The genesis of folk-rock outfit Divergent began in Iowa, where James Richards (guitar, keys, vocals) and Mike McAlister (bass, vocals) forged a creative partnership as young teenagers, cultivating a love for music and performing. In high school, they formed a four-piece cover band, Chautauqua Road Band. When they went to separate universities, the band faded, […]
Diane King – Sky Diane King has a new album on the horizon, Sky. Diane’s journey involved an experience with a lymphoma scare, and then finding new love, and then finding a producer, Stephan Oberhoff, to believe in her songs as much as she did, and dive in to work on her new album. This […]
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Catching Momentum: Maia Sharp’s Poetic Reckoning On the surface, Maia Sharp’s songs sound effortless—phrases that float with conversational ease, melodies that feel inevitable once you’ve heard them. But ease is an illusion; the heart of her craft is wrestling with uncertainty. For Sharp, every song is both a mirror and a map, a way of […]
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Joshua Radin photo by Minna Ýr Jóhannsdóttir 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 […]
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Interview: Moved by Metaphor, Dar Williams Commits to the Hummingbird Highway Dar Williams toured a spice farm in Belize set amid pristine jungles and primordial Mayan ruins. At a bumpy junction, the driver told the passengers that there were three possible options: steering east, veering west, or sticking to the middle road, which he called […]
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Jess Wayne photo by Mark Maryanovich Based in Taos, New Mexico, folk, country, and blues singer-songwriter Jess Wayne recently released his album, Ancient Door, a fusion of contemporary folk, country blues, and easy jazz, all flavored with dollops of Americana. Talking about Ancient Door, Wayne explains, “Many of the songs on this new album are […]
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Tim O’Brien Continually Lives the Dream Tim O’Brien intended for Paper Flowers to be a lighthearted record, a pleasant distraction from worldly strife, following a period of more serious songwriting. Onstage, he playfully embraces the material’s cheerful tone. “This album and these songs just create a good time,” said O’Brien. “I think we were looking […]
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Ryan Lee Crosby on Collaborating With Jimmy “Duck” Holmes For Live Album At The Blue Front Ryan Lee Crosby is a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and educator in the Blues tradition, and more specifically in the Bentonia Blues tradition of Bentonia, Mississippi. His mentor for a number of years now has been Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, who […]
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At Peace While Observing: The Life of Samantha CrainBy Brian D’Ambrosio Language quenches Samantha Crain’s flaming fire. An exceptionally potent songwriter, Crain finds that her spirit, affections, desires, and disposition live and reign in language. Her nuanced writing is something that she sees as both a gift and a demand. Crain was born, raised, and […]
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Ian Moore (at left) with the Texas Headhunters, photo by Daniel Sanda 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 […]
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