When The Country Grieves, Springsteen’s There For Us Again In the aftermath of 9/11, Bruce Springsteen was walking in his hometown of Freehold, New Jersey when a fan yelled out, “Bruce, we need you.” The comment kick-started Springsteen into writing songs for The Rising which summed up the country’s collective grief and provided hope when […]
Bob Weir photos by Melissa Clarke Fare Thee Well, Bob Weir I don’t remember the exact year but somewhere in the early Nineties I left Madison Square Garden in New York snapping my fingers as Bob Weir led the Grateful Dead through an exhilarating finale “One More Saturday Night.” I’m pretty sure it was a […]
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Don’t Get Trouble In Your Mind: On Film, An Emotional Journey With The Carolina Chocolate Drops It seems like such a long time since The Carolina Chocolate Drops came upon us and helped to redefine roots music, in turn winning a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for their innovative album Genuine Negro Jig. In […]
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This December Day Still Haunts Us The first thing you see when you open the cover of Laurie Kaye’s memoir is an inscription inside the book. “To Laurie, Love, Yoko Ono, December 1980 and John Lennon, 1980. Lennon adds a drawing of the couple’s eyes that is distinct with his glasses and nose. It was […]
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“Down On The Corner (Adventures In Busking & Street Music)” In the digital age, the ancient art of street singing or busking might seem like an anomaly. But in his new book Down On The Corner – Adventures In Busking & Street Music (Jawbone Press) author Cary Baker makes the case for its continuing vitality–while […]
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(Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt At Nationals Park. Photo by Kelly Wosahla) The cool air of the first post-Labor Day weekend had the feel of what Bob Seger once described as “autumn closing in.” When Johnny Van Zandt stepped to the edge of the stage at Jiffy Lube Live amphitheater in Bristow, Virginia, he […]
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On Memorial Day, Our Fallen Deserve Better Sometimes a few musical notes can trigger a swarm of unconscious emotions. I was listening to Bruce Springsteen’s stunning live show from Cork, Ireland on Nugs. During “Last Man Standing,” his tribute to the late Castiles bandmate George Theiss, Springsteen reenacts his years on the Jersey Shore circuit […]
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Dickie Betts photo by Kirk West photography On a weeknight in summer 2002, I was on vacation in Dewey Beach, Delaware. After putting the kids to bed, I headed over to Bottle & Cork where Dickey Betts was playing with his solo band, Great Southern. It seemed like too small a room for someone who […]
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Tommy Purify photo (Thom Loverro) at FAME Studios Margo Price announced that she recently came to New York for a piano recital at Carnegie Hall. But after leaving the storied building that has been graced by Maria Callas, George Gershwin and the Beatles, Price snuck out to sing karaoke to a room full of strangers […]
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New Book Provides Lively History Of Rounder Records and Roots Music Canon When aspiring fiddle player. Alison Krauss played a record on the Rounder Records label, she knew she wanted to make one someday for them. Years later when a young Sierra Hull saw a Rounder logo on the backs of albums made by her […]
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