Mavis Staples & Levon Helm — Carry Me Home I have long been campaigning to include Mavis Staples on Mount Rushmore. It’s true that she, technically, never was President of the United States like those other guys, but her voice has inspired more people that any of them ever did. Carry Me Home, the wonderful new […]
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Cristina Vane — Make Myself Me Again Rising Americana, finger-style and slide guitar star Cristina Vane’s much-anticipated second album, Make Myself Me Again, out now on Red Parlor Records, is a fantastic collection of songs that showcase her wide range of vocal and picking styles. Rooted in Americana, delta blues and traditional bluegrass (the Carter […]
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Nine Mile Station – Open Highways This LA-based Americana rock faction, despite setbacks due to that other band known as Covid, managed to cut some bright, optimistic & hopeful songs. The 2nd & 3rd songs are quite “wet” but refreshing. “Caught In the Rain,” & “Fall Into the Sea,” — lightning strikes of near-Springsteen-Mellencamp type […]
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Cheryl Cawood – Bullet In the Cabin Wall Kentucky is the place where these 12 songs were nourished. It’s country-oriented mountain music with a touch of folk tradition. Working in coal mines, feuds with neighbors, making moonshine, birthin’ babies — all with a rustic history woven into the smoky quilt of Cheryl Cawood’s debut. Vocalist […]
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Kenny Neal – Straight From The Heart Louisiana’s Baton Rouge always effectively indulges its blues with a swampy, humid distillation. Melodies have a New Orleans slant or Bayou flavor. Blues artist Kenny Neal’s showcase is adept, spicy & finely tuned. Neal (vocals/lead & rhythm guitar/harmonica/horn arrangements) has a somewhat B.B. King approach in tone & […]
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Banditos is a five-piece band originally from Birmingham, Alabama, that now calls Nashville home. On its previous albums, the band became known for raw, swaggering rock and roll that is the sonic equivalent of a TV or movie character kicking a door to splinters. The new album Right On was completed shortly before the time that […]
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Delta Spirit – One Is One (New West Records) For One Is One, their latest LP, San Diego’s Delta Spirit does little to deviate from the template they’ve created over their past few records, blending a more modern-sounding Indie Rock with snatches of folk and Americana. It was forged after their first couple of records […]
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Avi Kaplan — Floating on a Dream Funny how an artist can surprise you when you’re unfamiliar with his background. Turns out, Avi Kaplan was a member of the reality show-winning vocal group Pentatonix (I try to stay away from reading the press materials until after consuming the music). After leaving the group in 2017 […]
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Canadian Americana virtuoso harmonica player/musician Mike Stevens has a new album, Breathe In The World, Breathe Out Music, due to be available on May 20 via Stony Plain Records. Mike Stevens is an award-winning harmonica player, and man oh man, it shows. This is a truly fantastic album. “Like a Little Bird” is a bit of […]
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Henry Kaiser & Rome Yamilov – The Lenoir Investigation This 80-minute CD is filled with musical adventures. Recorded by Kid Andersen (bass/vocal) with all songs by the late J.B. Lenoir (1929-1967) except for “Rollercoaster” by Elias McDaniel. The music’s like a big quilt of sound & track 1 “The Whale Has Swallowed Me,” features harmonica, […]
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