview: Twenty-one songs composed Whitmore’s set which were mostly audience requests. He told the crowd, “A setlist […]
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Carrie Newcomer — Maurer Hall at Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago 10/24 by Brian DeSpain Hope and resiliency are at the heart of Carrie Newcomer’s message about the “great unraveling” – her term she uses for the personal struggles during the global Covid-19 pandemic. Newcomer’s recent album, Until Now [10 Sept 2021] formed […]
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Dar Williams at Lawrence Arts Center, review by Brian DeSpain The last time Dar Williams visited Lawrence, Kansas, the 2016 US presidential election produced an unconventional result, “but we won’t go there,” she remarked, and the Inauguration was a couple weeks away. Musicians converging for the Folk Alliance International conference down the road in Kansas […]
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Heather Maloney interview by Brian DeSpain Embarking on the last two weeks of Dar Williams’ first tour leg of 2021, Americana Highways spoke with Heather Maloney early into her run of opening sets. Lawrence, Kansas has figured into being a special place for Maloney, performing there for the first time on October 21 at Lawrence […]
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Beth Bombara — Rose Music Hall by Brian DeSpain St Louis-based Americana artist Beth Bombara is no stranger to central Missouri. She’s worn a path along I-70 which has included many stops in Columbia, Missouri over the years. In August 2019, Bombara played before one of the largest crowds when Old 97’s asked […]
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