The Lone Bellow Love Songs for Losers Dualtone After delivering four highly acclaimed albums with reputable, decorated producers, the harmonious trio, The Lone Bellow have self-produced their fifth album, Love Songs for Losers. Recorded in the possibly haunted former home of Roy Orbison, this album weaves in some pain with the unbridled joy that characterized […]
Kenny Shore Time Stands Still Hawida Music North Carolina-based singer-songwriter Kenny Shore courses through several styles from folk-pop to soul to bluegrass to rock n’ roll and even a bit of zydeco on his hook-filled Time Stands Still. It comes across easy, but the emotions are far ranging throughout on this warm, intimate effort. An […]
Luke LeBlanc Fugue State 145 Entertainment Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter Luke LeBlanc delivers his fourth full-length effort with Fugue State, which is more outwardly focused than LeBlanc’s 2022 Only Human. LeBlanc gets elite support from Erik Koskinen, who in addition to playing a slew of instruments, produced, mixed, and engineered the album. Other musicians include Ryan Young […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Angela Easterling Angela Easterling brandishes her songwriting chops with rootsy, refreshing, homespun tunes. Her backing band, The Beguilers (bass, drums and lead guitar), master many complex styles, with instrumentation that fleshes out the stories in Angela’s songs, and adds some rocking fun. Their act is not quite […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Tyler Edwards Beginning his career in 2008, Tyler wrote and performed with the South Carolina rock band, I Anthem. After releasing two EPs and an LP, the band had multiple songs break the Top 10 on Billboard’s Rock Charts and music featured on MTV and NASCAR. […]
John McCutcheon Leap! Appalseed In discussions this summer about the Newport Folk Festival and Philly Folk, this writer, viewing these lineups commented that “there just aren’t that many real folk singers left.” Well, John McCutcheon is indeed one of those few real folk singers putting out vital material as he’s been doing for five decades […]
Skye Pollard Masquerade Hailing from the Ozark mountains in Eureka Springs, Arkansas is Skye Pollard, an artist who I just recently became aware of. His latest release, Masquerade is such a fine-crafted work, I took to it immediately. With song-writing chops that equally match his musicianship, his masterful lyrics beautifully flow along a country-roots-rock stream. With Pollard on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Nolen Sellwood Nolen is young artist with an old soul. His beautifully crafted singing and songwriting skills are captured on his freshman album, to be released soon. Newcomer to the Minneapolis music scene, we cannot wait to see what his bright future in music looks like. […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Megan Bee Singer-songwriter Megan Bee writes with an unquenchable wanderlust and a deep love for the land. Her 2022 album “Cottonwood” has been called “as real as it gets – a raw and real telling of engaging, relatable stories.” The track Never Known received an Honorable […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Randy Palmer Randy Palmer is a cross between a painter and a poet. I don’t mean fine art but scraping, sanding, priming, make it like new, painter. You see Randy has roots deep inside a bucket. A son of a painting paint contractor, Randy has an […]
W ED Harris Cares Of Tomorrow Can Wait Ed. Harris from North Carolina just released his album number ten and once again I’m delighted to be able to write about it. Ed has been into music from a young age and first picked up the guitar when he was just five years old. He started with […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Nathan Bell! Award winning performing songwriter, Nathan Bell, the subject of a 2020 Documentary short film “I Don’t Do This For Love (American Songwriter Nathan Bell on tour in Scotland, Wales and England)” was a best-of selection for Americana UK in 2016, 2017, and 2018 including […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Doc Carter Since bursting onto the music scene with his debut EP, “Blue Eyes” in 2017, Texas singer-songwriter Doc Carter has gone on to generate a ton of attention over the years, with several ofhis releases capturing 30,000 plays or more on streaming platforms, and over […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Sam Barron Sam Barron was born in NYC. His father was a former folk musician turned forensic criminal investigator. His mother worked with severely handicapped children. Stories from the autopsy table and the macabre reality of God’s misfits left a significant imprint on his developing mind. […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with the Executive Director of the Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation Mary Muse Mary Muse is responsible for all Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation events, programs, fund-raising and projects which includes the Kerrville Folk Festival, Welcome Home Fest, The Grassy Hill New Folk Songwriting contest, Music Camp for Teens, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Jessica Lee Morgan! Jessica Lee Morgan is a whole-hearted singer songwriter who doesn’t beat around the bush. She’s been raised on rock and folk by legendary parents (Mary Hopkin and Tony Visconti) and writes songs that reflect her upbringing and jobs in the real world. […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with John Louis John Louis crafts smart, poetic, heartworn country folk songs. Born of a blend of observation, experience, introspection and empathy, John’s songs have garnered attention and awards from prestigious songwriting showcases including the Kerrville New Folk competition, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, and the […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Yosh and Yimmy After meeting in 2015, when Josh Glenn opened for Jimmy Willden at the final show of his 2015 tour, the two bearded gingers continued playing shows together. Over time, the shows evolved into Yosh & Yimmy, as they performed as a duo, and […]
The Mountain Goats Getting Into Knives Merge Records The Mountain Goats are an Indie Folk Rock band and the brain-child of singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Currently the band is based out of Durham, North Carolina. The band’s name is derived from the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins song “Yellow Coat”. Despite their plural moniker, their earliest home recordings […]
Aled Hughes I Remember Today I want to introduce you to the singer/songwriter Aled Hughes who’s originally from North Wales, now based in the coastal town Llantwit Major. Aled released four albums so far: It’s Acoustic, ’67, Earl Lane and the latest I Remember “I Remember’ is an album which includes everything a great album should have. A lot […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Talks with Rod Picott! July 19th 2019 finds Rod Picott releasing his eleventh album, titled Tell The Truth & Shame The Devil. The new album is completely acoustic, featuring only guitar, harmonica and Picott’s weathered vocals. Many of the songs on Tell The Truth & Shame The Devil are influenced […]
Lazer Lloyd brought his strong positivity and impactful songs to The Crystal Moon in Dahlonega on Sunday, March 31 and I was so excited to see and hear him. Lloyd was born in New York and grew up in Connecticut. He now makes his home in Israel. He is Jewish by birth and by choice, […]
Madison Violet Everything’s Shifting Big Lake/Passenger Sounds Madison Violet is Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIssac. The duo first met in Toronto in 1999 only to discover that their fathers were high school classmates. They are genre crossing instrumentalists with flawless harmonies. Hailing from small Scottish towns, in close proximity to Nova Scotia, their sound has […]
Music Maker Relief Foundation Blue Muse Big Legal Mess Records/Music Maker In 1989 Tim Duffy was a student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill completing his master’s degree in Folklore. Duffy was documenting blues musicians including James “Guitar Slim” Stephens for the Southern Folklife Collection. Shortly before Stephen’s passing he urged Duffy […]
Paul Sachs Full Detroit Paul Sachs releases his sixth independent release “Full Detroit”. The 2013 Kerrville “New Folk” winner introduces us to a host of characters familiar and honest. Paul Sachs sings with a phrasing that’s familiar but the story is all his own, and it tells your story too. Listening to this album is […]
Shawn Mullins Soul’s Core Revival Soul Carnival Records Shawn Mullins hails from Atlanta, Georgia. In the early 1990’s Mullins was a young troubadour on the folk circuit traveling the country in a minivan with his dog Roadie and a guitar. His debut recording was released in 1992 but it was his 1998 “Soul’s Core” album, […]
Katie Martin has a new album called Hope, and hope is the thread that binds her powerful songs together. Martin says that she writes from her life, about things that she has overcome, to let other people know they can overcome as well Martin’s music is unique in the way she uses looping and layering […]
It’s been a long time since John Prine released an album of original material, and some long-time fans, like me, might be worried that he might sound different, or the material might not be as true and touching. Well, stop worrying. The Tree of forgivenesss is as wry and wise as Prine has ever been. […]
by Rhetta Akamatsu Nina Ricci is a very contemporary folk singer. Her voice often sounds very similar to Dolly Parton’s, but her style is entirely her own. With power and control, she filters everything through an artist’s perspective, mixing images, colors, and emotions to create seven strong songs for Designs On Me. The first song, […]
Texas artist Matthew Wolcott proves, in his debut release Western Lights, that there is always room for another talented, sensitive songwriter. The five songs here allow Wolcott to paint melancholy pictures with sound. His piano playing perfectly accompanies his rich voice, which reminds this writer of Jackson Browne’s. The title song “Western Lights” sets the […]
While Ivas John is new to me, Good Days a Comin’ is actually his fifth. It is the first, however, to be completely acoustic. The trend to a return to acoustic music more often is a welcome one, allowing listeners to experience once again the power of this less embellished form in the hands of […]
Joe Kidd and Sheila Burke’s album is called Everybody Has A Purpose, and it is clear from the first listen that they believe this, and also that every word and note also has a purpose. From the haunting “Veteran’s Song,” sung by Burke alone in her pure, soaring voice and telling a story about the […]
When a person is as unusual as Darryl Purpose, you can expect his music to be as different as he is, and it is. Purpose is a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame who has been banned from casinos in six continents. After spending years sleeping in his truck and playing anywhere he could […]
Carlos Calvo – “Further Down the Road” by Rhetta Akamatsu Carlos Calvvo has a life that sounds like the plot of a book. He provides music for TV and film, is a guitar coach for actors like David Duchovny and Marg Helgenberger , has taught guitar to the children of stars like Joe Perry and […]
Atlanta singer/songwriter Brian Perry describes his music as “at the intersection of James Taylor and Garth Brooks with Bruce Springsteen directing traffic.” He is firmly in the folk tradition, but with a very contemporary twist. His uncomplicated acoustic guitar and clear, pleasant vocals allow his sensitive and heartfelt lyrics to shine. And, in true singer/songwriter […]
The Folk/Bluegrass Charts is compiled monthly by Richard Gillmann richard@NWFOLK.COM FOLKDJ-L is an electronic discussion group for DJs and other people interested in all folk-based music (bluegrass, old-time, traditional balladry, traditional international music, singer-songwriters, etc.) on the radio. With over nine hundred subscribers from all corners of the earth, they are a lively bunch with a […]
Classic African American Songsters Smithsonian Folkways Records In 1987 The Smithsonian Institute, our national museum located in Washington D.C., acquired the Folkways Records catalogue from its former owner Moses Asch. This is the 23rd installment in the Smithsonian Folkways “Classic” series. This compilation has been mastered by Pete Reiniger. Barry Lee Pearson, scholar of African […]
