Americana Music Association Honors & Awards Even in 2026, when everyone knows everything, and the computers know even more than that, it’s still possible to keep a secret. According to AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly, the reunion of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers had been in the works for nine months, but the announcement wasn’t made until […]
AmericanaFest 2026 Day 1 AmericanaFest is typically a week for discovery, but curiously enough, the first evening has also proven to be a trip back in time to some of the artists who first got me into this wing of country music. BMI Presents: Rooftop on the Row Due to a dubiously delayed Frontier flight […]
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Brandi Carlile at Red Rocks w/ Alanis Morissette and Stephen Wilson Jr There’s a line in a Season Five “Simpsons” episode where, after Lisa and Grampa remark on how unheard they are, Homer gleefully retorts, “I’m a white male, age 18 to 49. Everyone listens to me—no matter how dumb my suggestions are,” then chows […]
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It’s time for AMERICANAFEST 2026! I’m highlighting some must-sees for anyone else who’s making the trek to Nashville September 15-19, as well as sharing my choices for the Americana Awards (to be held Wednesday evening at the Ryman Auditorium). My ground rules for the musts – they have to be folks I haven’t seen […]
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This is Lorelei The Singer in My Band As This Is Lorelei, singer-songwriter Nate Amos largely works on his own, producing and performing nearly everything on his latest record, The Singer in My Band. The songs, though, seem to emanate from a wagon full of oddball characters, partially reflecting Amos’ own time in tour vans, […]
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Lily Seabird Lightspheres on Their Way Lily Seabird’s Trash Mountain was one of my favorite albums of 2025. It hit that indie country spot that I was enjoying at the time (and still am enjoying), and it had some gorgeously un-idyllic imagery of her Vermont home. So when I saw she was playing Denver’s venerable […]
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Handsome and the Humbles Live at the Bijou: Feels Like Home If you’re of a certain age (say, 55), you’ll remember when local radio stations (which were, once upon a time, locally owned) ingratiated themselves into the community. They supported local causes, sponsored Little League teams, and featured hometown musicians, giving them a hand on […]
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The Bird Calls “Take Leave” Everyone has to grow up sometime (or that’s what they keep telling me – unsuccessfully, it would seem). But making music fights that life commandment at every turn. Writing lyrics and recording songs for money (because everyone needs to eat) seems a fool’s errand, especially in a time where virtually […]
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Wild Pink Still Coming Down Wild Pink’s 2022 album, ILYSM, was one of my favorite records of that year. Songwriter John Ross’s details of his (successful) cancer treatments struck nerves that I hadn’t realized were still raw from my own all-too-similar health problems from five years earlier. Since that album (and the undoubtedly tough press […]
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Ok Cowgirl Rhinestone Cowgirl Summer is all about good driving music. And even as we’re stretching out the last couple of weeks of August before Labor Day lands with a thud, there’s still time to squeeze in a good road trip or two. Brooklyn-based band Ok Cowgirl’s second LP, Rhinestone Cowgirl, is a departure from […]
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