Category Archives: Music

Joe Rainey’s Niineta

Joe Rainey is a Pow Wow singer. Though he is a Red Lake Ojibwe, he did not grow up on the Red Lake Reservation but far to the south in Minneapolis, where he still lives and makes music. He grew … Continue reading

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Frog Holler’s Haywire

My biggest problem in writing this review of Frog Holler’s excellent new album is how to classify their music. “Alt-country” has become so ubiquitous a tag as to be virtually meaningless these days. And it’s too bad one even has … Continue reading

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The Youngers’ Heritage

I was attracted to The Youngers by the presence of frontman Todd Bartolo, who plays guitar in one of my favorite bands, the Pennsylvania-based alt-country outfit Frog Holler. Though also based in rural Pennsylvania, The Youngers is quite a different … Continue reading

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Teddy Thompson’s Separate Ways

No sophomore slump for Teddy Thompson. On the contrary, his second outing Separate Ways is altogether a more muscular and cohesive affair than his 2001 self-titled debut. He’s aided and abetted by dad Richard and mom Linda (on the hidden … Continue reading

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Bruce Springsteen’s We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

“In 1997 I recorded ‘We Shall Overcome’ for Where Have All the Flowers Gone: The Songs of Pete Seeger. Growing up a rock’n’roll kid I didn’t know a lot about Pete’s music or the depth of his influence. So I … Continue reading

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Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run: 30th Anniversary Edition

Thirty years!?! Wow! It’s been thirty years since I heard Bruce Springsteen for the first time? I had heard so much about other “new Dylans” that I ignored his first two albums. When I played Born To Run for the … Continue reading

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David Hughes’s This Other Eden

I must admit it is very hard to be impartial about this one. First of all David mentioned me (and even published a photo of me and my son) in his book The Fairport Tour. Secondly, he once bought me … Continue reading

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Espen Berg Trio’s Fjære

Fjære is the fourth album by Espen Berg Trio, an award-winning jazz trio from Norway. Composer and pianist Berg in 2016 received Norway’s biggest jazz scholarship, which led to a commissioned work for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. The trio’s recordings, … Continue reading

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Mama’s Broke’s Narrow Line

When it comes to Americana music, I’m pretty definite about what I prefer. Simple acoustic instrumentation – say, a fiddle plus a banjo or a guitar or sometimes a mandolin. Playing music that combines Appalachian styles with influences from all … Continue reading

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The Albion Band’s The BBC Sessions and Live at the Cambridge Folk Festival

Chris Woods wrote this review. It seems like every time I visit a record shop nowadays there is another Albion Band release of archived material. With these two releases there can’t be many more unreleased radio sessions in the archives. … Continue reading

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