It really has been an amazing journey for Tommy since The Who released the original double album in 1969. Hyped as the first rock opera, it did have an operatic structure – an overture, an “underture,” certain recurring musical themes – and Pete Townshend’s expansive ambitions (including borrowing the “Amazing Journey” riff from his previous “mini-opera,” “Rael,” on The Who Sell Out). With some dissenters, it did generally get critical praise and strong popular support, driven in part by “Pinball Wizard” as a hit single. Tommy didn’t win a Grammy until being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fa ..read more

The first time I heard Aoife O’Donovan was in 2001 when violinist Matt Glazer brought the Wayfaring Strangers (a talented ensemble including Tony Trischka on banjo and Andy Statman on mandolin) into WFUV’s Studio A for a session spotlighting Shifting Sands of Time, an album of largely traditional Appalachian tunes played with a jazz feel. One of the vocalists was Aoife, then a student at the New England Conservatory. Even then she had the irresistible, velvety voice that’s animated songs for the progressive string band Crooked Still, sessions with Garrison Keillor, Yo-Yo Ma, and Chris Thile, t ..read more

TOM RUSH – GARDENS OLD, FLOWERS NEW At the age of 83, Tom Rush’s powers are undiminished: as a singer, a guitarist, an onstage performer, and judging by his new album, Gardens Old, Flowers New, as a songwriter. Because he’s known for burnishing the careers of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, et al, he is sometimes underrated as a writer himself. Thanks to the prodding of his frequent sideman, the multi-talented Matt Nakoa, he’s come up with 14 new songs that feel fresh and inspired. Delivered in his warm voice, they feel intimate, as if sharing secrets from his experience. Signific ..read more

FAI RECAP I’m back from Kansas City for my annual (10th? 12th?) Folk Alliance pilgrimage – both an exhausting and refreshing experience. The main objective, of course, is to hear as much music as I possibly can, but the ancillary benefits (learning from sessions, reconnecting with friends) are equally rewarding. Just to have some quality time with Tom Paxton, Noel Stookey, and David Amram alone is worth the price of admission. The Wednesday night International Folk Music awards honored some of my favorites: Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, Tracy Chapman, and Folk DJ Hall of Famers Bob Sherman and ..read more

The ghost of Jack Lemmon has appeared twice on Broadway this season. First In Some Like It Hot, the adaptation of the 1959 film starring Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe which closed at the end of the year (and recently won a Grammy). Now in Days of Wine and Roses, a teleplay that became a  1962 film and earned Oscar nominations for Lemmon and Lee Remick. The latter, now a musical at Studio 54 in a limited engagement starring Kelli O’Hara and Brian D’Arcy James, may earn Tony nominations for its stars, but unlike the former, this musical is in no way a comedy. Days of Wine and Roses ..read more

Sam Robbins has created a buzz in the folk community with his appealing, James Taylor-like melodies and manner. He’s been a winner at the prestigious Kerrville and Falcon Ridge folk festivals, he’s performed on my On Your Radar series, and I declared him my top Discovery of the Year in the 2023 WFUV Listener Poll. With two solo albums behind him, he’s teamed up with Berkelee College classmate (and new fiancée) Halley Neal for a holiday album, You & Me On Christmas Eve, that’s exquisite in every way. Produced in Nashville, their hometown, by Dylan Alldredge (who’s worked with some of other ..read more

VARIOUS ARTISTS, “MORE THAN A WHISPER: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF NANCI GRIFFITH” Let us now praise Nanci Griffith. We lost her two years ago, a fragile creature at the time physically, because of her failing health, but spiritually strong. She was one of the country-folk pioneers of the ‘80s, along with Lyle Lovett and Mary Chapin Carpenter. She proudly wore her deep Southern roots on her sleeve, in her songs and in her singing, but she was revered around the world. While she delighted in covering other people’s songs (most prominently on the Grammy-winning Other Voice, Other Rooms collection ..read more

I made my annual pilgrimage to NERFA (the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance) this past weekend, held for the second year in a row in beautiful Asbury Park, NJ. The weather was almost as nice as last year, and the music was just as fine. Who can beat seeing old friends and making new ones? It was gratifying to see so many On Your Radar alums in the formal and late-night showcases: Ryanhood, Rebecca Loebe. Youth in a Roman Field, Scott Wolfson and Other Heroes, Cricket Blue, Suzie Vinnick, Katie Dahl, Meghan Cary, Orly Bendavid, Katie Martucci, Alice Howe & Freebo, Arielle Silver, Zoe Fitzger ..read more

She’s been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, produced two Holmes Brothers albums, and done an album of Bob Dylan covers. Her 13th album, Nobody Owns You, may be her most personal. Joan has said, “These songs come from my feelings about people in my family, about people who I care about, and just what to do with this time that we have on the earth. They come from a raw emotional place. And I’m asking myself that question: What am I here for?“ It’s certainly rich in songwriting and production and well worth your attention. Nobody Owns You was produced by Ben Rice (Valerie June, Norah Jones) in ..read more

With the onset of Covid-19, Pete and Maura Kennedy found themselves stymied, while touring was precluded. Famous road warriors, The Kennedys inaugurated weekly live streams, which drew hundreds of viewers and generated a repertoire of a thousand songs. Meanwhile, the changing times inspired a wealth of original songs, which have been released on their first album of new material in five years, Headwinds, which addresses both the environment and polarization. “Political and social headwinds are making it hard to get back ‘home’ to our greatness as a nation,” Maura says. “We want to push back in ..read more