Jason Isbell with Waxahatchee at Wolf Trap 9/14 In some circles, Jason Isbell has been at the center of controversy over his approach to live shows in the age of COVID. While Isbell’s no apologies approach has likely led him to lose some fans, you could not tell by the size of the crowd at […]
For two decades now, the Drive-by Truckers have confronted the racial and social realities of living in the Deep South, but the group’s last two albums have taken a broader view on the state of our country in the age of Donald Trump. And it is obvious that songwriters Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley don’t […]
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Scott Avett is having the type of month multi-hyphenates dream about: a new album; a sold out show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center; an appearance on The Tonight Show; and the opening of a huge collection of his paintings at the North Carolina Museum of Art. “Today is the first day I’m constantly reupping as a […]
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When I travel, I try to see if any of my favorite artists are playing in the city I’m visiting. Usually, my luck runs cold, as I miss shows by a day here or two days there. So imagine my surprise when I learned Josh Ritter and Amanda Shires were playing while I was In […]
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The anniversary tour, in which artists perform a popular or seminal work start to finish, has become a solid moneymaker for musicians over the past decade. For the artists, who’ve seen the industry implode due to downloads and streaming that pays pennies on the dollar, it is a drawing card in a clouded and crowded […]
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For the first 15 years of his career, Dave Alvin was known for smoking guitar work and ability to cross genres with groups such as The Blasters, X, and The Knitters, and as a solo artist. But it was fourth solo album, 1994’s “King of California,” that proved to be a game changer. A […]
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With a four-piece band, Lori McKenna kicked off her “Return to Bittertown” tour on Wednesday at City Winery to mark the 15th anniversary of the album “that changed everything.” Supported by opener Hailey Whitters, a McKenna acolyte who is gaining acclaim as one of the best unsigned songwriters you’ve not heard of, the tour was […]
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Politics are almost inherent, if not overt, when bands play in the Washington, D.C., area. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard 1960s protest songs played — often with an extra dose of passion — as encores at shows. Son Volt, the alt-rock/alt-country band led by Jay Farrar, didn’t need covers to weigh […]
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I’ve long admired musicians who find it easy to collaborate, moving seamlessly (or so it seems) from group to group while maintaining their own careers. Neko Case and Emmylou Harris do this all the time, as do others, but Dave Alvin and John Doe are experts in the art of the side project. The longtime […]
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This story is about the night Pearl Jam’s lead singer went Americana, singing a cover of a Jason Isbell song. And how, despite the odds, my wife and I were there to see it. On Sunday, closing out the Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona, Eddie Vedder broke into “Maybe It’s Time,” the song Isbell wrote […]
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