Tag Archives: Americana music

Jon Dee Graham’s Summerland

Between the ghost in the yard and the angel in the tree/the roses in their bed get more sleep than me. That line, from “Half the Time,” the second track on Jon Dee Graham’s Summerland, just won’t turn loose of … Continue reading

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Fernando’s Old Man Motel

Old Man Motel is one of the most enjoyable rock albums I’ve heard in a long time. In fact, it’s near the top of my Top 10 of 1999 discs. Fernando is a Portland, Oregon, band fronted by Fernando Viciconte, … Continue reading

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Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt, Washington Park Rose Garden Amphitheater, Portland, Oregon – Sept. 6, 1999

Something old, new, borrowed and blue were among the ingredients as these two grand dames of American folk-rock launched their first-ever joint tour in front of some 4,000 fans in an outdoor amphitheater. Old: Songs going back more than 25 … Continue reading

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John Doe solo acoustic at Lenora’s Ghost

John Doe seems to be coming to terms with being an aging rock star. Not that, in his mid-forties, the  frontman of X — the most important punk band to come out of Los Angeles — is anything like a … Continue reading

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Kelly Joe Phelps’s Shine Eyed Mister Zen

Kelly Joe Phelps is firmly located in folk and country blues, but he is one of those musicians who are impossible to pigeon-hole. It’s tempting to describe him by comparison with his myriad musical influences, but that would miss by … Continue reading

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Sandy Bull’s Inventions, E Pluribus Unum, Jukebox School of Music, Vehicles, Steel Tears

Sandy Bull is a legend — if not with the general public, then surely among his fellow musicians. And like most legendary figures, he is both larger than life and has feet of clay. Of his early work in the … Continue reading

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The Handsome Family’s Through the Trees

The roots of country music twist their way deep into some pretty dark territory. The cimmerian side of human nature has long been a major theme in American music, running like a vein of black coal deep under the roots … Continue reading

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Various artists’ Swing West! Vols. 1, 2 and 3

Country music and Nashville are synonymous, right? Well, right as far as it goes. But since the late 1940s, California, particularly Bakersfield, has been the breeding ground for its own strain of country music that stands outside of the mainstream … Continue reading

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The Flatirons’ Prayer Bones

Sin, redemption, judgement, betrayal, vengeance, tired angels, grinning devils, whiskey bottles and empty beds are the primal stuff of American folk and country music. And they turn up in spades on the debut record from Portland, Oregon’s Flatirons. Mostly known … Continue reading

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Various artists’ Exposed Roots: The best of alt.country

You remember K-Tel, don’t you? If you watched television in the U.S. in the 1970s and ’80s, you do. They’re the folks who brought you those “greatest hits” collections by Boxcar Willie and Slim Whitman, along with sets like the … Continue reading

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