Wednesday Bleeds Last week, Wednesday played a scorching showcase set at The Basement East in Nashville, full of shredding, screaming, moshing and crowd surfing. Before playing the quieter (by their standards) summer-perfect single “Elderberry Wine,” frontwoman Karly Hartzman quipped that the song would “make sense why we’re playing AmericanaFest.” While that might’ve clued in the […]
AmericanaFest 2024 – Day 4 Friday would be my last day in AmericanaFest this year – there was music back home in Colorado, too! But my last day in Nashville was filled with memorable moments. The California Country Show – ACME Feed & Seed Anchored by California Country Radio Show host Dave Bernal, this year’s […]
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AmericanaFest 2025 Day 3 Day 3 of AmericanaFest began with a couple of opportunities to learn, then gave away to (what else) more great music in and around Nashville. Staying Ahead in the Age of AI This panel discussion, moderated by Todd Dupler, Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer for the Recording Academy (the GRAMMY […]
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AmericanaFest 2025 – Day 2 Day 2 of AmericanaFest is when existing legends are honored and new legacies are started (at the Americana Music Association Honors and Awards), but it also proved to be a contrast in styles and guitar tones around Nashville all afternoon. Shawn Camp Album Release This private listening party, put on […]
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AmericanaFest 2025 – Day 1 AmericanaFest is about, first and foremost, getting more of our favorite young bands in the public eye. But it’s also become a place for me to learn more about the history of our brand of country music. Tuesday – Day 1 – gave me two great opportunities to do just […]
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Matt Moran The Ba’ar In some circles, the term “alternative country” has been pushed out by the more wide-open descriptor “Americana.” But alt-country still has a place, describing music that has as much edge as it does twang. Oklahoman Matt Moran definitely lives up to that with his first full album recorded with his band, […]
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Brandi Carlile at Red Rocks 2025 Every pandemic-less year since 2019, I’ve seen Brandi Carlile live. And each time, I’ve come away saying, “No one in America enjoys their job more than Brandi.” But, in 2025, when LGBTQ+ folks are more directly targeted than at any time in my adult life, I had to wonder, […]
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Finding Lucinda Documentary “Why?” has always been the most unanswerable musical question for me, both as a writer and a fan. Why do we gravitate toward certain artists, but not others? Why do seemingly more talented songwriters toil in virtual obscurity while anonymous songwriting mills crank out hit after shitty hit? And why does hard […]
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AmericanaFest 2025 Preview & Must-Sees It’s time for AMERICANAFEST! I’m highlighting some must-sees for anyone else who’s making the trek to Nashville, 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 […]
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Big Thief Double Infinity In addition to being immensely talented and insanely prolific, Big Thief is famously just about the most tightly knit indie band around – just do a Google search of their photos, and you’ll see nary a hint of daylight between the four members. That was, until bass player Max Oleartchik left […]
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