Tag Archives: Americana music

Darrell Scott, Danny Thompson & Kenny Malone’s Live in NC

Take three musicians, each one a virtuoso on his instrument, plus one of them who is no mean singer; record them live in a couple of great sessions entertaining an audience. The adrenalin starts to pump and brings out that … Continue reading

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Verlon Thompson’s Live at the Iveys

Verlon Thompson is perhaps best known as the guy who stands next to Guy. Clark, that is. They’re partners. They write songs together, tour together, and when they play guitars together, it’s extraordinary. But Verlon — and I think it’s … Continue reading

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Verlon Thompson’s everywhere … yet

Verlon Thompson is a guitar player. One hell of a guitar player. He and his pal, Guy Clark, travel ’round the world playing their brand of warm country music to fans hither, thither and, well, maybe not yon. They’ve been … Continue reading

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Various artists’ One Night in Texas: The Next Waltz’s Tribute to the Red Headed Stranger

Willie Nelson marked his 90th birthday on April 29, 2023. Almost exactly a year before that, a big ol’ crew of singers and players got together in Willie’s backyard in Luck, Texas, and performed a bunch of songs in his … Continue reading

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Jim Brown’s The Weavers: Wasn’t That a Time!

Studs Terkel claims that the main contribution of The Weavers was that they introduced into American popular music the authentic folk songs of America, something that had never been done before. Harry Reasoner sees them as a unifying factor between … Continue reading

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Mike Barnett’s Lost Indian, Cast Iron Filter’s Falls of Rough, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Welcome to Woody Creek, and various artists’ Close Harmony: a History of Southern Gospel Music

“The street balladry of the people who began migrating to America in the early 1600s is considered to be the roots of traditional American music. As the early Jamestown settlers began to spread out into the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky and … Continue reading

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Steppin’ In It’s Last Winter in the Copper Country

Chris White wrote this review. An updated ol’ timey string band, pickin’ and a grinnin’, grinnin’ and a pickin’, singin’ too, Steppin’ In It consists of Joshua Davis with ‘les freres Wilson,’ Andy and Joe. They’re joined on this recording … Continue reading

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Stephen Gammond’s Woody Guthrie: This Machine Kills Fascists

Woody Guthrie was truly a legend in his own time. Nearly 40 years after his untimely death, the legend continues to grow, as does his influence on American music. Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, to name just two popular singer-songwriters, … Continue reading

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An omnibus review of books about music and musicians: Bagpipers, Deadheads, Joni Mitchell, Gilbert and Sullivan, and more

Anthony Baines’s Bagpipes (Pitt River Museum, Oxford University, 1995) Kevin McManus’s Ceilis, Jigs & Ballads: Irish Music in Liverpool (Liverpool Institute of Popular Music, 1994) Tomás Ó Canain’s Traditional Music in Ireland (Ossian Publications, 1993) Mairéad Sullivan’s Celtic Women in … Continue reading

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numün’s Book of Beyond

The New York psychedelic ambient trio numün’s sophomore release is, for me, a grower. I like it more each time I listen to it. Their debut Voyage au Soleil was one of my favorite albums of 2020, and on the … Continue reading

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