Little Steven, very much contrary to his most identifiable nickname, has always done everything big. Music, activism, television, radio, education…Never mind that old gray beard in the famous Dos Equis beer campaign, I’d be willing to say that Steven Van Zandt is, in fact, “The Most Interesting Man In The World.” … More Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul “Superfly Terraplane” (2019)
Occasionally I come upon a new artist whose musical capacity – let’s say, whose musical beauty – is almost literally staggering, so as to challenge finding a proper description or appreciation. I felt this way a few years ago when I first discovered a heretofore unknown 20-year-old named Marcus King. … More Marcus King Band “Where I’m Headed” (2018)
While a fan-favorite standard-bearer of the Americana and Outlaw Country scene, American Aquarium isn’t the kind of band you’re likely to see on a Grammy stage or to receive much mainstream notoriety. Nevertheless, I suggest this as being a song for our times, our difficult and confusing times … More American Aquarium “The World Is On Fire” (2018)
I got back to the garden. Not MSG, not that garden, but the one about which Joni Mitchell wrote and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young most famously sang: at the erstwhile home of Yasgur’s Farm, the mythical “garden” of Woodstock. This summer (this week, in fact) is exactly 50 years since “The Summer Of Love” … More Chris Stapleton “Midnight Train To Memphis” (2017)
Chris Shiflett has, for around 20 years, been the guitarist in two different bands, with two vastly different levels of notoriety: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the greatest punk rock cover band ever (seriously, they are), and another one you’re more likely to have heard of, the Foo Fighters. Most recently, he’s set off … More Chris Shiflett “Sticks & Stones” (2017)
Last year’s Independence Day choice was a tuneful ditty named “4th of July” by Shooter Jennings. This year, another song with the identically appropriate title by the simplest group ever to alphabetize in your record collection … More X “4th Of July” (1987)
Sunday, May 5th at 7:00PM CST another New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival came to an end at the Fair Grounds racetrack. Over 8 days and across 2 weekends, for attendees numbering around 475,000, a lineup of 688 acts performed – and notwithstanding the presence of some of the biggest names in music, roughly 600 of … More Gatemouth Brown “Born In Louisiana” (1989)
One of my favorite regular reads is “Saving Country Music” penned with an acerbic wit and what can only be described as righteous indignation by a dude named Kyle Coroneos, aka “Trigger”, with whom I agree on just about everything he writes in defending his self-imposed, virtuous cause. Some time ago, in regard to the … More Whitey Morgan & The 78’s “Waitin’ ‘Round To Die” (2015)
Dan Baird is everything I love about rock and roll. “Three chords and a cloud of dust,” as his website proclaims. Including his stint as a solo artist, he’s occupied the lead spot in four of my favorite bands of the last 4 decades. If you wanted to package up his work in a time … More Dan Baird & Homemade Sin “Licka Sense” (2017)
Chilling is the only word to describe the experience of listening to this beautiful and poignant song under its heart-wrenching circumstances. Just try to imagine: After all of the miles he had covered, Gregg Allman confronted the fact that – unlike one of his and the Allman Brothers most famous lines – the road does not, in … More Gregg Allman “My Only True Friend” (2017)
