Americana Archive
22 May 2015
Matthew E. White’s Calibrated Subtlety
Matthew E. White has been musically active for many years, including collaborations with Megafaun and the Mountain Goats and three albums with avant-jazz group Fight the Big Bull. But as […]
08 Apr 2015
Album Review: The Mavericks — Mono
There’s much talk these days about the sorry state of country music. The genre – commercially, more popular than ever – is overrun with what its detractors call “bro country.” […]
07 Apr 2015
Festival Review: Big Ears Festival 2015, Part 2
Continued from Part One… Next, it was drone time. The minimalist work of the duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen (joined by three additional musicians) was delivered in the […]
24 Mar 2015
Book Review: Mavericks of Sound
There’s something endlessly fascinating about the creative process. And of course it’s not merely one process; it’s wholly unique for each individual. And because that’s true, conversations with those engage […]
27 Feb 2015
Bluegrass “Character Actor” Bryan Sutton Takes a Starring Role
The Asheville music scene has its share of local-boy-makes-good stories. And with his 1997 debut onto the national scene, guitarist and Asheville native Bryan Sutton quickly made a major impression […]
04 Feb 2015
Album Review: JJ Cale — Rewind: Unreleased Recordings
To the music-buying public at large, J.J. Cale is little more than a footnote. Some recognize his name and acknowledge he’s the guy who wrote two of Eric Clapton‘s biggest […]
02 Feb 2015
Album Review: Lead Belly — Lost Radio Broadcasts: WNYC, 1948
In 1948, on a Sunday evening in August, a new radio series premiered. Featuring beloved and renowned folk singer Huddie Ledbetter (aka Lead Belly), The Story of Folklore presented the […]
14 Jan 2015
Album Review: Sid Griffin — The Trick is to Breathe
In the immediate wake of the excesses brought forth by psychedelia, popular (rock) music took a decided turn toward the simpler, more pastoral. Mere months after Cream were hitting the […]
29 Dec 2014
Best of 2014: New Music, Part 1
In my blog posts of last week, I surveyed some of my 2014 favorites: music-related books; DVDs; concerts; and interviews. For these last few days of the year, I’ll wrap […]
23 Dec 2014
Interview: Aaron “Woody” Wood
Though it’s in many ways an informal affair, Warren Haynes Presents Christmas Jam has been growing in a deliberate fashion. Thanks both to concertgoer demand and the long line of […]