B.J. Barham photos by Glenn Cook at Union Stage show B.J. Barham picks up the phone and apologizes. He needs to delay the start of our conversation. The 38-year-old American Aquarium frontman, a self-described extravert who talks a mile a minute and is known for his high-energy tightrope walking shows, is picking up his daughter […]
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The Avett Brothers — Wolf Trap 5/25/2023 Two plus decades into their career, The Avett Brothers have established a robust live following thanks to high-energy concerts that feel like both parties and family reunions. And more than 7,000 of those followers were rewarded Thursday as the North Carolina duo opened the summer concert season at […]
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Kathy Mattea is sitting outside the green room at the Culture Center Theater, working her way through a salad with grilled chicken as she talks about an experience that has changed her life. “At first I was like, ‘There’s no way. There’s no way I’m going to go host a radio show. I’ve got […]
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For Tim O’Brien, performing on Mountain Stage is a homecoming. The Grammy Award winning country and bluegrass musician, songwriter and in-demand session player has played on the National Public Radio show more than any artist over the past 40 years. “I’ve got a cycle of writing songs, recording them, and then releasing them on a […]
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National Public Radio’s Mountain Stage is celebrating its 40th anniversary while simultaneously going through a transition. Larry Groce, the longtime artistic director of the Charleston, W.Va., based program, ceded his hosting duties to Kathy Mattea in 2021 and is retiring for good at the end of June. Groce, 75, created the show with producer Andy […]
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Last month, the Band of Heathens performed three songs from their new album on “CBS Sunday Morning,” a remarkable achievement for the fiercely independent, Austin-based band that has built and sustained a devoted and growing fan following over the past 18 years. After the taping, group co-founder Gordy Quist caught Ron Sexsmith’s main stage show […]
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Dave Alvin — New Highway interview After more than 40 years on the road, Dave Alvin is itching to get back on the highway again. “Playing live is what I love to do more than anything. That’s just it for me,” says Alvin, the legendary California singer-songwriter and guitarist. “It’s my religion. That’s how I […]
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Reckless Kelly proudly carries the Americana/alt-country/Red Dirt torch. The Idaho-born, Austin-based group has been going for more than a quarter of a century now, but they remain as strong as ever live and in the studio. The latter was borne out with the release of 2020’s “American Girls/American Jackpot,” an ambitious double album that fits […]
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Amanda Shires has gone through an emotionally wrenching period that — at different points — made her question whether to continue pursuing her music career and wondering if her marriage would survive. The marriage — to fellow musician Jason Isbell —made it through a rough patch that started when he was recording 2020’s Reunions. And […]
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John Hiatt played a show at the Birchmere w/Grayson Capps opening Throughout a career now in its fifth decade, John Hiatt has always collaborated with other artists, sometimes more successfully than others. But he’s always found a smooth groove with the Goners. The group’s chemistry was on display Monday in the second of two nights […]
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