BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND: March 2026 Hank Alrich, BROKEN RIVER. When it came time to build Austin, Texas into a musical capital of the world, there were a dozen true believers there in 1970 that took on the task. And no one did more than Hank Alrich. He helped bring to life the Armadillo World Headquarters, which […]
BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND: February 2026By Bill Bentley Chris Ahlman, SANTA BARBARA SONGS. It’s pretty obvious from note one on this singer-songwriter’s new album that he has a very special relationship with Santa Barbara. The seven songs on his new release capture the peace and beauty of the California coastline of the town on the California coast, […]
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Bentley’s Bandstand: January 2026 Ed Alstrom, THIS IDEA OF HUMANITY.There are moments in anyone’s life when the Hammond organ sounds like the only instrument that could possibly rule the world. Its notes are ready for action, no matter the mood, and it swings with a fullness that sounds like the holy ghost has taken over […]
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Bentley’s Bandstand: Favorite Albums of 2025: (second half) Rodney Crowell, AIRLINE HIGHWAY. There is something about artists like Rodney Crowell that shares such a powerful sound from note one that there is never any question they’ve hit it out of the park. Again. It’s been that way forever with the best music. The song starts […]
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Bentley’s Bandstand: December 2025 Rodney Crowell, AIRLINE HIGHWAY. Of all the many talented singer-songwriters of the past 50-plus years out of Texas, here is one in the very toppermost of the poppermost on anyone’s list. Rodney Crowelll has always had a sense of the magical in his work that defies regular artists. He has a […]
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BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND: November 2025 Al Basile, BLUES IN HAND. Lock up the blues crew, because Al Basile is on the lurch and recorded what is the best album of his celebrated career. He’s grabbed the uptown blues by the horns and is more than ready to kick up some naugahyde action through the window. This […]
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Bentley’s Bandstand: October 2025 Queen Esther, BLACKBIRDING. There hasn’t ever been an album quite like Queen Esther’s BLACKBIRDING. It’s an emotional study of events at Gettysburg during the Civil War, and how it turned historial times into an era that never really allowed Blacks to get past the ramifications which occurred then. Queen Esther’s absolute […]
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Bentley’s Bandstand: September 2025 The Autumn Defense, HERE AND NOWHERE. Credentials can sometimes paint the person, and John Stirratt and Patrick Sansone are two to help prove it. Stirratt played in a handful of bands in the Deep South growing up, and at one point walked into the open bass position in Uncle Tupelo. But […]
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Bentley’s Bandstand: August 2025 by Bill Bentley Marshall Crenshaw, FROM THE “HELLHOLE.” Here’s the prime example of a rock & roll expert who knows how to juggle originals and cover songs in a way that everything comes out his own in the end. It’s not an easy attribute to perfect, but Marshall Crenshaw sure did. […]
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Bentley’s Bandstand July 2025 Chris Berardo, WILDER ALL THE TIME. This Connecticut-based rocker puts the burning swagger and soulful heartbeats into his songs in a way that shows just how valuable he is. Chris Berardo is clearly a long-termer, and his new album sounds like it came right out of the history books of the […]
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