HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with The HawtThorns! Envision and believe in your own universe, and it will eventually form around you. The HawtThorns are reimagining their universe in their latest recording adventures. The sun-kissed songwriting, deft guitar work, and lush vocal harmonies that have been at the core of their sound […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Pi Jacobs Pi Jacobs is a lifer. Born in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, she’s spent two decades onstage and on the road, creating a rhythmic, rootsy sound that’s every bit as diverse as her own upbringing. “My dad’s Filipino, my mom’s white, and my step-grandmother and cousins are […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Amanda Grace! Amanda is a Minnesota native and has released music drifting between folk, alt- pop/rock and Americana. With roots as a pianist her writing is thematically varied with an emphasis on melody; with ballads wrapped in warm vocals. In 2016 she received a Front Of […]
Lauren White Making It Up As We Go Along Café Pacific Vocalist Lauren White returns with her fifth album, Making It Up As We Go Along, a follow-up to her 2021 Ever Since the World Ended, which we covered here. White, though not a composer, is a lover of lyrics and spoken words, having worked […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Matt Blake Matt Blake is a decidedly self-effacing sort of guy. He paid his dues, working his way up the proverbial ladder, gaining practical music business experience while cultivating what it takes to write songs that resonate with others, just like his musical heroes continue to […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with The Weekend Lovers Good vibes, great friendships, and a love for all things funky — these are the ingredients that brought The Weekend Lovers together in the spring of 2022.Each of the group’s members — Noelle Vocelka (lead vocals), Zach Sutton (lead guitar, vocals) Brennan Fussman […]
Claudia Gibson The Fields of Chazy Self-released Claudia Gibson is an Austin-based singer-songwriter that doesn’t always sound very Texan as she’s not a native, but one drawn to a city of songwriters. Instead, her mostly folk based music embraces Celtic and that traditional folk sound we associate with the British Isles. Yet, her environs do […]
Lynne Arriale Trio Being Human Challenge In addition to being compassionate about causes, and by all accounts a sincere and caring person, pianist and composer Lynne Arriale, delivers some of the most lyrical pianism today. Many have likened her to a musical poet. Her compositions ring with both beauty and emotion, and, as the title […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Caitlin Cannon Caitlin Cannon’s upcoming release, Beggar (a four-song EP set to debut on April 5, 2024 as a standalone precursor to her forthcoming full-length album Love Addict) is all songwriting chops and vibe. With cinematic soundscapes, nostalgic atmospheres, and words that are a testament to […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Domenic Cicala Hailing from the D.C. area, Domenic Cicala – A singer/songwriter with a love for the 3 minute song. Largely influenced by the holy musical trinity of Hank, Elvis and Bruce and owing all his musical acumen to the sagely philosophy of Woody Guthrie “If […]
Amigo The Devil Yours Until the War Is Over Regime Music Group This rather bizarre dirge-like music from the Austin-based artist with the moniker Amigo the Devil (Danny Kiranos) is perhaps not for everybody but this iconoclastic artist has amassed a considerable following for his singular approach. His songwriting bears similarities to Leonard Cohen, Tom […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents interview with Jennifer Porter Jennifer Porter is an award-winning singer, actor and screenwriter. A musician’s musician blessed with a beautiful voice, Jennifer has performed a repertoire that spans from Jazz and Blues to Country and Opera. She has sung with Classical and Jazz Orchestras, including the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra. […]
Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Lars Nagel When Atlanta alt-country / Americana veteran, singer-songwriter, and guitarist Lars Nagel was kicking around titles for his new solo album, he kept coming back to a familiar three-word phrase and well-known Ringo Starr-ism: Tomorrow Never Knows. “I was of course hesitant about using the name of […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Claudia Gibson Claudia Gibson’s musical path to her second full-length album The Fields of Chazy has been anything but straight. From her teenage club-playing days to formal college music study to fronting bands in her 20s, Claudia never envisioned doing much else besides playing music. But life – […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Naomi Ashley With her cream and Kahlua voice, Chicago singer-songwriter Naomi Ashley captivates audiences, breathing vibrant life into her diverse range of songs. Navigating seamlessly through Americana, classic country, folk, blues, and rock, Ashley’s lyrically layered compositions charm with humor and a poignant understanding of the […]
Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Rachael Bawn Well-versed in the world of music, Canadian, Toronto-based Singer / Songwriter Rachael Bawn is adopting a new role as an independent artist, bringing with her years as a BMG (NYC) recording artist. A long line of radio tours, performances across Canada and the US, as well […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Brings you Gerry Casey’s Interview with Cassidy Paris Australian rocker Cassidy Paris has a very bright future ahead of her. Raised on classic hard rock and inspired by female rockers such as Lzzy Hale, Joan Jett, Pink, Pat Benatar & Avril Lavigne, the fiercely determined young woman is on a […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Brings you an interview with Scott Sean White Suffice it to say, Scott Sean White is a dedicated singer/songwriter and an artist that exudes emotion. His music is borne from real life experience, complete with the hopes, heartaches and happenstance that define that journey and the revelations that occur along […]
Eddie Roberts & The Lucky Strokes Self-titled Color Red Guitarist Eddie Roberts steps away from his The New Mastersounds and other jazz-funk related projects that typically appear on the label Color Red, to step into southern rock with a new group of musicians who are debuting on the label. Dubbed The Lucky Strokes, the band […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Stoll Vaughan Originally hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, Stoll Vaughan’s career in music began in the late 1990s. Upon graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, he worked at Echo Park Studios in Bloomington, Indiana. Mike Wanchic, producer and longtime guitarist for John Mellencamp, discovered Stoll, took him under […]
Diane Coll Old Ghosts Happy Fish Atlanta-based folk singer-songwriter Diane Coll brings us her second release, Old Ghosts, which follows her debut in 2022, Happy Fish and other Delights and her 2023 EP Into the Fire. While the initial impression of the album may be dark and moody, certainly introspective, there are multiple healing messages […]
Mark Winkler The Rules Don’t Apply Café Pacific The Rules Don’t Apply is the 21st album for vocalist and songwriter, the L.A. based Mark Winkler. This is the fifth time this writer has reviewed a Winkler effort, one a year since beginning to write on these pages. To his credit, he brings a different configuration […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Brings you Gerry Casey’s Interview with Charlie McGettigan Charlie McGettigan is a folk singer, has released a few CDs, lives in a proper small town and by the way, in 1994 won the Eurovision Song Contest together with his musical partner Paul Harrington. So overall no big deal for an […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Sam Wilbur Samuel Wilbur, is an environmentally conscious Minneapolis based singer/songwriter/educator. A high school social studies teacher by day, and rock star by night, Samuel Wilbur has been writing and recording his own music since he was 16 years old. Wilbur’s music, which is over-stuffed with lush […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with D’Lakes d’Lakes has a new album and it’s amazing! It has a specular title too “HEAVEN IS A SILENT DISCO.” I can’t wait for you to hear it! I really appreciate all the chances and direction that Drew and his band took on this album. It’s […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Stephan Jacques A true artist and songwriter world-renowned for his prolific, heartfelt alt-rock love songs, Stephen has released ten albums to date, with his eleventh on the way. He is produced by Steve Albini. His body of work was culled from a lifetime of experiences, including […]
Uncle Lucius Like It’s the Last One Left Boo Clap/Thirty Tigers The Austin, TX band Uncle Lucius returns after a five-year hiatus with Like It’s the Last One Left. Essentially this is the story of a fan base that just wouldn’t let this band fade away. Yet, there were other fortuitous factors at play as […]
Bloodkin Out of State Plates World Will Turn This reissued, remastered, remixed, and appended Bloodkin’s Out of State Plates revisits the band’s 1999 effort, their third album and the first produced by the near legendary David Barbe. Barbe is the main culprit here as well, as he gained permission from co-founder Eric Carter and the […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Michelle Malone about her new Hot Toddies Christmas Release A mainstay of American roots music for more than 30 years, Michelle Malone has built an award-winning career as a singer, songwriter, and road warrior. Her music is ingrained in the soundtrack of the American South, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Tommy Womack Right, I’m not going to say it stinks, am I. If you like me, you’ll love this new one. If you don’t like me, you might be surprised. If you’ve never heard of me (that’s most of you), this could be the start […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Sunflower Fox and the Chicken Leg In the beginning, or at least following the Big Bang of 1970s FM radio more than 50 years ago, there were three elements: Olympia beer, shag carpeting you can’t possibly vacuum, and unpasteurized rock and roll. Over the years, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with the Rockford Mules They are a band molded from the days when being in a band meant more and went beyond just playing music together. Music formed from friendships and friendships molded by music, The Rockford Mules are a throwback to a day when bandmates were […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Mark Joseph American Soul is a fitting brand for Mark Joseph; since his 2017 album by that title, he has charted a relentless and soulful course through America, and Americana, from blues to country to psychedelic rock and everything in between. On his newest offering, “Palisade […]
Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels The Last Roundup: Live from the Bijou Café in Philadelphia March 16th, 1973 Amoeba Music Fifty years after Gram Parsons’ passing, Amoeba Music and Polly Parsons have unearthed the only live-to-an-audience recording of Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels – The Last Roundup: Live from the Bijou Café in […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Karyn Oliver 2020 South Florida Folk Festival Songwriters’ Competition winner Karyn Oliver is part Joan Osborne, a touch of Janis Joplin and a bit of Emmylou Harris – effortlessly oscillating from bluesy to country and back. Her musical inspirations come primarily from the eclectic mix of […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Joshua Ray Hudson Award winning singer-songwriter, Joshua Ray Hudson was born in the rural mountain town of Casar, North Carolina. Winning the Don Gibson singer songwriter award three times, writing over 350 songs and recording four studio albums, Joshua is already an accomplished musician on the rise.
Dori Freeman Do You Recall Blue Hens Music Do You Recall is the fifth album from evolving singer-songwriter Dori Freeman. Here first three were recorded in NYC and produced by Teddy Thompson but Freeman began to blend electric with acoustic sonics on her 2021 Ten Thousand Roses and continues in that direction with this electrified […]
Ned Hill Band Thousand Watt Town Self-released Troubadour Ned Hill delivers a country-tinged rock n’ roll record with a touch of his native Kentucky twang. Even the opening chords of “Gotta Get Out of This Town” will evoke Steve Earle’s Guitar Town or Copperhead Road. On Hill’s Thousand Watt Town the singer-songwriter collaborates with the […]
Michelle Malone & The Hot Toddies Toddie Time SBS Records/BFD Snowflakes float on a chilly upstate New York Halloween morning, and this cheery and bluesy Christmas album creates a perfect soundtrack. Atlanta’s Michelle Malone & the Hot Toddies’ Toddie Time features inspired twists on the tried and true. Malone croons “Jingle Bells” clearly and with […]
Noah Zacharin Points of Light Self-released Noah Zacharin is a Canadian singer-songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist who delivers his ninth album with Points of Light. Although this is mostly a quiet, acoustic based folk album, there are elements of blues and rock as this adept guitarist exhibits few boundaries. At times he is completely mesmerizing in […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Charlotte Morris Charlotte discovered her passion for music at a young age. After starting violin lessons at the age of four, Morris taught herself how to play the guitar, piano (and melodica), ukulele, banjo, acoustic bass guitar and mandolin, and began taking her songwriting seriously by […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with “The Common Practice” The Common Practice have a brand new album titled: “Theater Kids” … from pop/funk dance beats, to tender ballads, to classic rock, to alt-country, all while maintaining a signature sound glued together by the orchestral strings and four part harmonies! I mean What? […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Skarlett Woods Entwining Swing and Jazz into folk-themed stories of love, she has a stage presence that demands the attention of a oom. Taking her listeners on up-beat rhythmic rides over heart- swelling arrangements of originals and covers, Skarlett has simply become more comfortable showing herself […]
Randy Lee Riviere Blues Sky New Wilderness Blues Sky represents a shift for singer-songwriter Randy Lee Riviere, teaming again with the acclaimed producer Kevin McKendree who produced, engineered, and mixed the album. The last time we visited Riviere he and McKendree delivered a western tinged Americana effort, 2021’s Wyoming. Before that, under the moniker Mad […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Alex Miller Rising Country star Alex Miller isn’t pondering life after college graduation or a future foray into the work force. Instead, the 6’ 6” singer/songwriter from rural Lancaster, Kentucky is referring to this year as “Alex 2.0” and awaiting the upcoming release of his EP, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus Over the first two years of the pandemic, Patton joined his longtime producer Ron Flynt in Jumping Dog Studio to record twenty songs they later narrowed to the eleven (plus a coda) on the album. Patton’s new songs, while not directly […]
Anton O’Donnell Tomber Sur PRW Need to Know Trust that this, though the artist may be and certainly the title is unfamiliar, is a terrific singer-songwriter album. Now for the explanations: 1) Anton O’Donnell is a Scottish musician who somehow connected with longtime producer Brian Brinkerhoff who helmed this album with 18 musicians participating spread […]
Chest Fever Music from Big Pink Blind Owl Let’s get the prerequisite qualifier down first; this writer has made an exception and is covering a cover band. It’s only happened three times before, and for the same reason – love and respect for the music of The Band. Two of these were with Jim Weider-led […]
Robert Rex Waller Jr. See the Big Man Cry Have Harmony, Will Travel See the Big Man Cry is the second album from I See Hawks in L.A. frontman Robert Rex Waller Jr., who collaborated with Carla Olson to record this wide-ranging effort. The two have long sung together in shows around L.A. and each […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Miles and Mafale Catherine Miles & Jay Mafale are married co-conspirators in song. They are two scoops of modern folk with a generous sprinkling of pop-catchiness, topped off with the wit and flair that comes of their theater backgrounds. Catherine’s voice – resonant, expressive, a powerhouse. She’s got […]