5 Things You May Not Know About The Byrds’ ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’
In the late 60s, the American rock band the Byrds were ripe for a change. The band’s fifth LP, The Notorious Byrd Brothers proved to be another sterling example of the band’s established psychedelic experimentation,…
Shepard Fairey Unveils 15-Story Johnny Cash Mural
American contemporary street artist and graphic designer Shepard Fairey is best known for his viral designs featuring wrestler Andre the Giant and his “Hope” poster featuring Barack Obama. Last Saturday Fairey unveiled a 15-story mural…
Lucinda Williams Announces Tour to Commemorate ‘Car Wheels On A Gravel Road’ Anniversary
I was lucky enough to be living in New York City in 2007 when Lucinda Williams hit multiple venues to play her entire discography in reverse order. I caught “Essence” at Irving Plaza which, as…
Drive-By Truckers’ Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood To Put Out Unreleased First Record
A decade before they went on to front the mighty Drive-By Truckers Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood collaborated in their first band, Adam’s House Cat. Cooley, Patterson et al are set to share those halcyon…
Bobbie Gentry Box Set ‘The Girl From Chickasaw County-The Complete Capitol Masters’ To Be Released This Fall
Great news for classic roots music fans! The first major retrospective box set celebrating the pioneering and enduring legacy of Bobbie Gentry will be released by Universal Music on September 21st. “The Girl From Chickasaw…
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Wanted! – Notable Americana and Roots Music Releases for 2017
2016 was another great year for Americana and roots music, and 2017 shows signs that the great music will continue to come our way. As our Cream of the Crop favorites from last year makes plain we might be experiencing a new golden age of…
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Cream of the Crop – Twang Nation Top Americana and Roots Music Picks of 2016
The year in music for 2016 is best defined by the classic Dickensian line from “A Tale of Two Cities,” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Mortality cut a wide swath across some of the greatest and influential musicians…
Wanted! – Notable Americana and Roots Music Releases for 2016
2015 was another bumper crop year for Americana and roots music, and 2016 show vast signs that the great music will continue to come. As our Cream of the Crop favorites from 2015 makes plain we might be experiencing a new golden age of roots…
David Crosby Joins Jason Isbell And the 400 Unit on Stage at Newport Folk Festival
Folks attending the Jason Isbell And the 400 Unit performance at last Friday at the Newport Folk Festival were treated to one of those spectacular collaborations that can often happen at the storied festival. During the set Folk / rock legend David Crosby unassumingly strolled…
Colter Wall Readies New Album Coming This Autumn – Hear Two New Songs – Announces Extensive Tour
The only downside to hearing a work as stunningly perfect as Colter Wall’s eponymous 2017 debut is the dread that the proverbial sophomore slump will strike down any hopes of experiencing that satisfaction the next time around. Well if the two released cuts off WaLL’s…
The Band’s Landmark Debut ‘Music From Big Pink’ To Get 50th Anniversary Edition Treatment This Summer
On July 1, 1968, The Band’s landmark debut album, Music from Big Pink, seemed to spring from nowhere and everywhere. Drawing from the American roots music panoply of country, blues, R&B, gospel, soul, rockabilly, the honking tenor sax tradition, hymns, funeral dirges, brass band music,…
‘King of the Road’ Roger Miller Tribute Recruits Alison Krauss, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson
Few people these days are aware of the gENius of Roger Miller. If he’s known at all it’s for his deceptively goofy sons like ‘Dang Me’ and Z”You Can’t Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd.” He was also the one of the greatest songwriters to ever…
Willie Nelson Abruptly Leaves The Stage During Charlotte NC Show – UPDATE
Willie Nelson currently on the road headlining the Outlaw Music Festival left the stage abruptly without playing or singing a note Saturday night. Live Nation issued a press release after 11 p.m. that same night: “Due to illness, Willie Nelson was unable to play tonight…
Jim Lauderdale To Release Two Records This Summer
The legend that is ‘Mr. Americana” Jim Lauderdale is set to release not one, but TWO releases. the albums are entitled ‘Time Flies” and “Jim Lauderdale and Roland White’ and both will be released Friday, August 3rd Yep Roc Records. These 30th and 31st studio…
Lori McKenna To Release “The Tree” This Summer, Hear The Premier Track Now
Album cover art: Sydney Clawson GRAMMY, CMA and ACM Award-winning singer-songwriter Lori McKenna will release the follow up to her 2016 acclaimed ‘The Bird and the Rifle’ July 20 on CN Records via Thirty Tigers and is now available for pre-order. The new album takes…
Johnny Cash Museum Unveils ‘I Walk the Line’ Gold Record On Anniversary
The Johnny Cash Museum premiered a special artifact today that has never previously been on public display despite being presented to Johnny Cash more than six decades ago. Johnny Cash’s very first gold record to commemorate Cash’s first #1 I Walk the Line on what…
Lera Lynn To Release Duets Album ‘Plays Well With Others’
Over her successful career, Lera Lynn has had the good fortune to share the stage with some of roots music’s beat (see her duet with John Paul White below covering Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty’s ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ below for evidence to that…