Justin Townes Earle R.I.P.
Was there something prophetic when Justin Townes Earle declared in a podcast interview with Rolling Stone last year: “I’ve been on this...
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Americana News
Aug 22, 20208 min read
Chris Hillman on Gram Parsons and the Birth of Country Rock
There may never have been country rock without Chris Hillman. But to say he alone pioneered the genre would be unfair, largely to a...
Aug 11, 20207 min read
Robbie's Classic And The "D" Word
First it was the singers. Now it is the songs. In these politically-charged days, anything containing the “D” word is dynamite – to be...
Aug 7, 20203 min read
Legends Lift Lockdown Gloom at the Opry
Three Americana legends – lifelong friends Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill and Rodney Crowell – lifted the pandemic gloom when they performed...
Jul 22, 20205 min read
The Chicks - More Than A Name Change
When the Dixie Chicks ditched Dixie for just The Chicks, they not only took the name of another act, it seems they have somewhat adopted...
Jul 19, 20202 min read
Welch's Lost Songs 2001-2003
Within a week of releasing a lockdown-inspired album, Gillian Welch has announced there are more releases in the wind. This time it will...
Jul 13, 20203 min read
Good Times Music in Lockdown
All the good times are past and gone! It sounds like a lockdown lament. And in some ways it is! For All the Good Times is the title of...
Jul 9, 20203 min read
Cash Gems from the Wilderness
In July 1986 Columbia Records dropped Johnny Cash – one of the most prolific recording artists of all time - after almost thirty years....
Jul 6, 20203 min read
Willie Won't Let The Old Man In
Here is a tip for aspiring (or established) songwriters. If someone says your song is just awful - and you’re even inclined to agree –...
Jul 1, 20204 min read
John Hartford - Still Gentle On Our Minds
It is almost twenty years since John Hartford died. And please don’t say John Who? For it is genuinely recognised that John Hartford was...
Jun 27, 20205 min read
Critiquing The Dylan Critiques
Reviews of any Bob Dylan album – and there have been a few – seem to bring out both the best and worst in music reviewers. Rough and...
Jun 19, 20204 min read
Bob Dylan At His 79-Year-Old Best
Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen have long vied for the title as the greatest singer song-writing poet of a lifetime. Now they share the...
Jun 17, 20203 min read
Brandi Carlile Dominates Nominations For 2020 Americana Music Awards
Brandi Carlile once again dominates the nominations for the Americana Music Awards, an event which reflects the diversity the American...
May 23, 20204 min read
A Steve Earle Musical Documentary
Those who believe Steve Earle to be finest living singer-songwriter in Americana music will have little hesitation in asserting that his...
May 10, 20202 min read
Dylan to Deliver
The speculation was spot on. Bob Dylan is to deliver his first album of original songs in eight years. Columbia Records has announced...
Apr 27, 20205 min read
Livestream Concerts Just A Click Away
The coronavirus has suddenly enhanced our vocabulary with words we had hardly heard of and phases we had never used. How about these:...
Apr 9, 20208 min read
John Prine Classics - In His Own Words
In 1993, a two-disc CD titled Great Days – The John Prine Anthology was released by Rhino Records. It comprised 41 songs chosen by John...
Apr 9, 202014 min read
Sadness Leaks Through Tear-Stained Cheeks
The club was called the Quiet Knight. It was on the North side of Chicago. The year was 1971. The man at the microphone was Kris...
Apr 8, 20204 min read
Great John Prine Lyrics
There’s a hole in Daddy’s arm where all the money goes Sam Stone (1971) And the gold rolled through his veins like thousand railroad...
Apr 8, 20204 min read
John Prine, A Songwriter for the Ages, Dies at 73
Americana music lost one of its greatest artists Tuesday when singer-songwriter John Prine died at the Vanderbilt University Medical...
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