A party atmosphere enveloped DC’s City Winery on Labor Day, as the nation’s capital got a taste of the Austin music scene with a doubleheader of Carolyn Wonderland’s twangy Sixties-influenced psychedelic blues and the swamp-funk of Shinyribs. Wonderland took the stage first, her appearance and bearing invoking memories of Janis Joplin. Carolyn’s uncanny resemblance to […]
Speaking of Steve Earle’s seminal album Guitar Town, Rodney Crowell said, “Steve made an album that was so true to him.” The best works of art, be they songs or entire albums (or even works of literature), are those that are true to the artist, that we cannot imagine being made by someone else. William […]
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When I read interviews with Aaron Lee Tasjan in which he talked about emphasizing his Britpop influences on Karma For Cheap (New West), produced and recorded by Jeffrey Trott and Gregory Lattimer (and featuring Sheryl Crow), I was concerned. This summer, several albums by roots/Americana artists have come out that have stretched the boundaries of […]
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“I got my old man’s heart and a broke down Chevrolet.” So goes the refrain of the title track on Ryan Culwell’s The Last American (Missing Piece Records), a meditation on the dream that “you can be anything you want to be.” Culwell’s raspy, Texas-accented voice, supported by the ethereal guitar work of Megan McCormick […]
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The legendary Rodney Crowell held court at DC’s Hamilton Saturday night, playing a truly magical show that took his audience through a full range of emotions. My photographer, Michael Aarons, who was a little familiar with Rodney before the show, said he was “blown away.” From the opening act by Australian guitar prodigy Joe Robinson […]
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In 2004, I saw Joe Ely perform at the Austin City Limits Festival. (At the time I lived in Austin, attending graduate school in philosophy and law school at UT.) Before I saw Joe Ely, I didn’t think I liked country. In fact, I thought I hated it. My concept of country, though, was limited […]
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Americana is a fuzzy concept, and no one agrees on exactly what it includes. There is agreement that it includes at least some of the blues, but I’ve never heard a good explanation of exactly what part. Those boundary issues are irrelevant to the consideration of Jeremiah Johnson’s Straitjacket (Ruf Records, produced by Mike Zito), […]
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Roots mainstays The Blasters brought their mix of blues, rockabilly, and early rock ’n’ roll to DC’s Hill Country BBQ Saturday. They even crossed over a little into country with “Precious Memories (I’m The Only Hell Momma Ever Raised),” a fitting call-out to the Johnny Paycheck original. Speaking of tributes, in the only words he […]
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On Jubilee, Bill Bloomer’s voice sounds like a(n even more) world-weary Tom Russell, with a gravelly voiced soaked in the whiskey he references so often in his songs. His weariness is unsurprising, given the weight of the political themes he wrestles with, such as the plight of Native Americans, which appears in multiple songs. In […]
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This album is lyrically complex enough to reward multiple listens, and it’s so much fun to listen to, you’ll want to hit play again.
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