The musical force known as Swamp Dogg, aka Jerry Williams Jr., has spent the past 65 years in the music industry as a singer, songwriter, A &R man, performer, and record producer. Once described as “one of the great cult figures of 20th century American music”, the always colorful and defiantly original artist earlier this […]
Americana Highways’ Key to the Highway series Fans always clamor to learn more about their favorite, most beloved musicians and those who travel with them. There’s such an allure to the road, with its serendipity, inevitable surprises, and sometimes unexpected discomforts. This interview series is a set of questions we are asking some of our […]
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Barbara Stephan is passionate about her music as well as spreading the gospel about the rewards, and risks, of a musical career. Based in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, Barbara Stephan has made a name for herself for her sultry R&B voice and versatile styles as leader of the Barbara Stephan Band, as part of her […]
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photo by Sarah Cass Americana Highways’ Key to the Highway series Fans always clamor to learn more about their favorite, most beloved musicians and those who travel with them. There’s such an allure to the road, with its serendipity, inevitable surprises, and sometimes unexpected discomforts. This interview series is a set of questions we are […]
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Don McLean, through his iconic songs “American Pie,” Vincent,” Castles in the Air,” and others is one of the most recognizable names in American music. Recently, the singer/songwriter penned a distribution deal with Time Life that allowed 11 of his albums to be available for the first time across all of the major digital […]
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By Alan Richard When I first met Marshall Chapman, she was crying on the other end of the telephone line. My assignment as a young reporter at the Herald-Journal in her hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was to write about the sudden, tragic death of her friend, singer-songwriter Walter Hyatt, in the ValuJet crash that […]
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“No, I didn’t travel with any snakes or candelabras,” Scarlet Rivera was telling me. I had brought up the film Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorcese in which she plays a starring support role. When I asked her about her reaction to the film, the first words out of her mouth […]
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“We have ALWAYS been in this together,” musician Trevor Hall responds emphatically to my question about the Coronavirus pandemic’s rallying cry for compliance, “but over time we have forgotten our connection and unity as a global family.” Hall’s point is a good one: We are all in this together implores an obvious truth recast as […]
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Tommy Emmanuel is one of those musicians that may not be a household name – unless those households are filled with musicians. However, if you happen to see him – even in a video – you realize why he is held in such high regard by other musicians. His technique and sound are enough to […]
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The cover is positively West 4th Street. Willie Nile, in shades, standing underneath the iconic sign of the subway station that runs through the heart of New York City and his Greenwich Village neighborhood. He’s been a fixture here and has had the same apartment approaching fifty years. Nile’s new album and it’s cinematic title […]
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