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Dom Flemons’ Slow Dance with the History and Future of Song
The great "songster" Dom Flemons has pandemic stories to tell, but also shares his new album's inspirations, including a love of Bob Dylan and Black cowboy narratives.
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Bob Dylan’s Art Is Best Served Naked
As Bob Dylan learned, only through baring of one’s soul does one show the way forward, providing both a glimpse into the other and perhaps the shape of things to come.
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Hopelessly Devoted to Whom? Olivia Newton-John, Juliana Hatfield, and Me
In her tribute album, Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John, Hatfield gives us a direct line to the heady days of the '80s and makes us wonder if shiny, electric blue lycra was really so bad.
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‘Heaven Stood Still: The Incarnations of Willy DeVille’
While Europe embraced Willy Deville's Bohemian multi-genre artistry, most US listeners remained ignorant of his music. The documentary Heaven Stood Still was made, in part, to rectify that.
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Brandy Clark Presents Herself With Brandi Carlile’s Help
Brandy Clark is a mixed bag. The country singer-songwriter sees herself and others with a well-trained eye but doesn't always reveal what she has learned.
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Sara Petite Has Fun “Bringin’ Down the Neighborhood”
Outlaw country's Sara Petite premieres a new video as she rises to the top of her game on her latest LP with tales of revelry and rage, addiction, and rejection.
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Tinariwen Take an Intriguing Outlaw Country Turn on ‘Amatssou’
Tinariwen link Nashville and North Africa on Amatssou in ways well suited to a definition of outlaw country that includes their rebellious rock.
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The South Austin Moonlighters Know There’s No Place Like Home
Like that other Austin bar band, Band of Heathens, alt-country's South Austin Moonlighters rock hard with an electric guitar leading the charge.
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Amanda Shires and Bobbie Nelson Make Beautiful Country Music
Amanda Shires and Bobbie Nelson's Loving You is a tribute to their talents and essential listening for piano-based country music fans and Americana listeners.
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All Hail Lucinda Williams, Americana Queen of Hearts
Like Neil Young, Kurt Cobain, Buddy Holly, and others before her, Lucinda Williams proclaims allegiance to ROCK on Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart.
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Lukas Nelson Makes Good Time Music on ‘Sticks and Stones’
Lukas Nelson's Sticks and Stones is designed to help you reach your happiness goals. Party on! Others may call you a sinner. But simple words can't hurt you.
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Molly Tuttle Continues Her Ascent with ‘City of Gold’
Americana's Molly Tuttle keeps the energy as high as always. Crooked Tree might have felt like a peak, but with City of Gold, Tuttle continues her ascent.
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Lori McKenna Visits ‘1988’ to Find Life Can Be Good
Lori McKenna's 1988 realizes life can be good. It's another excellent record by one of the master Americana singer-songwriters of our time.
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Country’s Van Plating and Elizabeth Cook Fly with “The Heron” (premiere)
Van Plating teams up with Floridan country icon Elizabeth Cook for "The Heron", an upbeat, forward-driving ode to her musical history.
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The Many Sounds of Bob Dylan’s Voice
Are Bob Dylan’s improved vocals in his later years a deliberate aesthetic choice? Has he re-focused his attention on the art of singing?
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Hailey Whitters Is Still ‘In Love’ with Iowa
Rather than portray caricatures, country artist Hailey Whitters creates characters to whom we all can relate on I'm in Love, even if one isn't from Iowa.
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Joshua Ray Walker Doesn’t Know ‘What Is It Even?’ Either
What Is It Even? features Joshua Ray Walker performing many non-country songs which were previously made famous by female singers in country music style.
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Erin Viancourt’s ‘Won’t Die This Way’ Is a Breakout Moment
Country's Erin Viancourt knows how to be delicate and rock without overdoing any moment, with a deft touch and consideration of phrasing defining each song.
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Vince Gill and Paul Franklin Share ‘Sweet Memories’
Vince Gill and Paul Franklin's Sweet Memories serves as a first-rate introduction to Ray Price and his band and hence, the country music of an earlier era.
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Britain’s Teddy Thompson Loves His American Country Music
Teddy Thompson offers a short jaunt into classic country and shows his appreciation of the music of the past, implying these songs ring just as true today.
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Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh & Melissa Carper Bring Texas Twang to Western Swing
As Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper near the end of their summer tour together, take a deep dive inside one triple playful act making a splash.
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The Nearly Lost World of American Folk Music
If not for two eccentrics, Harry Smith and Moses Asch, American popular music wouldn’t have so many roots in folk music and we'd all be the poorer for it.
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Country’s Mamma Coal Has a “Dance Hall Crush” (premiere)
Country singer-songwriter Mamma Coal delivers a soulful, swinging tune with "Dance Hall Crush". It's an ode to her time in packed honky-tonks.
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Old Crow Medicine Show Celebrate a ‘Jubilee’ After 25 Years
Old Crow Medicine Show have never really changed their old-timey style and show that keeping one's roots exposed in the musical world can be a smart decision.
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Tyler Childers’ New LP Evokes the Golden Age of the Nashville Sound
With Rustin' in the Rain, Tyler Childers and the Food Stamps have dropped one of the year's more vital pure country albums. The rich production is impressive.
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Telling His Story: An Interview with Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin, legendary songwriting partner of Elton John, reveals all in a new book detailing his creative partnership, hatred of touring, and love of cowboys.
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Willie Nelson Finds Comfort With ‘Bluegrass’
Willie Nelson's Bluegrass marks a time to relax, enjoy what we have, and settle in with something nice and easy, and it's none the worse for knowing what it is.
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Brent Cobb Searches the Sky to Find the ‘Southern Star’
Southern Star succeeds because country's Brent Cobb is more interested in telling a story and having a good time than pontificating.
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Self-Deprecating Nonchalance: ‘Prine on Prine’
The "interviews and encounters" in Prine on Prine reveal John Prine's care for others, and his self-deprecation and nonchalance about his accomplished career.
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From One Legend to Another: Son Volt’s Jay Farrar Remembers Doug Sahm
Paying homage to outlaw country titan Doug Sahm, Jay Farrar of Son Volt reminisces about his friendship with Sahm and how his influence radiates to this day.
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CMAT Knows She Is ‘Crazymad’ Which Makes Her Sane
Irish country pop artist CMAT's Crazymad, for Me is a portrait of how we rationalize our behavior as a way of coping rather than a therapeutic dream.
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Tele Novella Travel to Art-Country on ‘Poet’s Tooth’
Tele Novella are more Brian Wilson than Hank Williams on Poet's Tooth, a pop band with compositional sophistication waiting to get out of their Austin city limits.
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Margo Cilker Finds Her Inner ‘Valley of Heart’s Delight’
Margo Cilker serves as a stand-in for all of us, which is why she can get her audiences to sing with her in concert and enjoy Valley of Heart's Delight's details.
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Nancy Sinatra’s Legacy Is Far More Than Just Boots
Keep Walkin' looks to expand on the legend of Nancy Sinatra because so much of her musical legacy is tied up in her mythology as a celebrity or an image.
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The 25 Best Country Songs About Death
There is no genre with as rich a history of songs about many forms of death–by natural causes, murder, suicide, war, accidents, and so on–than country.
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Margo Price Furthers Her Evolution on the Soulful ‘Strays II’
Margo Price's Strays II is the most significant swing she's taken yet at expanding her sound as she strays from the country playbook more than ever.
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Vincent Neil Emerson Tells Tales of Rambling in ‘Golden Crystal Kingdom’
Country's Vincent Neil Emerson writes songs about hard times without being bitter. Life experiences have shown his protagonists that things can be tough.
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Chris Stapleton Displays His Brand of Genius on ‘Higher’
Chris Stapleton's Higher is required listening for fans of high-quality, contemporary country. He's gifted with the most gorgeous male voice in country today.
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Dolly Parton Does a Great Job Pretending She’s a Rock Star
Dolly Parton's Rockstar is another solid, consistent piece of work that shows the country legend having fun and enjoying herself at this point in her career.
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The 15 Best Country Albums of 2023
This year's best country albums spring from hard-country bands to traditional true believers and from alternative country renegades to pop-country superstars.
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Corb Lund Mixes Country and MMA in “Out on a Win” (premiere)
"Out on a Win", the new single from Corb Lund's upcoming LP, El Viejo, releasing in February 2024, is classic Lund: Meticulous, thoughtful, and genuine.
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John Craigie Preaches Up at the ‘Pagan Church’
Combined with TK & The Holy Know Nothings, Americana/folk artist John Craigie finds that new kind of redemption on Pagan Church.
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Immersed in America: The Creation of Elvis Presley
We know how Elvis Presley's story reflects on American history, its music and mythology, but how did America help to create Elvis?
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Corb Lund Pays Tribute to Ian Tyson on ‘El Viejo’
Corb Lund's El Viejo is an entirely acoustic album with guitar, banjo, mandolin, string bass, and stripped-down bass, but it never feels like one.
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What Taylor Swift, BTS, and Stromae Can Teach Us About Mental Health
Taylor Swift, BTS, and Stromae are at the frontlines of de-stigmatizing mental health challenges as something so relatable that they can make a hit song about it.
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The Chaotic Life and Violent Decline of Legendary Drummer Jim Gordon
Famous for his session work with big names in rock, pop, folk, and jazz musicians, the drumming never stopped as Jim Gordon’s life and mind came apart.
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9 Reasons to Yearn for Extra Innings Every Spring
At the inaugural Extra Innings Festival, spring swung into gear with baseball bats and an eclectic lineup of musicians. These players led our hit parade.
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Willis, Carper, and Leigh Are the ‘Wonder Women of Country’
Americana/country singer-songwriters Kelly Willis, Melissa Carper, and Brennen Leigh team up for the Wonder Women of Country and release their first EP.
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Kacey Musgraves Returns to Her Roots on ‘Deeper Well’
Kacey Musgraves, like all of us, is just trying to learn how to sway in the face of life's challenges, and she chooses to gift them to us in the form of songs.
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Scott Ballew Offers a Metaphysical View of Life on ‘Rio Bravo’
Scott Ballew's metaphysical life lessons entertain us like a good movie with a cliffhanger ending. One doesn't know what happens next—and that is the point.
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