Steve Earle’s standing as a singer-songwriter in the top echelon of Americana artists cannot be denied. And it is no better illustrated than his decision to perform solo after decades of fronting with the Dukes, one of the hottest bands in Nashville.   Just to prove the point, Earle has released a solo acoustic album Alone Again (Live) which was recorded live during his 2023 solo tour of the same name which kicked off in Paris in early June and crisscrossed Europe, the U.K. and Ireland.   To coincide with the album’s release on July 12, Earle wrote: “So, October before ..read more

  It is 20 years since the Virginia Assembly designed what was known as The Crooked Road as Virginia’s Music Trail, a 333-mile drive that winds through Southwest Virginia, connecting 10 major venues and 50 affiliate sites to promote traditional Appalachian old-time music.   And what better way to mark the anniversary than have Steve Erickson - an artist as dedicated to the true Americana sound as anyone – release a new album titled Crooked Road and with an opening title track which reflects a contemporary perspective on Appalachian and bluegrass music.   It is Erickson’s four ..read more

  Got a spare 30 minutes? And want to hear 11 original songs that you have never heard before from one of the great voices in modern music? Then listen to Songwriter by Johnny Cash. It will be a half an hour well spent!   This is a somewhat out-of-the-blue album - master-minded by John Carter Cash - though Songwriter’s actual release on June 28 has received a fair share of media publicity, as might be expected with the first bunch of self-penned songs released by the country legend since his death in 2003.   The songs were written by Cash over several decades of his ..read more

  As octogenarian Joe Biden slowly shuffles across the stage at another campaign rally this summer, two of the greatest artists in popular music, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan, will get together for a series of concerts at the combined age of a remarkable 174.   For suddenly, as in presidential politics, longevity is now the order of the day in modern music.   Nelson turned 91 in late April, while Dylan was 83 around a month later. The pair will team up for 20 or more gigs across the U.S.-  June through September - as part of the 2024 Outlaw Music Festival Tour and somewhe ..read more

Every so often, the release of an artist’s debut album reveals a feel-good story in the music industry. And this is a one of the best!   It tells how Sean Walshe, a 61-year-old singer-songwriter, managed to get his first release produced by Rob Fraboni, a legend in the recording industry who has, quite literally, mixed with the greatest names in music – the likes of Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Bonnie Raitt and Eric Clapton to name a few. Indeed, Richards has labelled him “a genius” and “one of the best sound engineers you can ever meet.”   Fraboni, now 72, produced, mixed and mast ..read more

Jerry Garcia’s magnetic influence on bluegrass music – and indeed his early obsession with the genre – has finally been formally recognised with the opening of a new exhibit dedicated to Garcia at the Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky.   Titled Jerry Garcia: A Bluegrass Journey, the exhibition – in a 1,000 square foot gallery - was officially unveiled with a special three-day celebration around Easter weekend on March 28-30 with music featuring special guests together with film screenings and panel discussions   Perhaps the most significant enunciati ..read more

Few could imagine that in post-war London, there was a teenage boy dreaming of being a musical guitar-in-hand vagabond playing chords and blues melodies perfected by blind African American musicians.   But this is what Ralph May was doing in a Croydon housing estate in the late 1950’s and early 60’s. He would indeed change his name to Ralph McTell – after country-blues great Blind Willie McTell - and go on to become a singer-songwriting folk legend himself. The fact that he would compose one of the most covered songs in popular music, “The Streets of London,” had much to do with him find ..read more

  How does an artist cram 60 years of singing and song-writing - among some of the greats in the music business - into two and a half hours?   That is the challenge folk-rock legend Graham Nash has set for himself in 2024 as he embarks on his first solo headline tour of Australia and New Zealand under the banner: Graham Nash: Sixty Years of Songs and Stories. More is to come in the U.S. in August where he has 17 shows scheduled in August alone, from Colorado to Massachusetts.   It all kicked off in New Zealand, with concerts in Auckland and Christchurch. Nine gigs follow across ..read more

  It is now more than thirty years since three of the finest musicians to ever strap an acoustic instrument over their shoulders decided to engage in after-hours jamming sessions in a private Californian studio. What transpired over two nights would turn into musical gold!   In February 1993, ground-breaking mandolinist David "Dawg" Grisman and hotshot guitarist Tony Rice were in Grisman’s Mill Valley studio recording tracks for Tone Poems, a unique instrumental album which saw the pair duet using purely vintage instruments. To break their routine, Grisman invited his long-time frie ..read more

  Bonnie’s Raitt’s surprise – and deserved - triumph at the 65th Grammy Awards was the clear highlight of Americana Music in 2023. It was also, for some, the obvious lowlight.   Raitt collected the prestigious Song of the Year Grammy for “Just Like That,” a remarkable composition that, for many in the music industry, wonderfully reflected the seemingly-lost art of crafted song-writing which reflects the trials and tribulations of ordinary life!   But for others, especially the mainstream music media, it was plain treachery. “WTF: Bonnie Raitt Wins Song of the Year” screame ..read more